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.
The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is a Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly African-American membership based within the United States. The international headquarters is in Memphis, Tennessee. The current Presiding Bishop is Bishop John Drew Sheard Sr., who is the Senior Pastor of the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ of Detroit, Michigan. He was elected as the denomination's leader on March 27, 2021.
The United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) is a Oneness Pentecostal denomination headquartered in Weldon Spring, Missouri, United States. The United Pentecostal Church International was formed in 1945 by a merger of the former Pentecostal Church, Inc. and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ. The United Pentecostal Church International began with 521 churches and has grown, according to their own figures, to more than 42,000 churches, 40,000 credentialed ministers, and a total worldwide constituency of over 5.5 million. The international fellowship of United Pentecostals consists of national organizations that are united as the Global Council of the UPCI, which is chaired by the general superintendent of the UPCI, currently David K. Bernard.
Oneness Pentecostalism is a nontrinitarian religious movement within the Protestant Christian family of churches known as Pentecostalism. It derives its distinctive name from its teaching on the Godhead, which is popularly referred to as the Oneness doctrine, a form of Modalistic Monarchianism. This 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 doctrine of three distinct and eternal persons posited by Trinitarian theology.
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 Apostolic Assemblies of Christ, Inc., Incorporated (AAofC), is a Christian Church in the Oneness Pentecostal tradition. The Church is episcopal in governance. The Apostolic Assemblies of Christ was founded as an ecclesiastical corporation under the statutes of the non-profit corporation laws of the United States. The purpose of the founding of the corporation was to provide an ecclesiastical body where all churches could feel free to worship God and where all churches would have representations on all levels. The founder and presiding bishop (emeritus) G. M. Boone started with 7 churches and currently there are 259 churches worldwide. From the beginning, the Apostolic Assemblies of Christ had a set goal and purpose to its very existence in order to exalt the name of Jesus Christ. The organization's headquarters is located in Detroit, Michigan.
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 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 Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc. (P.A.W.) is one of the world's largest Oneness Pentecostal denominations, and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. While it began in 1906 with Trinitarian beliefs, it was re-organized in 1916 as Oneness Pentecostal, thus making it the oldest organization of this type.
Pentecostalism has grown in India since its introduction in the early twentieth century. Several Pentecostal missionaries who had participated in the Azusa Street Revival visited Kerala from 1909 onwards. During the 1920s the missionary Robert F. Cook established the Indian branch of the Church of God, based in Kerala. In 1922 Assemblies of GOD church was established in Melpuram which was part of then Travancore state by missionaries. It has been one of the early pioneering churches in the region. Two other churches founded around this time were Ceylon Pentecostal Mission (CPM) later became The Pentecostal Mission, in the 1980s, founded in Sri Lanka by the Indian evangelist Pastor Paul, and later brought to India; and the Indian Pentecostal Church of God, set up by K.E. Abraham after he split from the church founded by Cook. A later foundation, in 1953, was the Sharon Fellowship, which runs the Sharon Women's Bible College.
The Indian Pentecostal Church of God (IPC) is one of the largest Pentecostal Christian Denomination in India, with over 10,000 congregations worldwide. Its organisational headquarters located in Kumbanad, Kerala, India. IPC has similarities with the Kerala Brethren denomination in terms of its beliefs on orthodoxy and eschatology, as a large portion of IPC's founders and early members were from the Kerala Brethren. IPC shares its beliefs with similar churches such as Assemblies of God and Sharon Fellowship Church. However, it distances itself from legalistic denominations such as The Pentecostal Mission. IPC tends to shy away from ecumenism, and some of its leaders reject high church liturgy as a method of worship, instead opting for low church congregational worship.
The Right Reverend is an honorific style given to certain religious figures and members of a clergy.
Messenger College is a private Pentecostal college in Bedford, Texas. The institution is accredited through the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) and its students are eligible for federal student aid programs. Messenger College offers Bachelor of Arts and Associate of Arts degrees. Distance learning is offered through Messenger College On-Line.
The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially the General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States. The Assemblies of God 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 in 2011, the Assemblies of God was the ninth largest Christian denomination and the second largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States before declining to 2,932,466 in 2021.
The Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ (ALJC) is a Oneness Pentecostal Holiness Christian denomination formed in 1952 by the merger of the Assemblies of the Church of Jesus Christ, the Jesus Only Apostolic Church of God, and the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The organization describes itself as "a continuation of the great revival that began on the day of Pentecost at Jerusalem, A.D. 30, and is founded upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief cornerstone, ."
United Gospel Tabernacles is a non-denominational fellowship, most closely associated with the Pentecostal faith of the Christian religion. It is a missions based fellowship, currently operating in North America, South America, Europe, and Africa. The most prominent of these nations are: the United States of America, Mexico, Italy, and Nigeria.
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.
Ozro Thurston Jones Sr. was a Holiness Pentecostal denomination leader and minister, who was the second Senior Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, Inc. (1962–1968), succeeding Bishop Charles Harrison Mason, who was the founder. The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is the fourth largest denomination in the United States, being in the Holiness Pentecostal tradition.
Gay Apostolic Pentecostals are people who adhere to the beliefs of the Oneness Pentecostal churches and who identify as LGBT affirming. Gay Apostolic Pentecostals first began to organize separately from mainline Oneness Pentecostal churches in 1980 in Schenectady, New York.
