Assembly of God
| Assemblies of God | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Classification | Protestant |
| Theology | Pentecostal |
| Governance | Cooperative body of over 140 self-governing Assemblies of God national fellowships meeting every 2 years in General Assembly. General Assembly elects an executive council to carry out the work of the WAGF. |
| Leader | George O. Wood (chairman) |
| Region | Worldwide |
| Origin | 1914 (WAGF formally established 1988) |
| Congregations | 365,157 |
| Members | 67,992,330 |
| Official website | worldagfellowship.org |
The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination. With over 384,000 ministers and outstations in over 212 countries and territories serving approximately 67.9 million adherents worldwide, it is the fourth largest international Christian group of denominations and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world.
As an international fellowship, the member denominations are entirely independent and autonomous; however, they are united by shared beliefs and history. The Assemblies originated from the Pentecostal revival of the early 20th century. This revival led to the founding of the Assemblies of God in the United States in 1914. Through foreign missionary work and establishing relationships with other Pentecostal churches, the Assemblies of God expanded into a worldwide movement. It was not until 1988, however, that the world fellowship was formed. As a Pentecostal fellowship, the Assemblies of God believes in the Pentecostal distinctive of baptism with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
The Assemblies of God should not be confused with the Assemblies of God International Fellowship, the International Assemblies of God Fellowship, and the Independent Assemblies of God International, all of which are Pentecostal denominations.
The World Assemblies of God Fellowship is structured as a loose alliance of independent national and regional Pentecostal denominations. For the particular beliefs, history and polity of individual national fellowships, refer to the links in the following list:
The doctrinal position of the Assemblies of God is framed in a classical Pentecostal and an evangelical context. The AG is Trinitarian and holds the Bible as divinely inspired and the infallible authoritative rule of faith and conduct. Baptism by immersion is practiced as an ordinance instituted by Christ for those who have been saved. Baptism is understood as an outward sign of an inward change, the change from being dead to sin to being alive in Christ. As an ordinance, Communion is also practiced. The AG believe that the elements that are partaken are symbols expressing the sharing the divine nature of the Lord Jesus Christ; a memorial of His suffering and death; and a prophecy of His second coming. The Assemblies of God also places a strong emphasis on the fulfillment of the Great Commission and believes that this is the calling of the church.
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