Tag Archives: Pentecostalism

October 23, 2025 · 2:36 pm

J. Narver Gortner: From Methodist Pastor to Assemblies of God Pioneer

This Week in AG History — October 25, 1930

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 23 October 2025

Most people today probably associate the name Gortner with Marjoe Gortner (1944- ), the child evangelist-turned-movie star. Early Assemblies of God members, however, would associate the name with his grandfather, J. Narver Gortner (1874-1961). J. Narver, the son of a Methodist missionary, became a prominent early leader in the Assemblies of God.

J. Narver’s father was an old-fashioned Methodist preacher who taught the importance of holy living and who believed that God still performs miracles. His father yielded to a call to serve as a missionary in Liberia. The Gortner family sailed for Liberia in 1887, but their life as African missionaries was short-lived. J. Narver’s father died in 1888, and his grieving widow and two sons went back to America, where they settled on the family farm in Nebraska.

The sorrowful experience in Liberia might have caused J. Narver to reject the thought of entering the ministry. However, he felt a pull toward the pastorate and enrolled at Garrett Biblical Institute (now Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary) in Evanston, Illinois. He began pastoring his first church, a Methodist congregation in Inman, Nebraska, at the age of 19.

J. Narver pastored several churches in Nebraska. Numerous people accepted Christ under his ministry and he rose in prominence in the Methodist Church. In 1911, his wife, Della, became deathly sick. J. Narver accepted the pastorate of a church in southern California, hoping that the change in climate would bring a measure of relief to Della.

Della did get better, but her healing did not come from the weather. Rather, she attributed her healing to the prayers of several Christians, including Pentecostal pioneer and medical doctor Finis Yoakum. She often testified that before she was healed, she had subsisted for 14 months primarily on raw eggs and malted milk. After she was healed, she could eat beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, and anything else she wanted.

Della’s healing caused the Gortners to view Pentecostals favorably. Pentecostals were generally considered part of the broader Holiness and Wesleyan movements, with which the Gortners also identified. However, Pentecostals also placed an emphasis on the baptism in the Holy Spirit with an evidence of speaking in tongues, which was not emphasized in Gortner’s Methodist church.

In 1914, J. Narver read about a Pentecostal camp meeting slated to be held in Cazadero, in the California Redwoods. Carrie Judd Montgomery, an early Pentecostal healing evangelist, was going to minister at the camp. He had read Montgomery’s periodical, Triumphs of Faith, and wanted to experience a Pentecostal service for himself.

J. Narver attended the camp and received a powerful experience of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. He also was healed of a long-standing painful spinal condition after evangelist Smith Wigglesworth, another speaker at the camp, prayed for him.

The 40-year-old Methodist pastor was both exhilarated and in a quandary. He wanted to testify about his baptism in the Holy Spirit and his healing. However, he thought it would likely cost him his position as a Methodist pastor and denominational official.

Gortner went home and the next Sunday morning told his Methodist congregation in Arroyo Grande what had happened to him. They listened with interest, Methodist officials did not remove him from the pastorate, and his fears subsided. He remained in the Methodist church until 1919, when he decided to become more involved in the young Pentecostal movement.

Gortner transferred his ordination to the Assemblies of God and quickly rose in prominence in his new church. In 1920, he became the first superintendent of the Central District of the Assemblies of God, and the following year he became a member of the Executive Presbytery, a position he held for 26 years. He also served as a pastor in Oakland, California (1927-1937), and president of Glad Tidings Bible Institute in San Francisco (1941-1947). He authored five books and over 250 articles published in the Pentecostal Evangel.

According to historian Carl Brumback, Gortner was a very influential theologian and church leader in the Assemblies of God from the 1920s through the 1940s. Brumback viewed J. Narver Gortner, Samuel A. Jamieson, and P.C. Nelson as a “doctrinal trio” which had “a great part in molding the conservative nature of the Assemblies of God.” In 1927, Gortner championed the idea of changing the name of the Assemblies of God to The Pentecostal Evangelical Church. Gortner was not ashamed of being Pentecostal and thought the term Pentecostal should be in the name of the Fellowship. He also built bridges across the denominational divides and played a significant role in the formation of the National Association of Evangelicals.

In its early decades, the Assemblies of God benefited significantly from an influx of veteran ministers from other denominations whose lives had been touched by the work of the Holy Spirit. J. Narver Gortner was one such minister, and his influence can still be felt through the countless lives that he touched through his ministry and writings.

Read Gortner’s testimony, “Methodist Preacher Filled With the Spirit,” on pages 6 and 7 of the Oct. 25, 1930, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit a Necessity?” by P.C. Nelson

• “The Initial Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit,” by Donald Gee

• “Was the Apostle Paul a Madman?” by Charles A. Shreve

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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November 15, 2024 · 9:48 am

110 Years Ago: The Second General Council and the Story Behind the Assemblies of God’s Commitment to Missions

This Week in AG History — November 14, 1914

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 14 November 2024

One hundred and ten years ago, hundreds of Assemblies of God pastors, evangelists, and missionaries traveled to Chicago to attend the second General Council. Held Nov. 15-29, 1914, at the Stone Church, this meeting’s stated purpose was “to lay a firm foundation upon which to build the Assemblies of God.”

The Assemblies of God had been organized just seven months earlier in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The young Fellowship grew quickly as existing independent ministers joined its ranks. They appreciated the vision for fellowship, accountability, and structure, while maintaining the autonomy of the local congregation. This growth caused founding chairman E.N. Bell to call for a second meeting, in order to make urgent decisions about the future of the new organization.

The Stone Church, one of the largest Pentecostal congregations in America, could easily accommodate the expected 1,000 participants. Delegates to the meeting made several important structural changes. They decided to move the headquarters from Findlay, Ohio, to St. Louis, Missouri, which would provide a more central location in a larger city. Delegates voted to expand the number of executive presbyters from 12 to 16, making the leadership more representative of the constituency. New leadership was also elected and Gospel Publishing House was authorized to expand its operations.

But the most far-reaching decision at the second General Council was one that was not on the original agenda. Assemblies of God leaders planned to take a missionary offering at the conclusion of the General Council. They had written articles encouraging people to bring money to give to missions. But the pastor of the Stone Church decided that the final offering should instead go to his own church, to help defray expenses related to hosting the council. Assemblies of God leaders, although frustrated with this turn of events, did not oppose the pastor’s request. Instead, they decided to issue a strongly-worded resolution in which they committed the Assemblies of God, from that point forward, to the cause of world evangelization. L.C. Hall drafted the resolution, which read:

“As a Council, we hereby express our gratitude to God for His great blessing upon the Movement in the past. We are grateful to Him for the results attending this forward Movement and we commit ourselves and the Movement to Him for the greatest evangelism that the world has ever seen. We pledge our hearty cooperation, prayers, and help to this end.”

This iconic resolution, unanimously adopted by the delegates, has been widely quoted as illustrating how support for missions is part of the DNA of the Assemblies of God.

There is more to the story. In the spring of 1915, something shocking was discovered about the Stone Church pastor, R.L. Erickson, who had refused to let the offering go to missions. The May 29, 1915, issue of the Weekly Evangel alerted readers that Erickson had been removed from the ministerial list due to moral failure. In a lengthy article, E.N. Bell detailed how Erickson’s “greed” was evidence of poor moral character, which also manifested itself in other harmful ways in his life and ministry. In Bell’s estimation, Erickson’s greed led him to take the offering meant for missions, which led to the adoption of the strong statement in support of missions. What Satan meant for harm, Bell wrote, God could turn into good. And 110 years later, the Assemblies of God remains committed to “the greatest evangelism that the world has ever seen.”

Read the Nov. 14, 1914, issue of the Christian Evangel, which published the minutes from the first General Council and encouraged readers to attend the second General Council.

Also featured in this issue:

• “The Work in Africa and Egypt,” by Frank M. Moll

• “The Unanswered Prayer,” by Harry Morse

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Also read E.N. Bell’s article, “The Great Outlook,” in which he details the events surrounding the adoption of the resolution regarding missions, on pages 3 and 4 of the May 29, 1915, issue of the Weekly Evangel.

Pentecostal Evangel, Christian Evangel, and Weekly 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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December 28, 2023 · 10:01 am

In the Midst of Cultural Chaos, David Wilkerson Gave This Prophetic Message to the Church in 1970

This Week in AG History — December 27, 1970

By Glenn W. Gohr
Originally published on AG News, 28 December 2023

It was 1970 and one of the most significant cultural transformations in American history was underway. The news reported on widespread youthful rebellion, and sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll seemed to be the currency of the era. In the midst of this cultural chaos, David Wilkerson delivered a prophetic message at the World Pentecostal Conference, predicting that a “Jesus Revolution” would sweep the nation and pleading for Christians to show patience and love to the younger generation.

David Wilkerson (1931-2011) is probably best remembered for his autobiographical book, The Cross and the Switchblade, published in 1963, which later became a best-selling movie of the same name in 1970.

Wilkerson started in ministry pastoring Assemblies of God congregations in rural Pennsylvania, but in 1958 he moved to New York City to work on the street among teenage gang members and socially marginalized people. His ministry with gangs was featured in Life Magazine, and one of his converts from that period is AG evangelist Nicky Cruz, who had been a leader of a New York City gang, the Mau Maus.

In 1959, Wilkerson founded Teen Age Evangelism which later became Teen Challenge, and which now has expanded to become Global Teen Challenge. Wilkerson wrote books and tracts on popular topics including pop culture, witchcraft, suicide, drugs, alcohol, and end-time prophecy. Two of his best sellers are The Vision and Racing Toward Judgment.

Wilkerson’s captivating message at the World Pentecostal Conference is reproduced below:

If We Lose This Generation …

There has never been a generation as deeply in trouble as ours. It is corrupted by drugs, crazed by sex, plagued by rebellion and violence. But we will not lose this generation because of any of these things!

The rebels and the radicals will never capture this generation. Black and white rebels will curse God, spit on the flag, defy all authority, ridicule righteousness, stockpile weapons, kill and destroy.

But they will never capture the masses of youth.

Young people now are seeing through the revolution movements. Their leaders are consuming one another with hatred. Their leaders are writing books and making TV appearances and becoming rich capitalists! Less than two percent of our youth are involved with rebels. No, we will not lose this generation to the revolutionaries.

We will not lose this generation to pornography or sex. Certainly the floodgates of smut and pornography are open. Movies are dirty. Books are filthy. The country is baptized in nudity and permissive sex.

But it is backfiring! The pendulum is beginning to swing back to old-fashioned virtues. Dirty
movies are going broke. Kids prefer to get involved in something that is going to count, to discuss issues, to get back to nature and truth. We will not lose this generation to sex and smut.

We will not lose this generation to drugs. Drug addiction is growing among suburban youth and younger children. But in the cities — in Haight Ashbury, in Greenwich Village, where hippies set the trends — drug use is going out of style. Marijuana is getting boring. LSD has dropped in price and is going out. Heroin addicts are getting desperate and crying out for deliverance. Teenagers are organizing “righteousness revolutions” and cleaning up their schools.

I am sick and tired of all the cries of hopelessness and despair. All kids are not potheads. Not all college kids are acid freaks. They are not all “coming apart.”

No, we will not lose this generation in the ghetto, or in the dirty theaters, or on campus.

If we lose this generation, it will be lost in the hearts of God’s people! In the pulpits! By saints and servants of God who were blind and deaf to the needs and cries of this generation. That is where we will lose this generation!

What we need to reach this generation is a new concept of patience and pity.

This generation can be doomed and damned by our unforgiving, impatient spirit locked in the hearts of parents, ministers, and Christian workers. I believe the most dangerous backlash in the country today is in God’s house, in sanctified hearts.

Some young people today burn and loot. They take over college campuses with loaded shotguns. They defy the government. They riot. They curse parents. They speak evil of dignitaries. They spit on the flag. They boast about drugs and sex. They dress wild.

And it makes our blood boil. Our patriotic spirit is offended. Our sense of decency is wounded. Fear and anger overwhelm us. And all too often we wind up with our hands around the throats of young people!

With righteous indignation we demand justice; we fight back with demands for conformity. Suddenly we are no longer capable of Holy Ghost love. Pentecostal fire is replaced by the fire of indignation. Our love turns to bitterness. We thunder hellfire from our pulpits; our witnessing becomes warning.

And hope turns to despair.

How much the situation is like a parable Jesus told:

“Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him, and forgave him the debt” (Matthew 18:23-27).

That story hits at the very heart of the problem in the world today: we have forgotten how patient our God really is!

Have we forgotten how much God has forgiven us? Some of us were reprobates and drunkards. We were guilty before God of every sin imaginable: gossip, hate, adultery, covetousness, stealing, dishonesty, gambling, addiction to cigarettes!

We can all identify with this bankrupt man — about to lose his family, home, everything. Only a miracle of pity could save him.

So the poor man cried out: “Lord, have patience with me. Give me more time. I’m in a crisis right now. I’ll pay you, but now I need your understanding, pity, and patience.”

Even a child can understand the application. We have been saved by the God of patience. “We then that are strong enough ought to bear the infirmities of the weak … For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:1,4).

But having received God’s pity and patience, we refuse to demonstrate it to this generation. How much we are like the servant. The story continues:

“But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him a hundred pence, and he laid his hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me what the owest. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt” (Matthew 18:28-30).

What a wretched man!

I say to myself, “How could he do such a thing? He was forgiven so much — and he is so unforgiving! Look at him with his hands on the threat of a poor, bankrupt person — demanding payment right now!”

But then I hang my head in shame. Because I am that man.

I am that man — demanding that all my converts walk like angels while I still struggle with deep battles.

I am that man — demanding that young people conform to my dress standards, demanding they pay their debt to society.

I am that man — more concerned about their hair and beards, about their getting a job, about their politics. And I demand they pay up now!

How can we honestly evangelize rebels if we call them Communists and hopeless criminals?

How can we reach drug addicts if we have no pity or patience? If we say, “They brought it on themselves”?

How can we honestly reach millions of runaways, hippies, devil worshipers — if we see nothing but their clothes, their long hair, their big talk — and spend all our time preaching against them?

Could it be that we have become blind to what young people are trying to tell us? Could it be that 400,000 kids at Woodstock Music Festival were sitting in the mud as if to say, “We are all bankrupt; we have nothing left. We are in crises; we are down and out. Please have patience.”

Could it be that thousands of drug-crazed young people are crying out to us: “We are empty, bankrupt. We’ve lost our resources. We’ve wasted our substance. We have nothing to offer. Diagnose us. Threaten us. Warn us. Choke us. But it won’t do any good! We have nothing left. Please just be patient. Try to pity, to understand.”

Could it be that thousands of unwashed hippies and runaways are saying: “We couldn’t meet the schedule. We’ve given up. We are dirty, low, helpless. Have pity! We don’t know how to pay up! We are lost. Please be patient!”

God help this generation if His people cannot soon demonstrate pity and patience to them! Blacks will hate whites. Children will hate parents. The entire generation will turn against the church. And worst of all, we will lose our Christian youth, who want honesty. They will say, “If this is love — if this is all there is to it — we don’t want it!”

Some of us have been so busy preaching John 3:16 that we had forgotten Matthew 18:33. John 3:16 tells of God’s patience and forgiveness to man. Matthew 18:33 tells of our patience and pity to our generation.

What did the Lord say to the unforgiving servant? “O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt because thou desiredst [besought] me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?” (Matthew 18:32, 33).

This is today’s most relevant message! It shakes me to the deep of my soul. God is saying, “I have forgiven you so much; I’ve had such compassion on you. Shouldn’t you be patient with them? Have you no pity?”

Hear Christ’s conclusion to the story: “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses” (Matthew 18:35).

I wanted to lecture a dirty hippie boy about his filthiness. But he told me, “I’m homeless.” Or how about the heroin addict who started on drugs when he was 6? We must be patient!

What is needed to reach this generation is a new concept of what young people are really seeking.

Young people are weary of sex, tired of drugs, disillusioned with rebels, sick of organized religion, suspicious of philosophy. They are seeking something.

They are the same kind of seekers referred to in John 12:20, 21: “And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip … and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.”

Ministers of God, listen … please understand. Young people are longing to see Jesus. Why are some of us reaching thousands of young people? Because we are giving them nothing but Jesus!

Young people are not interested in our fancy church buildings. They would rather see the money go to missions. They are not concerned about the intricate denominational setup. They can see right through the pompous church leaders who preach nothing but social action.

They are sick of preachers who pretend to be politicians. They are sick of ritual and ceremony.

They want to hear about Jesus. Is He real? Does He still answer prayer? Can He break my habits? Can He give me peace?

They’re telling us: “We’ve heard a lot of talk about Him, but now we want to see Him, to talk to Him, to get personally involved!”

There is a Jesus Revolution now on — a veritable army of Jesus people!

Hippies, runaways, addicts are turning to Christ by the multitudes. And they all have a code message: “I belong to the Jesus people.”

Young people have seen all the confusion, all the complications of a complex age. They are turning to a single, simple solution — Jesus!

God forgive us for being removed from the simplicity of the gospel. Let us say with Paul: “I am determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

Drugs have opened the minds of young people to deep and mystical experiences. This generation will never again be satisfied with shallow religious experiences. Thousands of them do go into trances through meditation. They talk about deep religious experiences with LSD. Some have gone into witchcraft, devil worship. But they are not satisfied.

There are now many thousands of hungry, seeking teenagers and students wanting a deeper religious experience. They want reality. That experience — that reality — is the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

The Jesus revolution is sponsored by the Holy Ghost! When He comes, the revolution begins. Addicts kick the habit and start preaching Jesus. Blacks and whites join hands and praise God. Rebels lay down their weapons and preach peace. Children are reunited with their parents. Prodigal sons return home. Prostitutes become ladies and good mothers. Gang leaders prophesy.

But it is going to take some patience and pity and forgiveness by God’s people to reach this generation of youth. We ‘re going to have to practice what we have been preaching.

Read David Wilkerson’s sermon, “If We Lose This Generation…,” on pages 6-8 of the Dec. 27, 1970, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Pentecost—the Power for Missions,” by A.M. Cakau

• “Christ or Crisis,” by Paul Pipkin

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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December 15, 2023 · 8:20 am

An Observation and Warning from 1973: Nine Trends in Pentecostal Churches

This Week in AG History — December 16, 1973

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 15 December 2023

British Pentecostal leader and theologian Percy Brewster, in a 1973 Pentecostal Evangel article, identified nine trends facing Pentecostals. While some of these trends were the natural result of the movement’s growth and maturation, others he ascertained as “extremely dangerous” or even Satanic in origin.

When Brewster wrote the article, there were only about 20 to 30 million Pentecostals worldwide. Over the past 50 years, that number has burgeoned to between 350 million and 700 million, depending upon how one defines Pentecostal. Today, Pentecostals would do well to heed Brewster’s advice to carefully reflect about the nine trends, which continue in many Pentecostal circles.

The first trend identified by Brewster is that Pentecostals have become “too sensitive to public opinion.” He encouraged believers to be more like early 20th century Pentecostals, who seemed “immune to criticism.” Rather than adapting to the world’s values, he asserted that Pentecostals should make the Bible their “blueprint for living,” seeking to please God in all they do.

The second trend is that some “accept the heritage of the past without a corresponding personal dedication.” This includes people who were reared in Pentecostal churches and who identify with the Pentecostal tradition, but whose spiritual life is far from where it should be. They have a form of godliness, but not the substance.

The third trend is a weakening in the area of evangelism. Brewster warned that a church which places a low priority on evangelism is committing “spiritual suicide.”

The fourth trend is to spend large amounts of money to build extravagant churches, rather than investing the money in evangelism and missions.

The fifth trend is the tendency to get caught up in the busyness of church work and committees, while neglecting the needs of spiritually hungry souls. Brewster encouraged readers to prioritize evangelism and discipleship.

The sixth trend, according to Brewster, “is an unhealthy move to segregate the young and the old.” In many churches, he witnessed that “the young people are taking over, and sometimes 90 percent of the church energy is expended on the young.” He refuted this as unbiblical, noting that “the older people need the zeal and energy of the young, and the young need the balance of the older people’s wisdom and maturity.”

The seventh trend is an overemphasis on demon power. Brewster cautioned against attributing every problem to demons, which gives undue recognition to the devil, who is “already a defeated foe.”

The eighth trend, and one of the most serious in Brewster’s estimation, is the tendency to tolerate and excuse sin. Pentecostals must clearly and resolutely proclaim truth, rather than shifting their opinions to accommodate human weakness.

The ninth trend, which Brewster also identified as very dangerous, is to think that education can be a substitute for the call of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

How should Pentecostals react to these trends? According to Brewster, theology trumps sociology — Pentecostals should continue to proclaim biblical truth regardless of trends. However, he encouraged them to “contend for the faith without being contentious.” 

When Brewster wrote the article in 1973, the charismatic movement was gaining strength in mainline Protestant and Catholic churches. This context helped shape many of the trends that Brewster identified. Many of the new charismatics either stayed in their old denominations or challenged traditional holiness standards if they joined Pentecostal churches. Instead of retreating or compromising in the face of these challenging trends, Brewster encouraged Pentecostals to continue to evangelize at home and abroad, and to fellowship with all who “recognized the Lordship of Jesus Christ” and who sought the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Read Percy Brewster’s article, “A Look at the Worldwide Pentecostal Movement,” on pages 9 to 11 of the Dec.16, 1973, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Anointed to Preach,” by Thomas F. Zimmerman

• “The Birth of a Church,” by David Leatherberry

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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March 30, 2023 · 4:16 pm

Pandita Ramabai: Prominent Female Scholar, Social Reformer, and Pentecostal Pioneer in India

This Week in AG History — April 1, 1916

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 30 March 2023

Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922), widely regarded as one of India’s most prominent female social reformers and educators, played a significant role in pioneering the Pentecostal movement in India. Ramabai came from a privileged family, and she used her education and resources to help the underprivileged of her society.

Despite a cultural proscription on educating girls, Ramabai’s father, an educator and social reformer, taught her to read and write Sanskrit. By the age of 12, she memorized 18,000 verses of the Puranas, which were important Hindu religious texts. She became a noted Hindu scholar and was fluent in seven languages.

At a young age, Ramabai devoted her life to helping widows and orphans, who were often despised and mistreated in her society. Ramabai attended college in England, where she joined the Church of England. While traveling in the slums of London, she learned to distinguish between the institutional church and what she termed the “religion of Jesus Christ.” She returned to India and established homes for dispossessed widows and children. She also fought for social reform, including provision for quality healthcare and education.

Despite being marginalized by other social reformers who argued that her agenda was too radical, Ramabai continued to promote her social vision for India, which was consistent with her Christian testimony. She weathered criticism and even became bolder in her efforts, founding additional orphanages and a home for prostitutes. Importantly, Ramabai’s social ministries cared for both the body and the soul. They sheltered, educated, and fed women and children, and they also taught Christian doctrine and nurtured a generation of new Christians.

Ramabai realized that some things only change through prayer, and she used her significant influence to encourage women to pray for spiritual and social change in India. In January 1905, she issued a call to prayer, and 550 women began meeting twice daily for intercessory prayer. That summer, Ramabai sent 30 young women out into the villages to preach the gospel. These young female preachers were successful, and they reported an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on June 29, 1905, which included several being “slain in the Spirit” and experiencing a burning sensation. This Indian revival continued for several years. By 1906, participants also began receiving the gift of speaking in tongues.

According to Ramabai, the girls at the orphanage in Mukti prayed each day for more than 29,000 individuals by name. They prayed, among other things, for them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and to become true and faithful Christian witnesses.

Pandita Ramabai and the revival at the Mukti mission played an important role in the story of the Pentecostal movement’s origin in India. Alfred G. Garr, the first missionary sent by the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles, recounted his interactions with Ramabai in a serialized history of the Pentecostal movement published in the April 1, 1916, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Read the article, “The Work Spreads to India,” by A. G. Garr on pages 4 and 5 of the April 1, 1916, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Face to Face,” by D. W. Kerr

• “Letter from a Brother Minister,” by W. Jethro Walthall

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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March 18, 2022 · 6:58 pm

Herbert Edward Randall: Pioneer Canadian Pentecostal Missionary to Egypt

This Week in AG History — March 19, 1932

By Glenn W. Gohr
Originally published on AG-News, 18 March 2022

Herbert Edward Randall (1865-1938), an early Canadian Holiness missionary to Egypt, identified with the Pentecostal movement in 1907. He became an important Pentecostal pioneer in Canada and in Egypt, where he served as an Assemblies of God missionary. Randall prepared the way for larger-than-life figures like Aimee Semple McPherson and Lillian Trasher, but his own significant legacy has been neglected in many quarters.

Born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, Randall’s family was Methodist. As a young man living in Ottawa, he attended revival meetings with Ralph Horner, where he accepted Christ and soon began pastoring a Methodist Church in Canada. In 1895 he was dismissed from ministry in the Methodist Church for refusing to take a pastoral change — he instead believed God led him to evangelistic ministry. This prompted him to join The Holiness Movement Church (HMC), a newly formed Canadian group started by Horner. Randall became the first missionary of that new movement, with his assignment being Egypt. He arrived in April 1899.

Randall ministered in Assiout, Egypt, and the surrounding region from 1899 to 1906. One description says, “A tall, rather slender young Canadian, clothed in black apparel from head to foot, with a brown beard, walked the streets of Assiout with Bible and song book under his arm, holding meetings.” These early meetings were mostly attended by children who sat down on mats they brought from home, and some ladies observed from their balconies. A song went out in Arabic, “They who choose Christ as refuge shall in Him find rest.” This drew more people to his meetings, and then he would deliver a plain message of salvation.

When he was through with one meeting, he went on to the next street. He ended up having several street meetings a day, and often there was a night service in a building.

Randall was soon joined by other missionaries of the HMC, so there were enough workers to open up outstations. Randall had high hopes of reaching Muslims for Christ, but he also began ministering to Coptic Christians in need of a new experience of the spiritual life.

Randall returned to Canada in 1906 and received the Pentecostal baptism in the Holy Spirit at the Hebden Mission in Toronto in March 1907. About three weeks later he attempted to describe this experience: “I feel like I have really lived 24 days, or since the 6th of March, when I was baptized with the Holy Ghost. Before that time I enjoyed much of God’s grace, but now I am simply amazed, the difference is so great, and all I can do is exclaim with wonder and delight, ‘The Comforter has come.’”

Randall became a key figure in the early development of Pentecostalism in Canada from 1907 to 1911. Shortly after resigning from the HMC, Randall held meetings in Ingersoll, Ontario, where 17-year-old Aimee Kennedy received the baptism in the Holy Spirit at one of his meetings. She later married his associate, Robert Semple, went as a missionary to Hong Kong, and eventually founded the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. Randall also became a close associate of James and Ellen Hebden, Charles Chawner, R.E. McAlister, George Chambers, Frank Bartleman, A.H. Argue, and others.

Returning again to Egypt in 1912, Randall joined with other missionaries in founding a Pentecostal church in central Cairo. He translated several Pentecostal papers into Arabic such as The Good Report and The Morning Star. Some of these publications were also distributed to Syria, Palestine, Transjordan, Iraq, India, and other Arabic-speaking countries. He also helped to establish mission centers in Alexandria, Tanta, Port Said, etc. He was ordained by Robert E. McAlister, George Chambers, and C.E. Baker in 1919. Randall and his wife, Faith, were appointed as missionaries with the Assemblies of God on Dec. 19, 1922. Eventually Randall was made the superintendent of the Assemblies of God of Egypt. He worked closely with Lillian Trasher, Charles Doney, Ansel Post, Hugh and Mary Cadwalder, Mabel Dean, and other early AG missionaries in Egypt.

During the spring of 1932, Randall wrote several reports of a mighty revival in Egypt. At Beni Ady, a large cluster of four villages with a total population numbering 40,000, he reported ongoing revival. “In the course of three days and nights 60 souls received the Holy Ghost baptism, some of them in the meeting place, and others in their homes,” said Randall. At a women’s meeting during the daytime, 25 were baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Randall also reported opposition to the work of God, but he reported, “Men buying and selling are sometimes not able to speak their own language, but in some foreign tongue. This is for a sign.” The services were being held in temporary quarters with the congregation nightly reaching 600 “or as many can be crowded into the present place of meeting.” “The whole village is stirred, and there is great joy,” he continued. Someone compared it to Los Angeles in 1906 in Egyptian form.

Near the end of his life, he suffered a lengthy illness. When the end was near, he declared, “My traveling days are about over.” He told his nurse, “Tomorrow you are going to bury me.” The next day he passed away on March 11, 1938, concluding over 40 years of ministry, most of which was spent in Egypt. Andrew Crouch succeeded him as superintendent.

Besides being the catalyst to bring thousands to a saving knowledge of Christ, Herbert Randall was also the means of leading great numbers into the deeper Christian life through word, pen, and his Spirit-filled example.

Read H.E. Randall’s article, “A Remarkable Revival in Egypt,” on page 8 of the March 19, 1932, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

See also Dan Sheffield’s article, “Herbert E. Randall: A Canadian Holiness Missionary in Egypt and his Quest for More of the Holy Spirit,” published in the Canadian Journal of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity, which was an important source in the writing of this article.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Are the Sign Gifts in Evidence Today?” by J. Narver Gortner

• “Scriptural Holiness,” by W.E. Moody

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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January 27, 2022 · 3:53 pm

Briggs Dingman: How an Evangelical Minister Overcame Prejudice Against Pentecostals

This Week in AG History — January 24, 1948

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 27 January 2022

Briggs P. Dingman (1900-1968) was a renaissance man — he served as a minister, musician, author, linguist, and educator. He spent the first half of his ministry in Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist churches and as an officer in the Salvation Army. Much to his own surprise, however, he spent the latter half of his ministry in Pentecostal churches and schools.

Dingman, who shared his testimony in the Jan. 24, 1948, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel, had a broadly informed worldview. He attended Dickinson College, Moody Bible Institute, and Xenia Theological Seminary (a Presbyterian school). He was studious, had a working knowledge of at least five languages, and authored a novel, By Ways Appointed (Moody Press, 1935). Dingman considered himself to be “open-minded” on theological matters. Yet early in his ministry he reflexively rejected Pentecostal claims without first examining them.

It is easy to dismiss people and beliefs, Dingman came to realize, based on a caricature. He had little actual experience with Pentecostals. He had encountered some Pentecostals whom he deemed to be “ultrademonstrative,” and he had read that others handled snakes. He assumed Pentecostals to be deluded or even demon-possessed.

Dingman’s views of Pentecostals began to change when he came into contact with a young Assemblies of God minister. They became friends, and Dingman grew to admire his spiritual life. He felt “forced to admit” that the Assemblies of God preacher and his wife had a closer walk with the Lord than he did.

When Dingman took a different pastorate, he became friends with another Pentecostal minister who was overflowing with joy and spiritual depth. Dingman began developing an internal conflict when it came to Pentecostals — he admired their spirituality but pitied them for believing a “delusion.”

An Assemblies of God pastor who befriended Dingman wisely appealed to Dingman’s desire to be open-minded. He encouraged Dingman to read Assemblies of God literature and to judge for himself whether Pentecostal beliefs were biblical. One of the first books he read was by Robert Chandler Dalton – a Baptist chaplain who had been baptized in the Holy Spirit and who transferred his ordination to the Assemblies of God. Dingman was stunned. Dingman had been a longtime friend of Dalton. 

Dingman voraciously read book after book about Pentecostal beliefs. He came to two conclusions: 1) anti-Pentecostal books were written by people who apparently had very limited knowledge of actual Pentecostal teachings; and 2) Scripture teaches that the baptism of the Holy Spirit often follows conversion. His preconceived anti-Pentecostal prejudices shattered, Dingman determined that he would seek a deeper relationship with God, even if it meant identifying with the Pentecostals.

Shortly afterward, Dingman was baptized in the Holy Spirit. He recounted, “there was no hysterical outburst or extreme manifestation” — his soul was simply flooded by a “real visitation of the Holy Spirit.”

How would Dingman’s former ministry colleagues react? Dingman anticipated criticism: “Doubtless many of my former pastor and laymen friends feel that now I am deluded, but I feel that I may be permitted to exclaim, “Oh, sweet delusion!” 

Dingman explained how the baptism in the Holy Spirit brought him into a deeper relationship with God, wondering how spiritual depth could be called a “delusion.”

He wrote: “If having a continuous spirit of praise to my heavenly Father is delusion, then may it continue! If having a walk with God that was never before so rich, is delusion, then may I grovel in this ignorance until He comes! If having His daily blessings poured out upon my life in measure never before so copious is delusion, then this experience is an anomaly if there ever was one. No, far from suffering from a delusion, I have found the light, and what a light it is!”

Dingman cast his lot with the Pentecostals and never looked back. He transferred his ordination to the Assemblies of God in 1945. He went on to serve as a professor at two Assemblies of God schools: Northeastern Bible Institute (Framingham, Massachusetts) and Southwestern Bible Institute (now Southwestern Assemblies of God University, Waxahachie, Texas). He also taught at Elim Bible Institute (Lima, New York).

Briggs Dingman’s testimony illustrates the prejudice that often existed against early Pentecostals. Despite this prejudice, however, the Pentecostal movement became one of the largest revival and renewal movements in Christian history. Countless people, including seasoned ministers like Dingman, found spiritual depth and renewal within Pentecostalism.

Read Dingman’s article, “Is Pentecost a Delusion?” on pages 3 and 7 of the Jan. 24, 1948, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “A Precious Friend, or an Offence – Which is Christ to You?” by Lee Krupnick

• “The Revival in Ireland in 1859” 

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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August 19, 2021 · 5:09 pm

The Prosperity Gospel and Worldliness: A Warning from Early Pentecostal Leader W.T. Gaston

This Week in AG History —August 16, 1953

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 19 August 2021

Will the Pentecostal movement follow “the path of gradual surrender to carnal forces” like most Christian renewal movements before it? This question, posed by former General Superintendent W. T. Gaston (1925-1929) in the Aug. 16, 1953, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel, remains strikingly relevant. 

Gaston wrote that history’s “tragic lesson” is that a church’s solid foundation does not prevent corruption from “fleshly elements within.” He offered this warning at a time when certain media-savvy Pentecostal healing evangelists had been exposed for their ungodly lifestyles, but who continued to promote themselves and their unbiblical message that God guarantees financial prosperity to believers.

Gaston suggested, “If we are to have a future that is better or even comparable and worthy of our past, we will need to learn over again some of the lessons of yesterday.” One of the important lessons to rediscover, he wrote, was the importance of promoting “pure, undefiled” religion.

He recalled that many early 20th-century Pentecostal pioneers were bivocational ministers, that often met in homes or rented buildings, and that most were not very impressive by the standards of the surrounding culture. However, they did not need worldly goods and accolades in order for the Holy Spirit to accomplish great things through their lives and ministries.

Gaston wrote that he witnessed an “utter disregard for poverty or wealth or station in life” in the early Pentecostal movement. Yet “those rugged pioneers,” he noted, “had something that made them attractive and convincing.” The contrast between the attitudes of the world and the early Pentecostals was striking. According to Gaston, early believers were “completely satisfied without the world’s glittering tinsel, and content to be the objects of its scornful hatred.” 

Believers must carefully guard their hearts, Gaston warned, or face a dissipation of this consecration and sacrificial spirit. He noted, as an example, that some ministers in the 1950s seemed to “project themselves and their projects instead of promoting the common cause and sharing equally in the honors and sufferings of the common brotherhood.”

Gaston identified a love of money as a danger to the Pentecostal movement and an impediment to the gospel. We “must draw the line against all comers with a money complex,” he asserted, in order “to retain its good sense and religious balance.” He lamented that certain high-profile evangelists promised God’s blessings to those who would give money to their ministries. He wrote, “Ministers of the gospel who lay up treasure on earth while they preach that people should lay theirs up in heaven are neither consistent nor worthy.” Gaston suspected that the “selfless, lowly Jesus” would “refuse to go along” with such ministers.

Furthermore, Gaston was troubled by sensationalism promoted by some of the big-name preachers in his day. “Full-orbed religion throbs with sensation,” he wrote. However, he warned against “unbridled sensationalism,” which could easily bring “disillusionment and disintegration” to those who have not developed a strong faith. Gaston concluded with “a simple appeal for consistency and reality in our religious approach,” praying that the Pentecostal movement would “purge itself of practices or propaganda patterns which are not compatible with the spirit and letter of the New Testament.”

Gaston’s article offers several important lessons to 21st-century Pentecostals. First, Pentecostals should carefully guard their hearts. History demonstrates that selfishness and worldliness tend to creep into the church, and that even Christian renewal movements can drift from their founding ideals. Second, early Pentecostalism grew amidst widespread scorn and persecution as believers joyfully embodied consecrated, holy living. Third, Pentecostals can avoid the dangers of extremism and sensationalism by being solidly grounded in Scripture and biblical values.

Read W. T. Gaston’s article, “Guarding our Priceless Heritage,” in the Aug. 16, 1953, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue: 

• “Eternity-Proof,” by Arne Vick

• “Sunday Schools around the World” 

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 8, 2021 · 9:02 pm

Edith Mae Pennington: The Beauty Queen Who Left Hollywood for a Pentecostal Pulpit

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This Week in AG History —July 4, 1931

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 08 July 2021

Edith Mae Pennington (1902-1970) traded the glamour and fame of Hollywood for a Pentecostal pulpit. Her testimony, published in 1931 in the Pentecostal Evangel, shared her journey from small town America to Hollywood and back again.

Reared in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Edith accepted Christ at a young age in her family’s evangelical church. By high school, she had become a ravishing young woman and lost interest in spiritual things. She enjoyed popularity and, she wrote, “the love of the world gripped my heart.” She spent her time going to dances and engaging in the frivolities of the world. She did not intentionally reject God, but nonetheless drifted away from her faith.

After high school, Edith attended college. She intended to become a teacher but soon found herself on another path. She entered a beauty pageant in 1921 and beat out 7,000 other young women to capture the title, “The Most Beautiful Girl in the United States.”

Edith’s life would never be the same. Gifts and money were showered upon her, and she received numerous invitations to speak at luncheons and christen buildings and public works projects. “I was dined and feted, flattered, and honored,” she recalled. She wore expensive clothing, had a car and chauffeur, and regularly made guest appearances at theaters.

Even though Edith seemed to have everything, she felt empty on the inside. “It was very exciting, alluring, inviting — yet it did not satisfy,” she wrote. During her travels across America, she decided to try the screen rather than the stage. She settled in Hollywood, hoping for a change.

Edith’s mother was her constant companion, helping to protect her and line up events. But her mother’s most important work, perhaps, was accomplished in the prayer closet. Edith noted, “Mother would be behind the curtain praying for me at my request and her desire — for God to help me and not let me make any mistakes.”

These prayers were soon answered, but not before witnessing the depravity of Hollywood. Edith appeared in several motion pictures, but became increasingly “shocked” at the “wicked world” surrounding her. “I was horrified at the immorality and the things I witnessed,” she wrote, noting that she had “several narrow escapes which frightened me.” She realized that her hopes for fame and fortune had been misplaced. “My air castles shattered at my feet,” she cried.

In her despair, Edith turned to God. She began attending church and heard the gospel preached by the power of the Holy Spirit. She felt conviction for her sins and “awakened to the startling realization that I was a sinner, lost and undone.” She began to read the Bible, which seemed to make everything “brighter” and her “soul lighter.” However, she hesitated to make the decision to become a true follower of Christ.

Edith knew that she would have to leave her lifestyle behind if she recommitted herself to Christ. She understood that there would need to be a parting of ways: “One way led to a career, fame, and fortune, but there was sin, the world, and a lost soul at the end. The other way revealed the Cross, and Jesus the Savior who had died for me that peace, joy, and forgiveness might be mine.”

Initially, Edith tried to have both God and the world. She went to church and also went to theaters and parties where sin abounded and where God was dishonored. She was miserable and ultimately recognized that she needed “deliverance from the bondage of the world.”

She visited churches that she described as “nominal,” and they were unable to help her find victory from her bondage to sin. She knew she wanted to live for the Lord, but she could not seem to separate herself from the destructive paths of the world. She experienced painful cognitive dissonance. She liked dressing like a Hollywood starlet, but deep inside she knew that she could not serve both God and flesh.

Finally, Edith decided to visit a Pentecostal church. She had heard that Pentecostal churches believed in the power of God. And Edith knew that she needed God’s power. She attended several Sunday evening services at a Pentecostal church in Los Angeles in October 1925. One evening, after a message in tongues seemed to be a direct rebuke from God, she ran to the altar and fully surrendered her life to God. She began to weep uncontrollably and then experienced unexplainable peace and quietness. She recalled, “I was happy, and felt so free, so light, so clean.”

The next night Edith returned to church. This time, she decided not to wear her characteristically gaudy jewelry. She received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and felt God call her to preach the gospel. Edith returned to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where, in 1930, she became the pastor of the Assemblies of God congregation.

Edith Mae Pennington spent the rest of her life in ministry as a pastor and noted evangelist. Throngs of people would come to hear “The Most Beautiful Girl in the United States” share how she left the lights of Hollywood for the light of the Cross. Edith’s decision to forsake the world and to follow Christ changed the course of not only her life, but thousands of others.

Read the article by Edith Mae Pennington, “From the Footlights to the Light of the Cross,” published serially in the July 4, 1931, and July 11, 1931, issues of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in the July 4, 1931, issue:

• “The Overflowing Stream,” by P. C. Nelson

• “Is Life Worth Living?” by Myer Pearlman

And many more!

Click these links to read the July 4th and July 11th 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: www.iFPHC.org

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April 29, 2021 · 9:23 pm

50 Years after the Azusa Street Revival, Donald Gee Gave this Warning about Miracles

This Week in AG History —April 28, 1957

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 29 April 2021

Miracles have played an important role in the histories of both the Early Church and the Pentecostal movement. However, just as the Apostle Paul had to correct excesses in the first-century church at Corinth, 20th-century Pentecostal leaders were faced in some quarters with an overemphasis on miracles. British Assemblies of God leader Donald Gee (1891-1966) wrote an article, published in the April 28, 1957, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel, in which he affirmed the miraculous but also called for balance.

“The unvarnished story of the New Testament reads like a refreshing gust of fresh air,” Gee wrote. The New Testament “not only blows away the stuffiness of our unbelief, but also cools the fever of our fanaticism.” Gee taught that miracles should be part of “any truly Pentecostal revival,” but he also warned against extremism.

Miracles naturally attract a crowd. But Gee observed that the existence of miracles did not necessarily signify repentance or a change of heart. He urged readers to pay greater attention to the “less spectacular ministries” that are necessary to disciple believers.

Writing only 50 years after the Azusa Street Revival, Gee wrote that he had witnessed “a constant swing of the pendulum” regarding the emphasis on miracles in the Pentecostal movement. When revival breaks out and miracles occur, it is almost predictable that some people will go to extremes in chasing after miracles. Then, predictably, others will react to the extremists by being more orderly and conservative.

Pentecostals should be neither unbalanced fanatics nor overly cautious regarding miracles, according to Gee. Instead, he identified “a strong central body of believers, constituting the very heart of the Pentecostal churches, who do not want extremes either way.” These balanced believers desire “leadership based on the Word of God,” Gee wrote, rather than based on personality or preference.

Gee’s repeated admonitions to avoid unbiblical extremes earned him the moniker, “The Apostle of Balance.” Gee was nurtured in the fires of the early Pentecostal revivals, and he was one of the Pentecostal movement’s foremost advocates. So when he spoke about the need for balance, Pentecostals of all stripes listened.

Read the entire article by Donald Gee, “After That — Miracles,” on pages 8-9 of the April 28, 1957, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “A Great Faith,” by Louis M. Hauff

• “Power in the Word,” by Mrs. C. Nuzum

• “Missions in Northern Alaska,” by B. P. Wilson

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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