Transcript AG History: 1914-1927

AG History: 1914-1950
The Early Years: 1914-1927
Development: 1927-1949
The Early Years
1914-1926
A Call to Gather
 E.M. Bell called for a special
convention in the Word and Witness
publication:
 “This call is to all Churches of God in
Christ, to all Pentecostal or Apostolic
Faith Assemblies who desire with
united purpose to cooperate in love
and peace to push the interests of
the kingdom of God everywhere. This
is, however, only for saints who
believe in the baptism with the Holy
Ghost with signs following.” (1913)
Reasons for the
Convention
 The following reasons were published
in the Word and Witness for the
meeting:
 Unity among the churches
 Conservation of the work at home
and on foreign fields
 Better support for missionaries
 Chartering with a legal name
 Bible school training for ministers
The First General Council
August 1914
 Ministers and Missionaries were
half the delegates
 First 4 days dedicated to prayer
and fellowship
 Mack Pinson’s Keynote Sermon:
“The Finished Work of Christ”
 General Council of the Assemblies
of God
 Voluntary Cooperation
Two Restrictions for
Marriage
 Divorce:
 Disapproved except for adultery
 Divorced person should remain single
 No credential for anyone with two living
spouses
 Women in Ministry
 Ordained only as Evangelists and
Missionaries
 Not to be ordained as pastors (until 1935)
AG First Two Leaders
 E. N. Bell, General Superintendent
(1914; 1920-1923)
 Well-educated Baptist background,
tall and 22 years older than Flower.
Just began his first pastorate in
Arkansas. Edited Word and Witness.
Ideas about women in ministry strong
influence. Supported tongues as initial
evidence. He was a shaper of AG
doctrine in its formative stages.
Two Leaders (con’t)
 J Roswell Flower, General Secretary
(1914 -1916) (Executive until 1959)
 Immigrant from Canada. No formal
training for ministry. Before his call,
he read law. Founder of the
Pentecostal Evangel, along with his
wife. Strong upholder of AG
doctrines.
General Superintendent
 E. N. Bell 1914 and 1920-1923
 Arch P. Collins 1914-1915
 Baptized in Spirit while pastoring a
Baptist Church
 John W. Welch 1915
 Protector and Shaper of AG beliefs
 Problems of the nature of the
Godhead
The New Issue
1913-1916
 Overemphasis of Jesus Christ as
Savior, Healer, Baptizer, soon coming
King.
 Jesus Only
 Re-baptizing believers in Jesus name
only (Acts 2:38)
 1916 General Council statement
against “the new move of
God”/Oneness
 Split: ¼ leave AG
Tongues
 1918 General Council issue over
Tongues as the Initial Physical
Evidence of Spirit Baptism
 Reaffirmed that tongues for the
AG was “our distinctive
testimony” (Aug 1914)
Expansion
 1915 General Council officially affirmed
the evangelization of the heathen by NT
methods.
 1919 Missionary Department established
with J Roswell Flower-funds to 206 Foreign
Missionaries
 John Welch in 1920: “The General Council
of the Assemblies of God was never
meant to be an institution; it is just a
missionary agency.”
 HQ: Findlay, Ohio- St. Louis- Springfield
(1918)
nd
2
General Council
November 1914
 Meeting at the Stone Church in
Chicago
 "As a Council, ... we commit
ourselves and the Movement to
Him for the greatest evangelism
that the world has ever seen."
 Why? Jesus is coming
What Grew The
Assemblies of God?
 Henry C. Ball– Reaching the Spanish-
speakers
 Ethel and Marcus Musick- She
preached, he supported
 Robert and Mary Craig- sobering
drunks and training leaders
 Evangelist: Aimee Semple McPherson-
The Queen of the Evangelists
Challenges for Missions
 1914-1927 were the most unstable
years for AG missions.
 Many early GC missionaries dropped
out because of difficulties
 Age, illness, poorly trained and
prepared, hardships on the field and
some unable to work under manmade guidelines/policy
AG Missiology
 The Key: Evangelizing in Light of Jesus
Soon Return
 Alice E. Luce, India: First significant AG
missiologist. She wrote “New
Testament Methods” influenced by
Roland Allen’s Book: Missionary
Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours?
 To the 3-Self Formula, Luce added:
Signs and Wonders
Early Missionary
Characteristics
 Aim: Establish 3-Self Churches that
could reproduce themselves
 Lillian Thrasher: compassion, courage,
and good business sense
 Ivan Voronaeff: sacrifice
 W.E. Simpson: Martyr for China/Tibet
 Victor Plymore: Paid with his family
1900-1921: Summary Decisions
that Framed AG Missions
1. April 1914: Reason for Being: Missions
2. Nov. 1914: Commitment to greatest world
evangelism
3. 1915: New Testament Methods
4. 1917: First Mission’s Committee
5. 1919: Foreign Mission’s Department Formed
6. 1920: Survey of the Fields
7. 1921: Alice Luce: Pauline Methodology
1900-1921: Lessons Learned
1. Spirit baptism is empowerment to bear
witness to the ends of the earth.
2. Understanding that not all practices and
trends are are or equally effective. The
guidance of the Spirit and Structure.
3. Deep commitment to the Bible. “Anything
goes in the name of the Spirit” is not biblical.
4. Balance of the Spirit and the Word.
5. 1921 General Council stated the objective
of missions was to produce indigenous
churches, but it took a long time to work
out.
Years of Development
1928-1947
Indigenous Churches
 1914: there were 40 AG missionaries, years of
instability
 1920-1924: missionary numbers—221
 First indigenous churches and national
bodies began to appear in the 1930s: El
Salvador and then Burkina Faso (1934)
 Problems with missionaries and old ways and
resistance from US churches.
Compassion/ Charitable
Work
 1920: J Roswell Flower, first mission’s
secretary wrote about Pentecostal
Standard: Preaching as priority, with no time
for schools, hospitals, etc.– the latter were
distractions.
 However, in real life on the field compassion
and proclamation went together.
Dislike of
Denominationalism
 Pentecostals wanted to be Spirit-
led, not man-led.
 Distrust of man-made organizations.
 Slow change of attitude and
understanding of reality.
 “Cooperative Fellowship” or “The
Fellowship” preferred.
Growth
 Ernest S. Williams elected Superintendent in 1929
and served 20 years.
 During this period:

The Home Missions and Education Departments
were created: 1937 Busy Bee- Buddy Barrel

Bible Institutes multiplied

Gospel Publishing House increased publications

Evangelicals began to recognize Pentecostals

Women were ordained as pastors
War
 Initially, WWII was not a worry– Jesus was
coming soon.
 In 1941, Noel Perkin reported that 104
missionaries had reached field– only 4 failed.
 1941: Mission’s Dept offered to pay for
missionaries in China, Hong Kong and
Philippines to come home, but too late.
 New Fields opened after the war
Strategic Planning
 Rapid Changes between 1943 and 1959
 Continued development of Mission’s
Department and strengthening of the role of
the department– not appreciated by
independent-minded missionaries
 By 1959, AG Missions was well-recognized by
other agencies.
 1943 Mission’s Conference
Plans
 Develop positions of field secretaries
 Add 500 new missionaries
 Develop an advisory groups of pastors and
laymen
 Provide missionaries with better training
 Promote missions better in US
 Raise $5 million for missions.
AG History 1950’s and
Beyond
Passingthe Baton
Controversies
New Order of the
Latter Rain 1949
Healing
Controversies
A New Generation for
New Era
 Thomas Zimmerman (1912-1991) Elected
one of 4 Assisstant General Superintendents
in 1953 and General Superintendent in 1959.
“Let us never get the idea tat God has
brought us to our present plateau to
terminate progress– His command is, ‘Go
Forward.” (1968)
 Philip Hogan, Executive Director of DFM in
1959
Decade of Harvest
 G. Raymond Carlson: 1990s Decade of
Harvest
 Members and Adherents from 16 million to
30 million
 Bible Schools increased by 43%
 Total National Ministers increased 48%
The Charismatic
Movement
 May 1960, Episcopal Priest Dennis Bennett
baptized in the Spirit and spoke with other
tongues.
 Revival within the Catholic Church. Feb.
1967 at Duquesne University: 30 students
and 2 theologians. Influence by David
Wilkerson’s Cross and the Switchblade.
 David du Plessis (1905-1987): Pentecostal
Ambassador
 Condemnation of the World Council of
Churches
Key Missionaries
 Melvin Hodges (1909-1988): The Indigenous
Church
 J. W. Tucker: Assembly of God Martyr
Mission’s Developments
 Light For the Lost
 Chaplaincy
 Prison Ministry
 Speed the Light
 BGMC
Faith Promise
 Local Church Mission’s Convention
 Establish a regular income for missions
 Getting people committed and involved
 J Philip Hogan: “I have been selling missions
to churches on a money-back guarantee
for many years… If they set aside a portion
for the lost abroad, God will help them in
the local church” (1963).
Missionary Life Became
More Complex
 Promotional duties
 Financial pressures
 Hostility and danger
 Qualifications
Scandal
 Jim and Tammy Bakker 1987
 Jimmy Swaggart 1988
Partnership
 1980’s change in the church around the
world– partners in God’s work
 Morris O. Williams, The Indigenous Church
and the Missionary (1978)
Mission’s Leaders
 Loren Tripplett (1989-1997): stressed the
Spirit’s supernatural role in calling people to
enter the last days’ harvest in expectation of
Christ’s return.
 The Fall of the Soviet Union opened up
many fields previously closed, increasing
urgency of the task
 AGWM still thinking in terms of geography,
not people groups.
 John Bueno (1997-2012): Partnership
Mission’s Core
Our Four Pillars
 The widest possible evangelism (REACHING)
 Establishment of NT churches (PLANTING)
 Training national beleivers (TEACHING)
 Showing the Compassion of Jesus to the
suffering (TOUCHING)
Unreached People’s
 “The ends of the earth” Acts 1:8
 Lack of strategy
 Partnership may have eroded pioneering
 Hostility
 Center for Ministry to Muslims/ Global
Initiative
 International Ministry Department and
Compassion