People often think of the Azusa Street mission in Los Angeles as a place of pilgrimage. Indeed, thousands traveled to attend the revival that took place there from 1906–09. Many of them experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and then spread Pentecost to cities and nations around the world.

However, the mission was also a local church, with a local pastor who was responsible not only for those coming to experience their own personal Pentecost but also for a local congregation.

Imagine traveling 1,500 miles alone to assume your first pastoral position, only to discover the church you were to lead decided not to fulfill its end of the contract. You stay with some kind-hearted Christians and lead a small Bible study and prayer meeting while seeking God for your next step.

Within six weeks, those gatherings outgrow two houses. You are now the leader of a new congregation meeting in an abandoned horse stable. On the Tuesday after your first Sunday services, you make the front page of the city newspaper.

People begin to flock to your meetings in record numbers. Yet you have no denomination behind you, no budget, no other pastors to call on, and no precedent for what is happening.

That was the experience of William J. Seymour, the young pastor of the Apostolic Faith Mission at 312 Azusa Street. With little formal education or leadership training, Seymour seemed an unlikely leader for the revival that continued around the clock for three years.

Nevertheless, Seymour’s hunger for God, vision for a diverse but unified church, and strong spiritual character continue to inspire students of Pentecostal history. As church leaders, we can glean principles from his ministry that will serve us well today.

Leadership Lessons

Don’t discount the power of humility. Seymour’s contemporaries described him as humble, meek, unassuming and gentle.

As an African American growing up in Louisiana during the Reconstruction era, Seymour learned to maintain a low profile. However, racial pressure didn’t account for the totality of his character. Seymour placed a high priority on Christlikeness.

William Durham described Seymour as “simple-hearted as a little child,” with “a helpless dependence on God,” and “so filled with God that you feel the love and power every time you get near him.”

Humility and strong leadership are not mutually exclusive. After all, Scripture calls Moses “a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3). And Jesus described himself as “gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29).

Despite his quiet inclination, Seymour was capable of facing down other ministers who tried to usurp his leadership. He endured much opposition without losing his passion for ministry.

Defer to Scripture over experience. Some questioned the manifestations of the Spirit at Azusa.

Seymour responded this way: “We are measuring everything by the Word; every experience must measure up with the Bible. Some say that is going too far, but if we have lived too close to the Word, we will settle that with the Lord when we meet Him in the air.”

The uniqueness of the revival at Azusa meant there was no one to say, “We’ve always done it this way.” There was no written belief statement of Pentecostal doctrine and practice. Thus, Seymour constantly looked to the Scriptures for guidance.

At one point, some attendees claimed to have received a gift of “writing in tongues.” Seymour dismissed that idea, saying, “We do not read anything in the Word about writing in unknown languages. … We do not encourage that in our meetings.”

Exercise gifts of the Spirit in tandem with fruit of the Spirit. Some at Azusa manifested gifts of the Spirit and anointing for ministry without demonstrating love, peace and holiness in their everyday lives. Their gifts opened platforms their characters could not maintain, which damaged the church’s reputation.

William J. Seymour demonstrated his
vision for a diverse
movement of Spirit-
filled people serving
together.

Consequently, Seymour emphasized Spirit-empowered sanctification as much as Spirit-empowered ministry.

“While tongues is one of the signs that follow God’s Spirit-filled children, they will have to know the truth and do the truth,” Seymour said.

Take advantage of available education and resources. Spending his formative years in the Jim Crow South, Seymour had little access to formal schooling. He briefly attended a freedmen’s school, but Seymour left to help provide for his family following the death of his father.

While working in Chicago, Seymour completed some coursework at Martin Wells Knapp’s Bible school.

Later, Seymour attended a few months of classes at Charles Parham’s school in Houston.

Despite the barriers he faced, Seymour’s hunger for learning drove him to improve his understanding of theology.

Focus on furthering the kingdom of God rather than building your ministry. Newspapers reported that within three months of opening its doors, the mission had 500–700 attendees. Seymour quickly realized he needed a team of ministers and volunteers.

This led to an egalitarian approach to leadership. Seymour empowered men and women of all ages, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic classes, and education levels to do the work of the church. He developed a staff of 10 leaders and relied on them heavily.

When leaders began to leave the mission to establish churches in nearby neighborhoods, Seymour viewed them as collaborators rather than competitors. Seymour invited leaders from other Pentecostal church plants around Los Angeles to attend Monday meetings he led for his staff.

Seymour also advertised the meetings of these other churches, encouraged his own congregation to attend, and printed testimonies of their success in his newspaper.

Strive for unity. Seymour demonstrated his vision for a diverse movement of Spirit-filled people serving together.

A writer for The Apostolic Faith made this observation about the mission: “It is noticeable how free all nationalities feel. If a Mexican or German cannot speak English, he gets up and speaks in his own tongue and feels quite at home, for the Spirit interprets through the face and people say amen. No instrument that God can use is rejected on account of color or dress, or lack of education.”

Diversity was a mark of the Azusa Street revival from the beginning. Yet there is no evidence Seymour addressed the subject of race before 1915. There are no writings or sermons denouncing racial inequality or making pleas for inclusive change. It seems Seymour simply welcomed, valued, empowered and released diverse people for service.

Unfortunately, Seymour’s vision faced significant cultural barriers. By 1915 — after experiencing several issues with white leaders who heavily criticized Seymour and sought to supplant him — the mission voted reluctantly to limit leadership of the church to Black members.

Seymour explained this change with sadness: “It is not for discrimination, but for peace. To keep down race war in the Churches and friction, so they can have greater liberty and freedom in the Holy Spirit. We are sorry for this, but it is the best [for] now.”

Citing 1 Corinthians 12:12–14, Seymour reaffirmed his theology of Spirit-empowered unity amid diversity: “If some of our white brethren have prejudices and discrimination (Gal. 2:11–20), we can’t do it, because God calls us to follow the Bible. Matt. 17:8; Matt. 23. We must love all men as Christ commands. (Heb. 12:14).”

In 1922, Seymour died at the age of 52, having pastored the church on Azusa Street for 16 years. He had encouraged and equipped countless people to seek the fullness of the Spirit, live holy lives, and serve their communities — regardless of their social status, race, ethnicity, gender, or age.

Seymour was buried in Los Angeles’ segregated Evergreen Cemetery. His congregation honored him with a simple tombstone engraved with two words that summed up Seymour’s leadership style: “Our Pastor.”