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Summary
- The Assemblies of God is a Pentecostal church; its world fellowship, with more than 451,000 churches and 88 million adherents as of 2026, calls itself the world’s largest Pentecostal family.
- Like the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) and the United Pentecostal Church International, it teaches that speaking in tongues is the initial physical sign of baptism in the Holy Spirit, as on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4).
- It parts from the Holiness Pentecostals on sanctification: after William Durham’s “finished work” teaching it either left the question open or took his view, and it teaches no second blessing between conversion and Spirit baptism.
- It parts from the Oneness Pentecostals on the Trinity, which its Statement of Fundamental Truths affirmed in 1916; the Oneness United Pentecostal Church International, formed in 1945, also makes Spirit baptism with tongues part of obeying the gospel.
- The Assemblies of God was organized at Hot Springs, Arkansas, in April 1914 and calls itself “a cooperative fellowship instead of a denomination”, while the Church of God, begun in 1886, has a centralized government.
- Brazil’s Assembleia de Deus began in Belém in 1911 under the Swedish missionaries Gunnar Vingren and Daniel Berg; it is classical Pentecostal, not neo-Pentecostal, and 12,314,410 people named it as their church in the 2010 census.
- Pentecost is the feast of Acts 2, fifty days counted as Leviticus 23:16 commands, and Pentecostal churches are named after what happened on that day.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, via BibleGateway: Acts 2:1; Acts 2:4; Acts 10:46; Acts 19:6; 1 Corinthians 12:30; Leviticus 23:16. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+2%3A1-4&version=KJV
- General Council of the Assemblies of God (USA). Statement of Fundamental Truths, articles 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12 and 14. https://ag.org/-/media/AGORGV2/Beliefs/Fundamental-Truths/Statement-of-Fundamental-Truths.pdf
- Assemblies of God (USA). “History.” https://ag.org/About/About-the-AG/History
- Assemblies of God (USA). “Our Local Structure and Form of Government.” https://ag.org/About/About-the-AG/Structure
- Assemblies of God (USA). “The Assurance of Salvation,” position paper adopted by the General Presbytery, August 2017. https://ag.org/-/media/AGORG/Beliefs/Position-Papers/Assurance-of-Salvation.pdf
- Assemblies of God (USA). “Divine Healing,” position paper adopted by the General Presbytery, August 2010. https://ag.org/Beliefs/Position-Papers/Divine-Healing
- Ruthie Edgerly Oberg. “This Week in AG History — March 2, 1946.” AG News, 3 March 2022. https://news.ag.org/en/articles/news/2022/03/this-week-in-ag-history-march-2-1946
- World Assemblies of God Fellowship. Home page (member bodies, churches and adherents). https://worldagfellowship.org/
- Pew Research Center. “Assemblies of God,” 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study. https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/religious-denomination/assemblies-of-god/
- “Sanctification Scuffles.” Christian History magazine, issue 58 (The Rise of Pentecostalism). Christian History Institute. https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/sanctification-scuffles
- United Pentecostal Church International. “Our Beliefs” and “About the UPCI.” https://upci.org/our-beliefs/ ; https://upci.org/about-the-upci/
- Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). “Declaration of Faith,” “A Brief History of the Church of God” and “Bylaws.” https://churchofgod.org/beliefs/declaration-of-faith/ ; https://churchofgod.org/about/a-brief-history-of-the-church-of-god/ ; https://churchofgod.org/beliefs/bylaws/
- The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 17.1. Orthodox Presbyterian Church. https://www.opc.org/wcf.html
- Southern Baptist Convention. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, article II.C. https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/
- John MacArthur. “The Gift of Tongues,” adapted from Charismatic Chaos (1992). Grace to You. https://www.gty.org/articles/DD06/the-gift-of-tongues
- Ricardo Mariano. “Expansão pentecostal no Brasil: o caso da Igreja Universal.” Estudos Avançados 18, no. 52 (2004): 121–138. https://www.scielo.br/j/ea/a/H6DCFyvKr6Yrxw7W6pWJcBz/
- Rimilla Queiroz Araújo. “Pentecostalismo em movimento: a consolidação das Assembleias de Deus no Brasil.” Azusa: Revista de Estudos Pentecostais 16, no. 2 (2025). https://azusa.emnuvens.com.br/revista/article/download/242/239/287
- Eduardo Leandro Alves. “A mensagem pentecostal na alma do brasileiro: compreensões sobre o início do pentecostalismo no Brasil.” Azusa: Revista de Estudos Pentecostais 8, no. 1 (2017): 11–32. https://azusa.emnuvens.com.br/revista/article/download/162/139/143
- Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Censo Demográfico 2010, table 137, resident population by religion. https://apisidra.ibge.gov.br/values/t/137/n1/all/v/93/p/2010/c133/all
- “Pentecost (Jewish Feast).” Catholic Encyclopedia (1911). New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11661a.htm
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