William Joseph Seymour:
The father of Pentecostalism
The Texas Years
William Seymour relocated to Texas in 1903. Most believe that he
went to Texas in search of siblings of his parents that were sold away from
them during the years of slavery.[4] Upon arriving in Texas, Seymour joined a
Holiness church. The pastor of this church, an African-American woman named
Lucy Farrow, learned of Seymour’s interest in the spiritual gifts and the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit to occur in the end times. She advised him to
contact a Holiness teacher by the name of Charles Fox Parham. Two years earlier
in Topeka, Kansas, under the tutelage of Parham, Agnes Ozman experienced
glossolalia or speaking in tongues. After this incident Parham started a Bible
school in Houston, Texas to instruct others in this “Apostolic Faith” that was
characterized by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Seymour was urged by Farrow to attend Parham’s school.
William Seymour
did attend Parham’s school but it was not in ideal circumstances. Texas law
forbade blacks to attend class with whites so Seymour attended class by sitting
in the hallway.[5] There is
some contention about the details at this point. Some believe that Parham
welcomed Seymour’s presence and encouraged his attendance, while others contend
that Parham had racist leanings and was dismayed by Seymour’s presence at his
school. As in every other part of his life, Seymour was again experiencing
discrimination and hatred, aspects of religious life and life in general that
for William did not coincide with the Biblical teachings of Christ nor the
church of Acts. Nevertheless, Seymour
attended the school and accepted Parham’s doctrine of the baptism of the Holy
Spirit through the speaking in tongues and began to teach others about it when
given the opportunity. At this point in
his career Seymour had not experienced tongues himself, yet believed that
tongues would usher in the last days revival and that tongues were
Biblical.
Seymour
remained in Texas under Parham’s teaching until 1906. The time in Texas was
time integral for what was to come. In Texas, William Seymour fine-tuned his
beliefs and ideas concerning the spiritual gifts and the infilling of the Holy
Spirit. While in Texas Seymour also had the opportunity to practice teaching
and preaching in Farrow’s church and other African-American churches, as well
as occasionally with Parham. He honed
his skills and doctrine in Texas. Without the stay in Texas it could be argued
that Seymour would never have learned of and desired the baptism of the Holy
Ghost nor would he have received the opportunity to go to Los Angeles. If he
had not gone to Los Angeles his revival at Azusa Street would never have
occurred and the Pentecostal movement would have developed much differently.
Ü The Early Years
Azusa St.:
Beginnings Þ
William Joseph Seymour Homepage HIS 338 Student Websites Page
This page was created by Ashley Sample. E-mail: smaple333@hotmail.com
This page was last updated April 17, 2001