Assemblies of God

The Assemblies of God is the worlds largest pentecostal church worldwide with over 69 million constituents. It has many members throughout all of the world. The largest Assemblies of God church is Hillsong Church in Australia.

History

On January 1, 1901, students at Bethel Bible School in Topeka, Kansas began to speak in tongues. This is when some Pentecostals consider their denomination began. However, the Azusa Street Revival (1906-1909) catapulted Pentecostalism to a worldwide stage. As the Pentecostal revival rapidly spread, many Pentecostals recognized the need for greater organization and accountability. In April 2-14, 1914, 300 ministers came together to promote unity and doctrinal stability and established the "The General Council of the Assemblies of God."

However, the Assemblies of God almost immediately faced a doctrinal dispute. Some Assemblies of God preachers were teaching a modal monarchian view of the nature of God, also known as the "New Issue" or Oneness Pentecostalism. This was handled in 1916 when the General Council approved the Statement of Fundamental Truths, affirming Trinitarian theology.

Beliefs

The Statement of Fundamental Truths are 16 non-negotiable tenets that all Assemblies of God churches must adhere to:

All quotes are from the official Assemblies of God USA website.

1. The Scriptures Inspired: "The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct."
2. The One True God: "The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent "I AM," the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
3. The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ: "The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God."
4. The Fall of Man: "Man was created good and upright; for God said, "Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness." However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God."
5. The Salvation of Man: "Man's only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God." (1 of 4 Core Doctrines of the Assemblies of God)
6. The Ordinances of the Church: Water Baptism - "The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded by the Scriptures." | Holy Communion - "The Lord's Supper, consisting of the elements --bread and the fruit of the vine-- is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, a memorial of his suffering and death, and a prophecy of His second coming, and is enjoined on all believers "till He come!""
7. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit: "All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 of 4 Core Doctrines of the Assemblies of God)
8. The Initial Physcial Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: "The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance."
9. Sanctification: "Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God."
10. The Church and Its Mission: "The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission."
11. The Ministry: "A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for the fourfold purpose of leading the Church in:" evangelism of the world, worship of God, building a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son, and meeting human need with ministries of love and compassion.
12. Divine Healing: "Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and is the privilege of all believers." (1 of 4 Core Doctrines of the Assemblies of God)
13. The Blessed Hope: "The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation together with those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent and blessed hope of the church." (1 of 4 Core Doctrines of the Assemblies of God)
14. The Millennial Reign: "The second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the saints, which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible return of Christ with His saints to reign on earth for one thousand years."
15. The Final Judgement: "There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to the everlasting punishment in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
16. The New Heavens and the New Earth: ""We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.""

Mission

The Assemblies of God is committed to fulfilling a threefold mission:

1. To be an agency of God for evangelizing the world
2. To be a corporate body in which man may worship God
3. To be a channel of God's purpose to build a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son

External Links

Assemblies of God (USA) Official Web Site