Celebrating Black History: Lucy Farrow

Let’s meet another one of God’s warriors as we continue to celebrate Black History Month…

Lucy F. Farrow

Lucy Farrow, niece of renowned black abolitionist Frederick Douglass, was serving as pastor of a holiness church in Houston in 1905 when Charles Parham engaged her to work as a governess in his home. She received the baptism of the Holy Spirit while working for his family. Farrow carried the Pentecostal embers back to Texas, on to Virginia, and later to Liberia. No evidence survives to tell us that she was a good preacher or a sound biblical expositor or even a caring pastor. But her aptitude for igniting the supernatural gifts among others was evident at a 1906 camp meeting near Houston when some 25 seekers stood lined up in a row in front of her. When Farrow “laid hands upon them…many began to speak in tongues at once.”

Movers and Shakers

From Biblical times, Black believers have been instrumental in proclaiming, establishing, and defending the Kingdom of God.  Today, when thousands of Black Americans are turning to Islam, it’s critical that we lift up and magnify Black voices in the Church. These present-day movers and shakers are tearing down walls that divide races and are proclaiming the Truth of God’s Word to a new generation of Kingdom Believers.

John Eckhardt

(Retrieved from http://www.impactnetwork.net)

Apostle and Overseer of Crusaders Church Chicago with close to 4,000 in attendance weekly in several locations, John Eckhardt is gifted with a strong apostolic call and has ministered throughout the United States and overseas in more than 70 nations.  He is an apostolic reformer called to perfect the saints by imparting biblical truths, including deliverance and spiritual warfare, and activating the gifts of the Spirit in order to raise up strong ministries in the body of Christ.

Apostle Eckhardt founded the IMPACT Network (International Ministries of Prophetic and Apostolic Churches Together) in 1995.  Since that time, hundreds of churches, ministries and leaders in over 40 nations have affiliated with this network that God is raising up as a vehicle for global apostolic reformation.  As part of his calling as an Apostle of Jesus Christ, he is activating, commissioning and ordaining apostles and prophets around the world to facilitate this current reformation, along with conducting powerful apostolic breakthrough conferences in many nations.

Along with his apostolic responsibilities, John Eckhardt is a much sought after international conference speaker, has authored more than 35 books, produces a daily radio broadcast, and his television program “This Week with John Eckhardt” is seen throughout the United States on the WORD Network and Jones Broadcasting.  He is also founder of the Apostolic Institute of Ministry (AIM), dedicated to teaching present truth, and training leaders in apostolic and prophetic ministry, currently through workshops and seminars, but with a future vision for both and online school, and full and part time facilities to be established in many nations.

 

Frederick K. C. Price

When you think about boldness in proclaiming the Word of God, you must think about Fred Price. On the frontlines of the Word of Faith movement for more than 30 years, Fred Price has transformed the world’s image of what it means to be Black and Christian.

An unabashed Faith preacher, Price boldly proclaims that being Black is not an excuse to stay poor, uneducated, and downtrodden. He inspires Christians of all races to present a unified front in a skeptical and critical world. His most recent publications, a three volume series entitled Race, Religion & Racism, challenges Believers to tear down walls of racial segregation built over the centuries by vain religious traditions of men.

Desiring to reach Black America and the inner cities, Dr. Price founded the Fellowship of Inner City Word of Faith Ministries (FICWFM) in 1990 to provide teaching, support, and discipleship for inner city congregations around the world. Always a pioneer, he became the first Black pastor to speak at Town Hall Los Angeles in the year 2000. In 1998, he received the prestigious Horatio Alger Award, honoring those who exemplify inspirational success. He has also received The Kelly Miller Smith Interfaith Award presented by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, honoring clergy who have made the most significant contribution through religious expression affecting the nation and world.

These men, along with many others, are voices on the rooftops crying out to the world, “You do not have to live in bondage to the things of the past.” Their message of abundant life in Christ is reaching around the world. We celebrate their diligence in proclaiming the truth of God’s word to all who will hear. We celebrate the stand they are making for the cause of Christ. We celebrate them and honor them as our brothers and co-laborers in the Kingdom.

 

~Linda Frederick

Celebrating Black History: William Seymour

William Seymour

William Seymour’s connection to our Pentecostal roots began when he became the interim pastor at Lucy Farrow’s Houston church when she went to work for the Parham family. When she returned to Houston, she shared her testimony of speaking in tongues with Seymour who promptly left Texas to sit outside Parham’s all White Bible school classes in order to learn what the Word had to say about the infilling of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Seymour’s hunger grew, as did his zeal to see the Body of Christ united across racial barriers. Having received an invitation by a Black woman pastor to preach in Los Angeles, Seymour traveled west to preach his conviction that the Holy Spirit manifestation of tongues was a gift for all believers. Although not received well by his host, many embraced Seymour’s message and joined him in a warehouse on Azusa Street to pray for an outpouring of the Spirit. When members of the Azusa street church began speaking in tongues in April 1906, word of a one-eyed Black preacher and his message of love, unity in the faith, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit spread throughout the world. At Azusa, Blacks, Latinos, Whites, and others prayed and sang together, creating a dimension of spiritual unity and equality almost unprecedented for the time. It allowed men, women, and children to celebrate their unity in Christ and participate as led by the Spirit. Surely, William Seymour was not only a father of modern Pentecostalism, but also a pioneer who blazed the trail for racial unity in the modern day Body of Christ.

The Color Line Has Been Washed Away in the Blood

“The color line was washed away in the Blood.” – Frank Bartleman

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Without a doubt, the United States has been the birthplace of the modern Pentecostal movement. As we celebrate Black History Month, it is important to note that our history, the history of the Church, has been shaped by the contributions of countless Black believers. Here are a few remarkable men and women of color who helped forge the foundation of the modern pentecostal church.

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Amanda Berry Smith

Born a slave in Maryland in 1837, Amanda Berry was the daughter of a slave who was able to buy his freedom and that of his wife and five children. The Berry family moved to Pennsylvania where their home became a station on the Underground Railroad. After her first husband was killed while serving in the African Regiments in the Civil War, Amanda remarried and moved to Philadelphia. There, she was born again, joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and received her call to preach. In 1869, she began preaching in churches and at Holiness camp meetings in New York and New Jersey, becoming a popular speaker to both black and white audiences. By the end of the decade, she was known as far north as Maine and as far south as Tennessee. Although she was not ordained or financially supported by the AME Church or any other organization, she became the first black woman to work as an international evangelist in 1878. She served for twelve years in England, Ireland, Scotland, India, and various African countries. She emerged as one of the A.M.E. Church’s most effective missionaries and one of the most remarkable preachers of the age. In the process, she opened the way for more black women to preach in the A.M.E. church.

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Lucy F. Farrow

Lucy Farrow, niece of renowned black abolitionist Frederick Douglass, was serving as pastor of a holiness church in Houston in 1905 when Charles Parham engaged her to work as a governess in his home. She received the baptism of the Holy Spirit while working for his family. Farrow carried the Pentecostal embers back to Texas, on to Virginia, and later to Liberia. No evidence survives to tell us that she was a good preacher or a sound biblical expositor or even a caring pastor. But her aptitude for igniting the supernatural gifts among others was evident at a 1906 camp meeting near Houston when some 25 seekers stood lined up in a row in front of her. When Farrow “laid hands upon them…many began to speak in tongues at once.”

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William Seymour

William Seymour’s connection to our Pentecostal roots began when he became the interim pastor at Lucy Farrow’s Houston church when she went to work for the Parham family. When she returned to Houston, she shared her testimony of speaking in tongues with Seymour who promptly left Texas to sit outside Parham’s all White Bible school classes in order to learn what the Word had to say about the infilling of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Seymour’s hunger grew, as did his zeal to see the Body of Christ united across racial barriers. Having received an invitation by a Black woman pastor to preach in Los Angeles, Seymour traveled west to preach his conviction that the Holy Spirit manifestation of tongues was a gift for all believers. Although not received well by his host, many embraced Seymour’s message and joined him in a warehouse on Azusa Street to pray for an outpouring of the Spirit. When members of the Azusa street church began speaking in tongues in April 1906, word of a one-eyed Black preacher and his message of love, unity in the faith, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit spread throughout the world. At Azusa, Blacks, Latinos, Whites, and others prayed and sang together, creating a dimension of spiritual unity and equality almost unprecedented for the time. It allowed men, women, and children to celebrate their unity in Christ and participate as led by the Spirit. Surely, William Seymour was not only a father of modern Pentecostalism, but also a pioneer who blazed the trail for racial unity in the modern day Body of Christ.

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CH Mason

Charles Harrison Mason organized the largest black Pentecostal denomination in the United States, the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), now based in Memphis, Tennessee. Born to former slaves, Mason grew up intending to be a minister. In 1897, when Mississippi Baptists ordered him to vacate his pulpit for the offense of preaching holiness doctrines (sanctification), Mason received permission to use an abandoned gin house for a revival. Like other early Pentecostals, he sought and later found a deeper experience with the Holy Spirit at the Azusa street revival. During a night of prayer at Azusa, Mason saw a vision. “When I opened my mouth to say glory, a flame touched my tongue which ran down in me. My language changed and no word could I speak in my own tongue.” Early Pentecostals recognized Mason’s special powers of discernment and saw him as supernaturally gifted. Mason said of his experience that the Holy Spirit through him “saved, sanctified and baptized thousands of souls of all colors and races.” Mason led the COGIC until his death in 1961.

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As Pentecostalism spread, division arose along racial lines. The enemy forged his way into the church to bring separation. As the separation deepened through the segregated early 20th century, contributions of faith from Black American Christians became more and more obscured. It is our obligation to honor and celebrate these fathers and mothers in the faith. We give praise to our God for their lives, their sacrifice, and their great hope that the Church would one day “come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.” (Eph 4:13, NLT)

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~ Linda Frederick