White Trinitarian Holiness Pentecostals

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White Trinitarian Holiness Pentecostals

★590 ★

Apostolic Faith Church of God and True Holiness

825 Gregg Rd.
Jefferson, OH 44047

In 1946 Charles W. Lowe, founder and for over 35 years leader of the Apostolic Faith Church of God, separated from the main body of the church and with one congregation organized the Apostolic Faith Church of God and True Holiness. He was succeeded by Bishop Levi Butts and more recently by Bishop Oree Keyes. Bishop Keyes has been very active in seeking to unite the various factions that have developed from the original work begun by Bishops Seymour and Lowe. He helped form the United Fellowship Convention of the Original Azusa Street Mission which includes five similar churches.

Membership: In 1990 the Apostolic Faith Church of God in True Holiness reported 24 congregations.

Sources:

DuPree, Sherry Sherrod. African American Holiness Pentecostal Charismatic: Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland Publishing, 1992.

★591 ★

Apostolic Faith Church of God Giving Grace

Rte. 3, Box 111G
Warrenton, NC 27589

The Apostolic Faith Church of God Giving Grace was founded in the mid-1960s as the New Jerusalem Apostolic Faith Churches of God. Its founders, Bishop Rufus A. Easter and Mother Lillie P. Williams, were formerly associated with the Apostolic Faith Churches of God. There was no doctrinal dispute in the break and the church follows the doctrine of the parent body. Bishop Easter was succeeded by Bishop Geanie Perry, the current leader of the church. The church supports the New Jerusalem Rest Home and a Helping Hand Community Food Bank.

Membership: In 1990 there were 12 churches.

Sources:

DuPree, Sherry Sherrod. African American Holiness Pentecostal Charismatic: Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland Publishing, 1992.

★592 ★

Apostolic Faith Churches of a Living God

3416 Carver St.
Columbia, SC 29203

The Apostolic Faith Churches of a Living God was founded in 1979 when seven congregations in South Carolina which had left the Apostolic Faith Churches of God reorganized as a denomination. The congregations were called together by Bishop Leroy Williams who had in the 1960s been the president of the South Carolina District Young People's Union of the Apostolic Faith Church of God. The present head of the church is Bishop Richard C. Johnson, Sr. The cause of the split was administrative, not doctrinal, hence the churches retain the same holiness pentecostal beliefs and practices of the parent church. The church holds an annual convention each summer.

Periodicals: Union Newsletter.

Sources:

Payne, Wardell J., ed. Directory of African American Religious Bodies. Washington, DC: Howard University Press, 1991.

★593 ★

The Apostolic Faith Mission of Portland, Oregon, Inc.

6615 SE 52nd Ave.
Portland, OR 97206

In April of 1906, a small group of people of various denominational backgrounds arranged for prayer meetings in a home located on Bonnie Brae Street in Los Angeles. Their purpose was to seek the infilling of the Holy Spirit, having heard of the Pentecostal experience of believers in the Midwest. When a number received this experience, the word spread, and shortly the meetings were transferred to larger quarters in an old Methodist church on Azusa Street.

Among those attending the meetings on Azusa Street, was Florence L. Crawford, a Methodist laywoman. There she received the experience of sanctification and the power of the Holy Spirit. At her baptism in the Holy Spirit, she related that God "permitted me to speak in the Chinese, which was understood by a Christian Chinese who was present." She also testified to receiving a miraculous healing of her eyes, which had been damaged by spinal meningitis.

A dynamic woman, Crawford entered wholeheartedly into evangelistic work, assisting mission leader William J. Seymour. Thousands of inquiries had begun coming in from people who wanted to know more about the Pentecostal outpouring, so Crawford began putting the record of what was being said in the meetings into a newspaper format. The publication was called The Apostolic Faith.

In addition to her efforts in the publishing work, Crawford felt God's call to travel beyond the boundaries of Los Angeles with the Pentecostal message. Her first ministries were along the West Coast where she worked as an intinerant home missionary. In December of 1906, she made her initial visit to Portland, Oregon, where she had been invited to preach in an independent church on Second and Main Street. Subsequently, the pastor of that church offered her his pulpit permanently, and in 1908, Crawford moved to Portland. The Azusa Street ministry turned over the responsibility of publishing The Apostolic Faith paper to her, so she and her coworker, Clara Lum, brought that work to Portland with the blessing of the Azusa Street ministry. The publication continued uninterrupted, with the final edition from Los Angeles being printed in June 1908, and the first edition from Portland coming out in July-August 1908.

Portland was established as the headquarters of the growing movement. In 1922, the headquarters building, a landmark in downtown Portland, was erected. A large neon sign with the message "Jesus the Light of the World", first displayed in 1917, was transferred to the new structure.

Through the years, the Apostolic Faith has maintained the doctrines outlined in the first editions of the Apostolic Faith papers printed in 1906. As a Trinitarian church, its doctrinal position centers on a belief in the born-again experience, supports the Wesleyan teaching on holiness, and stresses the need of sanctified believers to receive the Pentecostal experience of the baptism of th Holy Spirit. The church holds to the teaching of salvation rather than the Calvinist belief in predestination and eternal security.

The church is governed by a board of five trustees headed by a superintendent general, with Rev. Darrel D. Lee being the current superintendent general. Both home and foreign missions have emerged on a large scale, with work in 32 countries in Africa, Asia, the West Indies, and Europe. The largest mission field is in Nigeria, where there are approximately two million members. Each local congregation is under the leadership and direction of the international headquarters work in Portland.

Membership: In 2002, the church reported approximately 4,000 members, in 50 congregations with 250 ministers in the United States, and 10 congregations and 25 ministers in Canada. There were over two million members in foreign lands. Membership is only an estimate; the church counts those who regularly attend as members.

Periodicals: Higher Way. • The Light of Hope.

Sources:

A Historical Account of the Apostolic Faith. Portland, OR: Apostolic Faith Publishing House, 1965.

The Light of Life Brought Triumph. Portland, OR: Apostolic Faith Publishing House, 1955.

Saved to Serve. Portland, OR: Apostolic Faith Publishing House, 1967.

★594 ★

Apostolic Holiness Church of America

PO Box 353
Freemont, NC 27830

The Apostolic Holiness Church of America was founded in 1927 in Mount Olive, North Carolina, by a group of former members of the Apostolic Faith Church of God originally founded by Bishops William J. Seymour and Charles W. Lowe. The group included Elders J. M. Barns, W. M. D. Atkins, Ernest Graham, J. M. McKinnon, and Sisters Sarah Artis and Emma Spruel. Doctrine is like other branches of the movement, as all the issues at stake in the separation were administrative. In 1973 the church went through a constitutional revision under its present presiding bishop, Isaac Ryals, assisted by W. R. Turner, I. W. Hicks, Jessie Budd, Shirley Clark, and E. V. Ethridge.

Membership: In 1990 it had ten affiliated congregations.

Sources:

Payne, Wardell J., ed. Directory of African American Religious Bodies: A Compendium by the Howard University School of Divinity. Washington, DC: Howard University Press, 1991.

★595 ★

Carolina Evangelistic Association

Garr Memorial Church
7700 Wallace Rd.
Charlotte, NC 28212

Dr. A. G. Garr was the first foreign missionary of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). He left the church in 1906, immediately after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He continued to do foreign missionary work until 1912, when he returned to the United States and began to operate as an evangelist in the days when Pentecostals were still a small, scattered group. He was particularly active in the early years of the Angelus Temple, the Los Angeles center for the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel headed by Aimee Semple McPherson. In 1930, he went to Charlotte, North Carolina, to conduct a tent revival. After three months, those who had been saved, healed, and helped asked him to remain. Fifty-six years old then, he remained and built a tabernacle. An abandoned city auditorium was bought, remodeled, and named Garr Auditorium; it remains as the headquarters of the association. Garr died in 1944 and was succeeded by his wife and son as pastors.

The Carolina Evangelistic Association carries on an active program through Garr Auditorium and Faith Chapel, both in Charlotte. There are missionaries supported by the Association in numerous countries. A regular program of services is conducted in the county jail and the county home. The "Morning Thought for the Day Magazine" radio show is their radio ministry. Camp Lure crest for youth is located at Lake Lure, North Carolina. The church is a member of the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America.

Membership: Not reported. Approximately 1,000 people regularly attend worship at Garr Auditorium.

★596 ★

Church of Christ Holiness unto the Lord

1650 Smart St.
PO Box 1642 Savannah, GA 31401

The Church of Christ Holiness unto the Lord was founded in 1926 in Savannah, Georgia, but grew out of the ministry of William J. Seymour of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Los Angeles, the original center from which the Pentecostal movement was disseminated around the United States. It was founded by Bishop Milton Solomon Bishop (d. 1952) and his wife, and Saul Keels and his wife, Dora Brown, as well as others. The present leader of the church is Bishop Moses Lewis who became General Overseer in 1979. The church follows the Holiness Pentecostal teachings as expounded by Seymour.

The church is affiliated with the United Fellowship Convention of the Original Azusa Street Mission which sponsors an annual gathering of those churches in the Eastern United States which grew out of Seymour's evangelistic activity.

Membership: In 1990 it had 35 affiliated congregations.

Sources:

DuPree, Sherry Sherrod. African American Holiness Pentecostal Charismatic: Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland Publishing, 1992.

Payne, Wardell J., ed. Directory of African American Religious Bodies: A Compendium by the Howard University School of Divinity. Washington, DC: Howard University Press, 1991.

★597 ★

Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)

Keith St. at 25th St. NW
Cleveland, TN 37311

Most of the Pentecostal churches which bear the name "Church of God" can be traced to a holiness revival in the mountains of northwest Georgia and eastern Tennessee. In 1884, R. G. Spurling, a Baptist minister in Monroe County, Tennessee, began to search the Scriptures for answers to the problems of modernism, formality, and spiritual dryness. An initial meeting of concerned people was held on August 19, 1886, at the Barney Creek Meeting House to organize a new movement that would preach primitive church holiness and provide for reform and revival of the churches. Christian Union was the name accepted by the first eight members enrolled that day. Spurling died within a few months and was succeeded in leadership by his son, R. G. Spurling, Jr..

After ten years of little growth, three laymen influenced by the Spurlings' work claimed a deep religious experience similar to that written about by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, and as a result began to preach sanctification. (Wesley attended a service at Alders gate Street in London in 1738 where he "felt his heart strangely warmed." He and his followers interpreted this as a work of God which again sanctified the person who had already experienced a justifying faith in Christ). The three laymen began to hold services at Camp Creek, in Cherokee County, North Carolina, among a group of unaffiliated Baptists. Spurling and the Christian Union moved their services to Camp Creek and united with the group in North Carolina. During the revival that followed this merger, spontaneous speaking in tongues occurred. After searching the Scriptures, the group recognized the phenomena as a Biblical occurrence and as a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The Christian Union, as it grew, suffered from both persecution and fanaticism: as its unrestrained members spoke in tongues and held noisy services, various members of the local community complained. Some leaders of the Christian Union, responding to the criticism, decided to make the services more orderly. They devised a simple plan of government at a meeting in the home of W.F. Bryant. The group's name was changed to the Holiness Church. In 1896, during the revival, Ambrose J. Tomlinson (1865-1943), an Indiana Quaker and agent of the American Bible Society, came to the hill country to sell Bibles and religious literature. In 1903, he cast his lot with the group and became pastor of the Camp Creek Church. This event can be viewed as the real beginning of the Church of God movement. Having been influenced by the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), Tomlinson persuaded the Holiness Church to accept the Biblical name the Church of God. He is also the probable source for the pacifist emphasis which permeates many Pentecostal churches. Tomlinson began a publishing enterprise and printed for distribution the doctrines of the new church. Headquarters were soon established in his home at Culbertson, Tennessee, and he emerged as the dominant leader. Tomlinson later settled in Cleveland, Tennessee, and eventually led a congregation there to unite with the Holiness Church. The church's period of expansion had begun.

With the establishment of further congregations, the members saw the necessity of an assembly for dealing with questions of mutual concern. The first assembly convened in 1906 at Camp Creek and decisions were made about footwashing–it was to be observed at least annually–and mid-week and family services– they were to be encouraged. At the 1907 assembly, the name was officially changed to the Church of God.

The 1908 assembly was attended by G. B. Cashwell, who was to introduce many holiness people to the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the experience of speaking in tongues which had occurred at the mission of the Pacific Apostolic Faith Movement on Azusa Street in Los Angeles. After the assembly, he preached a revival. Tomlinson received the baptism and spoke in tongues. The following year, in a gesture symbolic of the church's acceptance of the new truth preached by Cashwell and experienced by Tomlinson, he was selected general moderator of the young church, a position he held until 1922. In 1914, he was elected general overseer for life. Accelerated growth, with the exception of losses of schismatic bodies, has continued unabated.

Doctrinally, the Church of God believes in the baptism of the Holy Spirit as an experience subsequent to sanctification. Practices include baptism by immersion, the Lord's Supper, and footwashing. Members believe in holiness-of-life, which excludes the use of cosmetics, costly apparel, and shorts or slacks on women. They accept a premillennial second coming (the coming of Christ to bind Satan before Christ's thousand-year reign on earth with his saints).

Government of the Church of God is centralized. Authority is vested in the general assembly, which meets every two years and is chaired by the general overseer. A supreme council operates between general assemblies, and a general executive committee oversees the boards and agencies. State overseers have charge over the churches in their areas and appoint the pastors. Tithing is a central feature in finances. The height of centralization came in 1914 when the annual elections of the general overseer were discontinued and Tomlinson became overseer for life.

Tomlinson's authority was attacked in the 1920s. In 1922, a committee ordered to investigate the church's finances (which Tomlinson completely controlled) reported unfavorably, and Tomlinson was impeached and removed from office. The overseer's authority had been reduced earlier by the addition of two new offices to control functions previously controlled by Tomlinson (publishing and education). These were supplemented in 1922 by the new constitution, adopted despite Tomlinson's opposition.

The Church of God Publishing House produces a large selection of books, pamphlets and tracts, and a full line of church school material. Missions, both foreign and domestic, are widespread (in seventy-two countries) and supported by the tithe of members. The Church is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: Lee College, Cleveland, Tennessee.

Northwest Bible and Music Academy, Minot, North Dakota.
West Coast Bible School, Pasadena, California.

Periodicals: Church of God Evangel. • Lighted Pathway. Available from Church of God Publishing House, 1080 Montgomery Ave., Cleveland, TN 37311.

Sources:

Conn, Charles W. Like a Mighty Army. Cleveland, TN: Church of God Publishing House, 1955.

——. Pillars of Pentecost. Cleveland, TN: Pathway Press, 1956.

Hughes, Ray H. Church of God Distinctives. Cleveland, TN: Pathway Press, 1968.

Marshall, June Glover. A Biographical Sketch of Richard G. Spurling, Jr. Cleveland, TN: Pathway Press, 1974.

Slay, James L. This We Believe. Cleveland, TN: Pathway Press, 1963.

★598 ★

Church of God House of Prayer

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Harrison W. Poteat joined the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) in its early years and was an overseer in the Northeast for more than 20 years. In 1933, he established churches on Prince Edward Island. In 1939, he broke with the Cleveland headquarters and founded the Church of God House of Prayer. Many of the churches which Poteat had established went with him. A suit was brought by the parent body, which was able to recover occupancy in many of the church properties, and the loss of the property cut deeply into Poteat's support. Some congregations withdrew from the Church of God House of Prayer and became independent. Doctrine follows that of the parent body. H.W. Poteat remained as Overseer of the Church of God House of Prayer until 1932, when he was succeeded by his sons George Poteat (1952-1955) and Paul E. Poteat (1955-1961). The next general superintendents were Evan Hedglin (1961-1965), Charles McNevin (1965-1991) and Arnold Culleton (1991 to present).

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: Markleysburg Bible Institute, Markleysburg, Pennsylvania.

★599 ★

Church of God (Jerusalem Acres)

℅ r
Box 1207
1826 Dalton Pike (Jerusalem Acres)
Cleveland, TN 37364-1207

History. The Church of God (Jerusalem Acres) began in 1957 when Grady R. Kent initiated a reformation of the Church of God of Prophecy aimed at a reestablishment of its biblical order. Kent had been a pastor in the church since 1933. In 1943, he was placed in charge of the Church of God of Prophecy Marker Association begun by Ambrose J. Tomlinson, the church's founder, as an auxiliary to locate, mark, beautify, and maintain prominent places in the world connected with the Church of God of Prophecy. One place of particular interest was the Fields of the Wood–a mountainside Bible monument, based on Psalms 132:6 and Habakkuk 2:2-3, located on Burger Mountain in western North Carolina. The monument includes a replica of the Ten Commandments in sevenfoot tall letters and an altar on the top of the mountain. The altar marks the spot where Tomlinson prayed, immediately prior to declaring the Church of God to be in existence. Kent also supervised the White Angel Fleet, pilots and airplanes used for public demonstrations of ministry at airports throughout the United States. Between 1948 and 1957, Kent objected to the Church of God of Prophecy replacing the general overseer with the general assembly as the highest authority in the church (which, in effect, repeated the history of the church and led to its formation in the early 1920s). Faced with having to recant his objection to the actions of the general assembly, as well as other controversial ideas he had developed, Kent resigned in 1957. With 300 supporters, many from South Carolina, Kent established a new Church of God, with himself as general overseer.

Beliefs. The Church believes in an experiential understanding of justification by faith, sanctification as a second work of grace, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues. It also believes in the restoration of both ministerial (Ephesians 4:11) and spiritual (I Corinthians 12) gifts to the Church.

In areas of worship and service, the church has developed a comprehensive program termed "New Testament Judaism," a term coined by Kent in 1962 on a visit to Israel. The church observes the biblical (Old Testament) calendar that includes the sabbath as a day of worship; Passover as a time for celebrating communion; Pentecost as a festival for spiritual renewal and dedication to the work of the church; and Tabernacles as a remembrance of the time of Christ's birth and a foreshadowing of his return. Various symbols generally associated with Judaism are used alongside of the cross. The church does not celebrate the holidays of Easter, Halloween, and Christmas.

Organization. The polity is theocratic, government by God through an annointed leader. There is a chief bishop who sits as the final authority (as contrasted to the total authority) in matters of both judicial and executive government. The church has no legislative body, but has a council of apostles and elders, the purpose of which is judicial–that is, to interpret the laws of God in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, as they relate to the church. The primary officers in the council are the chief bishop, the 12 apostles, the seven men of wisdom, and the 70 elders.

Membership: In 1987, the church reported 10,000 members, 145 churches, and 255 ministers.

Periodicals: The Vision Speaks. • Greater Light.

Sources:

Introduction to Apostles' Doctrine. Cleveland, TN: Church Publishing Company, 1984.

Kent, Grady R. Treatise on the 1957 Reformation Stand. Cleveland, TN: Church Publishing Company, the Church of God, n.d.

Manual of Apostles Doctrine and Business Procedure. Cleveland, TN: Church Publishing Company and Press, n.d.

★600 ★

Church of God/Mountain Assembly

110 S. Florence Ave.
PO Box 157
Jellico, TN 37762

The Church of God/Mountain Assembly grew out of a holiness revival in 1895 in the South Union Association of the United Baptist Church. From 1895 until 1903, members and ministers who adopted the holiness belief in a second work of grace which imparts sanctification by the power of the Holy Spirit, remained within the United Baptist Church in McCreary County, Kentucky. However, in 1903, the Baptists decided to revoke the licenses of all ministers who were preaching sanctification according to the holiness movement. In 1906, these holiness ministers–Reverends J. H. Parks, Steve N. Bryant, Tom Moses, and William O. Douglas–met at Jellico, Tennessee, with members of their several churches and organized the Church of God. The words "Mountain Assembly" were added in 1911 after the group heard of other Church of God groups. In 1906-07, the group learned of the baptism of the Holy Ghost as evidenced by speaking in tongues and accepted it as a fuller expression of their ideas. Rev. S. N. Bryant was elected as their first moderator. The assembly ascribed to a church covenant, teachings, and declaration of faith.

The doctrine of the Church of God/Mountain Assembly is similar to that of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). The church professes a conservative trinitarian faith, and the King James Version of the Bible is preferred. Present polity was adopted in 1914. The offices of General Overseer, Assistant Overseer and Missions Director, General Secretary and Treasurer, and District Overseer were established and filled. The Overseers operate in a basically congregational system. The assembly meets annually. The Delegation serves as the legislative body and a Board of Twelve Elders as a judicial body. From its headquarters in Jellico, Tennessee, the Church of God/Mountain Assembly has spread to ten states from Michigan to Florida. A National Youth Campground is located near Winchester, Ohio.

Membership: In 1994, the church reported 116 churches and 5,100 members in the United States, and 350 churches overseas in India, Africa and the Caribbean.

Periodicals: Gospel Herald.

Sources:

Gibson, Luther. History of the Church of God Mountain Assembly. The Author, 1954.

★601 ★

Church of God of Apostolic Faith

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Church of God of the Apostolic Faith was organized in 1914 by four independent Pentecostal ministers who saw the need for some organization and church government. Not wishing to follow the plan of government adopted by the Assemblies of God, which had been formed that year in nearby Hot Springs, Arkansas, the Reverends James O. McKenzie, Edwin A. Buckles, Oscar H. Myers, and Joseph P. Rhoades held a meeting which led to the creation of the Church of God of the Apostolic Faith at Cross Roads Mission near Ozark, Arkansas. They adopted a presbyterial form of government based on Acts 15. The Church also had a doctrinal difference with the Assemblies of God, believing as did the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) that one must seek sanctification before having the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Like the Church of God, healing, tithing, and nonparticipation in war are emphasized.

The general conference of the Church meets annually. It elects the general presbytery of seven ministers, including the general overseer and two assistants. The conference owns all the property and the presbytery controls the ministry. The church is currently divided into five districts. There is a mission in Mexico.

Membership: Not reported. In the mid-1970s there were approximately 1,400 members in 27 congregations.

Periodicals: Church of God Herald. • Christian Youth.

★602 ★

Church of God of Prophecy

PO Box 2910
Cleveland, TN 37320-2910

Alternate Address: Canadian headquarters: Eastern Canada: PO Box 457, 1st Line East, R.R. 2, Brampton, ON L6V 2L4. Western Canada: 130 Centre St., Strathmore, AL T1P 1G9.

History. The Church of God of Prophecy traces its beginning to the organization of the Church of God on June 13, 1903, in Cherokee County, North Carolina. Ambrose J. Tomlinson was selected as pastor. New churches in other areas were organized under his pastoral leadership.

Although it was understood that the small group was operating as the Church of God, it was in the second assembly held at Union Grove, Bradley County, Tennessee, in 1907, that the name Church of God was formally adopted by the assembly and entered into the records. In 1952, the suffix "of Prophecy" to the name came about to distinguish the church from other organizations using the same "Church of God" in business and secular activities.

The first general assembly of its membership was called for January 1906, in Cherokee County, with A. J. Tomlinson serving as moderator and clerk. He continued to hold this dual office until the title was changed to general overseer in the fifth assembly in 1910.

The leadership of A. J. Tomlinson was marked by making the Church of God a national, then an international body, and by the development of various educational, social, and ecclesiastical programs. He continued as general overseer until his death in 1943. At that time, his youngest son, Milton A. Tomlinson, was duly selected by the overseer leadership and approved by the assembly body.

M. A. Tomlinson's tenure as general overseer continued until April 30, 1990, when due to ill health, he vacated the office. In a meeting of the state and national overseers, Billy D. Murray, Sr. was selected to serve as interim general overseer until the annual assembly in August. At that official conclave of the church membership, Murray was confirmed as general overseer; he continues in that position.

During Tomlinson's tenure as general overseer, the church was noted for its call for unity and fellowship not limited socially, racially, or nationally. The church is integrated on all levels and various leadership positions are occupied by women. The following ministries were developed under his leadership: radio and television, youth camping, servicemen's outreach, world mission corps, youth mission teams, international orphanages, and Tomlinson College.

Church history includes a strong emphasis on youth ministries, national and international missions, and various parochial education ministries.

The church has developed a biblical-theme park, known as Fields of the Wood near Murphy, North Carolina, the site where the first congregation was organized in 1903. It includes the world's largest cross, the Ten Commandments depicted in fivefoot letters, and biblical markers that portray the message of Christ. The park is visited by more than 100,000 visitors annually.

Beliefs. The Church of God of Prophecy accepts the authority of the whole Bible as the Word of God and hence has no creed. However, it has summarized what it considers to be "Twenty-Nine Important Bible Truths" which show it to be in basic agreement with traditional trinitarian Christian beliefs. It places special emphasis on sanctification (holiness of the believer) and the doctrine of Spirit-baptism that includes speaking-in-tongues as initial evidence. Other prominent doctrinal commitments include: an eschatology that involves a premillennial return of the risen Jesus, which, according to the church, will be preceded by a series of events; a call for sanctity in the home that includes denial of multiple marriages; practice of baptism by immersion, the Lord's Supper and washing the saints' feet; total abstinence from intoxicating beverages and tobacco; a concern for modesty in all dimensions of life; and an appreciation for various gifts of the Holy Spirit with special attention to divine healing.

Organization. The church is headed by its general overseer. An biannual general assembly is held where various doctrinal and business concerns as come before it are considered. To be adopted, all resolutions must receive unanimous consent of all male members in attendance. These resolutions are then ratified by each local congregation. The general assembly concludes with the general overseer appointing all national and international leaders, who in turn are responsible for appointing the various leaders under their jurisdiction.

In 1916, the church developed the Assembly Band Movement, now known as the Pastoral Care Department, a unique program which organizes cell groups of eight to twelve people fostering religious commitment and growth. These groups resemble the classes organized in the nineteenth century by the early Methodists.

In 1933, the church adopted an official church flag which is on display in all church facilities.

Membership: The church is organized in 99 countries of the world and in every state of the United States. In 1994, the church reported 303,034 members in 5,717 churches and 1,345 missions. There were 3,009 members in 43 Canadian churches.

Educational Facilities: Center for Biblical Leadership, Cleveland, Tennessee. World Harvest Institute, Cleveland, Tennessee.

Periodicals: White Wing Messenger. • The Happy Harvester.• Victory.

Remarks: The problems which led to the withdrawal of A. J. Tomlinson from the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) in 1922 are described quite differently by the two groups. According to Homer Tomlinson, one of A. J. Tomlinson's sons, the occassion of the schism was the desire of some church elders to organize a Golden Rule Supply Company to operate as a co-op for members, and to use the profits to support the church's mission program. Reportedly, the Rev. Joe S. Lewellyn and others campaigned against Tomlinson, which undermined his support and the confidence in his leadership. In any case, Tomlinson strongly objected to the church's reorganization in 1921 which substantially stripped many of the powers from the office of general overseer.

Sources:

Davidson, C. T. Upon This Rock. 3 vols. Cleveland TN: White Wing Press, 1973-76.

Duggar, Lillie. A. J. Tomlinson. Cleveland, TN: White Wing Publishing House, 1964.

Pruitt, Raymond M. Fundamentals of the Faith. Cleveland, TN: White Wing Publishing House and Press, 1981.

Stone, James. The Church of God of Prophecy: History and Polity. Cleveland, TN: White Wing Press, 1977.

★603 ★

Church of God of the Original Mountain Assembly

Current address not obtained for this edition.

In 1939 Steve N. Bryant, longtime leader of the Church of God of the Mountain Assembly died. He was succeeded by A. J. Long, who led the Church in a reorganization in 1944. However, in 1946, Long was not reelected as moderator. That same year, with his supporters, he left and founded the Church of God of the Original Mountain Assembly. Approximately one fourth of the membership (fifteen ministers, eight deacons, and approximately 300 people) established the new church on the original structure of the parent body. The church is headed by a general overseer and a council of twelve. The first meeting of the Church of God of the Original Mountain Assembly was held at Williamsburg, Kentucky. The doctrine of the parent body was adopted, from the covenant originally made when it was incorporated in 1917, but articles were added on the need for harmony between pastors and deacons (lay leaders), the subordinate role of women and opposition to snake handling.

Membership: Not reported. In 1967 there were 11 churches and 17 ministers.

★604 ★

Church of God of the Union Assembly

Box 1323
Dalton, GA 30720

The Church of God of the Union Assembly is a small schism formed in 1920 from the Church of God of the Mountain Assembly. It began when the congregation in Center, Jackson County, Georgia withdrew. The immediate occasion for the split was the issue of tithing. The Union Assembly rejects the tithing system established in 1919 by the Mountain Assembly, believing it to be an Old Testament practice not taught by Jesus or his apostles. The group also believes the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom; that David's throne is established in heaven, not on earth; and that Christ's coming will be followed by the end of time, not the millennium (Christ's reign on earth for 1,000 years with his saints). The Union Assembly's present leader is Jesse Pratt, who has written a number of pamphlets disseminated through the church. Congregations have spread to seventeen states.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Quarterly News.

★605 ★

Church of God (World Headquarters)

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Ambrose J. Tomlinson, founder of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) and the Church of God of Prophecy died in 1943. Before his death, however, he designated his eldest son Homer Tomlinson, his successor as general overseer. However, the General Assembly set aside that appointment and selected the younger son, Milton A. Tomlinson as the new general overseer. Homer Tomlinson rejected their action, called his followers to a meeting in New York and reorganized the Church of God, generally distinguished from other similarly-named groups by the additional phrase, "World Headquarters." A struggle in court over control of the church resulted in Milton and his followers being recognized as The Church of God of Prophecy which was awarded all properties and trademarks. Homer continued as head of the group of loyal followers and rebuilt the church which he led until his death in 1969. He was succeeded by Voy M. Bullen.

The doctrine, which follows closely that of the other Church of God bodies, is contained in the Book of Doctrines/1903-1970. The only doctrinal divergence in the entire Church of God movement occurs in the Church of God (World Headquarters). Its members replace the premillennialism of the other branches with a belief that the Church of God has the keys to bring the kingdom of God on earth, and that the kingdom will come by the setting up of the saints of God in the governments of the nations of the world now, here upon earth. Saints are encouraged to become responsible rulers and to preach the gospel of the kingdom. This doctrine was based upon the Bible as interpreted by A. J. Tomlinson, who gave Homer a commission to plant the church flag in every nation of the earth. Given that commission, Homer established the "World Headquarters" of the Church of God in Jerusalem.

After Bishop Homer's death in 1969, the American headquarters was moved from Queens, New York, to Huntsville, Alabama, a location more central to the congregations. The church's administrative offices are there. An annual assembly is held at Choffee, Missouri. A vigorous mission program, attributed in part to Homer's tireless traveling, has seen affiliated Churches of God established in Barbados, Canada, Egypt, England, Ghana, Greece, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Panama, the Philippine Islands, Scotland, the Virgin Islands, and Zambia. The Theocratic Party, associated with the Church, runs candidates for both state and national offices in the United States.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: The Church of God.

Sources:

Book of Doctrines, 1903-1970. Huntsville, AL: Church of God Publishing House, 1970.

Tomlinson, Homer A. The Shout of a King. Queens Village, NY: Church of God, 1968.

★606 ★

Congregational Holiness Church

3888 Fayetteville Hwy.
Griffin, GA 30223

In 1920 a controversy over divine healing arose in the Georgia Conference of the Pentecostal Holiness Church, now known as the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. One faction contended that the healing provisions in the atonement were sufficient, and that human aids (doctors) were unnecessary. While this faction admitted the therapeutic value of effective remedies, such remedies were not considered necessary for God to heal. The other faction, led by Rev. Watson Sorrow, insisted that God had placed medicine on earth for man's use. The group against doctors relied on the Biblical phrase about Christ's passion, "By his stripes you are healed."

The names of the Rev. Watson Sorrow and Hugh Bowling were dropped from the ministerial roll of the Pentecostal Holiness Church without their first being tried by the board of the Georgia annual conference of which they were members. A number of ministers withdrew with them, and together they organized the Congregational Holiness Church. They expressed differences with their parent body on the concentration of power in a few hands, so they attempted to democratize the church government. Consequently their polity is not episcopal, like that of the Pentecostal Holiness Church. Their polity is a moderate connectional system: local churches are grouped in associations which elect delegates to a general association with legislative powers. Pastors are called by vote of the congregation. Men and women may be ordained. Mission work is going forth in Cuba, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, India, Nicaragua, and Spain.

Membership: In 1995 the church reported 7,000 members, 175 churches, and 429 ministers.

Periodicals: Gospel Messenger.

Sources:

Cox, B. L. History and Doctrine of the Congregational Holiness Church. Gainesville, GA: The Author, 1959.

——. My Life Story. Greenwood, SC: C. H. Publishing House, n.d.

★607 ★

Door of Faith Church and Bible School

1161 Young St.
Honolulu, HI 96814

The Door of Faith Church and Bible School was founded by Mildred Johnson Brostek. Raised a Methodist, she experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit in an Assemblies of God church in Florida. She later joined the Pentecostal Holiness Church (now known as the International Pentecostal Holiness Church), which licensed her to preach. She graduated from the Holmes Theological Seminary and soon thereafter went to the Hawaiian Islands where she had earlier felt a call from God to go as a missionary. In 1937, she began to hold evangelistic services on Molokai in the home of a native Hawaiian. The services prospered and in 1940, the Door of Faith Churches of Hawaii was chartered and the work soon spread to the other islands.

The church is headed by the Reverend Brostek who is the church's overseer. There is an annual conference. A daily radio ministry is broacast over two stations, one in Honolulu and one in Hilo, Hawaii.

Membership: Not reported. There are churches at a number of locations in Hawaii and a prosperous mission has developed in the Philippines, where a Bible college has been opened. There is one church in New York. In 1979, there were 40 churches and 3,000 members in Hawaii and missions work in Okinawa and Indonesia.

Educational Facilities: Door of Faith Bible School, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Sources:

Donovan, Robert D. Her Door of Faith. Honolulu, HI: Orovan Books, 1971.

★608 ★

Emmanuel Holiness Church

Box 818
Bladenboro, NC 28320

In 1953, controversy over standards of dress among the members of the Pentecostal Fire-Baptized Holiness Church led to a vote to divide the church. One issue which occasioned the split was the use of neckties, which the Pentecostal Fire-Baptized Holiness Church explicity forbids. Those who voted for the split elected Rev. L. O. Sellers chairman and formed the Emmanuel Holiness Church. It differs from its parent body only on minor points of dress, a more congregational form of government, and tithing which is required of members. A general assembly of all ministers and one delegate from each church has limited legislative powers.

Membership: Not reported. In 1967 there were 72 congregations and 118 ministers.

Periodicals: Emmanuel Holiness Messenger.

★609 ★

Emmanuel Tabernacle Baptist Church Apostolic Faith

329-333 N. Garfield Ave.
Columbus, OH 43203

The Emmanuel Tabernacle Baptist Church Apostolic Faith began in 1916 (incorporated 1917) in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus was an early center of the non-Trinitarian Apostolic movement which had originated in 1913 and spread through the still youthful Pentecostal movement. The new church was founded by Rev. Martin Rawleigh Gregory (later Bishop) (1885-1960). Gregory had been called to the ministry as a 17 year old youth. He was educated at Colgate University and became a Baptist minister in 1903. In 1914 he moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he encountered Pentecostalism in its Apostolic form. His adoption of Pentecostalism led to a break with the Baptist Church.

Gregory was assisted in the founding of the Emmanuel Tabernacle by two females who had worked with him in the Baptist Church, Lela Grant and Bessie Dockett. He came to believe that women should share equally in the preaching of God's word, and as bishop of the church, Gregory opened the ordained ministry to women, the first Apostolic church to do so. As the church grew and a board of bishops was created, women were elevated to the episcopacy.

The church holds to an Apostolic non-Trinitarian theology. Jesus is the name of the One God and baptism is done in the name of Jesus only. The church also practices foot washing. The current leader, Dr. H. C. Clark, is a female. An annual meeting is held each summer in Columbus.

Membership: In 2002, there were approximately 20 congregations.

Sources:

Payne, Wardell J., ed. Directory of African American Religious Bodies: A Compendium by the Howard University School of Divinity. Washington, DC: Howard University Press, 1991.

★610 ★

Evangelistic Church of God

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Evangelistic Church of God was incorporated at Denver, Colorado in 1949. It grew out of the work of Norman L. Chase, former minister of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) and of the (Original) Church of God. By 1955 the group claimed 774 members in twelve churches. The general assembly meets annually.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: The Church of God Final Warning.

★611 ★

First Interdenominational Christian Association

Calvary Temple Holiness Church
1061 Memorial Dr. SE
Atlanta, GA 30315

In 1946, the Rev. Watson Sorrow, who had been one of the founders of the Congregational Holiness Church, formed the First Interdenominational Christian Association, centered upon his own congregation, Calvary Temple in Atlanta. The Association is like the Congregational Holiness Church but less definite in doctrine. The parent body's statements on war, eschatology, and the forbidding of varying doctrinal beliefs among ministers were dropped. Retained were statements on healing, footwashing, and Pentecostalism. Several churches have joined Sorrow by adopting the congregational polity and policies of Calvary Temple.

Membership: Not reported. In the late 1960s, Calvary Temple had about 100 members.

★612 ★

Free Will Baptist Church of the Pentecostal Faith

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Free Will Baptist Church of the Pentecostal Faith was formed in the 1950s when some members of the South Carolina Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church Conference decided not to participate in the reorganization that led to the formation of the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church. Those who abstained adopted a constitution and chose a new name. They are at one doctrinally with the other Pentecostal Free Will Baptists.

The polity is congregational. The annual conference is to approve teachings, methods and conduct, and to encourage fellowship and evangelism. A general board headed by the conference superintendent functions between conference meetings. The Foreign Missions Department oversees work in Costa Rica. Camp meetings are periodically sponsored.

Membership: Not reported. In 1967 there were 33 congregations and 39 ministers.

Sources:

Faith and Government of the Free Will Baptist Church of the Pentecostal Faith. N.p. 1961.

★613 ★

Full Gospel Church Association

Box 265
Amarillo, TX 79105

The Full Gospel Church Association, Incorporated, was organized by the Rev. Dennis W. Thorn at Amarillo, Texas, in 1952 for the purpose of bringing together a number of small, independent Pentecostal churches and missions, most of them with fewer than 100 members in the South and Southwest.

Doctrinally, the Full Gospel Church is similar to the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). It emphasizes healing, tithing, and a literal heaven and hell, and uses only the King James Version of the Bible. It practices footwashing. Bearing arms is a matter of individual judgment. It does forbid disloyalty, insubordination, and criticism of the Association by its individual members. One unique element is the requirement that each church have an "Altar of God" in its building as a condition of its recognition by the Association.

The Association is congregational in polity. A general convention meets regularly. The general board of directors meets quarterly; its executive directors are the supreme council of the Association. Mission workers were active in Mexico, the Philippines, and Africa.

Membership: Not reported. In 1967 there were 67 churches with a total combined membership of 2,010.

★614 ★

General Conference of the Evangelical Baptist Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The General Conference of the Evangelical Baptist Church was organized in 1935 as the Church of the Full Gospel, Inc. It is Pentecostal and holiness in emphasis, following a theology close to that of the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church. It stresses spiritual gifts, healing, and the pretribulation, premillennial return of Christ. Four ordinances are recognized–baptism by immersion, communion, the dedication of children, and tithing. The dedication of children is a form of christening that is distinct from baptism.

The polity is congregational. There is an annual conference which elects officers. In the local church, the pastor is the chief officer. He is elected by the congregation and has the power to appoint or nominate all church officers.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: Evangelical Theological Seminary, Goldsboro, North Carolina.

William Carter College, Goldsboro, North Carolina.

Periodicals: Evangelical Baptist.

Sources:

Discipline of the General Conference of the Evangelical Baptist Church. N.p., n.d.

★615 ★

Holiness Baptist Association

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Holiness Baptist Association can be traced to 1893 when, because of their teaching on "sinless perfection," two congregations and several ministers were expelled from the Little River Baptist Association. The next year, together with two additional newly-organized churches, representatives met at the Pine City Church in Wilcox County, Georgia and formed the Association. The Association mixes the Wesleyan understanding of sanctification with traditional Missionary Baptist standards of faith and decorum. Tongues-speech, while permitted by the group, is not regarded as evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Association operates a campground on the Alma Highway seven miles east of Douglas, Georgia. Association business is transacted there annually during camp meeting.

Membership: Not reported. In the mid-1970s there were 46 congregations (all in Georgia and Florida) and approximately 2,000 members.

★616 ★

Holiness Church of God

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Holiness Church of God was formed in 1920 by members from several holiness churches which had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Three years before, a revival, called the Big May Meeting, led by Elder James A. Foust had occurred in Madison, North Carolina. The entire membership of several congregations became Pentecostals, including the Kimberly Park Holiness Church in Winston-Salem. The church incorporated in 1928. Churches are found in New York, Virginia and West Virginia.

Membership: Not reported. In 1968 there were 28 congregations and 927 members.

★617 ★

Holy Church of God

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Holy Church of God is a Holiness Pentecostal church founded early in the twentieth century. It affirms a belief in the Trinity, salvation by faith in the shed blood of Jesus, sanctification of the believer, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost for the sanctified. The initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost is speaking in tongues. The church practices baptism by immersion, the Lord's Supper, and foot washing. It also believes in divine healing and tithing.

Marriage is considered a sacred state in the church. Divorce is allowed, when the offending party has committed adultery, but each divorce is decided on a case by case basis. Women may take leadership roles in the church, including evangelist, missionary, and temporary pastor, but are not allowed to assume a role that allows them to usurp authority over males. All of the business matters of the church are to be managed by the men. Members must refrain from the use of alcohol, tobacco, and narcotics, and are required to dress modestly. The church is headed by a board of overseers, a board of directors, and a delegated convention. The threeperson board of overseers has charge of all matters except those dealing with finances and real estate, the concern of the board of directors. The annual convention includes all ministers and delegates from the local churches. Local churches are self-governing but must restrict themselves to pastors licensed by the Holy Church of God.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Constitution and By-laws of the Holy Church of God. Savannah, GA: Holy Church of God, n.d. 31 pp.

★618 ★

Holy Temple of God

Big Apple Rd.
East Palatka, FL 32077

The Holy Temple of God is a holiness Pentecostal church founded in 1973 by Walter Camps, formerly an evangelist and presiding district elder with the Church of God by Faith. At the time he left to found the new church, he supervised a district of 18 churches in the Gainesville, Florida, area. During the 1970s Camps established new congregations in Central Florida and launched a radio ministry.

Membership: In 1990 there were approximately 1,000 members in the church.

Sources:

DuPree, Sherry Sherrod. African American Holiness Pentecostal Charismatic: Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland Publishing, 1992.

★619 ★

International Pentecostal Church of Christ

PO Box 439
2245 U.S. 42 SW
London, OH 43140

The International Pentecostal Church of Christ was formed in 1976 by a merger of the International Pentecostal Assemblies and the Pentecostal Church of Christ. The International Pentecostal Assemblies was formed in 1936 by the merger of the Association of Pentecostal Assemblies and the National and International Pentecostal Missionary Union. The former body was an outgrowth of a periodical, The Bridegroom's Messenger, which had been founded in 1907. The Association of Pentecostal Assemblies was founded in 1921 in Atlanta by Elizabeth A. Sexton, Hattie M. Barth, and Paul T. Barth. The National and International Pentecostal Missionary Union was founded in 1914 by Dr. Philip Wittich.

In 1908, evangelist John Stroup of South Solon, Ohio, received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, signified by his speaking in tongues. In 1913, he began to travel through southeastern Ohio and the adjacent territory in Kentucky and West Virginia, organizing churches in that area. In 1917 at Advance (Flatwoods), Kentucky, a group of ministers met, organized the Pentecostal Church of Christ, and appointed Stroup bishop. In 1927, the Pentecostal Church of Christ was incorporated.

The doctrine of the merged church follows closely that of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). Members believe in healing, the premillennial return of Christ, a personal devil, Sunday as the Lord's rest day, and two ordinances–baptism and the Lord's Supper. Footwashing is optional for local assemblies and believers.

Organization of the small church is congregational with a general overseer elected every two years. Women are admitted to the ordained ministry. The Bridegroom's Messenger continues as the official periodical and is now the oldest continuously published Pentecostal publication. Missions are supported in Brazil, India, Mexico, Kenya, the Philippines, and Uruguay.

Membership: In 2001 the church reported 5,453 members, 69 churches, and 152 ministers. There were 160,000 members worldwide.

Educational Facilities: Beulah Heights Bible College, Atlanta, Georgia.

Periodicals: The Pentecostal Leader. Send orders to PO Box 439, London, OH 43140.

★620 ★

International Pentecostal Holiness Church

PO Box 12609
Oklahoma City, OK 73157-2609

Alternate Address: Their Canadian headquarters is located at 16293 104th Ave., Surrey, BC V4N 1Z7.

In addition to those Pentecostal churches that derive from the Rev. Charles Parham and the Apostolic Church and the Topeka Bible School, which he founded, there is a Pentecostal group that begins with Benjamin Hardin Irwin. He was a Baptist who had received the experience of sanctification under the influence of the Iowa Holiness Association, a group made up mostly of Methodists. As a holiness minister, he began to delve into Methodist writings, in particular those of John Fletcher, the eighteenth-century Wesleyan divine. In Fletcher he found what he felt to be an experience for sanctified believers, described as a "baptism of burning love." Eventually Irwin claimed to have received this "baptism of fire," and he began to teach and preach about it. Also called "fire baptism," the experience was related to the Apostles' reception of the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire on Pentecost, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. Irwin's preaching of a third experience beyond justification and sanctification (called the "second blessing" in the holiness churches) led to controversy. He and his followers were the objects of intense criticism.

The "third blessing" spread across the Midwest and South. In 1895, the Fire-Baptized Holiness Association was organized in Iowa. Other state and local organizations followed. Irwin exercised authority over each and appointed the presidents. From July 28 to August 8, 1898, a First General Convention was held at Anderson, South Carolina, and formal organization of the FireBaptized Holiness Association occurred. Among those in attendance was W. E. Fuller, who later founded the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas. The 1898 convention adopted a Discipline, which provided for life tenure for the general overseer who was given wide-ranging authority and control over the work. The association soon took the name of the FireBaptized Holiness Church. Within two years, involved in a personal scandal, Irwin left the church and turned it over to JosephH. King, a former Methodist minister who had been assisting him in running the church.

Contemporaneous with the ministry of Irwin was that of A. B. Crumpler. Crumpler, a Methodist minister in North Carolina, had received the second-blessing sanctification experience the "second blessing" was the basic distinguishing mark of the holiness movement. Crumpler received his sanctification experience through the ministry of the Rev. Beverly Carradine, a famous Southern Methodist holiness preacher. He became the leading exponent of the "second blessing" in North Carolina, and in 1896, a great holiness movement began there. In 1899, Crumpler was tried for ignoring some of the organizational rules of the Methodist Church. He withdrew and the following year formed the Pentecostal Holiness Church at Fayetteville, North Carolina.

In 1906, the Rev. G. B. Cashwell, a Pentecostal Holiness minister, attended the Pentecostal revival services which were occurring on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California, and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced by his speaking in tongues. Cashwell headed eastward to introduce the experience to his brothers and sisters. On New Years's Eve, 1906, he began a revival at Dunn, North Carolina, and introduced the experience to the Pentecostal Holiness Church. He also led J. H. King into the experience. Not without controversy, both the Pentecostal Holiness Church and the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church accepted the new experience in 1908. A merger under the name of the former occurred in 1911. It became the International Pentecostal Holiness Church in 1975.

The Pentecostal Holiness Church insists that the Pentecostal experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, signified by speaking in tongues, is valid only as a "third blessing." In other words, the Pentecostal experience can come only to those who have already been justified (accepted Jesus as their personal savior) and sanctified (received the "second blessing" which was the key experience of the holiness movement). By contrast, most Pentecostals believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is available to any believer at any time and brings with it power for a holy life. Most Pentecostals seek only "two experiences," while the Pentecostal Holiness Church seeks three.

The Pentecostal Holiness Church is a direct outgrowth of the holiness movement: that explains why it retains the "second blessing." The church also has a Methodist heritage, so it derives its doctrinal statement from the Methodist Articles of Religion. In line with its Methodist roots, the church is among the few Pentecostal bodies to allow baptism by methods other than immersion. Footwashing is optional.

The polity of the Pentecostal Holiness Church is episcopal. One bishop elected by the general conference and other officers form a general board of administration to administer the affairs of the denomination. Under the administrative board are various other boards and agencies. Among the boards are those on education, evangelism, missions, and publication. The Board of Education oversees the work at the three colleges. The World Missions Board, created in 1904, oversees missions in 72 countries. Foreign work in those countries has been set off as autonomous churches that remain aligned ideologically and filially: the Pentecostal Wesleyan Methodists of Brazil, the Pentecostal Methodist Church of Chile, and the Pentecostal Holiness Church of Canada which became autonomous in 1971. A vigorous publishing program is pursued by Life spring Resources.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: Emmanuel College, Franklin Springs, Georgia.

Southwestern College of Christian Ministries, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Pacific Coast Bible College, Sacramento, California.

Periodicals: Issachar File. • The Helping HandWorldorama.

Sources:

Beacham, A. D., Jr. A Brief History of the Pentecostal Church of God. Franklin Springs, GA: Life Springs Resources, 1993.

Campbell, Joseph E. The Pentecostal Holiness Church, 1898-1948. Franklin Springs, GA: Publishing House of the Pentecostal Holiness Church,1951.

King, Joseph H. Yet Speaketh. Franklin Springs, GA: Publishing House of the Pentecostal Holiness Church, 1949.

Synan, Vinson. The Old Time Power. Franklin Springs, GA: LifeSprings Resources, 1998.

★621 ★

(Original) Church of God

PO Box 592
Wytheville, PA 24382

The first schism in the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) occurred in 1917, and was led by the Rev. Joseph L. Scott, a pastor in Chattanooga. Among the issues involved were local autonomy, the tithe (obligatory versus voluntary), and the reception of divorced persons into the church. After the schism a less centralized government was established in the newly formed church. Each congregation is autonomous and takes the name of its location; for example, "The Church of God at Chattanooga." Above the local church is a general office which serves as headquarters and publishing house, which publishes Sunday school literature and the church's two periodicals. A presbytery has oversight of the ministry. The official name of the church includes the word "Original" in parentheses.

There are five ordinances in the (Original) Church of God, Inc.– baptism by immersion, Biblical church government, footwashing, the Lord's Supper, and tithing. Previously divorced persons can be accepted by pastors as church members.

Membership: Not reported. In 1971 there were 70 churches (including one in Trinidad), 20,000 members and 124 ministers.

Periodicals: The Messenger. • The Youth Messenger.

Sources:

Manual or Discipline of the (Original) Church of God. Chattanooga, TN: General Office & Publishing House, 1966.

★622 ★

Pentecostal Fire-Baptized Holiness Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The enforcement of discipline in the Pentecostal Holiness Church, now the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, led in 1918 to a schism by those who wanted stricter standards concerning dress, amusements, tobacco, and association between the sexes. In the Pentecostal Fire-Baptized Holiness Church, the schismatic church, women's dresses are to be at least mid-calf in length; women are not to bob or wave their hair, or wear jewelry, gold, or costly apparel. Men are not to wear neckties. Attending fairs, swimming pools, and theaters is forbidden. The strict group was joined by a few who never approved the 1911 merger of the Pentecostal Holiness Church and the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church. The pre-1911 name was adopted and the word "Pentecostal" added. The group also was joined in 1921 by the North Carolina Conference of the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church.

The church had 1,929 members in 85 churches in 1952. However, the next year more than half the members left to form the Emmanuel Holiness Church. That schism began a period of unabated decline.

The polity is connectional. A general convention meets biennially, with power to legislate. A seven-member board of missions, elected at the general convention, oversees work in Haiti and Mexico. A campgrounds and printing establishment are owned at Toccoa Falls, Georgia, where the church headquarters are located.

Membership: By 1981 the church had decreased to 298 members.

Periodicals: Faith and Truth. Send orders to Box 212, Nicholson, GA 30565.

★623 ★

Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church

Box 1568
Dunn, NC 28334

The Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church was formed in a merger and reorganization of several Free Will Baptist Associations, mainly in North Carolina. Pentecostalism had entered the Free Will Baptist Church through the efforts of the popular evangelist G. B. Cashwell. In 1907 he conducted a revival in Dunn, North Carolina, and persuaded many members of the Cape Fear Conference of the Free Will Baptist Church of the truth of his position. The Conference accepted a Pentecostal doctrine, but remained within the national Free Will Baptist Association. In 1907, the Cape Fear Conference split into two geographic associations; the second body became the Wilmington Conference, and the first retained the original name. In 1911, a third association was formed in southeastern North Carolina as the New River Conference. The following year, the Cape Fear Conference split over the Pentecostal issue. Finally, in 1912 a South Carolina Conference was organized.

In 1943, a group of ministers and laymen of the four Pentecostal conferences: Cape Fear, Wilmington, New River, and South Carolina Conferences, met. They formed a general conference but the organization proved unsatisfactory. In 1959, it was decided to dissolve all the conference structures and organize under one charter and one name. Thus, in 1959, the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church was formed.

The doctrine is almost identical to that of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), and includes belief in three experiences of grace: baptism by immersion, footwashing, and premillennialism. It is this group's position that Benjamin Randall, the founder of the Free Will Baptist Church, taught sanctification as an instantaneous act of God.

The church is congregational in structure with a biannual conference. The general superintendent heads an executive board for implementing the program. There are four districts; the World Missions Board oversees missions in Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and the Philippines. Churches are primarily in North Carolina, with congregations in South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida.

Membership: In 1996 the church reported 16,000 members and 157 churches served by 250 ministers.

Educational Facilities: Heritage Bible College, Dunn, North Carolina.

Periodicals: The Pentecostal Free-Will Baptist Messenger.

Sources:

Carter, Herbert. The Spectacular Gifts, Prophecy, Tongues, Interpretations. Dunn, NC: The Author, 1971.

Discipline of the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church. N.p. 1962.

Faith and Practices of the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church, Inc.. Franklin Springs, GA: Advocate Press, 1971.

Sauls, Don. The Ministerial Handbook of the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church. N.p. 1971.

★624 ★

Praise Chapel Christian Fellowship Churches and Ministries International

8350 Archibald Ave., No.125
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730

Praise Chapel Christian Fellowship Churches and Ministries International date to 1976 and Maywood, California, when a new ministry was launched by Michael Neville. As other became involved, trained and commissioned, new churches have been formed, both in the United States and abroad. As a result, an international fellowship of ministers and churches has come into existence. Support for non-United States based churches is supplied through Mission Global Harvest. The fellowship sponsors an annual World Bible Conference each summer.

Praise Chapel is a mainline Pentecostal fellowship that affirms the Bible as the Word of God, salvation in Christ, and the importance of evangelism, though there is some variation in the statement of faith used at different congregations. Members strongly believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is evidenced by the individual speaking in tongues and divine healing. Tithing is practiced.

Membership: Not reported. The fellowship reports 130 affiliated congregations in the United States and 22 foreign congregations in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, England, Israel, Vietnam, Mongolia, Tonga, Philippines, Hong Kong, and Ghana.

Sources:

Praise Chapel Christian Fellowship Churches and Ministries International. http://www.praisechapel.com/. 10 April 2002.

★625 ★

Romanian Apostolic Pentecostal Church of God

(Defunct)

The Romanian Apostolic Pentecostal Church of God had its origins in the influx of the Pentecostal awakening within the Romanian-American community in the early twentieth century. The first congregation was founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 1922. Eventually more than 40 congregations were part of a loose fellowship. However, in 1981, the majority of these congregations joined the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) and five more have joined the Assemblies of God. Some remain independent. One congregation in California of about 50 members continues to use the name of the older fellowship.

The Church of God congregations work together as the Romanian Pentecostal Ministries and publish a periodical, Propovaduitorul. The Rev. Ioan J. Buia, pastor of the original Detroit congregation (now located in Dearborn Heights, Michigan), conducts a Romanian radio ministry, Maranatha, that is heard over one station in Michigan and one in Kitchner, Ontario. There is also a continuing annual convention of the Romanian Pentecostal congregations. In 1987, it met in Detroit and in 1988, in Portland, Oregon.