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William J. Seymour Center for Black Church Studies

The William J. Seymour Center for Black Church Studies at AGTS – named for the pioneering African American founder and leader of the Azusa Street Mission and revival, which served as the catalyst for the world-wide Pentecostal movement – exists to serve the theological training needs of Black pastors, scholars, missionaries, evangelists and other ministry leaders in the Assemblies of God and the broader Pentecostal community. Paul tells Timothy to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). The Seymour Center at AGTS aims to adequately prepare men and women of the Black diaspora who are called to the ministry of the Word to do just that.

Currently the only Black church studies center at a Pentecostal seminary in the nation, the program is firmly rooted in that tradition, while at same time embracing the rich diversity and vibrance of contemporary Black Pentecostalism.  

The Seymour Center, initially funded by a generous grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., aims to increase the presence of faculty of color at the seminary, develop courses and an academic program contextualized for the Black Pentecostal experience, and to develop an intentional platform for ongoing dialogue between all races on specific social justice challenges facing Black communities to increase empathy and foster racial reconciliation.

  1. 1

    Curriculum

    Concentration in Black Church Studies

    This concentration includes courses such as Biblical Hermeneutics and the Black Church, History of the Black Church, Rhetoric and Tradition of Black Preaching, African American Spirituality, Introduction to Black Pentecostalism, Introduction to Black Theology, Race, Ethnicity and the American (Pentecostal) Church etc.

    This concentration can be selected for the Master of Arts in Theological Studies (MATS) and the Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies (MAIS) degrees. Additionally, students can choose (with the approval of their advisor) to substitute a course from the list of courses for the Master of Leadership and Ministry (MLM) degree for one of the courses from the Black Church Studies concentration. Students can also choose to take a course from the concentration as an elective.

    This Black Church Studies program is the only such program offered by a Pentecostal seminary in the nation.
  2. 2

    Connections

    Maintain ongoing relationships with:

    • Black undergraduate students at Evangel University and other Alliance for AG Higher Education Institutions throughout the United States.
    • The Assemblies of God’s Office of Ethnic Relations.
    • The leadership and constituencies of the seven Black Fellowships within the Assemblies of God. These include: African AG Fellowship, USA, Caribbean Fellowship of the AG, Ethiopian Fellowship of the AG, Ghanian AG Fellowship, USA, Haitian American Fellowship of the AG, National Black Fellowship of the AG, Nigerian AG Fellowship, USA
    • The various geographic districts/networks within the Assemblies of God with significant numbers of Black ministers and churches.
    • Historically and predominantly Black Pentecostal denominations such as the Church of God in Christ (COGIC).
  3. 3

    Events

    • Annual Black History Month Celebrations (February, Spring Semesters)
    • William J. Seymour Memorial Annual Lecture Series (Fall Semesters)
    • William J. Seymour Memorial Annual Pentecostal Revival Service (Spring Semesters)
    • Biennial Black Church Leaders Roundtable/Symposium
  4. 4

    Outreach/External Education Experiences

    Provide opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of and appreciation for God’s Word through bible-focused study tours of the lands of the bible (Israel, Jordan, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and Italy) with the Assemblies of God’s Center for Holy Lands Studies.

    Provide opportunities for students to participate in world missions/overseas practical ministry experience trips to Africa and the Caribbean through Assemblies of God World Missions thereby getting more Black ministers interested in world missions through hands-on missions experience.

Rev. Derrick R. Rosenior, Ph.D.

Director

Rev. Derrick R. Rosenior, Ph.D. serves as the director of the William J. Seymour Center for Black Church Studies. Dr. Rosenior is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God, and holds a Ph.D. from Howard University (Washington, DC) in Rhetoric and Intercultural Communication. His doctoral dissertation entitled “Toward Racial Reconciliation: Collective Memory, Myth and Nostalgia in American Pentecostalism” focused on the rhetoric of racial reconciliation of William J. Seymour, the Azusa Street revival and the 1994 “Memphis Miracle” event. He also serves as president of the Assemblies of God Black Fellowship of Southern California and is the teaching pastor at Orange County First Assembly of God in Santa Ana, California.

William Joseph Seymour

May 2, 1870 – September 28, 1922

William Joseph Seymour, an early Holiness-Pentecostal preacher and the son of emancipated enslaved persons from Louisiana, moved to California in 1906 where he became the pastor of the Azusa Street Mission. This mission became “ground zero” for the Azusa Street Revival that began on April 9, 1906, and continued until roughly 1909. This revival is considered by historians to be the primary catalyst for the global spread of Pentecostalism in the 20th century. Due to Seymour’s leadership and advocacy of interracial worship and ministry, this revival became noted for its breaking down of racial barriers in a time of deep racial divide in the United States. In the words of Frank Batleman, an early participant in the revival, the “color line was washed away in the blood.” The Seymour Initiative at AGTS, aims to continue the spirit of racial reconciliation, healing and breaking down of racial division in the church that was begun by William J. Seymour at the Azusa Street Revival over a century ago.