Assemblies of God

Religions, Cults & Worldviews: Valuable Answers for Valid Questions.

Pentecostal – A major outgrowth of the Holiness churches started with the Pentecostal teaching of Charles Parham as a result of an “outpouring of The Holy Spirit” whereby congregants began spontaneously speaking in tongues in 1901 at a church in Topeka, KS. From Charles Parham came a student by the name of William J Seymour who founded the Azusa Street Revival, another Pentecostal outpouring in 1906 at an old Faith Mission in Los Angeles, CA. Again, the congregation began speaking in tongues (a gift of the Holy Spirit to believers) spontaneously, resulting in a widespread revival of sorts.

AJ Dowie’s influence on a gathering of church delegates from independent churches, Association of Christian Assemblies, Church of God in Christ and in Unity with the Apostolic Faith Movement, met in Hot Springs, Arkansas in 1914 to bring about greater organization and accountability to this new Pentecostal movement. Immediately, this young AG movement found itself confronted with the decision of whether or not to accept the heresy known as “modalism” (God is not Triune but One revealed as a different Person or ‘mode’ over time – OT times – Father, Early ministry of Jesus – He is no longer “Father” but “Son” to us all, at Pentecost – God is no longer known as son but is now to be related to as “Holy Spirit”). This “Oneness” theology is embraced even to this day by the Oneness Pentecostal cult.

Fortunately, the Assemblies of God in their infancy, were wise enough to reject this error and affirm the sound, Biblical doctrine of a Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – One God in three persons. Today, the Assemblies of God claim to have 2.8 million adherants across 12,300+ churches. There wasn’t a clear cut “founder” as this was a delegation of several churches. The first Chairman/ General Superintendent elected by the first AG council was a man named Eudorus N. Bell.

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