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Pentecostal Denominations
Alpha and Omega Pentecostal Church of God of America, Inc.Current address not obtained for this edition Organization Notes: The Alpha and Omega Pentecostal Church of God of America, Inc., was formed in 1945 by the Rev. Magdalene Mabe Phillips, who withdrew from the United Holy Church of America and, with others, organized the Alpha and Omega Church of God Tabernacles, soon changed to the present name. Like the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), the church's doctrine reserves the baptism of The Holy Spirit for the sanctified. Not reported. In 1970 there were three congregations, six missions, and approximately 400 members, all in Baltimore.
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Anchor Bay Evangelistic AssociationPO Box 406 Organization Notes: Roy John Turner and his wife Blanche A. Turner became Pentecostals in 1916. Dr. Turner was a medical doctor and his wife a nurse, and they continued to function as medical professionals while leading prayer meetings. Following a revival campaign in 1918 by evangelist, Mrs. M. B. Woodworth-Etter, a church was formed in New Baltimore. In 1923, Dr. Turner was ordained and became pastor of the congregation. The old opera house in New Baltimore, Michigan, was purchased and remodeled as Bethel Temple. From 1938 to 1940, Turner served as an executive with the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, the congregation in New Baltimore remained independent. Finally, in 1940, the Turners left the Foursquare Gospel and the Anchor Bay Evangelistic Association was formed and incorporated. After the Turners' deaths, they were succeeded by their daughter, Lucy Evelyn Turner. The doctrine of the Anchor Bay Evangelistic Association is like that of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. Mission work is conducted in Belize, Turkey, the Philippines, South India, West Africa, Indonesia, and Mexico. The church is a member of the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America. Not reported. Anchor Bay Institute, New Baltimore, Michigan.
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Apostolic Assemblies of Christ, Inc.
Organization Notes: The Apostolic Assemblies of Christ was formed in 1970 by former members of the Pentecostal Churches of Apostolic Faith led by Bishop G. N. Boone. During the term of presiding bishop Willie Lee, questions of his administrative abilities arose. In the midst of the controversy, he died. In the organizational disaray the church splintered, and one group formed around Bishop Boone and Virgil Oates, the vice-bishop. The new body is congregational in organization and continues in the doctrine of the parent body, since no doctrinal controversy accompanied the split. In 1980 the Assemblies had approximately 3,500 members, 23 churches and 70 ministers.
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Apostolic Church of Jesus ChristOrganization Notes: The Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ is a second body that grew out of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World after the death of Garfield Thomas Haywood (1880-1931), who founded the "oneness" work in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Church believes in the indispensability of baptism for salvation. Not reported.
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Bible Way Pentecostal Apostolic Church
The Bible Way Pentecostal Apostolic Church was founded by Curtis P. Jones. Jones began as a pastor in North Carolina in the Church of God (Apostolic), but left that church to join the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith under Robert Clarence Lawson. He became pastor of the St. Paul Apostolic Church in Henry County, Virginia. Jones left during the internal disruption within Bishop Lawson's church in 1957, but did not join with Smallwood E. Williams' Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Rather, in 1960, with two other congregations in Virginia, he founded a new denomination. A fourth church was soon added. In 1980 the church had four congregations, all in Virginia.
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Calvary Pentecostal Church(Defunct) Organization Notes: The Calvary Pentecostal Church was formed in 1931 by a group of Pentecostal ministers in the northwestern United States who were dissatisfied by what they regarded as "a sad departure from the entire dependence on the power of God that had brought the Pentecostal revival." They formed a ministerial fellowship in Olympia, Washington, which was the following year named the Calvary Pentecostal Church. What was originally intended as an interdenominational fellowship became a denomination as churches began to affiliate. The doctrine was like that of the Assemblies of God. Healing was emphasized. Adult baptism by immersion was practiced, but when parents requested it, infants were dedicated to God (not baptized). The literal second coming was awaited. The church was governed in a loose presbyterial system headed by a presbyterial board and the general superintendent. A general meeting of all ministers and local church delegates was held annually. The local churches were governed by the minister, elders, and deacons. The church supported a home for the aged in Seattle and foreign work in Brazil and India. By the early 1970s, there were 22 churches and 8,000 members, however, internal problems disrupted the church and led to its disbanding. Not reported.
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Carolina Evangelistic AssociationGarr Memorial Church Organization Notes: Dr. A. G. Garr was the first foreign missionary of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). He left the church in 1906, immediately after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He continued to do foreign missionary work until 1912, when he returned to the United States and began to operate as an evangelist in the days when Pentecostals were still a small, scattered group. He was particularly active in the early years of the Angelus Temple, the Los Angeles center for the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel headed by Aimee Semple McPherson. In 1930, he went to Charlotte, North Carolina, to conduct a tent revival. After three months, those who had been saved, healed, and helped asked him to remain. Fifty-six years old then, he remained and built a tabernacle. An abandoned city auditorium was bought, remodeled, and named Garr Auditorium; it remains as the headquarters of the association. Garr died in 1944 and was succeeded by his wife and son as pastors. The Carolina Evangelistic Association carries on an active program through Garr Auditorium and Faith Chapel, both in Charlotte. There are missionaries supported by the Association in numerous countries. A regular program of services is conducted in the county jail and the county home. The "Morning Thought for the Day Magazine" radio show is their radio ministry. Camp Lurecrest for youth is located at Lake Lure, North Carolina. The church is a member of the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America. Not reported. Approximately 1,000 people regularly attend worship at Garr Auditorium.
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Church of God in Christ369 G.E. Patterson Ave. Organization Notes: The Church of God in Christ was established in 1894 in Jackson, Mississippi, by Charles H. Mason, at that time an independent Baptist minister who four years previously had been affected by the holiness movement and sanctified. With a colleague, Elder C. P. Jones, he had founded the Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.. He had as a child of twelve been healed suddenly of a sickness that almost killed him. In 1907, two events further changed his life. Elder Jones convinced him that he did not yet have the fullness of the Holy Spirit, for, if he did, he would have the power to heal the sick, cast out devils, and raise the dead. He also heard of the meetings at Azusa Street in Los Angeles, went there, was baptized in the Spirit and spoke in tongues. In August, 1908, the new doctrine and experience was presented to the representatives of the Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A. convention in Jackson. At a meeting of those who accepted Pentecostalism, a General Assembly of the Church of God in Christ was organized. Mason was elected general overseer. (This brief history is at odds with the history presented in the item elsewhere in this Encyclopedia on the Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.; the two churches involved tell two different stories.) The Church of God in Christ was organized in an ascending hierarchy of overseer (pastor), state overseer, and general overseer. There are annual state convocations which decide on disputed matters and assign pastors, and a general convocation for matters of the general church. Upon the death of Bishop Mason in 1961, a series of reorganizational steps began. Power reverted to the seven bishops who made up the executive commission. This group was extended to twelve in 1962 and O. T. Jones, Jr., was named "senior bishop." An immediate controversy began over the focus of power and a constitutional convention was scheduled. In 1967, a court in Memphis ruled that the powers of the senior bishop and executive board should remain intact until the constitutional convention in 1968. That year reorganization took place and power was invested in a quadrennial general assembly and a general board of twelve with a presiding bishop to conduct administration between meetings of the general assembly. Doctrine is similar to that of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. The group believes in the Trinity, holiness, healing, and the premillennial return of Christ. Three ordinances are recognized: baptism by immersion, the Lord's Supper, and foot-washing. . In 1987 the church reported 3,000,000 members, 10,500 congregations and 31,896 ministers in the United States. There were 21 congregations and 33 ministers in Canada and an additional 700,000 members in 43 countries around the world. Charles H. Mason Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to the seminary in Atlanta (now part of the Interdenominational Theological Center), the church supports the C. H. Mason System of Bible Colleges which includes a number of schools attached to local congregations both in the United States and abroad.
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Church of God in Christ Jesus (Apostolic)
The Church of God in Christ Jesus (Apostolic) was founded in 1946 in Baltimore, Maryland, by Randolph A. Carr and Monroe R. Saunders, both former ministers in the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. The doctrine followed that of the parent body. The church had very strict standards concerning divorce and remarriage which led to complaints by Saunders that the standards were not being uniformly enforced. The controversy led him to break with Carr and take the majority of members to found the United Church of Jesus Christ (Apostolic). Carr continued to lead the Church of God in Christ Jesus (Apostolic) until his death in 1972. Not reported.
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Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith2081 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. Organization Notes: The Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith was founded in New York City, in 1919 by Robert Clarence Lawson (d. 1961), who as a pastor in the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World had founded churches in Texas and Missouri. At one point in his early life when he was ill he had been taken to the Apostolic Faith Assembly Church, a leading church of the Pentecostal Assemblies, and its pastor, Garfield Thomas Haywood. Healed, Lawson joined the Assemblies and adopted their non-trinitarian theology. However, in 1919 he left Haywood's jurisdiction and, moving to New York City, founded Refuge Church of Christ, the first congregation in his new independent church. Given Lawson's effective leadership, the organization grew quickly. Other congregations were established and a radio ministry, a periodical, a day nursery, and several businesses were initiated. In 1926 he opened a bible school to train pastors. In the 1930s, Lawson began a series of trips to the West Indies, which led to congregations being formed in Jamaica, Antigua, the Virgin Islands, and Trinidad. His lengthy tenure as bishop of the church was a time of steady growth, broken only by two schisms by Sherrod C. Johnson, (Church of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, 1930) and Smallwood E. Williams, (Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, 1957). Lawson was succeeded by Hubert Spencer and by the present presiding apostle, Bishop William Lee Bonner. Doctrine is like the older Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. Footwashing is practiced and the baptism of the Holy Spirit is believed to be necessary for salvation. The church is headed by the presiding apostle, who is assisted by six regional apostles. There is an annual convocation. Affiliated churches can be found in the West Indies, Africa, England, and Germany. In 1992, the church reported 30,000 members in 500 churches. Church of Christ Bible Institute, New York, New York.
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Churches of Christ (Pentecostal)Conference on Spiritual Renewal Organization Notes: As the Charismatic movement moved through the major denominations in the late 1960s, it began to attract both ministers and laity in congregations of the Churches of Christ. Among the early Charismatics was singer Pat Boone, who in 1971 was disfellowshipped from his congregation in Inglewood, California. Among the early ministers to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and subsequently speak-in-tongues (the definitive experience of members of the Charismatic movement) were Dean Dennis, Dwyatt Gantt, and Don Finto. In 1976 a group of 12 ministers met in Nashville, Tennessee, where Finto led the Belmont Church of Christ and organized the first Conference on Spiritual Renewal. The conference, which still meets annually, provided a unifying structure for those involved with the movement. Like other segments of the Churches of Christ, the Charismatic churches are loosely organized in a congregation-free church polity. There is no central headquarters or governing structure. Inter-congregational gatherings are for fellowship and inspiration only. Prominent congregations identified with the charismatic Churches of Christ include Orange Park Christian Church, Jacksonville, Florida; Calvary Chapel, Atlanta, Georgia; and Quail Ridge Church of Christ, Houston, Texas. Some of these congregations deviate from the main body of the Churches of Christ by their introduction of instrumental music. Popular recording star Amy Grant is a member of Belmont Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee. Not reported.
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Colonial Village Pentecostal Church of the NazareneOrganization Notes: The Colonial Village Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene grew out of an independent congregation founded in 1968 by Bernard Gill, a former minister in the Church of the Nazarene. There followed an attempt to form the true church composed solely of "wholly sanctified holy people with the gifts of the Spirit operating among them," who then accepted as their goal and mission the reformation of the parent denomination. Gill had begun to think of himself as "God's Prophet of the Latter Rain," and he received numerous revelations directly from God, as did one of the members, Mescal McIntosh. These were published in a periodical, the Macedonian Call in 1974. In the July 3rd issue, a resurrection was predicted. Two weeks later, Gill died. On August 11 a letter to readers of the Macedonian Call announced the belief of Gill's faithful followers that the prophecy obviously applied to their pastor, and that they were waiting in faith. Not reported. No recent information has been received and the present status of the church is unknown.
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Congregational Holiness Church3888 Fayetteville Hwy. Organization Notes: In 1920 a controversy over divine healing arose in the Georgia Conference of the Pentecostal Holiness Church, now known as the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. One faction contended that the healing provisions in the atonement were sufficient, and that human aids (doctors) were unnecessary. While this faction admitted the therapeutic value of effective remedies, such remedies were not considered necessary for God to heal. The other faction, led by Rev. Watson Sorrow, insisted that God had placed medicine on earth for man's use. The group against doctors relied on the Biblical phrase about Christ's passion, "By his stripes you are healed." The names of the Rev. Watson Sorrow and Hugh Bowling were dropped from the ministerial roll of the Pentecostal Holiness Church without their first being tried by the board of the Georgia annual conference of which they were members. A number of ministers withdrew with them, and together they organized the Congregational Holiness Church. They expressed differences with their parent body on the concentration of power in a few hands, so they attempted to democratize the church government. Consequently their polity is not episcopal, like that of the Pentecostal Holiness Church. Their polity is a moderate connectional system: local churches are grouped in associations which elect delegates to a general association with legislative powers. Pastors are called by vote of the congregation. Men and women may be ordained. Mission work is going forth in Cuba, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, India, Nicaragua, and Spain. In 1995 the church reported 7,000 members, 175 churches, and 429 ministers.
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Door of Faith Church and Bible School1161 Young St. Organization Notes: The Door of Faith Church and Bible School was founded by Mildred Johnson Brostek. Raised a Methodist, she experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit in an Assemblies of God church in Florida. She later joined the Pentecostal Holiness Church (now known as the International Pentecostal Holiness Church), which licensed her to preach. She graduated from the Holmes Theological Seminary and soon thereafter went to the Hawaiian Islands where she had earlier felt a call from God to go as a missionary. In 1937, she began to hold evangelistic services on Molokai in the home of a native Hawaiian. The services prospered and in 1940, the Door of Faith Churches of Hawaii was chartered and the work soon spread to the other islands. The church is headed by the Reverend Brostek who is the church's overseer. There is an annual conference. A daily radio ministry is broacast over two stations, one in Honolulu and one in Hilo, Hawaii. Not reported. There are churches at a number of locations in Hawaii and a prosperous mission has developed in the Philippines, where a Bible college has been opened. There is one church in New York. In 1979, there were 40 churches and 3,000 members in Hawaii and missions work in Okinawa and Indonesia. Door of Faith Bible School, Honolulu, Hawaii.
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Elim Fellowship7245 College St. Organization Notes: In 1924, the Rev. and Mrs. Ivan Q. Spencer opened a pentecostal Bible institute in Endicott, New York, to train young men and women for full-time revival ministry. Graduates of the Elim Bible Institute formed the Elim Ministerial Fellowship in 1932, which eventually became the Elim Fellowship in 1972. In 1951, the school moved to Lima, New York, where it occupies the campus of the former Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded in the nineteenth century by the Methodist Church. The doctrine of the Fellowship is similar to that of the Assemblies of God, with a strong emphasis upon the Holy Spirit-filled and sanctified life of the believer. Spencer was strongly affected by the Latter Rain revival which began in Canada in 1948. He and others brought the revival to the school, publicized it in the Elim Herald, and took a leadership role in spreading the renewed emphasis upon the gifts of the Spirit being poured out on God's people in the last days. The fellowship is governed congregationally. An annual meeting is held each spring at Lima. Elim Fellowship-sponsored missionaries are currently at work around the world, on all continents. The founder's son, I. Carlton Spencer succeeded his father in the leadership of the fellowship, overseeing it from 1947 to 1985. Rev. Bernard Evans is the current general chairman. The fellowship holds membership in the Pentecostal and the Charismatic Churches of North America, and on the North American Renewal Service Committee. Not reported. Elim Bible Institute, Lima, New York. Nairobi Pentecostal Bible College, Nairobi, Kenya.
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Emmanuel Holiness ChurchBox 818 Organization Notes: In 1953, controversy over standards of dress among the members of the Pentecostal Fire-Baptized Holiness Church led to a vote to divide the church. One issue which occasioned the split was the use of neckties, which the Pentecostal Fire-Baptized Holiness Church explicity forbids. Those who voted for the split elected Rev. L. O. Sellers chairman and formed the Emmanuel Holiness Church. It differs from its parent body only on minor points of dress, a more congregational form of government, and tithing which is required of members. A general assembly of all ministers and one delegate from each church has limited legislative powers. Not reported. In 1967 there were 72 congregations and 118 ministers.
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European Pentecostal Theological Association (EPTA)c/o Christer Englund Phone: 46 8 56022200 Contact(s): Christer Englund, Chm. Organization Notes: Founded: 1979. NATIONAL. Description: Works as a fellowship for those engaged in Pentecostal education of ministerial training in Europe; aims to strengthen the testimony of Jesus Christ and His Church in Europe and to bring glory to God in all actions and concerns. Evangelistic Faith Missions (EFM)PO Box 609 Phone: (812) 275-7531 Contact(s): Rev. J. Stevan Manley, Dir. Organization Notes: Founded: 1905. Languages: English. NATIONAL. Description: Sponsors missionary work worldwide including medical, educational, and spiritual services. Conducts broadcasts on 42 radio stations in the U.S. and abroad. Provides children's services; compiles statistics. Formerly: Pentecostal Faith Missions.
Publications: Missionary Herald, monthly. Newspaper. Contains
missionary reports and spiritual articles. Price: $2.00/year.
Circulation: 25,000. Advertising: not accepted. Subject Descriptors:
Evangelistic Faith Missions (EFM)PO Box 609 Phone: (812) 275-7531 Contact(s): Rev. J. Stevan Manley, Dir. Organization Notes: Founded: 1905. Languages: English. Description: Sponsors missionary work worldwide including medical, educational, and spiritual services. Conducts broadcasts on 42 radio stations in the U.S. and abroad. Provides children's services; compiles statistics. Formerly: Pentecostal Faith Missions.
Publications: Missionary Herald, monthly. Newspaper. Contains
missionary reports and spiritual articles. Price: $2.00/year.
Circulation: 25,000. Advertising: not accepted. Subject Descriptors:
Fire-Baptized Holiness Church of God of the AmericasOrganization Notes: W. E. Fuller (1875-1958), the only black man in attendance at the 1898 organizing conference of the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church, became the leader of almost a thousand black people over the next decade. Feelings of discrimination led to their withdrawal and they organized the Colored Fire-Baptized Holiness Church at Anderson, South Carolina, on May 1, 1908. The white body gave them their accumulated assets and property at this time. Reverend Fuller was elected overseer and bishop. Doctrine is the same as in the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, the body that absorbed the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church. Legislative and executive authority are vested in a general council that meets every four years and in the eleven-member executive council (composed of bishops, district elders, and pastors). Mission work is under one of the bishops. Not reported. In 1968 the church reported 53 churches and 9,088 members.
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Free Will Baptist Church of the Pentecostal FaithOrganization Notes: The Free Will Baptist Church of the Pentecostal Faith was formed in the 1950s when some members of the South Carolina Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church Conference decided not to participate in the reorganization that led to the formation of the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church. Those who abstained adopted a constitution and chose a new name. They are at one doctrinally with the other Pentecostal Free Will Baptists. The polity is congregational. The annual conference is to approve teachings, methods and conduct, and to encourage fellowship and evangelism. A general board headed by the conference superintendent functions between conference meetings. The Foreign Missions Department oversees work in Costa Rica. Camp meetings are periodically sponsored. Not reported. In 1967 there were 33 congregations and 39 ministers.
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Full Gospel Pentecostal Association1032 N. Sumner Organization Notes: The Full Gospel Pentecostal Association is a predominantly black Pentecostal church founded in 1970 by Bp. Adolph A. Wells, Rev. Edna Travis, and Bp. S. D. Leffall. It is a loosely organized association of independent Pentecostal congregations that supports a prison ministry, a national women's organization (Full Gospel Pentecostal Association for Women on the Move) and an international fellowship with similar Pentecostal groups in Africa. It is one of several similar bodies that belongs to the ecumenical Federated Pentecostal Church International led by Bishop Leffall, who also serves a church in Seattle, Washington. Not reported.
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General Conference of the Evangelical Baptist ChurchOrganization Notes: The General Conference of the Evangelical Baptist Church was organized in 1935 as the Church of the Full Gospel, Inc. It is Pentecostal and holiness in emphasis, following a theology close to that of the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church. It stresses spiritual gifts, healing, and the pretribulation, premillennial return of Christ. Four ordinances are recognized--baptism by immersion, communion, the dedication of children, and tithing. The dedication of children is a form of christening that is distinct from baptism. The polity is congregational. There is an annual conference which elects officers. In the local church, the pastor is the chief officer. He is elected by the congregation and has the power to appoint or nominate all church officers. Not reported. Evangelical Theological Seminary, Goldsboro, North Carolina. William Carter College, Goldsboro, North Carolina.
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Gospel Assemblies (Sowders/Goodwin)Gospel Assembly Church Organization Notes: History. William Sowders (1879-1952) was one of the early Pentecostal leaders in the Midwest. He was brought into the movement through the labors of Bob Shelton who had established a work in Olmstead, Illinois. In 1912, Sowders, a former Methodist, was converted and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit on a gospel boat which Shelton was operating on the Ohio River. In 1914, Sowders began preaching at various locations, finally settling in Evansville, Indiana, in 1921. In 1923, Sowders conducted his first camp meeting at Elco, Illinois. Here he began to introduce the distinctive teachings that were to separate him from the main body of Pentecostals and lead to the emergence of what became known as the Gospel of the Kingdom movement or the Gospel Assembly Churches movement. Sowders developed his position in the context of the debates between the trinitarian Pentecostals and the Apostolic or Oneness Pentcostals, whose ideas denying the traditional doctrine of the Trinity had been spread through the Midwest by Thomas Garfield Haywood, founder of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. Sowders proposed a middle position and suggested that there were two persons in the Godhead, God the Father, a Spirit being, and Jesus the Son, a Heavenly Creature. The Holy Ghost was not a person, it was the essence or Spirit of God which filled all space. Since the Son possessed the same name as the Father, God's name was Jesus. Jesus was the name given to the family of God in Heaven and in earth. Baptism was, therefore, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, i.e., Jesus. He also emphasized that the formula for baptism was not as important as the action, that baptism became an action done in Jesus' name and for his sake, but could not be done in Jesus' name if one belonged to Babylon. In 1927, Sowders relocated in Louisville, Kentucky, where he lived for the rest of his life. In 1935, he purchased a 350-acre tract near Shepherdsville, Kentucky, which became the Gospel of the Kingdom Campground, a place for camp meetings and annual ministerial gatherings. Estimates vary, but as many as 200 ministers and 25,000 members in 31 states were associated with the movement at the time of Sowders' death in 1952. Following his death there were attempts by several ministers to assume leadership and several schisms emerged. The larger fellowship continued until 1965 under the direction of Tom M. Jolly. The movement continued, however, as a loose fellowship of ministers who pastored independent gospel assemblies. Among these men was Lloyd L. Goodwin (d.1996), a young minister at the time of Sowders passing, whose parents had been among the early converts of Sowders' ministry. In 1963, Goodwin moved to Des Moines, Iowa, to pastor the Gospel Assembly Church, a congregation of less than 30 members. Over the next decade he built it into a large stable congregation. In the late 1960s, due to his missionary activities, new congregations were started around the United States. In the early 1970s, Goodwin began to encounter tension with the larger fellowship of Gospel of the Kingdom ministers who rejected some of the doctrines which Goodwin believed had been revealed to him by God through his study of the scriptures. The break with the fellowship came in 1972. After the break with the larger fellowship, a new movement began to grow around Goodwin beginning with those few ministers and congregations who sided with him. In 1973, he outlined a six-point program to his congregation in Des Moines. It included the development of the local assembly, the dissemination of Goodwin's teachings in print and sound media, and the sending of ministers to found other assemblies both in the United States and abroad. In 1974, the Gospel Assembly Christian Academy, a Christian elementary and high school, was opened. The following year foreign work was initiated in Toronto, Canada, and Poona, India. Africa, Singapore, and the Philippines soon followed. A book and tape ministry was launched in 1977. Goodwin has written a number of substantial volumes which detail his distinct Bible teachings, especially on eschatological matters. A radio ministry begun on one station in 1981 had grown by 1987 to 17 stations that reached most of the eastern half of the United States and the West Indies. Beliefs. Apart from the distinctive ideas about the Godhead first articulated by Sowders, the Gospel Assemblies have a statement of faith which affirms many of the traditional evangelical Christian beliefs in the authority of the Bible, creation, the fall of humanity, the vicarious substitutionary atonement of Christ, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, water baptism, and the imminent second coming. It is the belief of the movement that Christ will come while some who are alive today are still living. The ordinance of holy communion is also recognized and observed. Organization. The Gospel Assemblies is described as a fellowship of ministers and saints around the world, where no church is organized above the local level, and yet where each assembly is in fellowship with all, and all acknowledge and are part of each in the fellowship. The churches recognize five ministerial offices in the church. First, apostles establish the work throughout the body of Christ. According to the Gospel Assemblies, "There is not another office in the ministry as authoritative as that of the apostle. The apostle stands next to Christ." Goodwin was such an apostle. Second, the prophet exhorts, edifies, and comforts. Third, the evangelists preach the news of salvation. Fourth, the pastors shepherd the saints. Fifth, the teachers instruct the church in doctrine. The five offices are not appointed, but recognized as possessed by some as gifts of God. A single individual may hold several of these offices. Appointed to handle the temporal affairs of the local church are deacons under the supervision of elders. There are regular conventions of the churches around the world, the main convention being held at Des Moines each May. Prior to his death, Goodwin began to call for the healng of the divisions in the fellowship of churches that originated under Sowders. He proclaimed that the end-time church will confront organized religion and an apostate state; and further that the fellowship of churches that orginated with William Sowders, or a remnant of that fellowship, will be raised up by God to give a final witness to the world. Since his death in 1996, there has been increasing communication and fellowship between the various divisions of the movement that originated with William Sowders. In 2002, there are an estimated 250 congregations and approximately 50,000 members. Gospel assemblies in fellowship with the Gospel Assembly Church in Des Moines can now be found across the United States (including Hawaii), Canada, Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Norway, England, India, Singapore, Australia, the Philippines, South America, and throughout the continent of Africa.
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Independent Churches of the Latter-Rain RevivalImportant centers: Faith Temple, 672 N. Trezevant, Memphis, TN 38112; Glad Tidings Temple, 3456 Fraser St., Vancouver, BC V5V 4C4; House of Prayer Church, Box 707, Springfield, MO 65801; Bethesda Missionary Temple, Box 4682, Detroit, MI 48234; Praise Tabernacle, Box 785, Richlands, NC 28574; Restoration Temple, 2633 Denver St., San Diego, CA 92110. Current address not obtained for this edition Organization Notes: History. The Latter-Rain Movement emerged after World War II among Pentecostals who had come to believe that the Pentecostal Movement which had grown from the revival at Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California, earlier this century had reached a low ebb. The movement had divided into a number of warring factions, and worship had become dry and formalized. In February 1948, a spiritual revival brokeout at the Sharon Bible College, an independent Pentecostal school at North Battleford, Saskatchewan, headed by George Hawtin, a former minister with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. The revival was characterized by the development of a number of doctrinal innovations and new practices, including the laying-on-of-hands for the reception of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the five-fold ministry, a recognition of the importance of the Jewish feast of Pentecost and Tabernacles; a distrust of denominations and denominationalism; and the manifestation of the sons of God. There was also a renewed emphasis upon the gifts of prophecy and healing in contrast to the older Pentecostal churches where they had largely disappeared. As the revival spread, ministers and leaders from the older churches came to Battleford to see what was occurring. Their news about the doctrinal emphases and the variant practices led to a break between the revival's leaders and promoters with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada and the Assemblies of God, the two largest Pentecostal bodies in Canada and the United States respectively. Pastors and denominational officials who continued to participate in the revival and spread its doctrines were expelled from the Assemblies. Their break with the older Pentecostal bodies merely served to increase their dislike of denominational powers. Many of these became itinerate evangelists while others established independent congregations. These congregations rejected any formal denominational life. Many remained as simple small independent churches (frequently sharing a pastor with his secular job). Many of these new independent congregations, over subsequent decades, developed into a fellowship of associated congregations, and hence became, in effect, a new denomination. Included in this category would be the Body of Christ Movement, the Endtime Body-Christian Ministries, Inc., The Independent Assemblies of God, and the Church of the Living God. However, many congregations have remained free and independent through the last four decades. Together they form a distinct group of Pentecostal churches and will be the possible seedbed for new circles of fellowship. These congregations have developed an informal relationship through the sharing of publications, speakers, and various special events. Thus each church remains completely autonomous, keeping is own name and issuing its own literature, while relating to other congregations which grew out of the revival through support of locally promoted national conventions, camp meetings, shared publications, and missionary tours by prominent elders. Several hundred such independent congregations exist in North America, and form a circle of interlocking fellowship. A very few of the prominent centers are discussed below. Beliefs. The Latter-Rain Movement accepted the basic beliefs of Pentecostalism. It did not so much reject any of the doctrines of the Assemblies of God and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada as it added to them and added in such a way as to create a new way of understanding the faith. Decisive for the movement was its understanding of history and of the present time being the final climax to history, i.e., the "latter days." Members of the movement view Christian history as a movement of disintegration and restoration. Following the apostolic era, the church began to fall away from the pristine nature of the original generations. That process gained ascendency through the Roman Catholic Church. However, beginning with Luther, God began a process of restoring the church. That process continued through John Wesley and the Methodists and more recently the Pentecostals. The Latter-Rain continues the Restoration process. The unique teachings and practices of the movement restore at least a remnant of the church to its destined state, the purity and holiness necessary for it to be the bride of Christ. Most of the new ideas emerged during the original revival in North Battleford. Undergirding these new ideas as a whole was an interpretation of Isaiah 43: 18-19, which equated the "new things" mentioned in the verses with revelation yet to come. The new move of God included the following: (1) The practice of laying-hands on people so that they could receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and initiate the exercise of various gifts of the Spirit (I Corinthians 12:4-11). This practice contrasted sharply with the common practice in Pentecostalism to advise those seeking the baptism to tarry or wait upon God until it was given as God willed. (2) The acceptance of the local church (as opposed to denominational structures) and the basic unit of church life. From Ephesians 4:11-12, the revival saw a divinely appointed church order in the five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, missionaries (or evangelists), pastors, and teachers. The controversy surrounded the addition of apostles and prophets. The apostles were people who operated on a trans-local church context as divinely appointed leaders, as opposed to denominational executives. Prophets brought immediate inspired words of revelation to the congregation of believers. Almost from the beginning of the revival, the prophets spoke "directive prophecies," i.e., words understood as direct messages from God which offered particular advice and/or admonition to people and groups. (3) The restoration of all nine gifts of the Spirit of I Corinthians 12. Through the Christian and Missionary Alliance, the gift of healing had been restored, and through the Pentecostal Movement, the gift of tongues. However, as the revival proceeded, all of the gifts, especially the gift of prophecy, began to operate. (4) The modern fulfillment of the Jewish "feast of tabernacles." This teaching, ascribed to George Warnock, saw the three great feasts of Israel being fulfilled in the Church, the New Israel. The feast of Passover was fulfilled in Christ's death and resurrection. The feast of Pentecost was fulfilled in the creation of the Church and the giving of the Spirit. Yet to be fulfilled was the prayer of Jesus recorded in John 17:21 concerning the bringing together of the body of Christ free of spots and wrinkles. (5) The idea of the manifested sons of God. Members of the movement believed that God would in the near future glorify individual people who would in turn be invested with authority to set creation free from its present state of bondage and decay. Those so prepared would be fit vessels as the bride of Christ. Prominent Ministries. As is to be expected the Latter-Rain Movement spread first throughout Western Canada. Reg Layzell, pastor of Glad Tidings Temple in Vancouver, British Columbia, attended meetings at North Battleford in the summer of 1948, and in November invited Hawtin and others from Sharon to bring their message to his church. As a result, Glad Tiding Temple accepted the new truths and became a major center for dissiminating the message throughout the continent. Layzell authored several important books and developed a particular emphasis within the movement as a whole upon the praise of God as a special activity for believers. He was suceeded by B. Maureen Gaglardi as senior pastor. The Bethesda Missionary Temple in Detroit, Michigan, was among the first congregations in the United States to join in the revival. When in November 1948, Hawtin and others from the school carried the Latter-Rain message to Glad Tidings Temple, in Vancouver, Myrtle D. Beall, a pastor of the Assemblies of God, was present and became an enthusiastic supporter of the revival. Returning to Detroit, a revival brokeout in her church which attracted many future converts and leaders of the movement including Ivan Q. Spencer, head of the Elim Missionary Assemblies and Stanley Frodsham, prominent leader in the Assemblies of God. In 1949 Beall led in the construction of a larger church building which could seat 3,000 people. The new building was completed in time to encounter the first major attacks by the Assemblies of God on the Latter-Rain Movement and the church soon became independent. In 1951 Beall began the Latter Rain Evangel, which helped spread the Latter-Rain across the United States. Today the Bethesda Missionary Temple is pastored by James Lee Beall who succeeded his mother as pastor. The church operates the Bethesda Christian Schools which provide education for first grade through high school. The church sponsors two annual festivals each spring and fall which bring many outstanding Pentecostal ministers to Detroit each year. Plans for a new sanctuary in Sterling Heights, a Detroit suburb, have been announced. Among the oldest of Latter-Rain churches is Faith Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. The Rev. Paul N. Grubb and his wife, the Rev. Lula J. Grubb, were dropped from the ministerial list of the Assemblies of God in December 1949 (at the same time that Myrtle Buell was dropped). They were possibly the first spokespersons for the revival in the south and have continued to head the church he founded almost forty years ago. Grubb also established a bible school and sponsors an annual national convention each summer. He leads two influential books, The End-Time Revival and Manifested Sonship. Restoration Temple in San Diego, California, is pastored by Graham Truscott, and his wife, Pamela Truscott. Graham Truscott is from New Zealand, where he was raised a Methodist. He became a lay minister but while in college he heard about and then accepted the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He became a missionary to India in 1960. Upon his return to the United States he began Restoration Temple. Truscott is best known in the Latter-Rain circles as the author of The Power of His Presence, a lengthy treatment on the feast of tabernacles. The church distributes this book and others he has authored, as well as numerous cassette tapes on Latter-Rain or Restoration themes. The House of Prayer Church was started in Springfield, Missouri, in the early 1960s by Bill Britton (1918-1986), a former Assemblies of God Minister. Following several years as a marine in World War II, Britton attended Central Bible College and in 1949 was ordained by the Assemblies. However, having become involved in the Latter-Rain revival, he left the Assemblies and denominationalism the following year. For the next decade he worked as an evangelist, during which time he spent one important semester as an instructor at the bible school operated by Faith Temple in Memphis. (Faith Temple was also an important early Latter-Rain congregation, led for many years by Paul Grubb.) While in Memphis, Britton developed his understanding of the "overcomers." He came to feel that the church would have to go through the times of tribulation in the last days, as opposed to many of his colleagues who believe that the church will be raptured out of the world before this last terrible time for the earth. Shortly after leaving the school, he also developed the idea of a plurality of leadership in the local church. He felt that the church should be headed by a group of elders who mutually submit to each other rather than by a single autocratic pastor. This idea was later instituted in his congregation. Britton became a popular speaker and writer in Latter-Rain circles. Voice of the Overcomer, the literature ministry established even prior to the congregation, regularly distributes numerous tapes, books, and tracts. He also initiated a correspondence course, and Park Avenue Christian School, a Bible school for kindergarten through high school. Semiannual national conventions are held in March and October. The church supports missionaries in 10 countries. Since Britton's death, the family, particularly Britton's son Philip Britton, and the Voice of the Overcomer staff continued the evangelistic and pastoral work. Praise Tabernacle in Richlands, North Carolina, was founded in 1978 by Kelley H. Varner (b. 1949), a close associate of the late Bill Britton. Varner is one of the best educated leaders in the Latter-Rain Movement having several graduate degrees and having been for seven years a former Bible school teacher. It was during the years he taught that he accepted the truth of the Restoration message and left his teaching position to become pastor of congregation. Varner has become one of the major advocates of the Latter-Rain emphases through his radio ministry and the broad distribution of numerous tapes (many of his radio show) and writings across the United States. He publishes an extensive catalog of tapes and books biannually. There are several hundred congregations which have developed out of the Latter-Rain Movement in the United States and Canada, but no census of the membership has been attempted. Overcomer Training Center, Springfield, Missouri. The Latter-Rain Movement was opposed almost from the beginning by the Assemblies of God and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. In the 1980s, it has joined the list of groups attacked by the Christian counter-cult spokespersons and organizations. Of particular concern has been the doctrine of the manifested sons of God. Critics of the Latter-Rain have accused them of teaching that humans who enter into the sonship experience are considered essentially divine themselves, thus obscuring the distinction between creature and Creator, a vital part of orthodox Christian thought. Latter-Rain spokespersons deny any such attempt to assume the role of God, but state that sonship is an actual gaining of the image and likeness of Christ by members of the His church as stated in I Corinthians 15 :45-47.
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International Ministerial Association9455 Lackland Rd. Organization Notes: The International Ministerial Association, Inc. was formed in 1954 by W. E. Kidson and twenty other pastors formerly with the United Pentecostal Church. It practices baptism by immersion and foot-washing. Tithing is believed to be the financial plan of the church. A strong belief in the Second Coming is taught, and the group believes in a distinct judgment where believers only will be rewarded. An annual international conference is the place for fellowship of the ministers, who hold credentials through the Association and the members of the autonomous congregations which accept the statement of faith. Herald Publishing House is located in Houston, Texas. Not reported. In the early 1970s, there were 440 ministerial members and 117 affiliated congregations.
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International Pentecostal Church of ChristPO Box 439 Organization Notes: The International Pentecostal Church of Christ was formed in 1976 by a merger of the International Pentecostal Assemblies and the Pentecostal Church of Christ. The International Pentecostal Assemblies was formed in 1936 by the merger of the Association of Pentecostal Assemblies and the National and International Pentecostal Missionary Union. The former body was an outgrowth of a periodical, The Bridegroom's Messenger, which had been founded in 1907. The Association of Pentecostal Assemblies was founded in 1921 in Atlanta by Elizabeth A. Sexton, Hattie M. Barth, and Paul T. Barth. The National and International Pentecostal Missionary Union was founded in 1914 by Dr. Philip Wittich. In 1908, evangelist John Stroup of South Solon, Ohio, received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, signified by his speaking in tongues. In 1913, he began to travel through southeastern Ohio and the adjacent territory in Kentucky and West Virginia, organizing churches in that area. In 1917 at Advance (Flatwoods), Kentucky, a group of ministers met, organized the Pentecostal Church of Christ, and appointed Stroup bishop. In 1927, the Pentecostal Church of Christ was incorporated. The doctrine of the merged church follows closely that of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). Members believe in healing, the premillennial return of Christ, a personal devil, Sunday as the Lord's rest day, and two ordinances--baptism and the Lord's Supper. Footwashing is optional for local assemblies and believers. Organization of the small church is congregational with a general overseer elected every two years. Women are admitted to the ordained ministry. The Bridegroom's Messenger continues as the official periodical and is now the oldest continuously published Pentecostal publication. Missions are supported in Brazil, India, Mexico, Kenya, the Philippines, and Uruguay. In 2001 the church reported 5,453 members, 69 churches, and 152 ministers. There were 160,000 members worldwide. Beulah Heights Bible College, Atlanta, Georgia.
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International Pentecostal Holiness ChurchPO Box 12609 Organization Notes: In addition to those Pentecostal churches that derive from the Rev. Charles Parham and the Apostolic Church and the Topeka Bible School, which he founded, there is a Pentecostal group that begins with Benjamin Hardin Irwin. He was a Baptist who had received the experience of sanctification under the influence of the Iowa Holiness Association, a group made up mostly of Methodists. As a holiness minister, he began to delve into Methodist writings, in particular those of John Fletcher, the eighteenth-century Wesleyan divine. In Fletcher he found what he felt to be an experience for sanctified believers, described as a "baptism of burning love." Eventually Irwin claimed to have received this "baptism of fire," and he began to teach and preach about it. Also called "fire baptism," the experience was related to the Apostles' reception of the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire on Pentecost, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. Irwin's preaching of a third experience beyond justification and sanctification (called the "second blessing" in the holiness churches) led to controversy. He and his followers were the objects of intense criticism. The "third blessing" spread across the Midwest and South. In 1895, the Fire-Baptized Holiness Association was organized in Iowa. Other state and local organizations followed. Irwin exercised authority over each and appointed the presidents. From July 28 to August 8, 1898, a First General Convention was held at Anderson, South Carolina, and formal organization of the Fire-Baptized Holiness Association occurred. Among those in attendance was W. E. Fuller, who later founded the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas. The 1898 convention adopted a Discipline, which provided for life tenure for the general overseer who was given wide-ranging authority and control over the work. The association soon took the name of the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church. Within two years, involved in a personal scandal, Irwin left the church and turned it over to Joseph H. King, a former Methodist minister who had been assisting him in running the church. Contemporaneous with the ministry of Irwin was that of A. B. Crumpler. Crumpler, a Methodist minister in North Carolina, had received the second-blessing sanctification experience the "second blessing" was the basic distinguishing mark of the holiness movement. Crumpler received his sanctification experience through the ministry of the Rev. Beverly Carradine, a famous Southern Methodist holiness preacher. He became the leading exponent of the "second blessing" in North Carolina, and in 1896, a great holiness movement began there. In 1899, Crumpler was tried for ignoring some of the organizational rules of the Methodist Church. He withdrew and the following year formed the Pentecostal Holiness Church at Fayetteville, North Carolina. In 1906, the Rev. G. B. Cashwell, a Pentecostal Holiness minister, attended the Pentecostal revival services which were occurring on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California, and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced by his speaking in tongues. Cashwell headed eastward to introduce the experience to his brothers and sisters. On New Years's Eve, 1906, he began a revival at Dunn, North Carolina, and introduced the experience to the Pentecostal Holiness Church. He also led J. H. King into the experience. Not without controversy, both the Pentecostal Holiness Church and the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church accepted the new experience in 1908. A merger under the name of the former occurred in 1911. It became the International Pentecostal Holiness Church in 1975. The Pentecostal Holiness Church insists that the Pentecostal experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, signified by speaking in tongues, is valid only as a "third blessing." In other words, the Pentecostal experience can come only to those who have already been justified (accepted Jesus as their personal savior) and sanctified (received the "second blessing" which was the key experience of the holiness movement). By contrast, most Pentecostals believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is available to any believer at any time and brings with it power for a holy life. Most Pentecostals seek only "two experiences," while the Pentecostal Holiness Church seeks three. The Pentecostal Holiness Church is a direct outgrowth of the holiness movement: that explains why it retains the "second blessing." The church also has a Methodist heritage, so it derives its doctrinal statement from the Methodist Articles of Religion. In line with its Methodist roots, the church is among the few Pentecostal bodies to allow baptism by methods other than immersion. Footwashing is optional. The polity of the Pentecostal Holiness Church is episcopal. One bishop elected by the general conference and other officers form a general board of administration to administer the affairs of the denomination. Under the administrative board are various other boards and agencies. Among the boards are those on education, evangelism, missions, and publication. The Board of Education oversees the work at the three colleges. The World Missions Board, created in 1904, oversees missions in 72 countries. Foreign work in those countries has been set off as autonomous churches that remain aligned ideologically and filially: the Pentecostal Wesleyan Methodists of Brazil, the Pentecostal Methodist Church of Chile, and the Pentecostal Holiness Church of Canada which became autonomous in 1971. A vigorous publishing program is pursued by Lifespring Resources. Not reported. Emmanuel College, Franklin Springs, Georgia. Southwestern College of Christian Ministries, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Pacific Coast Bible College, Sacramento, California.
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International Pentecostal Press Association (IPPA)c/o Homer Rhea Phone: (405) 787-7110 Contact(s): Homer G. Rhea, VP Organization Notes: Founded: 1970. Members: 150. Membership Dues: individual, $25 annual. Languages: English. NATIONAL. Description: Editors, writers, publishers, and publishing houses. Goals are to gather and syndicate news of the Pentecostal movement, including books and articles about Pentecostal history, practice, and doctrine; improve the journalistic quality and content of members' publications. Organizes seminars for editors and writers with the Pentecostal World Conference.
Publications: Pentecostal International Report, quarterly. * World
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International Pentecostal Press Association (IPPA)c/o Homer Rhea Phone: (405) 787-7110 Contact(s): Homer G. Rhea, VP Organization Notes: Founded: 1970. Members: 150. Membership Dues: individual, $25 annual. Languages: English. Description: Editors, writers, publishers, and publishing houses. Goals are to gather and syndicate news of the Pentecostal movement, including books and articles about Pentecostal history, practice, and doctrine; improve the journalistic quality and content of members' publications. Organizes seminars for editors and writers with the Pentecostal World Conference.
Publications: Pentecostal International Report, quarterly. * World
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Italian Pentecostal Church of Canada6724 Fabre St. Organization Notes: Italian Presbyterians were the first of the Italian-Canadians to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and experience speaking-in-tongues. Though some Italians in Chicago became Pentecostals as early as 1907 and began missionary work in the United States, the Canadian work had an entirely independent origin, beginning in 1913 in Hamilton, Ontario, with the ministry of a Christian-Jewish missionary named Cohen. In 1914, two of the men who had received the baptism, Charles Pavia and Frank Rispoli, took the experience to Toronto, where they visited door-to-door in the Italian community. By 1920, the fervor spread to Montreal and other Italian-Canadian communities. Among the early leaders of the movement were Luigi Ippolito and Ferdinand Zaffuto. Upon his return to the United States, evangelist Cohen informed the Italian Pentecostals in Chicago of the Canadian group, and a delegation visited the Hamilton and Toronto churches. The doctrine and practice of the Italian Pentecostal Church of Canada is similiar to that of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, with whom they share fraternal relations. A missionary program is supported in Australia, Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. In 1997, the church reported 23 congregations and 40 ministers in Canada. There were 5,000 members worldwide, of which approximately 3,300 were in Canada. Eastern Pentecostal Bible College, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Italian Bible Institute.
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Latin-American Council of the Pentecostal Church of God of New York115 E. 125th St. Organization Notes: The Latin-American Council of the Pentecostal Church of God of New York, Inc. (known also as the Concilio Latino-Americano de la Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal de New York, Incorporado) was formed in 1957 as an offshoot of the Latin American Council of the Pentecostal Church of God. (The latter is a Puerto Rican church without congregations in the U.S., and therefore not discussed in this encyclopedia.) Work in New York had begun in 1951 and the New York group became autonomous in 1956, though it remains loosely affiliated with the Puerto Rican parent body. Doctrinally, it is like the Assemblies of God. Healing, tithing, and a literal heaven and hell are stressed. The matter of participation in war is left to the individual members. Secret societies are forbidden and no political activity is advised beyond voting. An unaccredited three-year school of theology with an average enrollment of 500 trains Christian workers. Mission activity is carried on in Central America and the Netherland Antilles, among other places. Not reported. In 1967 there was an estimated 75 churches, most in the New York metropolitan area.
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Mount Calvary Pentecostal Faith Church, Inc.Organization Notes: Mount Calvary Pentecostal Faith Church, Inc., also known as the Emmanuel Temple Pentecostal Faith Church, Inc., and the Mount Assembly Hall of the Pentecostal Faith of All Nations, is a predominantly African-American Pentecostal group founded in 1932 in New York City by Bp. Rosa Artemus Horne. The work has been continued by Mother Horne's adopted daughter, Bp. Gladys Brandhagan. Not reported.
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The National Gay Pentecostal Alliance (NGPA)(Defunct) Organization Notes: The National Gay Pentecostal Alliance (NGPA) was an Apostolic Pentecostal church with a special outreach to the gay/lesbian community. It was founded July 28, 1980, in the city of Schenectady, New York, by William Carey and Sister Schwarz. Carey, a 22-year-old ministerial student in the United Pentecostal Church International, was forced out when his homosexuality became public. A woman from the same congregation in which he worshipped in Schenectady, Sister Schwarz, left with him. Unable to locate a Pentecostal church that did not oppose gay and lesbian sexual orientations, they formed the Gay Pentecostal Alliance. In the spring of 1981, a second similar congregation was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, occasioning the addition of the word "national" to the church's name. The first ordination occurred in August of 1981 in Omaha. Carey, E. Samuel Stafford, and Frances Cervantes were the first ordained ministers. NGPA's belief was similar to that of the United Pentecostal Church. It believed that the Bible in its original languages was the inspired word of God and affirmed that there was only one God, the God of Israel, who took on human form and was born of the virgin Mary, to save sinful humanity. Salvation was available through repentance, water baptism by immersion in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and receiving the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues. It extols the nine Gifts of the Spirit (I Cor. 12:8-10) and the living of a holy and moral life. It expected the imminent return of Jesus to claim His church. Thus, like the United Pentecostal Church, the alliance did not accept the doctrine of the Trinity as traditionally held within Christianity, and had a second significant divergence in its belief that homosexuality was not sinful. It accepted the view, common to all of the churches serving the homosexual community, that the scriptures fail to condemn homosexuality. In 1990, a presbyterial form of church government was instituted. The church was now led by two presbyters, appointed by district elders. The two presbyters were Carey and Sister LaDonna C. Briggs. Lighthouse Ministries served as the outreach and evangelism department of the alliance and was responsible for the printing and distribution of literature and cassette tapes. The Home Missions Department, operating out of Niagara Falls, New York, oversaw the founding of new congregations in the United States, and the Foreign Missions Department performed the same function elsewhere. Home Missions also operateed a Division of Prison Ministries, centered in West Monroe, Louisiana. Not reported. Pentecostal Bible Institute, Schenectady, New York.
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Network of Kingdom Churches4650 Flat Shoals Rd. Organization Notes: The Network of Kingdom Churches was founded in 1961 as the Gospel Harvesters Evangelistic Association in Atlanta, Georgia, by Earl P. Paulk, Jr. and Harry A. Mushegan, both former ministers in the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). Mushegan is a cousin of Demos Shakarian, founder of the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship International, while Paulk's father had been the General Overseer of the Church of God. Each man began a congregation in Atlanta. Gospel Harvester Tabernacle, founded by Paulk, moved to Decatur, an Atlanta suburb, and changed its name to Chapel Hill Harvester Church. The Gospel Harvester Chapel, begun by Mushegan, became Gospel Harvester Church, and in 1984 Gospel Harvester Church World Outreach Center, at the time of its move to suburban Marietta, Georgia. To traditional Pentecostal themes, inherited from the Church of God, the Gospel Harvesters have added an emphasis upon the message of the endtime Kingdom of God. According to Paulk, creation has been aiming at a time when God will raise up a spiritually mature generation who will be led by the Spirit of God speaking through his prophets. Given a clear direction from God, that generation, represented by the members of the Network of Kingdom Churches and others of like spirit, will overcome many structures in society opposed to God's will. The congregations in the network developed a variety of structures to make visible the kingdom. The churches have supported Alpha, a youth ministry; House of New Life, for unwed mothers (an alternative to abortion); a drug ministry; a ministry to the homosexual community; and the K-Center, a communications center. The government of the network is presbyterial, though the two senior pastors-founders have been designated bishops. They are members of the International Communion of Charismatic Churches, formerly the World Communion of Pentecostal Churches, that includes congregations in Brazil, Nigeria, and Jamaica. Bishop John Levin Meares, pastor of the Evangel Temple in Washington, D.C. and head of the International Evangelical Church and Missionary Association, is also part of the Communion. Not reported. In 1985 Bishop Paulk became the object of attack by popular (non-Pentecostal) evangelical writer, Dave Hunt. Hunt labeled Paulk one of a number of "seductive forces within the contemporary church." Paulk was included along with a number of popular pentecostal leaders including Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland and Fred Price. Hunt, one of several who have attacked Paulk's kingdom message, was quickly answered by Pentecostal leaders, who came to Paulk's defense.
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New Bethel Church of God in Christ (Pentecostal)Organization Notes: In 1927, the Rev. A. D. Bradley was admonished by the board of bishops of the Church of God in Christ to refrain from preaching the "Jesus only" doctrine. (The Church of God in Christ was the oldest and among the largest of the predominantly-black trinitarian Pentecostal churches.) He refused, and with his wife and Lonnie Bates established the New Bethel Church of God in Christ (Pentecostal). Bradley became the church's presiding bishop. Doctrine is similar to other "Jesus only" groups. The three ordinances of baptism, the Lord's Supper, and foot-washing are observed. The group is pacifist but allows alternative noncombatant positions to be held by law-abiding church members. The group disapproves of secret societies and of school activities which conflict with a student's moral scruples. The presiding bishop is the executive officer and presides over all meetings of the general body. A board of bishops acts as a judicatory body and a general assembly as the legislative body. Not reported.
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Original Pentecostal Church of GodOrganization Notes: Rarely recognized by observers of snake-handling groups, the Original Pentecostal Chruch of God represents a significant departure from the commonly accepted belief and practice of signs people. They do not believe in "tempting God" by bringing snakes into church services. However, should the occasion arise where the handling of a serpent provides a situation for a test and witness to one's faith, it is done. Members recount times in which they have encountered rattlesnakes or copperheads outside the church and have picked them up as they preached to those present. The Original Church of God emerged from the Free Holiness people, the early Pentecostals, in rural Kentucky during the first decade of the twentieth century. Tom Perry and Tom Austin founded churches in rural Tennessee. Perry carried the Pentecostal message to Alabama and in 1910 converted P. W. Brown, then president of the Jackson County Baptist Association. Brown became the pastor of the Bierne Avenue Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama, one of the leading congregations of the Original Pentecostal Church. There is little formal organization nor are there "man-made rules." Congregations are scattered throughout the deep South. Not reported.
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Original United Holy Church InternationalOrganization Notes: The Original United Holy Church International grew out of a struggle between two bishops of the United Holy Church of America. The conflict led to Bishop James Alexander Forbes and the Southern District being severed from the organization. Those put out of the church met and organized on June 29, 1977, at a meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina. The new body remains in essential doctrinal agreement and continues the polity of the United Holy Church. The Original United Holy Church is concentrated on the Atlantic coast from South Carolina to Connecticut, with congregations also found in Kentucky, Texas, and California. Bishop Forbes also serves as pastor of the Greater Forbes Temple of Hollis, New York. The church supports missionary work in Liberia. On January 24, 1979, in Wilmington, North Carolina, an agreement of affiliation between the Original United Holy Church and the International Pentecostal Holiness Church was signed, which envisions a close cooperative relationship between the two churches. Not reported. United Christian College, Goldsboro, North Carolina.
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Pentecostal 7th Day AssembliesOrganization Notes: The Petecostal 7th Day Assemblies, formerly known as the Association of Seventh-Day Pentecostal Assemblies (incorporated in 1984) had existed as an informal fellowship of congregations and ministers since 1931. It is an association headed by a chairman and a co-ordinating committee. The committee has a responsibility for joint vetures, but has no authority over local church programs or affairs. Doctrinally, the association has taken a non-sectarian stance, affirming some minimal beliefs commonly held but leaving many questions open. Ministers hold an non-Trinitarian position. Baptism is by immersion, but a variety of formulas are spoken. The association believes in sanctification by the blood, Spirit and the Word, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Ten Commandments (each of equal worth) and the millennium. The association is congregationally organized. Each local church is autonomous and sets its own policy and mission. The association supports missions in Canada, Ghana, and Nigeria, and works in other countries through its congregations. Not reported. The assemblies support a college in Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana.
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Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada6745 Century Ave. Organization Notes: Among the people drawn to Los Angeles by the news of the Pentecostal revival which had broken out at the little mission on Azusa Street in 1906 were several Canadians, most prominently Robert McAleister. McAlister brought the revival to Ottawa. In addition, A. H. Argue encountered the first wave of the revival which swept Chicago, and he returned to Winnipeg with its message. In 1907 he began a magazine, The Apostolic Messenger, to spread the word. Within a few years Pentecostal assemblies had been established across Canada. Organization proceeded slowly, though as early as 1909 a Pentecostal Missionary Union was formed. In 1917 ministers from the eastern part of Canada met at Montreal and formed the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Two years later, ministers in the west formed the Western Canada District of the Assemblies of God, attached to the United States group headquartered in Springfield, Missouri. In 1921 the eastern group also affiliated with the Assemblies of God. In 1922 the government charter was finalized. Soon after the affiliation with the American Pentecostals, the Canadians began to see that they were at a disadvantage and gradually they moved to separate themselves and assume the original name of the eastern organization. Headquarters were reestablished in Ottawa and later moved to Toronto. Several reasons for the organizational split (which implied no break in fraternal relations) are generally given. First, the Canadians placed less emphasis upon doctrine and were thus open to more latitude of belief. Second, there was a greater ethnic diversity, with one out of ten congregations not speaking English. Third, there was the influence of such Canadian voices as James Eustace Purdie, who argued for Canadian autonomy. Doctrinally, the Canadian assemblies largely agree with the Assemblies of God. They advocate tithing and have strict rules about divorce, especially among ministers. They are also fraternally related to the Pentecostal Assemblies of Newfoundland, with whom they share the same doctrinal statement. Not reported. Berea Bible Institute, Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada. Canadian Pentecostal Correspondence College, Clayburn, British Columbia, Canada. Central Pentecostal College, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. College Biblique Quebec: Formation Timothee, Charlesbourg Quest, Quebec, Canada. Eastern Pentecostal Bible College, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Northwest Bible College, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Western Pentecostal Bible College, Abbotsford, British Columbia.
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Pentecostal Assemblies of Newfoundland57 Thorburn Rd. Organization Notes: Pentecostalism spread to Newfoundland in 1910 and on Easter Sunday, 1911, the first assembly, Bethesda Mission, opened at St. John's. The work was incorporated in 1925 as the Bethesda Pentecostal Assemblies of Newfoundland, the name by which it was known until it assumed its present name in 1930. That same year, using a ship, The Gospel Messenger, the assemblies moved into towns in Laborador. The assemblies are separate from the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, but maintain close fraternal ties and hold to the same doctrinal position. In 1998 the assemblies reported 142 churches, 40,000 members, and 425 ministries.
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Pentecostal Assemblies of the World1150 W. Galbraith Rd. Additional Contact: Bowers, Paul A., Bishop Organization Notes: Oldest of the Apostolic or "Jesus Only" Pentecostal churches, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World began as a loosely-organized fellowship of trinitarian pentecostals in Los Angeles in 1906. J. J. Frazee (occasionally incorrectly reported as "Frazier") was elected the first general superintendent. Early membership developed along the West Coast and in the Midwest. From 1913 to 1916, the annual convention was held in Indianapolis, soon to become the center of the organization. Growth in the organization was spurred when it became the first group of pentecostals to accept the "Jesus Only" Apostolic theology, which identified Jesus as the Jehovah of the Old Testament and denied the Trinity. Many ministers from other pentecostal bodies joined the assemblies when the group within which they held credentials rejected Apostolic teachings. In 1918, the General Assemblies of the Apostolic Assemblies, a recently formed Apostolic body, which included such outstanding early movement leaders as D. C. O. Opperman and H. A. Goss, merged into the PAW. From its beginning the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World was fully integrated racially, though predominantly white in membership. In 1919, following the influx of so many ministers and members, especially the large newly-merged body, the Pentecostal Assemblies reorganized. Four of its 21 field superintendents were black, among whom were Garfield Thomas Haywood (1880-1931), who would later become presiding bishop. In 1924, most of the white members withdrew to form the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance, now an integral part of the United Pentecostal Church. The remaining members, not totally, but predominantly black, reorganized again, created the office of bishop, and elected Haywood to lead them. He remained presiding bishop until his death in 1931. Shortly after Haywood's death, the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ, a name briefly assumed by the former Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance that was then in a phase of consolidating various Apostolic groups into a single organization, invited the Assemblies to consider merger. The merger attempt failed, but the assemblies again lost individual congregations and members to the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ, and a large group who formed a new church, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ, as a prelude to the merger which failed. In the face of the new losses, a third reorganization had to occur in 1932. For several years, the church was led by a small group of bishops, enlarged to seven in 1935. Two years later, Samuel Grimes, a former missionary in Liberia, was elected presiding bishop, a post he retained until his death in 1967. Under his guidance, the Pentecostal Assemblies Church experienced its greatest era of expansion. Contrary to most black Pentecostal bishops, Grimes did not also serve a parish, hence he was able to devote himself full-time to his episcopal duties. Doctrine of the Assemblies is similar to that of the Assemblies of God except that it does not believe in the Trinity. Holiness is stressed and the group believes that for ultimate salvation, it is necessary to have a life wholly sanctified. Wine is used in the Lord's Supper. Healing is stressed and foot-washing practiced. Members are pacifists, though they feel it is a duty to honor rules. There is a strict dress and behavior code. Divorce and remarriage are allowed under certain circumstances. There is an annual general assembly which elects the bishops and the general secretary. It also designates the presiding bishop, who heads a board of bishops. The church is divided into 30 districts (dioceses) headed by a bishop. The assemblies are designated joint members of each local board of trustees. A missionary board oversees missions in Nigeria, Jamaica, England, Ghana, and Egypt. In 1994 the Assemblies had reported 1,000,000 members/constituents in 1,760 churches served by 4,262 ministers, divided into 43 districts, each headed by a bishop. There are approximately 1,000 churches in the foreign missionary field. Aenon Bible School, Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Pentecostal Assemblies of the World3939 Meadows Dr. Phone: (317) 547-9541 Contact(s): Darthula M. Gibbs, Dep.Admin. Organization Notes: Founded: 1906. Members: 1000000. Staff: 15. Languages: English. NATIONAL. Description: Pastors, evangelists, and missionaries united to spread the Gospel throughout the world. Seeks to unify religious doctrine and establish new churches. Publications: Christian Outlook, bimonthly. Magazine. Price:
$24.00/year. Advertising: accepted. Subject Descriptors:
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World3939 Meadows Dr. Phone: (317) 547-9541 Contact(s): Darthula M. Gibbs, Dep.Admin. Organization Notes: Founded: 1906. Members: 1000000. Staff: 15. Languages: English. Description: Pastors, evangelists, and missionaries united to spread the Gospel throughout the world. Seeks to unify religious doctrine and establish new churches. Publications: Christian Outlook, bimonthly. Magazine. Price:
$24.00/year. Advertising: accepted. Subject Descriptors:
Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America (PCCNA)c/o International Church of the Foursquare Gospel Phone: (213) 989-4221 (760) 379-0032 Contact(s): Dr. Ronald Williams, Contact Organization Notes: Founded: 1994. Languages: English. Multinational. Description: Pentecostal/Charismatic evangelical institutions, churches, and groups of churches in North America. Seeks to provide a vehicle of expression and coordination of effort in matters common to all member bodies, including missionary and evangelistic efforts throughout the world. Formerly: (1995) Pentecostal Fellowship of North America. Subject Descriptors:
Pentecostal Church of God9244 Delmar Organization Notes: The Pentecostal Church of God (not to be confused with the Pentecostal Church of God of America headquartered at Joplin, Missouri) is a predominantly black Pentecostal body founded by Apostle Willie James Peterson (1921-1969). Peterson grew up in Florida, and though his family attended the Baptist church there, he was never baptized. The course of his life was interrupted in his early adult years by a dream in which he was in the presence of God and His angels. Peterson began a period of prayer, after which God called him to preach. He became an independent evangelist and had come to believe in the Apostolic or non-Trinitarian position. He began to preach that doctrine in 1955 in Meridian, Mississippi, and to raise up congregations across the South. At the time of his death, Peterson was succeeded by the four bishops of the church, William Duren, J. J. Sears, C. L. Rawls, and E. Rice. It is the belief of the Pentecostal Church of God that Peterson was an apostle, annointed by God for his task through revelation. The essence of the revelation was an understanding of the Kingdom of God. Peterson taught that conversion meant turning away from worldliness (the kingdom of this world ruled by Satan) to godliness (the kingdom of Heaven). Peterson identified the Roman Catholic Church with Babylon, the Mother of Harlots, spoken of in Revelation 17:3-5. Satanic doctrine was taught in that church and in its daughter churches, Protestantism. To accept the gospel of the kingdom is to turn from the false teachings of the Babylonish churches to God's truths which include repentance as godly sorrow for one's sins; baptism by immersion in the name of Jesus Christ; a rejection of the unbiblical doctrine of the Trinity; an understanding of heaven as the realm of God and his angels and hell as a place of confinement; the nonobservance of holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and New Year's Day; nonparticipation in human government (which includes pacifism, not saluting the flag, and not voting); and holy matrimony performed by a holy minister. Not reported.
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Pentecostal Church of God4901 Pennsylvania Organization Notes: History. The Pentecostal Church of God was formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1919 by a group of pentecostal leaders. They chose the Rev. John C. Sinclair as their first chairman and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the USA as their name. That name was changed to the Pentecostal Church of God in 1922. The words "of America" were added in 1936 and then dropped in 1979. The church enjoyed a steady growth over the years. It moved its headquarters to Ottumwa, Iowa, in 1927. The following year the department of youth ministries was organized. The expansion was further manifested in the issuance of the first Sunday school material published by the church in 1937. Missionary support began as early as 1919 and was formalized in a church department in 1929. Beliefs. The church's beliefs follow the central affirmation of evangelical Pentecostal Christianity. It affirms the authority of scripture, the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and humanity's need of salvation in Christ. The ordinances of the Lord's Supper and baptism by immersion are practiced. The church affirms the baptism of the Holy Spirit received subsequent to the new birth (faith in Christ) which is evidenced by the initial sign of speaking-in-tongues. Foot washing is observed at the discretion of local congregations. Prayer for divine healing of bodily ills is a regular part of church life. The church is not pacifist, but supports conscientious objectors in their search for alternative service. Tithing is advocated. Organization. The church is headed by the general superintendent, assisted by the general secretary, business manager, director of world missions, director of Indian missions, director of home missions, director of youth ministries, director of Christian education, and the director of the women's ministries. The church is divided into districts headed by district superintendents, district presbyters, and district secretary-treasurers. The general convention meets biennially with most district conventions meeting annually. In 2000, the church reported 46,000 members, 1,212 congregations, and 3,313 ministers. There was a reported constitutency of 102,000 in the United States. There were 600,000 members worldwide in 53 countries. Messenger College, Joplin, Missouri. In the mission field, there are 15 resident Bible schools and 29 extension training centers.
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Pentecostal Church of New AntiochOrganization Notes: The Pentecostal Church of New Antioch is a trinitarian Pentecostal church founded 1953 in New Antioch, Ohio, by Marshall M. Bachelor. Bachelor later moved the headquarters to Cleveland, Ohio. At the founding conference, he was elected president and general superintendent for life. The church professes belief in the baptism of the Holy Spirit as evidenced by speaking in tongues; spiritual gifts; the practice of baptism by immersion; the Lord's Supper, and foot washing; divine healing; the imminent coming of Jesus Christ; and the resurrection of the dead. The church does not approve of divorce and remarriage. The church is headed by its president assisted by six vicepresidents, a secretary, and a treasurer. There is an annual national conference. Not reported. In 1966 there were approximately 300 ministerial members serving churches across the United States and in Manitoba and Ontario, Canada, Jamaica, and England.
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Pentecostal Church of Zionc/o Zion College of Theology Organization Notes: As a youth in Kentucky, Luther S. Howard was converted by an independent Pentecostal minister and, in 1920, was ordained a minister of the Holy Bible Mission at Louisville. He served as a minister and then vice-president. Upon the death of its founder, Mrs. C. L. Pennington, the Mission was dissolved. Its ministers felt the need to continue their work and, in 1954, formed a new organization, the Pentecostal Church of Zion, Inc. Elder Howard was elected president and, in 1964, bishop. Since most of the work of the Holy Bible Mission was in Indiana, the new organization was headquartered at French Lick, Indiana. The Pentecostal Church of Zion is like the Assemblies of God in most of its doctrine but differs from it on some points. The group keeps the ten commandments, including the Saturday Sabbath, and the Mosaic law concerning clean and unclean meats. (Cows and sheep are clean and may be eaten; pigs and other animals with cloven hooves may not be eaten because they are considered unclean). Most important, the group does not have a closed creed, but believes that members continue to grow in grace and knowledge. Anyone who feels that he has new light on the Word of God is invited to bring his ideas to the annual convention, where they can be discussed by the executive committee. By such a process, a decision was made in the 1960s to drop the Lord's Supper as an ordinance. The church now believes in the celebration of Passover by daily communion with the Holy Ghost. Polity is episcopal. There is one bishop with life tenure and an assistant bishop elected for a three-year term. An annual meeting with lay delegates is held at the headquarters. Not reported. Zion College of Theology, French Lick, Indiana.
Subject Descriptors: Glossolalia Speaking-in-tongues Communion, sacrament or ordinance of--not practiced Polity--Episcopal Sabbatarianism
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