This Week in AG History — October 30, 1920
By Glenn W. Gohr
Originally published on AG-News, 30 October 2025
Many people do not know that the first Bible school owned and operated by the General Council of the Assemblies of God was called the Midwest Bible School, located in the small town of Auburn, Nebraska. Unfortunately, it was short-lived and only lasted one school year (1920-21). Still, it paved the way for many other Bible schools that soon were started in the Assemblies of God.
Education has always been important to the Assemblies of God. In fact, one of the five reasons for the 1914 organizational General Council of the AG, held at Hot Springs, Arkansas, was to establish “a general Bible Training School with a literary department for our people.” R.B. Chisolm’s school in Union, Mississippi, and T.K. Leonard’s Gospel School in Findlay, Ohio, were both recognized at the Hot Springs council. D.C.O. Opperman also conducted several short-term Bible schools in the South and Midwest. One district Bible school in California was started in 1919.
In September 1919, George W. Hawley, the local Assemblies of God pastor in Auburn, purchased the former Avenue Hotel, a three-story brick building erected in 1903. The facility was 70 feet by 80 feet in dimension, contained 57 rooms, and had steam heat and electricity. Hawley was 67 years old at the time, and he could have easily retired from the ministry, but instead he decided to launch out on one of the biggest ventures of his life.
He contacted church officials in Springfield, Missouri, and within a couple of months, the Assemblies of God agreed to Hawley’s offer to sell the building and have it converted into a Bible school. Plans were announced for the school to open on Jan. 1, 1920. However, there was an issue with a cracked furnace and a strike which prevented buying coal that winter. Then in February a flu epidemic spread throughout southeast Nebraska. The mayor of Auburn declared all churches and schools closed because of the epidemic.
There were delays in opening the school, but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. With the added time, the furnace was fixed, and other necessary repairs were made on the building.
After some modifications to better serve the school, the ground floor was made up of a prayer room, classrooms, bathroom facilities, dining room, and kitchen. Samuel A. Jamieson, a minister and the school principal, and his wife, had an apartment on the first floor. The second floor was used for the girls’ dorm, with the third floor being the boys’ dorm. The walk-out basement included a pump house with washing and recreation facilities.
Hawley and members of the small Assemblies of God congregation in Auburn rallied together to help the Bible school enterprise, and donations came in from interested persons throughout the Midwest, as well as the AG headquarters in Missouri. Some donated supplies included 75 folding chairs, bedding, bedspreads, dishes, table cutlery, rugs, a bathtub, and a piano.
The Midwest Bible School officially opened its doors on Oct. 4, 1920. The school was less than a block from the county courthouse and just across the street from First Presbyterian Church, which also housed the Assemblies of God congregation.
About 40 students from various states attended the school. Each day started about 7 a.m. with chapel services, and then the students separated to attend their respective classes. In addition to Bible courses, English and music were taught. The school had an orchestra that played on Sundays for church services.
Jamieson had been a district official and a pastor with the Presbyterian Church in Minnesota for many years before he joined the Assemblies of God. Likely, he used his influence to secure use of the Presbyterian church for the local Assemblies of God congregation and the students. Jamieson was a graduate of Wabash College and Lane Theological Seminary. He also attended the founding meeting of the Assemblies of God in 1914. He was an excellent choice to become principal. Other faculty included O.E. McCleary, Louise Albach, Eva Groomes, and Johanna Zou.
After the fall semester, a few of the students left, but about 12 new students and some new staff members arrived for the spring term which opened on Jan. 4, 1921.
During the late fall and early spring, the students held a number of street meetings in downtown Auburn, making quite an impression on the townspeople. Although some people likely did not know what to think of those young Pentecostals who had come to town, it seems that most everyone welcomed the school and the students.
A number of the students found outside work in the evening and on weekends. Some of the boys helped with farm work. The girls did housework and laundry. One student, Lydia Rediger, was sent out from the school as a missionary to India.
The school year closed with a two-week camp meeting conducted by evangelist Jack Saunders, a former prize fighter, and D.W. Kerr, a well-known Bible teacher. The students carried folding chairs from the school over to a big gospel tent for the revival campaign. On June 5, 1921, the meeting ended, and the students dispersed to many parts of the country.
The Midwest Bible School was intended to be a permanent Bible training school, and plans were made for a second year of operation. But, because of financial difficulties, the school was closed after just one year of operation. The building was sold back to George W. Hawley, who sold it again. The building was later turned into the Avenue Apartments.
After closing the Bible school in Auburn, the Assemblies of God went on to found Central Bible Institute in Springfield, Missouri, in 1922. Central Bible Institute became Central Bible College and then later consolidated into Evangel University. The short-lived school in Auburn, Nebraska, became a model for many other schools established by the Assemblies of God throughout the years. The Alliance for AG Higher Education currently recognizes 22 schools in the U.S.
Read “Helping the New School,” on page 11 of the Oct. 30, 1920, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.
Also featured in this issue:
• “Back to Pentecost.”
• “Politics From the Pentecostal Viewpoint,” by Stanley H. Frodsham
• How to Get a Revival,” by George Jeffreys
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/
Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center 