September 13, 2024 · 12:26 pm

G. Raymond Carlson: Assemblies of God Pastor, Educator, General Superintendent

This Week in AG History — September 11, 1960

By Ruthie Edgerly Oberg
Originally published on AG-News, 12 September 2024

Guy Raymond Carlson (1918-1999) led the Assemblies of God through some of its greatest growth and some of its greatest controversy as general superintendent from 1985-1993. His service to the church grew out of his life of integrity, commitment to evangelism, and a pastoral heart that rarely forgot a name or a face.

Born to Norwegian Lutheran parents, Carlson’s parents took him to a Pentecostal meeting at the age of 7 to hear evangelist Blanche Brittain in Crosby, North Dakota. Both father and son walked down the aisle of the storefront mission, beginning their public commitment both to Jesus and to the Pentecostal message.

Carlson was baptized in the Holy Spirit at an early age and sensed a call to ministry while praying at the Lake Geneva Bible Camp (Alexandria, Minnesota) when he was 15. The Crosby Assembly of God provided multiple opportunities for the members of their youth group to be involved in ministry and Carlson immediately began preaching in his church, in the outstations the church supported, and in jails. His mother, Ragna, raised turkeys to pay her son’s tuition at Western Bible College in Winnipeg, Manitoba. After only one year of higher education, Carlson returned to help his parents with the family farm at the height of the Great Depression.

In 1938, Carlson married a young lady from the Crosby church. Mae Steffler was the only girl he ever dated and soon they were pastoring together in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, at Assembly of God Tabernacle. Soon they were parents of Gary and Sharon. In 1943, Paul was born.

Paul was only a few months old when his parents noticed that he seemed to not be progressing at the same rate his brother and sister had. Doctors soon confirmed that Paul had Down’s Syndrome. This diagnosis shook the young family, but they believed that God had a plan for every life. Paul soon became one of the brightest spots in the life of his parents and siblings, as well as their church.

In 1948, Carlson was elected as district superintendent of the North Central district (later called the Minnesota district), making him the youngest man to serve any district in that capacity. He came into office at a time when the district was in danger of being divided over the Latter Rain controversy. The struggle was very difficult for the 30-year-old Carlson who at heart was very much a peacemaker. Agonizing in prayer over divisions within the church was common for him as a young leader. But God ministered to him through the Scripture, especially Philippians 1:22, “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”

Carlson’s cool head, God-given wisdom, and gentle sense of humor not only guided the district through this difficult time, but it would continue to mark his ministry for the rest of his life.

When Frank Lindquist retired as president of North Central Bible Institute (NCBI, now North Central University) in 1961, he recommended that Carlson follow him and lead the Minnesota school. Carlson served as present of NCBI from 1961 until 1969. Carlson’s heart for future ministers was evident in that when he had to deal with a troubled student, he always sought to save the student for ministry, if he could, believing that discipline should always be redemptive, not punitive.

In 1969, the family left Minnesota for Springfield, Missouri, following Carlson’s election as assistant general superintendent. In this capacity he oversaw the educational departments of the Assemblies of God. Once, when the writer for the Adult Sunday School curriculum failed to meet the deadline, Carlson typed up a lesson transcript in the back of the family Volkswagon while Mae took the wheel so that the lesson could make it to press on time and the writer not be penalized.

A firm believer in the local church, the Carlson family joined the newly formed Park Crest Village Assembly of God upon their arrival in Springfield and faithfully attended that church for the next 30 years, serving on outreach teams and supporting their pastors in every phase of the church’s ministry.

At the 1985 General Council in San Antonio, Texas, Carlson was elected as the 10th general superintendent of the Assemblies of God. In his prayer time the morning after the election, Carlson sensed God giving him a three-fold burden for the next years of the Fellowship: a renewed sense of holiness, a renewed fervor for evangelism, and a renewed sense of servanthood discipleship. Little did he know that all three of those would come to mark his time in that office.

It was during Carlson’s tenure as superintendent that the Assemblies of God faced the most difficult public days in its history. Two nationally well-known television evangelists were caught up in moral scandals that dominated the national headlines for more than two years. Looking back on those days, an AG spokesperson later said that “Carlson’s commitment to scriptural principles and his gentle, Christlike spirit helped steer the Movement through those troubled days. Even the media was complimentary of the way things were handled because he had chosen to deal openly and honestly with the situations.”

Carlson also oversaw the development of the vision for the “Decade of Harvest,” an intentionally aggressive evangelism and church planting effort for the 1990s. During his tenure, the worldwide AG grew from 15 million to 25 million and the number of churches in the United States grew by almost 10%.

As to his vision for a renewed sense of servanthood discipleship, Carlson not only preached and promoted the concept, but served as one of its greatest models. Seeing himself in the role of “pastor” to the Fellowship, Carlson treated each individual with kindness and respect and seemed to know almost everyone by name. Even in his international travels, he viewed every national superintendent as on the same level as himself and almost always was able to bring a short word of greeting in the language of the people to whom he was speaking, before preaching through an interpreter.

When Carlson retired in 1993, he was asked how he wanted to be remembered. He thoughtfully replied, “That I was a decent man, that I fulfilled a leadership that pointed men to Christ, and set an example of Christian conduct and commitment.”

Carlson passed away in 1999, having lived for several months in a nursing home after a debilitating stroke. Upon his death, one of his nurses remarked that he was “no typical man. He made an impact on this entire staff. He not only knew my name, but my husband’s name, and the names of all my children.” At his funeral, Park Crest AG pastor Scott Temple remarked that G. Raymond Carlson was “a gracious man, a gentle giant, a humble servant, a man of strength — a leader and a friend.”

Read G. Raymond Carlson’s article, “What of the Future?,” on page 2 of the Sept. 11, 1960, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Sunday School is for All the Family,” by Billie Davis

• “What is the Assemblies of God?” by Thomas F. Zimmerman

• “Five Great Blessings for Everyone,” by Robert C. Cunningham

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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September 9, 2024 · 10:16 am

From Azusa Street to Phoenix: Samuel Scull, the Methodist Pastor Who Pioneered Pentecost in Arizona

Samuel Scull (center), 1956

This Week in AG History — September 6, 1947

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 05 September 2024

Samuel S. Scull (1863-1964), sometimes called “the father of Pentecost in Arizona,” recounted the early days of the Pentecostal revival in the Sept. 6, 1947, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Scull, born in a log cabin in Pennsylvania in 1863, was ordained by the Methodist Church in Iowa in 1895. His pastoral ministry was cut short, however, when he became afflicted with tuberculosis. Upon the advice of his doctor, in 1903 he moved to Arizona, where he supported his family by selling fruit.

Despite his sickness, Scull felt he could not abandon his call to ministry. He became a leader at the Life Line Mission, a small Holiness congregation in Phoenix, when he heard reports in the summer of 1906 of the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles.

According to Scull, the news generated “great interest among spiritual people in Phoenix and vicinity.” In the summer of 1907, Scull made a pilgrimage to the Arroyo Seco camp meeting in Los Angeles to check out the emerging Pentecostal revival.

Recalling his visit, Scull wrote: “I was much prejudiced at first and disposed to be critical, and saw much that I did not like.” However, “the overwhelming sense of the presence of God” at the Pentecostal meetings caused him to overcome his initial skepticism. He wrote, “The very atmosphere seemed charged and the awe of God overshadowed all.” He continued, “I had never heard such raptured praise. I heard praise in many strange tongues, some interpreted by people who knew the language, but most in an unknown tongue interpreted in the same way as they were given; that is, by Spirit utterance. Soon I was thoroughly convinced of the genuineness of the work and realized that God was bringing us back to Pentecost of the upper room, and, as far as possible, renewing the power as of the early church.”

Scull witnessed miracles, which caused him to cast his lot with the Pentecostals: “The sick were healed, devils cast out, the lame walked, the blind received their sight. I saw that God was going that way and resolved to gladly follow Him, though I knew it would cost me much.”

Scull returned to Phoenix and shared what he had seen. Some at the mission did not want anything to do with the Pentecostal revival, and the mission soon disbanded. Ironically, Scull had not yet personally experienced Spirit baptism with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

In December 1907, he traveled to Denver, where he met Maria Woodworth-Etter, the Holiness healing evangelist who later embraced the Pentecostal message. She agreed to hold services for Scull in Phoenix. The meetings with Woodworth-Etter established the Pentecostal movement in Phoenix.

Scull recalled, “The meeting opened Jan. 2, 1908, with about 75 present. The situation was peculiar. The pastor had not received the Pentecostal baptism, neither had the evangelist, and yet we were holding a Pentecostal meeting.” Scull continued, “The first Wednesday night a little girl fell under the power and lay for two hours lost to her surroundings. She came out speaking in one of the most beautiful tongues I ever heard. She had been in heaven and had wonderful things to tell of her experiences there. We needed no other advertising; they packed the house, standing room and all, and filled the street outside. For eight weeks the tide ran high. From 75 to 100 were saved and an equal number received the Pentecostal baptism, so wonderfully God wrought.”

According to Scull, “a great number of people were healed of all manner of diseases and infirmities; and Phoenix, then a small town, was profoundly moved. Our halls were filled with sinners and our altars drew many to seek the Lord.”

These spiritual victories brought opposition. Scull wrote, “Friends whom I had thought be tried and true, refused even to shake hands with me. The Methodist Church, of which I was an official member, being an ordained elder, dropped me from its membership … we were egged at the altar and had to put heavy screen wire over the windows to keep from being maimed or killed by rocks weighing four or five pounds which were thrown through the windows. But the power and glory of God made these things seem of small concern.”

What can later generations learn from early Pentecostals in Arizona? Writing 40 years after the Azusa Street revival, Scull warned that the church will lose its “glory and power” unless it gets a “vision of a mightier Pentecost” and prays for a “fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.”

Read Scull’s article, “Pentecost Comes to Arizona,” in the Sept. 6, 1947, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “God’s Holy Fire,” by John Wright Follette

• “A Divided House,” by Ernest S. Williams

• “The Last Prayer Meeting,” by Seth C. Rees

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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August 29, 2024 · 3:30 pm

N. D. Davidson: From Railroad Worker to Superintendent of Two Assemblies of God Districts

This Week in AG History — August 30, 1959

By Glenn W. Gohr
Originally published on AG News, 29 August 2024

N.D. Davidson (1904-1990) was a faithful father, friend, pastor, and superintendent of two Assemblies of God districts. He is remembered for his determination in the face of hardship, his good sense of humor, and his compassionate heart. His son, Wayne, said, “Whether a town was small or large, the church struggling or successful, the person right or wrong, he cared.” Davidson was also a great organizer and strived for achievement.

Normal D. Davidson was born in Doxey, a small community near Carter, Oklahoma Territory. He was the oldest of five children born to James and Hester Davidson. He was brought up in the Church of Christ, and his grandfather was a Church of Christ minister. Although he grew up in church, he did not make a commitment to Christ until after his marriage. Davidson was reared on a farm and attended high school but did not graduate.

At about age 17, he was passing by a Pentecostal church in McAlester, Oklahoma, near where he lived. He scratched off some paint on the window and took a peek inside. There he saw a pretty girl whom he wanted to meet. After the service was over, he managed to speak to the girl, Mamie Tennessee Heard, and a courtship began.

In 1922, at age 18, he decided to seek his fortune out West. Having little money, he boarded a freight train, riding rods and hopping box cars each step of the journey, and he headed to Southern California to work for the railroad.

A year later, in 1923, he returned to Oklahoma to marry his sweetheart, Mamie. He was able to secure free passes on the railroad for himself and his new bride, and he brought her to Santa Paula, California, where he had a promising career with the Southern Pacific Railroad. First he worked odd jobs. Then he was hired as a clerk in the freight office and advanced to chief clerk, becoming the general agent for both passenger and freight trains.

A couple years later, Mamie made a decision to serve Christ and was baptized in water. This challenged his thinking, and he said to himself, “If your wife can do it, why not you?” Soon after this he responded to an altar call at a tent meeting in Santa Paula in 1925. From that point on, he became a new creation in Christ, and he never looked back. Because the meetings were conducted by some young people from Angelus Temple, the Davidsons soon became active members of the Foursquare congregation in Santa Paula. Before long, Davidson felt a calling into ministry.

He still worked for the railroad, but he took every opportunity to preach, teach, lead singing, and witness. One of his biggest encouragers in the ministry was Warren Fisher, who pastored the Victoria Hall Mission in Los Angeles. Davidson was living in Santa Paula and every Sunday he drove to Victoria Hall in a Model T with his wife and children. Davidson led in singing and also did some preaching. He received ordination from Victoria Hall in 1927.

By 1931 Davidson felt a burden to start a new church. He purchased an empty Christian Science church in Santa Paula and began what later became First Assembly of God. He was ordained with the Assemblies of God on July 31, 1936. About this time, the railroad transferred him to Calexico, where he pastored the nearby Assembly of God church in El Centro.

Davidson always felt it was important to follow God’s direction. In the mid-1930s, Davidson got tired of El Centro and the heat. He decided to go to Monrovia and start a church. He loaded up his wife and six boys in their ’36 Chevy. A Mr. Potter drove a hay truck that carried all their belongings.

They arrived early in the morning in Monrovia and saw their beautiful new home. But Davidson had a check in his spirit. He told his wife, “You know, as the tires turned, they said to me, ‘Go back, Go back.’” His wife said, “Do you think it was the Lord?” His answer was “Yes.” Her response was, “Let’s go back.” They told Mr. Potter, and then they all returned to El Centro, praising God in this decision.

Soon after returning to El Centro, Davidson started a radio program called The Gospel Train in which he used some of his railroad experiences to help share the gospel. On the program Davidson also played the guitar and Mamie played the accordion.

In 1939, the Southern California District (which at that time included Arizona) sent him to Phoenix to pastor First Assembly of God. He loved the people in his congregation, and he loved children. While pastoring in Phoenix in the late 1930s, he bought a bus and picked up kids, brought them to Sunday school, taught a class, preached the morning service, drove them all home, and he was ready to preach again on Sunday night. In 1940 he was elected superintendent of the Arizona District and served for three years.

Davidson was next called in 1947 to pastor Portland Gospel Tabernacle (later Portland Christian Center) in Portland, Oregon. He helped the church purchase new property and build a new facility. While pastoring, he also served as Oregon district secretary for eight years (1948-56). He edited the district magazine called Fellowship Monthly, and then was elected Oregon district superintendent, serving for 20 years (1956-76).

Some of the things he accomplished in over 50 years of ministry included: building an addition to the El Centro church; pioneering Christian radio with The Gospel Train at El Centro; building a C.A. (youth) hall in Phoenix; spearheading a building program in Portland; and developing a district camp in Oregon that later was named Camp Davidson. He pastored several churches and was superintendent of the Arizona district (1940-42) and the Oregon district (1956-1976).

Read, “Workers Together With God,” on page 5 of the Aug. 30, 1959, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Revival Fires Spreading in France,” by Kenneth Ware

• “Miracles in a Missionary’s Life,” by C.M. Ward

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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August 22, 2024 · 3:02 pm

John and Cuba Hall: Assemblies of God Missionaries and Linguists in Upper Volta (Burkina Faso)

This Week in AG History–August 22, 1936

By Ruthie Edgerly Oberg
Originally published on AG News, 22 August 2024

John F. Hall (1906 – 1984), Assemblies of God missionary, Bible translator, and teacher, was born in New Jersey on April 15, 1906, the same day William Seymour opened his mission on Azusa Street in Los Angeles. The Pentecostal revival sparked in that mission would introduce Hall to a power that carried him through more than 50 years of ministry in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Togo.

At the age of 13, Hall responded to his Baptist pastor’s appeal to accept Christ at the close of a Sunday School lesson. The next year, Emil Sywulka of the African Inland Mission came to speak at their church. The young teen responded to a call from God to African missions. After graduating high school, he attended Wheaton College, where he associated with the children of missionaries. From them he learned the side of missionary life which he had not heard from church platforms. He became more aware of the hardships that accompany missions work but was even more determined to face difficulties to fulfill the call on his life.

At Wheaton, Hall majored in French and took extra courses in medicine. He graduated and set sail for Paris to study practical French before proceeding to Africa. In June 1931, he arrived in Minna, Nigeria, as a missionary with the Sudan Interior Mission.

While stationed in Niger Colony, French West Africa, he met Assemblies of God missionaries at Ouagadougou and Tenkodogo, Upper Volta. From this friendship, Hall became convinced that the baptism in the Holy Spirit was a scriptural experience. He developed a desire to experience the fullness of the power of God. He also enjoyed the company of one of the Pentecostal missionaries, Miss Cuba Hill. Hill, a graduate of Southern California Bible College (now Vanguard University), had pioneered and pastored two churches in California before receiving appointment in Upper Volta. They married in November 1935 and returned to the United States for furlough.

While traveling to share their vision for Africa, John and Cuba visited Berean Bible Institute, an AG school in San Diego. While ministering there, John prayed with a boy who wanted to receive Christ and experience the baptism in the Spirit. John felt deep in his heart that he was unable to lead the boy into an experience through which he had not yet passed. The next morning, Hall requested prayer from the students that God would fill him with the Spirit.

Hall spent much of the remainder of his time at the school in the prayer room, feeling keenly that he could not go on without the fulness of the power of God. One night they asked him to speak in the service but he was so hungry for the fulness of the Spirit that he asked to tarry in the prayer room rather than be a speaker.

Finally, on the last night of their visit, Hall found himself flat on his back in the prayer room, exhausted from prolonged intercession, yet determined to seek God. That evening the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in a way he had never experienced.

He later recounted, “There was such a restful feeling from head to foot. How wonderful to be wholly filled with the Lord’s Spirit and have Him praise our Lord Jesus Christ in another language … then came a burden for souls and the tears rolled down my cheeks, behind my ears, and dropped on the floor … then came singing in the Spirit … after this I arose with the joy of the Lord flooding my being. Bro Harriss looked so good to me that I picked him up, kissed him with joy, and praised the Lord. We began singing ‘This is Like Heaven to Me’ and IT WAS!”

Eighty-eight years ago this week, the Aug. 22, 1936, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel announced the AG missionary appointment of John F. Hall, joining his wife, Cuba, as “an experienced missionary” who “just a few months ago” was “graciously filled” with the Spirit in California.

Together, John and Cuba Hall served God faithfully in Africa for five decades. They spearheaded the translation of the entire Bible into the Mossi language, helping to create the written text of the language itself, reproducing book after book on mimeograph machine. During this work, he personally typed the Bible six times.

God blessed the Halls with five children. Their son, Billie, died of dysentery in Upper Volta at just 6 months of age. They carried on in spite of their grief, trusting God for the health and well-being of their other children. Cuba later said, “The Africans lose so many children to death that our experience allowed us to identify with them as in no other manner.” The other four children, Evelyn, David, James, and Betty grew up in Africa and served God as adults in world and home missions.

Read more about the Halls’ missionary appointment on page 9 of the Aug. 22, 1936, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “The Home Atmosphere,” by Alice Reynold Flower

• “God Works,” by Zelma Argue

• “Can We Learn Anything from a Wasp?,” by J. Narver Gortner

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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August 16, 2024 · 4:19 pm

90th Anniversary of Northwest University (Kirkland, Washington)

This Week in AG History–August 17, 1952

By Ruthie Edgerly Oberg
Originally published on AG News, 15 August 2024

One of the core reasons for the foundation of the Assemblies of God was to provide places of training for ministers and missionaries. What began as Bible institutes soon became Bible colleges, and, today, many are universities. Some of these institutes were established by local churches and some by Assemblies of God districts.

One of those early district schools, now Northwest University, began 90 years ago in Seattle as “an agency to supply candidates for the ministry to our churches and on the mission field.”

In 1928, at its ninth District Council, J.S. Secrist presented the idea of a training institute for the Northwest district, which was comprised, at that time, of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and the adjacent territory. It was not until 1933 that the idea was formally adopted.

About the same time, a young Norwegian immigrant and North Dakota minister, Henry Ness, moved his family to Seattle to pastor Hollywood Temple (now Calvary Christian Assembly). Upon passage of the resolution to form the institute, Ness offered his church for the district school and was appointed as its first president. The school opened on Oct. 1, 1934, with 18 students but grew to 48 by the end of the first year.

The first teachers were ministers and lay people from the Northwest district, most of them serving as volunteers. Under Ness’ leadership, the school developed adequately by 1945 to receive endorsement by the Veterans Administration, opening the door for returning servicemen to enroll under the GI Bill.

By 1947, the school had grown enough to add a fourth-year course of study and began operating on a collegiate level. In 1949, C.E. Butterfield, a pastor from Everett, Washington, was appointed president, and the school changed its name to Northwest Bible College, to reflect its broader course offerings. In 1952, the Montana district joined in cooperation with the Northwest district in supporting the college, making it a regionally sponsored school.

In response to the increasing demand for young people to receive a broader education within a Pentecostal environment, a junior college of liberal arts was added in 1955. By this time, over 2,400 students had passed through the doors of Northwest College, still housed primarily at the Hollywood Temple church.

With this rapid growth, it was evident that the college must have its own facilities. In 1952, a campus expansion fund was begun with a beginning balance of $112.41. However, when the city of Seattle announced in 1955 that the new I-5 freeway would be built right through the middle of the church and campus property, the situation became urgent.

Butterfield began looking for property and set his eyes on a now-defunct housing project that was built at the beginning of World War II to house workers employed at the nearby shipbuilding facility in the Houghton neighborhood of Kirkland, Washington. Believing that God wanted the college to have this property, he made an offer, but was rejected.

However, by 1958, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare needed to relinquish control of the property. Remembering Butterfield’s earlier offer, the governmental department determined to give the 22-acre property to Northwest College as an outright grant. They also offered the school the option to purchase vehicles and building supplies on the property at a fraction of the cost. The college was able to purchase an additional 12 acres for $30,000 and the new campus was dedicated in 1959.

With the additional growth made possible by the new campus in Kirkland and the additional liberal arts offerings, Northwest Bible College was renamed Northwest College of the Assemblies of God in 1962. When D.V. Hurst began his 23-year presidency of the school in 1966, he significantly improved the networking of the school and many more students outside of the geographical northwest began attending school in Washington.

In 2001, Northwest granted its first master’s degree under president Don Argue. Its name was changed to Northwest University in 2005 and is currently under the leadership of Joseph Castleberry. Today, it continues to serve the Assemblies of God as a regional school under the cooperative control of the Alaska, Montana, Oregon, Northwest, Southern Idaho, and Wyoming districts of the Assemblies of God.

Read a 1952 history of Northwest University on page 7 of the Aug. 17, 1952, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “The Error of Balaam” by Ralph Hornby

• “Assignment Korea” by Fred Jarvis

• “Charlie Lee’s Testimony”

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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August 8, 2024 · 3:16 pm

55 Years Ago: A Warning Against Prayerless Pentecostalism

This Week in AG History — August 10, 1969

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 08 August 2024

“Prayer and Pentecost are intimately related.” Robert C. Cunningham made this observation in a 1969 Pentecostal Evangel editorial column in which he encouraged readers to “keep in vital touch with God through prayer.” Cunningham explained, “Pentecostal people know something about the power of prayer. All we have received from God has come through the avenue of personal prayer.”

However, Cunningham expressed concern that Pentecostals, in some quarters, had lost their spiritual vitality. He warned against prayerless Pentecostalism, which he described as “a dried-up stream devoid of power and beauty.” Without prayer, he wrote, “our lives will be empty and our testimony a hollow echo.” He described prayerless Pentecostals as “miserable” and noted that “we can go through Pentecostal ritual, but without prayer it will be as dry as dust.”

How should Pentecostals pray? Cunningham pointed to Acts 1:14 as a scriptural model: “The disciples were worshiping God, mixing praises with their prayers. They prayed through until their souls burst forth in a torrent of praise.” When the disciples prayed in this way, they encountered God in a miraculous way. He wrote, “They magnified God; their souls became enveloped with the divine glory; the Holy Ghost took full control of their enraptured souls and it was then they began to speak in other tongues the wonderful works of God their souls had been contemplating.”

In Cunningham’s estimation, prayer was as important to the disciples as preaching.

What happened when the disciples prayed? The lost were saved, the sick were healed, those who had been arrested and persecuted by hostile authorities were delivered, and the church grew. According to Cunningham, this kind of prayer — that which is powerful and effective (James 5:16) — continues to be needed today. 

Read the entire editorial, “Prayer and Pentecost,” on page 4 of the Aug. 10, 1969, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.  

Also featured in this issue:

• “Revival News Hits the Front Pages,” by Arlo A. Johnson

• “What May We Expect of Prayer?” by John W. Everett

• “Revival Comes by Looking,” by Dale Harmon  

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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August 3, 2024 · 9:22 am

J. W. Welch: From Sunday School Organizer to Assemblies of God Chairman

This Week in AG History — July 29, 1939

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 02 August 2024

John W. Welch (1858-1939), a senior statesman in the Assemblies of God during its first quarter century, went to be with the Lord 85 years ago. He served as chairman (1915-1920 and 1923-1925) and secretary (1920-1923) of the young Fellowship.

Welch accepted Christ at about age 25 and almost immediately launched out into full-time ministry. He worked with the American Sunday School Union, a non-denominational organization dedicated to establishing Sunday Schools in every community. Many of these Sunday Schools worked with the destitute and taught young people without formal educations how to read and write by studying the Bible. Welch proved to be a good organizer and was recognized for opening a large number of Sunday Schools in Virginia.

Despite this success, Welch did not feel worthy to be in the ministry. He left the American Sunday School Union to take a job with General Electric in Schenectady, New York. Welch could not shake God’s call on his life, however. He led numerous people to the Lord during his day job at General Electric, and during the evenings and weekends he and his wife found themselves drawn to the slums and the street corners, where they preached the gospel and helped the needy.

Welch’s call to the ministry did not go unnoticed. When he was 41 years old, Welch was surprised by Christian and Missionary Alliance leaders, who insisted upon ordaining him. They told him, “Brother Welch, you are fully qualified for ordination, and we are going to ordain you.” He consented and, in 1910, he was named superintendent of the Christian and Missionary Alliance churches in Oklahoma. Since there were not yet any in that state, it was up to him to start them. He crisscrossed Oklahoma, holding tent meetings, revival services, and organizing churches.

Welch still felt that he lacked something for the ministry. He had encountered Pentecostals who testified to an experience of baptism in the Holy Spirit which gave them power for ministry. Welch studied the Scriptures and became convinced that he too needed this Pentecostal baptism. In 1911, he received the experience and became a prominent Pentecostal preacher. Welch became a founding member of the Assemblies of God in 1914.

Upon Welch’s death in 1939, General Superintendent E. S. Williams offered the following eulogy: “In the promotion of Brother Welch we have lost a foundation stone upon which the General Council was founded, a father in the Lord, one blessed with keen judicial sense, a man of clear-cut experience and conviction, a proved pillar in times of crisis.”

Read tributes to Welch published in the July 29, 1939, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “The Inner Spirit of the Cross,” by George D. Watson

• “Now’s Your Chance, Lord,” by Mrs. Howard Taylor

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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July 26, 2024 · 10:14 am

Dr. Willis C. Hoover: From Medical Doctor to Methodist Missionary to Pentecostal Pioneer in Chile

This Week in AG History — July 22, 1922

By Glenn W. Gohr
Originally published on AG News, 25 July 2024

Willis Collins Hoover (1858-1936) is remembered as the Father of Pentecostalism in Chile. A medical doctor and Methodist missionary to Chile, he pioneered the Pentecostal movement in the country following his baptism in the Holy Spirit. Several of his descendants became leaders in the Assemblies of God.

Hoover was born to Methodist parents in Freeport, Illinois. After becoming a medical doctor (M.D.) in 1884 and receiving training in architecture, he felt the Lord calling him to missionary work. He was first inspired by reports from pioneer Christian missionary David Livingstone to offer himself as a missionary to Africa. When the Methodist mission board gave him an assignment to Chile, he accepted it as God’s will. Soon he began receiving an inner impression that said, “South America, South America, South America.” His calling was so strong that when he proposed to his future wife, Mae Hilton, he insisted that as a married couple they must go to South America to minister.

Dr. Hoover left his practice in Chicago as a homeopathic physician, and he and his wife arrived in Chile in 1889 as Methodist missionaries. He was appointed director of the Colegio Ingles de Iquique (Iquique English School) in northern Chile and then served as superintendent of the Methodist Iquique District. By 1902 he was pastoring a large church in Valparaiso.

Word of the Pentecostal outpouring in 1906 at the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles reached him in his pastorate in Valparaiso. It stirred his interest, and he began to earnestly study the Bible for teaching on the baptism in the Holy Spirit. That year the Sunday school lessons were in the Book of Acts, so this augmented his studies. He gathered his family together, and they began having special times of prayer and revival.

Around this same time, Mae Hoover received a letter from Minnie Abrams, who had been her roommate at Moody Bible Institute. Minnie had received the Pentecostal experience at the Azusa Street Mission and had gone to India as a missionary. There she worked with Pandita Ramabai, an Indian woman who also had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Minnie’s letter concerning the outpouring of the Spirit at Azusa Street motivated the Hoovers to invite others to join them for times of seeking God in their home. The board of deacons joined them in these prayer meetings.

Next, the Hoovers started a Sunday prayer meeting at the church before the Sunday night service, which was known as clase de cinco (five o’clock class). This class drew increasing numbers, and sometimes people prayed on into the evening service. These concentrated times of prayer eventually led to people experiencing united prayer (instead of individual prayers). One time Willis Hoover was kneeling and praying on the platform, and he observed that his congregation was praying spontaneously in what could be called “the sound of many waters.”

As the Holy Spirit began to move on the congregation, and people received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, there were manifestations of speaking in other tongues, and sometimes holy laughter and dancing in the Spirit. Some extreme manifestations were also evident at times. In 1936, when Willis Hoover lay dying, his prayer was that God would “give us another revival as that which You gave us; if possible without the errors and the extravagances which accompanied it; but in any case, give us another revival.”

Because of the empowerment of the Spirit, evangelism and personal witnessing took on fresh meaning, and this became a major contributing factor in the phenomenal growth of the Chilean Pentecostal Church. While Hoover’s congregation was happy with the revival that came in the early 1900s and rejoiced to witness the power of the Spirit, the Methodist Church leaders in the United States were not in favor of the revival and accompanying manifestations. What they viewed as emotionalism and excitement did not follow the accepted decorum and a well-ordered methodical service as handed down since the days of John Wesley, who was a leader in the Methodist movement.

During the annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Chile, held at Temuco in 1909, Bishop F.M. Bristol came face to face with the “problem” of Pentecost. He had been directed to conduct an investigation and try to persuade Hoover and his church to abandon what was viewed as intolerable error in doctrine and practice.

Hoover received his superior courteously, but he could not deny the Pentecostal experience, and he would not quench the flowing of the Spirit. The Methodist Church then issued an ultimatum: either Hoover would cease from Pentecostal activities and stop teaching that doctrine, or he would be dismissed from the Methodist Episcopal Church.

For Hoover, the choice was clear. He compared his stand to that of Martin Luther when facing the Catholic hierarchy at the Diet of Worms: “Here I stand. God help me. I cannot do otherwise.”

Dr. Hoover cut all ties with the Methodist Episcopal Church. With some 400 members of the church he pastored, and who had also received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, he formed a new organization called the Methodist Pentecostal Church. He no longer received any support from the Methodist Church in the United States. The church had to be self-sufficient. Hoover continued to follow the teachings of John Wesley, which included his form of Methodist church government, church discipline, and major doctrines, with the added belief in the Pentecostal experience.

By 1909, the church Hoover founded was the flagship of the Chilean Pentecostal movement, and the Pentecostal movement in Chile grew rapidly. In 1933-1934 there was a split in this church, and the splinter group took the name “Iglesia Metodista Pentecostal” as well as the periodical, Chile Pentecostal. Hoover’s main group had to choose a new name. His group then became known as “Iglesia Evangelica Pentecostal” and his periodical was called Fuego de Pentecostales (Fire of Pentecost). Since that time, both church bodies have prospered and seen tremendous growth. There is hardly a village or city from one end of Chile to the other without a congregation of Pentecostal believers. Members and adherents number approximately one million and growing. Hoover’s Iglesia Evangelica Pentecostal now celebrates 115 years since its founding.

Mae Hoover attended the November 1914 General Council in Chicago and held credentials for a short time with the Assemblies of God. Willis Hoover attended the 1915 General Council and gave a report of his work in Chile. He also gave later reports in the Pentecostal Evangel.

Among his descendants are Mario Hoover (who attended Central Bible College and had a long career at the Gospel Publishing House in Springfield, Missouri) and Mario’s wife, Elva Johnson Hoover, who was the director of Women’s Ministries for the Assemblies of God (1975-1985). One of Mario’s sons, Ronald Hoover, also worked for many years at the Gospel Publishing House.

Because Willis Hoover stood by his convictions that the baptism in the Holy Spirit was essential to the spreading of the gospel, he cut ties with his sending church and established what later became two Pentecostal denominations in Chile, which are still making a mark in the world.

Read, “Pentecostal Revival in Chile,” on pages 2-3 of the July 22, 1922, and pages 6-7 of the Aug. 5, 1922, issues of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Drowsiness: Its Remedy,” by Zelma Argue

• “Victory in Little Things,” by Bert Williams

And many more!

Click here and here to read these issues now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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July 19, 2024 · 3:29 pm

Mabel Dean: Unexpected Pioneer of the Assemblies of God in Egypt

This Week in AG History–July 16, 1961

By Ruthie Edgerly Oberg
Originally published on AG News, 18 July 2024

When Mabel Dean (1884-1961) sensed God’s call to be a missionary to Africa, she was 40 years old. An unmarried, unassuming bank clerk in Chicago, she did not seem to be the ideal missionary candidate. But God opened unexpected doors, and she became a pioneer Assemblies of God missionary to Egypt.

When John W. Welch read Mabel Dean’s application for missionary appointment in 1924, he wrote across the top, “I would judge her to be a good helper for someone but not qualified to assume control.” Welch, who served as general chairman (now called “general superintendent”) of the Assemblies of God, apparently had good reason for this statement. The missions board felt that Dean lacked many of the skills that would be helpful on the mission field. Furthermore, at age 40, it might be difficult for her to learn a new language.

All of Dean’s life, people did not expect her to amount to much. Despite what others said, Dean believed that she had a mandate from God for missions work in Africa. She later stated, “I was the only homely one in my family. Yet I was the one that He chose for His work.”

Dean’s missionary story began with a vision from the Lord on her daily train commute. She saw Jesus standing with a small stone in his hand. He threw the stone across the ocean and said to her, “That small stone is you. I want you to go to Africa.” She pondered the vision, but did not share it with anyone. It was at the very next church service that her pastor, Kelso R. Glover of Stone Church in Chicago, approached her and said, “Sister Dean, obey whatever God is telling you. Say ‘Yes’ from your heart.”

It was not long before Hattie Salyer, a missionary on furlough, visited Stone Church. After hearing Dean’s story, she exclaimed, “Why don’t you come with me to Egypt?” Taken aback, Dean replied, “But I feel that God has called me to Africa.” Smiling, the missionary replied, “But Egypt is in Africa!”

On October 1, 1924, the 4-foot-9-inch Dean arrived with Salyer in Cairo, Egypt, where she assisted in a small school for children run by missionaries. Soon after their arrival, Salyer succumbed to illness, leaving her inexperienced assistant to continue on alone. Dean, who was used to contributing roles, was thrust into a position of leadership.

Two years later, Lillian Trasher, an Assemblies of God missionary who had begun an orphanage in Assiout, Egypt, encouraged Dean to open a work for children in the small village of Minia, located 70 miles north of Assiout. Bringing with her one small girl named Salma, Dean moved to Minia and started a Sunday School for street children.

After the move to Minia, Dean felt the urge to broaden her evangelistic work. She began praying for God’s guidance regarding how to begin. Meanwhile, a revival was taking place in Trasher’s work in Assiout. Six young girls from Trasher’s orphanage felt God leading them to go into surrounding villages and tell others about Christ. Trasher sent them north to work with Dean. These six girls, along with little Salma, became the first of Mabel’s evangelistic teams. She sent them out two by two into the villages around Minia. The girls were soon joined by several young men who began preaching under Dean’s guidance. Dean soon had 20 evangelistic teams engaged in church planting.

Dean proved to be an effective leader, despite the missions board’s initial concerns. However, the board’s apprehension about her linguistic abilities proved valid. Dean never did master Arabic. Her practice was to teach her workers enough English so that she could disciple them personally, then send them out to preach in their native language.

Dean believed in the power of prayer, and she would pray while her students preached. When the residents of one village, Izbet, responded to her workers with indifference, Dean told them, “Do not waste your time and strength there now. I will make this a matter of prayer.” Soon after she began praying, representatives from the village requested that a team return to Izbet and even offered to pay the costs for the establishment of a church.

Dean ran a faith mission. She always seemed to have more faith than money. But God always seemed to provide just enough money at just the right time. Dean kept the mission’s money in a tin can. When a need arose, members of her ministry team could go to the can and retrieve the needed funds. When the can was empty she took it to the Lord in prayer, trusting Him to refill it. In spite of this uncertain funding method, she was never afraid to spend money. She told her workers, “God’s money is like water in a faucet. You have to let it run to receive what’s coming next.”

Dean’s attitude about money and God’s provision was demonstrated when one of her gospel workers lost a five pound (currency) note on a trip into town to buy supplies. The young lady returned in distress, but Dean encouraged her to not cry. She told the girl that perhaps a very poor man had been praying for money, and God was using their loss to meet his need.

When Mabel Dean passed away at her mission house on June 4, 1961, at age 77, she had served 37 years in Egypt. She was one of a handful of early Assemblies of God missionaries who had never taken a furlough to return home to the United States.

Philip Crouch, fellow missionary to Egypt, lauded Dean for helping to develop “one of the strongest indigenous works in Egypt.” By the time of her death, Dean’s teams of young workers had established 15 churches that owned their own buildings and about 30 other active congregations meeting in rented facilities. The “little stone” that Jesus wanted to throw across the ocean had become a foundation stone for a ministry that continued long after her death.

Read Dean’s obituary, “Missionary Called Home,” on page 9 of the July 16, 1961, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.
Also featured in this issue:

• “Tragedy on a Thailand Canal,” by F.A. Sturgeon

• “Going Up to Jerusalem,” by Don Mallough

• “A Day in the Life of a Missionary’s Wife,” by Mrs. O.B. Treece

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

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July 12, 2024 · 2:44 pm

Miracles, Growth, and Suffering: Bulgarian Pentecostalism in the 1930s

This Week in AG History — July 9, 1932

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 11 July 2024

Early Bulgarian Pentecostals witnessed great growth while enduring great persecution. Nicholas Nikoloff wrote an account of the Bulgarian believers’ deep faith and suffering in the July 9, 1932, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Nikoloff was intimately familiar with the subject of his article. He served as general superintendent of the Union of Evangelical Pentecostal Churches in Bulgaria from 1928 until 1931, when he moved to the United States.

“The striking thing in Bulgaria is the great spiritual hunger of the villagers,” Nikoloff wrote. Miracles were common, according to Nikoloff, and “some of the believers have a real gift of healing.”

Bulgarians fanned the Pentecostal flame by publishing two periodicals and numerous tracts, which they distributed widely. A number of Bulgarian young people received formal theological education at a Pentecostal Bible school in Danzig, and others took local evening Bible courses.

This Pentecostal progress attracted the attention of government officials and local religious leaders, who tried to quash the growing movement.

Nikoloff recounted, “The believers were severely persecuted. Some were imprisoned. Many of them were arrested, taken through the streets and people made fun of them. Others were forbidden to even pray in their own homes, and threatened severely by certain local authorities.”

Despite these difficulties, Nikoloff reported that “God gave victory and liberty was granted.” This acceptance was gained in several communities because of healings of young people who were demon possessed or lame. Pentecostals continued to grow and, by World War II, constituted the majority of Protestants in Bulgaria.

Read the entire article by Nicholas Nikoloff, “The Signs Follow in Bulgaria,” on page 6 of the July 9, 1932, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Two Types of Spirituality,” by A.G. Ward

• “An Interesting Trip in the Fiji Islands,” by Lawrence Borst

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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