Assemblies of God

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script type="text/javascript" src="http://hb.lycos.com/hb.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ratings.lycos.com/ratings/lycosRating.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[//><!]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://scripts.lycos.com/catman/init.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-start.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-middle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-end.js"></script> <noscript> <img src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/img/common/ot_noscript.gif?rand=179567" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  <iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" width="728" height="90" src="http://ad.yieldmanager.com/st?ad_type=iframe&ad_size=728x90&section=209094"></iframe>  </noscript> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=185 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="03fb9c00dduajq.jpg"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="70" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 76 WIDTH="66"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="76" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="66" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></b></div> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Issues"><U><B>Church Issues</b></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Christian Debatorial Works</b></FONT>    |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Christian Debatorial Works"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Catholic Church Errors"><U>Catholic Church Errors</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Churches of Christ"><U>Churches of Christ</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id242.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Baptist"><U>Baptist</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id225.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="United Church of Canada"><U>United Church of Canada</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id229.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="United Methodist"><U>United Methodist</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id233.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lutheran"><U>Lutheran</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id236.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Anglican"><U>Anglican</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id296.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Apostolic Christian Church"><U>Apostolic Christian Church</U></A>   |   <B>Assemblies of God</b>   |   <A HREF="id252.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wesleyan"><U>Wesleyan</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id107.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vineyard Movement"><U>Vineyard Movement</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id136.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="7 Churches of Revelation"><U>7 Churches of Revelation</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cults and Cult Definitions"><U>Cults and Cult Definitions</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id352.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fundamentalism"><U>Fundamentalism</U></A></div> <div> Assemblies of God</div> <div> The Assemblies of God had their  beginning as a revival of the established Pentecostal faith at the turn of the century. It is generally traced to a prayer meeting at Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas, on January 1, 1901, where tongues began to be considered as evidence of Holy Spirit baptism. The revival spread rapidly to Missouri and Texas, then to California and elsewhere. A three year revival meeting at Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles attracted believers from across the nation and overseas and served as a springboard to send the Pentecostal message around the world. Over time, concerned leaders realized that to protect and preserve the results of the revival the thousands of newly Spirit-baptized believers should be united in a cooperative fellowship. In 1914 about 300 preachers and laymen gathered from 20 states and several foreign countries for a "general council" in Hot Springs, Arkansas, to discuss and take action on the growing need.</div> <bR> <div> A cooperative fellowship emerged from the meeting and was incorporated under the name "The General Council of the Assemblies of God." Most of the delegates had little desire to form a new denomination or sect, and they structured their organization to unite the assemblies in ministry and legal identity while leaving each congregation self-governing and self-supporting. This structure continues to the present.</div> <bR> <div> In 1916 the General Council added a Statement of Fundamental Truths to its constitution. A simple statement, it remains virtually unchanged and continues to provide a sound basis for the Fellowship, giving a firm position on vital doctrines.</div> <bR> <div> From the beginning, Assemblies of God ministries have focused on evangelism and missions and have resulted in a continuing growth at home and abroad. The constituency has climbed from the founding convention attendance of 300 to more than 2.6 million in the United States and over 40 million overseas.</div> <bR> <div> Today, Assemblies of God people worship in over 12,100 churches in the U.S. and in 236,022 churches and outstations in 191 other nations. The aggressive missions programs of the church are designed to establish self-supporting and self-propagating national church bodies in every country. Ministers and leaders are trained in 1,891 foreign Bible schools — more than any other U.S. based denomination. The Assemblies of God has 19 endorsed Bible colleges, liberal arts colleges, and a seminary in the U.S.</div> <bR> <div> The national headquarters of the Assemblies of God is located in Springfield, Missouri. The headquarters includes an administration building, the Gospel Publishing House, and the International Distribution Center. The Gospel Publishing House is the printing arm of the church turning out more than 16 tons of gospel literature each day.</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>