William Joseph Seymour (1870-1922), was an influential African-American religious leader during the first half of the 20th century. He is considered one of the founders and leaders of modern Pentecostalism.

Seymour was actually credited for being a key catalyst in the founding of the modern Pentecostal movement. As an impactful prominent religious leader of his day, his influence can still be felt today.  Many aspects of his message are in line with today's concerns for religious and social leaders as well. He advocated racial integration as it would bring unity with Christ. He also supported women being in leadership positions within the church.

Seymour was born May 2, 1870 in Centerville, Louisiana to Simon and Phyllis Seymour. His family was affiliated with both the Catholic and Baptist churches. He was baptized in the Catholic Church of the Assumption, in Franklin, Louisiana.

Little of his childhood is known except that he was born in poverty, received very little formal education, and said to have had visions of God. He traveled extensively as a young man. In 1895, being 25 years old, he moved to Indianapolis, Indiana.  There he waited tables at upscale restaurants and hotels. While there, he joined Simpson Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church. This was an African-American congregation within the predominantly white Methodist Episcopal Church.

Seymour was struck with smallpox and lost his left eye due to the attack. After recovering from this potentially fatal illness, he decided to become a preacher and was ordained as minister in the Church of God in 1902.

He traveled the country as an evangelist for three more years, stopping in Chicago, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. He settled in Houston, Texas, where his family had relocated in 1905. He was the temporary pastor of Lucy Farrow's Holiness ministry (niece of Frederick Douglass, a black abolitionist).  Farrow had a profound impact on his spiritual direction as well as his career.

 

Farrow encouraged Seymour to contact Charles Fox Parham (a white evangelist who managed a Texas Bible School), as Seymour was intrigued in the idea of "speaking in tongues". Farrow was once a servant to Parham in Topeka (Kansas), who founded the first Pentecostal Bible School in the city. He taught that speaking in tongues is a sign that the Holy Spirit was at work. 

Seymour asked Parham if he could join the Bible school. Parham was open to Seymour's request, but he wouldn't give him a seat in class due to his segregationist tendencies. Parham only allowed Seymour access to the class through an open door. Seymour was not able to attend the class for very long. According to different sources, it lasted only a few days or a few weeks. He was offended at Parham's racism as he believed that racial inclusion in worship was a sign Christ's return. 

Seymour later met Neeley Terry, a woman who had moved to Houston from Los Angeles, and was part of the Holiness movement. Seymour was either accompanied by Terry or he traveled alone to Los Angeles, fascinated by Terry's description of the religious community. 

Seymour gave a sermon in Los Angeles on February 22, 1906 at a church founded by Julia M. Hutchins. Julia M. Hutchins had been expelled in the city's Second Baptist Church for her Holiness views. Seymour preached in praise of interracial religious communities and the use of tongues as a sign from the Holy Spirit. Hutchins was unhappy that Seymour included glossolalia within the Holiness doctrine and she literally locked Seymour from her church.

Seymour was invited by Mr. & Mrs. Richard Asberry, a more spiritually tolerant couple, to host services at their North Bonnie Brae Avenue home, thusly what is known today as the Bonnie Brae House.  At the Bonnie Brae House Seymour was able to speak in tongues at last when he visited the Asberry house. The events that led to his glossolalia began April 9, 1906 when Seymour's enthusiastic preaching inspired many members of his congregation who started speaking in tongues. As three nights of religious fervor continued, and Seymour started speaking in tongues on April 12.

As the excitement grew about North Bonnie Brae's events, more people began to attended. It was reported that local residents saw the house engulfed in flames.  The local fire department was called.  When they arrived and went inside there was no fire to put out. It is reported currently that in 2002, it happened again. A team from Argentina made the trek to Los Angeles and obtained permission to hold a prayer vigil through the night. Once again, flames were visible on the home, and fire trucks pulled up in haste to put out the fire. However, the only flames on the home were the same as those that appeared on the disciples in Acts 2! When the firemen made their way into the home, they found no fire. Instead, they found an entire group of believers on their faces fervent in prayer in the glory of God.

 

The Asberry home soon became too small for the services. Seymour moved the congregation to an unoccupied church on Azusa Street.  It was located in the business district at 312 Azusa Street. It measured 40 by 60 feet. The building was once home to the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  Seymour moved to the second floor of the church, where he began holding services three days a week. Seymour was assisted by a diverse staff of volunteers, which included men and women of all races and genders.

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Miracles were happening as the norm.  Miss Jeanne Evans Moore, who Seymour later married, began playing the piano, having never been taught.  Services at the mission were conducted three times each day at 10 AM, noon and 7 PM. They often ran together until the entire day became one worship service. This schedule was continued seven days a week for more than three years.

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It was common for the lost to be saved, sick healed, demonized delivered, and seekers to be baptized in the Spirit in almost every meeting. Many of the early leaders of the Pentecostal movement received their Holy Ghost baptism or worshipped at the Azusa altar; namely, F. F. Bosworth well known healing evangelist who wrote the book, "Christ the Healer", John G. Lake another astounding healing evangelist, and Frank Bartleman to just name a few.

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In 1906 when lynchings of black men was at a peak in America's history, Seymour led an interracial worship service.  At Azusa Street there were no preferences for age, gender, or race. One worshipper said, "The blood of Jesus washed the color line away."

The church was overwhelmed by the multitudes of people soon after its opening. This was due to word of mouth, a newspaper article about it, and a force in nature: the San Francisco earthquake.  The story ran in the Los Angeles Times on April 18, 1906. It provided extensive coverage about the church's activities. The article was published on the same day as the San Francisco earthquake. Many people began to see connections between the two events. There was even a rumor that the Azusa mission had predicted the earthquake. This is why the San Francisco earthquake can sometimes be regarded as a major factor in the rise of Pentecostalism at a national level.

By May the Azusa Street Revival attracted over a thousand people every day. This was the start of the Pentecostal Church. This place of divine visitation attracted thousands of leaders and pastors from all over the globe, particularly during the vibrant years between 1906-1908, when it was still young. They took the fire of God with them to rekindle the Pentecostal flames within their countries. It spread quickly and continues to grow like wildfire. Today, there are over 600 million Charismatics and Pentecostals who can trace their spiritual ancestry back directly to this amazing event. 

 

The famed John G. Lake also visited the Azusa street meetings and wrote of Seymour: “He had the funniest vocabulary. But I want to tell you, there were doctors, lawyers, and professors, listening to the marvelous things coming from his lips. It was not what he said in words, it was what he said from his spirit to my heart that showed me he had more of God in his life than any man I had ever met up to that time. It was God in him that attracted the people.”

In 1906 Seymour began publishing the church newspaper The Apostolic Faith. The publication was launched in September of that year and quickly gained a national circulation of over 20,000. Seymour incorporated the Azusa mission into the Pacific Apostolic Faith Mission Los Angeles in 1907.

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