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The Independent Assemblies of God International (IAOGI) is a pentecostal Christian association with roots in a revival of the 1890s among the Scandinavian Baptist and Pietist communities in the United States. Independent Assemblies of God International is a member of the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America. International offices are located in Laguna Hills, California.
In 1907, the Mission of William Howard Durham inspired many congregations and individuals to learn about the Pentecostal movement through Mission in Chicago. [1] One of his assistant elders, F. A. Sandgren, published the Folke-Vennena a periodical for Scandinavians and many Midwest churches joined the Pentecostal movement. In 1918, the denomination was organized as the Scandinavian Assemblies of God in the United States of America, Canada and Foreign Lands with A. W. Rasmussen. [2] In 1935, at the annual convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, they merged with another group named the Independent Pentecostal Churches, and became Independent Assemblies of God International. In the 1940s and 1950s and organization was deeply influenced and closely connected to the Latter Rain movement and William Branham. Joseph Mattsson-Boze, pastor of the Philadelphia Church in Chicago, became a leader in the movement and his Herald of Faith publication served as a publicity tool for the group. The Latter Rain movement had few requirements for ordaining a minister. In 1959, a split in the IAoG led to the formation of the Fellowship of Christian Assemblies who wanted stricter requirements on the qualifications to become a minister. The IAOGI has congregations in Africa, Canada, Guatemala, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania, and the United States. The churches meet in an annual convention. There are approximately 1500 churches worldwide. They are present in India since the second half of the 20th century [3] The area of their work includes Nagaland.
The Independent Assemblies of God International believes some of the uniqueness that sets it apart from other Pentecostal bodies is "its conviction of the sovereignty of the local church". The IAOGI's doctrinal statement reflects the following beliefs: [4]
The Independent Assemblies of God International should not be confused with the Assemblies of God International Fellowship, the International Assemblies of God Fellowship, and the Assemblies of God, all of which are Pentecostal denominations that have good fellowship with one another as organizations.
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th century as a loose association of churches working towards Christian unity, then slowly forming quasi-denominational structures through missionary societies, regional associations, and an international convention. In 1968, the Disciples of Christ officially adopted a denominational structure at which time a group of churches left to remain nondenominational.
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.
Oneness Pentecostalism is a nontrinitarian religious movement within the Protestant Christian family of churches known as Pentecostalism. It derives its name from its teaching on the Godhead, a form of Modalistic Monarchianism commonly referred to as the Oneness doctrine. The doctrine states that there is one God―a singular divine spirit with no distinction of persons―who manifests himself in many ways, including as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This stands in sharp contrast to the mainstream doctrine of three distinct, eternal persons posited by Trinitarian theology.
The World Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF) is a global cooperative body of over 140 Pentecostal denominations, was established on August 15, 1989. WAGF was created to provide structure so that member denominations, which previously related to each other informally, could more easily cooperate on a global basis.
The International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) or simply Pentecostal Holiness Church (PHC) is an international Holiness-Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1911 with the merger of two older denominations. Historically centered in the Southeastern United States, particularly the Carolinas and Georgia, the Pentecostal Holiness Church now has an international presence. In 2000, the church reported a worldwide membership of over one million—over three million including affiliates.
The Foursquare Church is an international Evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1923 by preacher Aimee Semple McPherson. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California, United States.
The International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies (IFCA), formerly known as the Christian Church of North America (CCNA), is a North American Pentecostal denomination with roots in the Italian-American community, but is now a multicultural denomination. Central offices are located in Transfer, Pennsylvania. Ministries of the church include Benevolence, Home Missions, FOCUS, Foreign Missions, Education, Lay Ministries, and Public Relations. A convention is held annually, and their official publication is Vista, a quarterly magazine. Membership in 2000 was about 7,200 in 96 churches in the United States. They also have thousands of affiliated congregations internationally in Africa, Australia, Canada, Europe, South America, and Asia with a strong presence in India with over 100,000 members in over 1,000 churches. Brother Rick George is the general overseer of the denomination.
The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream Christian denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity, with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spiritual gifts (charismata). It has affected most denominations in the United States, and has spread widely across the world.
The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) is a Finished Work Pentecostal denomination of Christianity and the largest evangelical church in Canada. Its headquarters is located in Mississauga, Ontario. The PAOC is theologically evangelical and Pentecostal, emphasizing the baptism with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. It historically has had strong connections with the Assemblies of God in the United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and the World Assemblies of God Fellowship.
The Apostolic Church is an international Christian denomination and Pentecostal movement that emerged from the Welsh Revival of 1904–1905. Although the movement began in the United Kingdom, the largest national Apostolic Church became the Apostolic Church Nigeria. The term "Apostolic" refers to the role of apostles in the denomination's church government, as well as a desire to emulate 1st century Christianity in its faith, practices, and government.
The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM) is a classical Pentecostal Christian denomination in South Africa. With 1.2 million adherents, it is South Africa's largest Pentecostal church and the fifth largest religious grouping in South Africa representing 7.6 percent of the population. Dr. Isak Burger has led the AFM as president since 1996 when the white and black branches of the church were united. It is a member of the Apostolic Faith Mission International, a fellowship of 23 AFM national churches. It is also a member of the South African Council of Churches. The AFM is one of the oldest Pentecostal movement is South Africa with roots in the Azusa Street Revival, the Holiness Movement teachings of Andrew Murray and the teachings of John Alexander Dowie. The AFM had an interracial character when it started, but, as in American Pentecostalism, this interracial cooperation was short-lived. The decades from the 1950s to the 1980s were marked by the implementation of apartheid. After 1994, the white AFM moved rapidly towards unification with the black churches. By 1996, all the AFM churches were united in a single multi-racial church. The constitution of the AFM blends at the national level the elements of a presbyterian polity with an episcopal polity. Decentralization is a major feature of its constitution, which allows local churches to develop their own policies. The Apostolic Faith Mission displays a variety of identities and ministry philosophies, including seeker-sensitive, Word of Faith, Presbyterian, and classical Pentecostal.
The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Finished Work Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world.
The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially The General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States and the U.S. branch of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal body. The AG reported 2.9 million adherents in 2022. In 2011, it was the ninth largest Christian denomination and the second largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. The Assemblies of God is a Finished Work denomination, and it holds to a conservative, evangelical and classical Arminian theology as expressed in the Statement of Fundamental Truths and position papers, which emphasize such core Pentecostal doctrines as the baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, divine healing and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
The Samoan Assemblies of God International or SAOG is a Pentecostal fellowship of churches. It reached the Western Islands and outer countries with large Samoan communities, such as New Zealand, America and Australia. It has over 530 churches worldwide with over 97,000 adherents.
The New Zealand Samoan Assemblies of God (SA/G) or (SAOG), officially The General Council of the Samoan Assemblies of God in New Zealand Inc. are a group of Pentecostal congregations predominantly made up of Samoan people. They are affiliated with the Samoan Assemblies of God church.
Finished Work Pentecostalism is a major branch of Pentecostalism that holds that after conversion, the converted Christian progressively grows in grace. On the other hand, the other branch of Pentecostalism—Holiness Pentecostalism teaches the Wesleyan doctrine of entire sanctification as an instantaneous, definite second work of grace, which is a necessary prerequisite to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Finished Work Pentecostals are generally known to have retained the doctrine of progressive sanctification from their earlier Reformed roots, while Holiness Pentecostals retained their doctrine of entire sanctification from their earlier Wesleyan roots. William Howard Durham is considered to be the founder of Finished Work Pentecostalism.
The Christian Ministers' Association (CMA) is a Canadian Pentecostal group of over 450 members. The CMA originates from the Pentecostal movement of the early 20th century. It is not a traditional Christian denomination, but "a relational networking of friends and colleagues." As a Pentecostal fellowship, CMA believes in the Pentecostal distinctive of baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
The Swedish Pentecostal Movement is a Pentecostal movement in Sweden. Many, but not all, of these, are members of the Pentecostal Alliance of Independent Churches, which was founded in 2001. The Pentecostal movement spread to Sweden by 1907 from the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival and the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles in 1906.
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.