Founded | 1951 |
---|---|
Founder | Demos Shakarian |
Type | Christian Interdenominational |
Location | |
Area served | 85 countries |
President | Mr. Francis Owusu |
Website | fgbmfi.org |
The Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International (FGBMFI) is a fellowship of lay businessmen. Its main purpose is to bring interest to the Christian gospel. Theologically, the organization has its roots in Pentecostalism. [1] The headquarters is in Irvine, California.
FGBMFI was founded in 1952 in Los Angeles by Demos Shakarian, a California rancher. [2] [1] The expression "Full Gospel" in the name of the association is central to the vision of the organization. [3] Following a difficult start (for a year nothing happened to the original group that met weekly), then a donation of $1000 was given to start a small publication titled Full Gospel Business Men's VOICE, it grew steadily, the second chapter was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and after a few years chapters were set up throughout the world. [4] In 1972, the membership was 300,000. [5] In 1988, there were 3,000 chapters in 90 countries. [6]
After Demos Shakarian died in 1993, his son Richard Shakarian assumed the organization's leadership. [7]
In 2023, Francis Owusu was elected president of the organization. [8]
The organization was present in 85 countries in 2023. [9]
In the 1980s, the presence on the board of directors and the financial management of Demos Shakarian were challenged. [10]
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Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, an event that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles.
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Harold Vinson Synan was an American historian, author, and alliance leader within the Pentecostal movement. Synan published a total of 25 books, a majority related to Holiness, Pentecostal, and Charismatic movements. He served as General Secretary of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church and later as Chair of the North American Renewal Service Committee from 1985 to 2001. From 1994 - 2006 he served as Dean of the School of Divinity at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In 2016, Synan moved back to Tulsa, Oklahoma to re-join the faculty of Oral Roberts University as Interim Dean of the College of Theology and Ministry, where he served for two years. Following that he served as Scholar in Residence at Oral Roberts University where he worked closely with William M. Wilson, the president of ORU, the World Pentecostal Fellowship, and Empowered21.
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The Apostolic-Prophetic Movement is a US-based Christian movement founded in the early 2000s. It is a network of non-denominational alliances of independent churches and ministries.
Demos Shakarian was an American businessman of Armenian origin from Los Angeles who founded the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International (FGBMFI). His story and the story of FGBMFI is the subject of the book The Happiest People on Earth, written by John and Elizabeth Sherrill and published in 1975.
The Cross and the Switchblade is a biographical book written by the Rev. David Wilkerson with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, published by Bernard Geis Associates in 1963.
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Charismatic Christianity is a form of Christianity that emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts as an everyday part of a believer's life. It has a global presence in the Christian community. Practitioners are often called Charismatic Christians or Renewalists. Although there is considerable overlap, Charismatic Christianity is often categorized into three separate groups: Pentecostalism, the Charismatic movement, and the Neo-charismatic movement.
Evangelical theology is the teaching and doctrine that relates to spiritual matters in evangelical Christianity and a Christian theology. The main points concern the place of the Bible, the Trinity, worship, Salvation, sanctification, charity, evangelism and the end of time.