EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE SECOND HALF OF 1800; JULIA HUTCHINS P/68

In this story I will focus on a woman named Julia Hutchins. She holds a special place in the history of the Azusa Street Revival, for she was the African-American pastor who invited William Seymour to come from Houston to Los Angeles to serve as pastor of the Santa Fe Street Holiness Mission. It was she who locked Seymour out of the church because of his teaching on the baptism in the Holy Spirit. 

Thankfully, however, her story does not end there. She soon repented of this action and became a whole- hearted supporter of Seymour and his teaching that tongues is “ the biblical evidence” of one’s being baptised in the Holy Spirit.

At the Azusa Street Mission Julia was herself baptised in the Holy Spirit and re-affirmed an earlier call to go to Africa as a missionary. Within five months of the beginning of the revival she and her husband, along with their young niece Leila McKinney, left the mission to go as missionaries to Liberia on the West African Coast. They were accompanied by G.W. Batman and Lucy Farrow.

Upon leaving Azusa Street Julia and her colleagues preached their way across the heartland of America to the East Coast. From there they proceeded by ship to Liverpool, England. From Liverpool they sailed to Monrovia, Liberia. All along the way the missionaries faithfully spread the message of Pentecost. 

We know little of Julia’s ministry in Liberia nor how long she stayed; however, we do know that she was one of the first Pentecostal missionaries to set foot on the African Continent. Like many early Pentecostal women, her story simply fades into history. We can assume that when Julia returned to the U.S.A. she continued to minister in the Spirit until her death.