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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:
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 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 Christian movement that emphasises 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 followers of Jesus Christ, and the speaking in "foreign" tongues as described in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. In Greek, it is the name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks.
The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination.
The International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) or simply Pentecostal Holiness Church (PHC) is a 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 Pentecostal World Fellowship is a fellowship of Evangelical Pentecostal churches and denominations from across the world. The headquarters is in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its leader is William Wilson.
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. 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.
The charismatic movement is the international trend of historically mainstream Christian congregations adopting beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity similar to Pentecostalism. Fundamental to the movement is the experience of baptism with the Holy Spirit and the use of spiritual gifts (charismata).
The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) is a Pentecostal Christian denomination and the largest evangelical church in Canada. It reports 239,267 adherents and 1,076 member congregations throughout Canada. Its headquarters is located in Mississauga, Ontario.
The United Church of God, an International Association is a non-denominational religious group based in the United States.
The Apostolic Church is a 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 is now 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 Australian Christian Churches (ACC) is a network of Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest pentecostal denomination. In Australia, in 2007, the ACC had more than 375,000 adherents with more than 1,100 congregations across the country. The ACC grew out of the Assemblies of God in Australia, which was founded in 1937 with the merger of Assemblies of God Queensland (AGQ) and the Pentecostal Church of Australia. In 2007 it assumed Australian Christian Churches as its public name but remained the incorporated Assemblies of God in Australia until 2008. Hillsong Church, the largest church in ACC, separated from the ACC in 2018.
The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially the General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States founded in 1914 during a meeting of Pentecostal ministers at Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Assemblies of God is a Finished Work Pentecostal denomination and is the U.S. branch of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal body. With a constituency of over 3 million, the Assemblies of God was the ninth largest Christian denomination and the second largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States in 2011.
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 Adventist Church of Promise is an evangelical Christian denomination which is both Sabbatarian Adventist and classical Pentecostal in its doctrine and worship. It was founded in Brazil in 1932 by pastor John August Silveira, as a split-off from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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.
William Howard Durham was an early Pentecostal preacher and theologian, best known for advocating the Finished Work doctrine.
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, spiritual gifts, and modern-day miracles as an everyday part of a believer's life. 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. The movements are distinguished from Pentecostalism by not making the act of speaking in tongues necessary for evidence of baptism with the Holy Spirit, giving prominence to a diversity of spiritual gifts. According to the Pew Research Center, Pentecostals and Charismatic Christians numbered over 305 million wordwide.