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Trailblazer Books (Chronological) #33
Journey to the End of the Earth: William Seymour
In 1906, while visiting his journalist uncle in California, thirteen-year-old Jerry hears the San Francisco earthquake predicted at preacher William Seymour's Pentecostal mission, sees the ensuing destruction, and learns the power of the Holy Ghost.
159 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2000
About the author
Dave Jackson
245 books76 followersDave and Neta Jackson are a full-time husband/wife writing team who have authored and co-authored many books on marriage and family, the church, relationships, and other subjects. Their books for children include the TRAILBLAZER series and Hero Tales, volumes I,II, III, and IV. The Jacksons make their home in Evanston, Illinois.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 18, 2026
Number of pages: 151
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: Trailblazers (all books are unrelated missionary stories)
Age recommendation: 8-14ish
Summary: Ever since the death of his father, Jerry’s mother has had difficulty controlling and raising him. When Jerry accidentally burns down the church, she's at her wit's end. She decides to send him out to California to live with his reporter uncle, and Jerry couldn’t be more pleased to be out of his small town, and in the big city. There, he meets the Pentecostal preacher William Seymour who speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit in peoples’ lives.
My thoughts: I found this story very interesting. When I first got this book, I did not realize the Christian hero in this story was Pentecostal, and I’ll just admit I was standing with Jerry’s uncle in questioning the validity of all the healings and speaking in tongues. It’s not that I don’t think God can do miracles, but it just would be so easy to stage it so someone says a whole bunch of nonsense words and someone else pretends to have understood this unknown language and “interprets” it. I’m not saying that’s what they did, it just can be very difficult to accept that secondhand. Also, as a whole, Pentecostals seem to be very big on the receiving of the Holy Spirit, and that it must be accompanied by speaking in tongues, shaking, etc. (the specifics probably vary depending on who you ask). I believe that all Christians receive the Holy Spirit when they are saved, and the event with tongues of fire at Pentecost was a one time event to introduce a new order of things. There is still the gift of tongues that one could have, but not having this gift does not mean you're not saved or living according to God's word.
I thought it was cool how God can use many people from different backgrounds like He did with William Seymour and the revival that happened through his preaching. The book also showed that Christianity brought about desegregation: people of all different races and ethnicities came together through the gospel. That was a miracle in and of itself with all the racism and segregation at that time.
The story was very interesting, starting with the reason Jerry got sent away in the first place. He actually accidentally burns down the church in his small town! There were a lot of good details included throughout the story to describe the places and situations in the book.
I appreciated the historical aspect of this book. I felt like I learned a lot about what it was like to live during that time period, especially what it would have been like to be black. There was so much racism and segregation at that time, it was terrible. When you can’t use a particular bathroom, go through a particular door, etc. because of the colour of your skin, something is wrong. We may not be perfect at treating everyone with their due respect as human beings created in the image of God, but I’m thankful for how far we've come from those days.
I think this was a really interesting book, with some good historical information, although I wish there had been a bit more about William Seymour, as I felt there was more of the fictional story than information about him.
My personal rating: 4.5/5 stars.
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: Trailblazers (all books are unrelated missionary stories)
Age recommendation: 8-14ish
Summary: Ever since the death of his father, Jerry’s mother has had difficulty controlling and raising him. When Jerry accidentally burns down the church, she's at her wit's end. She decides to send him out to California to live with his reporter uncle, and Jerry couldn’t be more pleased to be out of his small town, and in the big city. There, he meets the Pentecostal preacher William Seymour who speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit in peoples’ lives.
My thoughts: I found this story very interesting. When I first got this book, I did not realize the Christian hero in this story was Pentecostal, and I’ll just admit I was standing with Jerry’s uncle in questioning the validity of all the healings and speaking in tongues. It’s not that I don’t think God can do miracles, but it just would be so easy to stage it so someone says a whole bunch of nonsense words and someone else pretends to have understood this unknown language and “interprets” it. I’m not saying that’s what they did, it just can be very difficult to accept that secondhand. Also, as a whole, Pentecostals seem to be very big on the receiving of the Holy Spirit, and that it must be accompanied by speaking in tongues, shaking, etc. (the specifics probably vary depending on who you ask). I believe that all Christians receive the Holy Spirit when they are saved, and the event with tongues of fire at Pentecost was a one time event to introduce a new order of things. There is still the gift of tongues that one could have, but not having this gift does not mean you're not saved or living according to God's word.
I thought it was cool how God can use many people from different backgrounds like He did with William Seymour and the revival that happened through his preaching. The book also showed that Christianity brought about desegregation: people of all different races and ethnicities came together through the gospel. That was a miracle in and of itself with all the racism and segregation at that time.
The story was very interesting, starting with the reason Jerry got sent away in the first place. He actually accidentally burns down the church in his small town! There were a lot of good details included throughout the story to describe the places and situations in the book.
I appreciated the historical aspect of this book. I felt like I learned a lot about what it was like to live during that time period, especially what it would have been like to be black. There was so much racism and segregation at that time, it was terrible. When you can’t use a particular bathroom, go through a particular door, etc. because of the colour of your skin, something is wrong. We may not be perfect at treating everyone with their due respect as human beings created in the image of God, but I’m thankful for how far we've come from those days.
I think this was a really interesting book, with some good historical information, although I wish there had been a bit more about William Seymour, as I felt there was more of the fictional story than information about him.
My personal rating: 4.5/5 stars.
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
May 20, 2020
Assigned to read this whole series in middle school, and I learned a lot. Great educational read!
November 3, 2012
Loved this series as a kid. This one was definitely more Pentecostal - though that makes sense as the main character is shown as the father of the Pentecostal movement.
January 15, 2015
It is a very good book. The story of a boy joining other Christians to meet the Holy Ghost In the process of his on going life in Christ.
July 29, 2015
See the first book in the series (Spy for the Night Riders) for a full review.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews