Assemblies of God

World Assemblies of God
World Assemblies of God
Classification	Evangelical Pentecostal
Theology	Finished Work Pentecostal
Governance	Cooperative body
Chairman	Dominic Yeo (acting chairman)
Region	190 countries
Origin	1911 (WAGF formally established 1988)
Separated from	Church of God in Christ, Christian and Missionary Alliance, and various other denominations, including those of Reformed and Baptist traditions.
Merger of	Several Pentecostal groups
Separations	General Assembly of the Apostolic Churches, The Foursquare Church
Congregations	367,398
Members	68,500,000
Missionary organization	WAGF Missions Commission
Aid organization	World Assemblies of God Relief and Development Agency
Official website	worldagfellowship.org

The World Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is an international Pentecostal denomination.^[4]

As an international fellowship, the member denominations are entirely independent and autonomous, but they are united by shared beliefs and history. Pentecostalism originated from the Azusa Street Revival of the early 20th century.

This revival led to the founding of the Apostolic Faith Mission in 1911, later named the Assemblies of God in Brazil in 1918, in 1914, of the Assemblies of God in the United States,^[5]^[6]^[7] the first Finished Work Pentecostal denomination after white ministers separated from the historically African American Church of God in Christ through which many had licenses and ordination credentialing.^[8]^[9]^[10] Since its founding, in the initial years AG was strongly influenced by Aimee Semple McPherson^[11] who was ordained evangelist in 1919 by the Assemblies of God US until she branched away^[12] from AG in 1922 and went on to found the Foursquare Church in 1923.

The denomination was formed from several Finished Work Pentecostal groups who held to the doctrine of progressive sanctification that left the Church of God in Christ (a Holiness Pentecostal denomination), Christian and Missionary Alliance (a Charismatic but non-Pentecostal denomination), and various other denominations, including those of Reformed and Baptist origins.^[2]

Through foreign missionary work and establishing relationships with other Pentecostal churches, the Assemblies of God expanded into a worldwide movement. It was not until 1988 that the world fellowship was formed. As a Pentecostal fellowship, the Assemblies of God believes in the Pentecostal distinctive of baptism with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

^ Executive Council Directory. Accessed January 13, 2022.
^ ^a ^b James Leo Garrett, Systematic Theology, Volume 2, Second Edition, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2014, p. 395; "those branches which derived from Baptist or Reformed roots have taught positional and progressive sanctification as distinguishable from baptism in or with the Spirit (e.g., Assemblies of God, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel)."
^ "Five AG Stats You Need to Know". 11 August 2017.
^ "Assemblies of God". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Ed F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford University Press Inc. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed 22 June 2011.
^ Levinson, David (1996). Religion: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-87436-865-9. The Finished Work Pentecostals believed that conversion and sanctification were a single act of grace. The Assemblies of God, created in 1914, became the first Finished Work denomination.
^ Vinson Synan, The Holiness–Pentecostal Tradition: Charismatic Movements in the Twentieth Century, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997), pages 153–155, ISBN 978-0-8028-4103-2.
^ Pereira, Walter Nei (2012-01-06). "Temas bíblicos na escola dominical da Igreja Assembleia de Deus (2000-2009): avaliação teológica e perspectivas". Repositório DSpace da Faculdades EST. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
^ "Opinion | Washing away the color line". Arkansas Online. 2021-07-11. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-03. Most of the founders who gathered carried credentials with the Church of God in Christ, as it was the only incorporated Pentecostal denomination at that time in the U.S. A large group of white Pentecostal ministers became dissatisfied with this arrangement, and the Assemblies of God denomination was born.
^ Randal Rust. "Mason, Charles Harrison". Tennessee Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 7 Oct 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-03. Mason dreamed of an integrated church and believed that all races were entitled to equal rights and authority. From COGIC's inception, Mason ordained and allowed whites to join his denomination. From 1907 to 1914, Mason ordained hundreds of white ministers. In 1914, a group of whites left COGIC and established the Assemblies of God. Throughout his tenure, Mason continued to integrate COGIC. A white COGIC pastor named Leonard P. Adams pastored Grace and Truth in Memphis, and COGIC's first general secretary was a white man named William B. Holt. Mason also conducted integrated funerals, baptisms, and worship services. At the height of Jim Crow, Mason allowed blacks and whites to sit next to each other in church. In the 1930s, Edward Hull "Boss" Crump told Mason he could not continue to allow blacks and whites to sit together. However, Boss Crump did not stop Mason from holding integrated meetings. Mason used COGIC as a platform to fight against segregation and encouraged blacks and whites to embrace racial unity.
^ "Race and the Assemblies of God Church: The Journey from Azusa Street to the "Miracle of Memphis" By Joe Newman". Cambria Press. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
^ Maddux, Kristy (2011). "The Foursquare Gospel of Aimee Semple McPherson". Rhetoric and Public Affairs. 14 (2): 291–326. doi:10.2307/41940541. ISSN 1094-8392. JSTOR 41940541.
^ "International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (ICFG) | Description, History, Beliefs, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-06-24.

[1] Executive Council Directory. Accessed January 13, 2022.

[James_Leo_Garrett_2014,_p._395-2] James Leo Garrett, Systematic Theology, Volume 2, Second Edition, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2014, p. 395; "those branches which derived from Baptist or Reformed roots have taught positional and progressive sanctification as distinguishable from baptism in or with the Spirit (e.g., Assemblies of God, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel)."

[3] "Five AG Stats You Need to Know". 11 August 2017.

[ODCCAG-4] "Assemblies of God". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Ed F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford University Press Inc. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed 22 June 2011.

[Levinson1996-5] Levinson, David (1996). Religion: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-87436-865-9. The Finished Work Pentecostals believed that conversion and sanctification were a single act of grace. The Assemblies of God, created in 1914, became the first Finished Work denomination.

[Synan-6] Vinson Synan, The Holiness–Pentecostal Tradition: Charismatic Movements in the Twentieth Century, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997), pages 153–155, ISBN 978-0-8028-4103-2.

[7] Pereira, Walter Nei (2012-01-06). "Temas bíblicos na escola dominical da Igreja Assembleia de Deus (2000-2009): avaliação teológica e perspectivas". Repositório DSpace da Faculdades EST. Retrieved 2023-08-28.

[8] "Opinion | Washing away the color line". Arkansas Online. 2021-07-11. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-03. Most of the founders who gathered carried credentials with the Church of God in Christ, as it was the only incorporated Pentecostal denomination at that time in the U.S. A large group of white Pentecostal ministers became dissatisfied with this arrangement, and the Assemblies of God denomination was born.

[9] Randal Rust. "Mason, Charles Harrison". Tennessee Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 7 Oct 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-03. Mason dreamed of an integrated church and believed that all races were entitled to equal rights and authority. From COGIC's inception, Mason ordained and allowed whites to join his denomination. From 1907 to 1914, Mason ordained hundreds of white ministers. In 1914, a group of whites left COGIC and established the Assemblies of God. Throughout his tenure, Mason continued to integrate COGIC. A white COGIC pastor named Leonard P. Adams pastored Grace and Truth in Memphis, and COGIC's first general secretary was a white man named William B. Holt. Mason also conducted integrated funerals, baptisms, and worship services. At the height of Jim Crow, Mason allowed blacks and whites to sit next to each other in church. In the 1930s, Edward Hull "Boss" Crump told Mason he could not continue to allow blacks and whites to sit together. However, Boss Crump did not stop Mason from holding integrated meetings. Mason used COGIC as a platform to fight against segregation and encouraged blacks and whites to embrace racial unity.

[:0-10] "Race and the Assemblies of God Church: The Journey from Azusa Street to the "Miracle of Memphis" By Joe Newman". Cambria Press. Retrieved 2023-02-06.

[11] Maddux, Kristy (2011). "The Foursquare Gospel of Aimee Semple McPherson". Rhetoric and Public Affairs. 14 (2): 291–326. doi:10.2307/41940541. ISSN 1094-8392. JSTOR 41940541.

[12] "International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (ICFG) | Description, History, Beliefs, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-06-24.

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