The Early

Pentecostal Revival

The Early

Pentecostal Revival

History of

Twentieth-Century Pentecostals

and

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World,

1901-30

by James L. Tyson

The Early Pentecostal Revival

by James L. Tyson

©1992 Word Aflame Press

Hazelwood, MO 63042-2299

Adapted from Chalices of Gold, © 1990 by James L. Tyson

Reprint History: 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2005

Cover Design by Tim Agnew

All Scripture quotations in this book are from the King James Version of the

Bible unless otherwise identified.

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an electronic system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Word Aflame Press. Brief quotations may be used in literary reviews.

Printed in the United States of America

Printed by

Tyson, James L., 1949—

The early Pentecostal revival: history of twentieth-century Pentecostals and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, 1901-30/ James L. Tyson.

P. Cm.

ISBN 0-932581-92-7

1. Pentecostal Assemblies of the World—History.

2. Pentecostalism—History. 3. Pentecostal churches—History. 4. Oneness

Pentecostal churches—History. I. Title.

BX8772.A4T97 1992

91-36119

289.9’4—dc20

CIP

To my life’s partner, most trusted friend, and confidante, who has stood with me through every storm, my wife, Linda Sue Tyson, and to my three children, Erica, Troy, and Marlon. I am truly the most blessed man in the world.

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER 1

Charles Parham: Trailblazer for God

CHAPTER 2

“Ye Shall Receive Power”

CHAPTER 3

The Mantle Is Passed

CHAPTER 4

Azusa Street: From Stable to Steeple

CHAPTER 5

The Spreading Revival

CHAPTER 6

Early Organizational Efforts

CHAPTER 7

The New Issue

CHAPTER 8

The General Assembly of the Apostolic Assemblies

CHAPTER 9

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, 1907-21

CHAPTER 10

Early Foreign Missions Work

CHAPTER 11

The Body is Rent Asunder

CHAPTER 12

The End of the Beginning, 1927-30

Appendix: Minutes of The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World 1918-20

Bibliography

Credits

Foreword

What a thrill it was for me to read this book, which contains such rich history of the work of our great Savior, Jesus Christ, in the latter days! As I began to read the pages of the manuscript, the book seemingly came alive. I could feel the moving of the Spirit of God as I studied the text and viewed the pictures. My heart was moved as Elder Tyson documented so ably the falling of the latter rain. I can see that much prayer and diligent research has gone into the writing of this book.

Elder Tyson comes from a distinguished family. His heritage has been laid before him by his mother, the late Evelyn Haynesworth Tyson, and his father, Bishop James E. Tyson. His is a life steeped in Apostolic doctrine, which is reflected throughout his writing. This book is the manifestation of a young man who is not only Holy Ghost filled but who truly believes in what he has been taught, not only by his parents, but also by many other great Apostolic preachers. Because he dared to follow his dream, he has written this great documentary.

I sincerely hope that everyone who reads this book will drink deeply from its contents and be strengthened thereby. We must remember, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

To my beloved nephew from Aunt Jean, with godly Christian love always!

Elma Jean Bowers

Preface

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World evokes a myriad of emotions and opinions. To some it is not committed to bold change and is essentially backwards while many feel it is the bastion of progressive ideals. There are those who chide it as being spiritually weak and liberal without regard for biblical standards and pragmatic holiness, but to others it remains one of the last strongholds and perpetrators of sanctification. To some it is ultraconservative, shackled by the banal chains of tradition and living by codes and credos that are in no way Bible based. Others profess it is disorganized, with a lack of unity and continuity hovering over its good intentions. For many it has grudgingly succumbed to the spirit of the age and now wears the tight-fitting cloak of materialism, leaving great gain through godliness and contentment to the disciples of an earlier Christianity.

It is the oldest continuously existing “Oneness” or monotheistic Pentecostal organization in the world, yet those of our “children” who have left “home” to build works and organizations of their own exercise respectful restraint while pondering our lack of progress. Even something as seemingly innocent as our name, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, has evoked argument. For years a camp propagated the idea that the very name involuntarily suggests alliance with the world.

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World is, as the Greeks described, an enigma. Through the decades, though, it has come to represent the embodiment of all Pentecostal groups—mother in many dimensions. It is an organization of ministers, primarily pastors. Many adherents have severed their ties with the organization, but most have remained.

It is not quite safe to be editorial within our ranks for fear of rousing the ire of the loyal discontented or the discontented loyal. But to look introspectively at ourselves is ultimately good. To put an imagined stethoscope to the heartbeat of our past and present can do nothing but lead us to an honest appraisal and prognosis of our future.

This documentary does not offer a prescription for self-healing. We leave that to those who are qualified through time and experience to suggest whatever measures are required. This, though, is a study of what we were, what we are, and if God should tarry, what we could and should be before His imminent coming. It is but a small gesture in a great, long-running story. It is meant to be a testimony of many great men and women of the faith who, initially with only a desire for fellowship, established a great church that Christ might be exalted.

These men and women were pioneers of a visionary sort. Much of the history of this organization is filled with fascinating drama, for it contains much heartbreak and many hardships. It is the story of religious, racial, social, and philosophical prejudices and bigotry, which affected the Pentecostal movement. The story speaks of storefront cathedrals, mule-drawn wagons for transportation to and from these cathedrals, pot-bellied stoves, wood benches, and planked floors that dominated the decor of those early days. It speaks of organizational splits and divisiveness in a group of people expostulating a unique doctrine of the Godhead in a world dominated by trinitarianism. It is a history of many who were poor and uneducated but prayerful, faithful, and hard working and who persisted so that there might be a history to write. It represents the faceless, nameless missionaries of the early 1900s in China, Europe, and Africa who have no popular legacy but who nonetheless served the PAW with dignity. It is about pastors and their wives who labored in nondescript towns for dreary, long years and knew the end results of their labors would mostly go unrecognized and unheralded. But they served anyhow.

Ours is a great history. Those early pioneers’ faith in our ability to manage their dreams demands that it be great. This history is steeped in poignant determination and that ever-decreasing commodity known as courage. There are few today willing to accept the challenge of rising above the status quo to further the name of Jesus. It is a history borne on the back of another history—another story broader in scope and dimension that encompassed many different people and genres—the story of Pentecost itself.

In the end, no apologies are offered for addressing the problems that have plagued us throughout this century, for we have dedicated ourselves to be as objective as possible. Our future generation of young men and women cannot enhance the goal of progress in the future without being given the leverage of examining the mistakes of the past. If there is to be a history, let it be honest and forthright in its presentation. This has been and is our objective.

A popular songster of our time, Lee Greenwood, captured the hearts of the American people with his rousing musical salute to our beautiful country. He entitled his composition “I’m Proud to Be an American.” It eloquently speaks of the factors that make our country the greatest on the earth. One of the things I hope this study will do is to serve as my personal vehicle to express my heartfelt sympathies—that I am glad to belong to the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.

Acknowledgments

I wish to express my thanks to the following people: First, may the Lord somehow receive all of the praise from this work. I thank Him for giving me the mind, the will, and the strength to finish “this course.”

To my mother, the late Evelyn Haynesworth Tyson, who taught me many valuable lessons on life. When I was thirteen years old, I got so frustrated with an art project I was to enter in a contest that I threw down my brushes and vowed not to finish my picture. She made me finish the painting just to instill in me the merit of completing something one starts. I won the contest, but more importantly, I have tried never to forget that principle—that doing anything worthwhile takes stamina, patience, and stick-to-itiveness—and I needed all these for this project. Thanks, Mom. . . . I love you.

To my father, Bishop James E. Tyson, for teaching me and my siblings the importance of hard work, courage, and paying attention to details. We thank you, Dad, for all of the sacrifices you have made for us. We love you.

To my sisters and brothers—Shawn, Lisa, Craig, and Kathy—for insisting on maintaining our close ties though we be separated by time and distance, and for the many adventures we had as P.K.’s (preacher’s kids).

To my mother- and father-in-law, Sister Edith and Brother Harold Wallace, for being a real mom and dad to me since I married your little girl.

To my brother- and sister-in-law, Bishop Norman and Rita Wagner, who helped and stood by my wife and me from the beginning and have never ceased to love us. To the members and congregation I pastor, The Apostolic Faith Church of Warren, Ohio, for being the composite of a loving family.

To Eileen and John Polis, who for sixteen months worked so hard typing and proofing.

To Sisters Rosalie Bland, Irene Quinby, and Virginia Smith, and Dr. Leonard Scott, who provided financial assistance when all hope was gone for ever obtaining any more “investors.” You believed in me and the merit of this book and I will never forget it.

To the Assemblies of God Archives for permission to use the articles by John Ripley, Lillian Thistlethwaite, Agnes Ozman, and Arthur Osterburg and the articles from the AG Heritage.

To all of the patriarchs of Pentecost, deceased and alive, who represent the royal priesthood of God.

Parham’s Bethel Healing Home in Topeka, Kansas, 1898

Chapter 1

Charles Parham: Trailblazer for God

January 1, 1901, will forever exist as one of the tidewater marks in the continuing narrative of Pentecost. Many men and women who engaged in the prophetic prospects of revival had for years predicted that the future held a repeat baptism as on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). It would be the culmination of all the dreams, hopes and aspirations of God’s people. Those who had pressed for spiritual reformation since the apostles would be rewarded for their undiminished vision.

It is amazing to witness the unfolding of God’s mind and purpose in men and women the world would deem either unfit or unqualified. There are lessons to be learned from not taking a man too lightly, especially when that man is under God’s anointing and unction. It would be wise to remember the indomitable acts rendered by the ignominious likes of Elijah, Jeremiah, Joseph, and Gideon. God can and will use whomever He so pleases to forward His plan and purpose.

All twentieth-century Pentecostals owe an eternal debt to Charles Fox Parham, for it is through him that history credits the genesis of the modern Pentecostal movement as it is known today. The chronicling of Pentecost cannot be so narrow as to suppose that the focus of twentieth-century revival can be attributed to one man or personality. From 1900 to 1910 there arose many spontaneous charismatic outpourings throughout the world. But history cannot overlook the role Parham played in the movement.

Known to many as the father of the modern Pentecostal movement, he was born in Muscatine, Iowa, on June 4, 1873. He felt a call to the ministry at the age of nine. Having begun his religious affiliation with the Congregational Church, five years later he joined the Methodist Church. At sixteen, he enrolled at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, to prepare for the ministry.

It was a time of constant anguish for Parham. Not only was he struggling with his inception into manhood, but many times he doubted his call to preach the Word of God. He seriously considered changing his preparation from the ministry to medicine. During this time of confusion and inner doubt, he contracted rheumatic fever and almost died. He felt this was a direct result of his disobeying God and not following God’s desire for him to preach the gospel. He prayed and asked God for healing and deliverance and indeed was restored to good health.

At the age of nineteen, he finished college and set out to do God’s bidding. He began his ministering in the Methodist Church in Linwood, Kansas. Vinson Synan, in his book The Holiness-Pentecostal Movement in the United States states, “Parham seems to have had difficulty adjusting to ecclesiastical discipleship. Frequent disagreements with church officials over what he considered to be narrowness and sectarianism led within three years to a permanent break with the Methodist Church. He also cultivated an anti-denominationalist view.”

In 1894, he left his pastorate, then at Eudora, Kansas, and began to have fellowship with brethren in the Holiness movement. In 1898, Parham moved to Topeka, Kansas, and with his wife of two years opened a “faith home.” This home was to provide a hospitable environment for those seeking divine healing. He named it the Bethel Divine Healing Home.

In this endeavor Parham was much interested in and influenced by the teachings of John Alexander Dowie, healing evangelist and founder of Zion City. Parham sought to spread his teaching regarding divine healing and the propagation of the gifts of the Spirit through the printed medium. One of his ministries was the publishing and distributing of a bimonthly paper called The Apostolic Faith. It was filled with the testimonies of those who were healed and with messages preached and taught by Parham.

In his quest for more knowledge in the ways of holiness, Parham left the work in the hands of friends and set out from Topeka in 1900. He wanted to see firsthand the work of Dr. Dowie and made his way to Dowie’s church in Zion, Illinois. He also traveled to Nyack, New York, where he observed the faith-healing ministry of Dr. Simpson, and he visited Holiness movements in Cleveland, Chicago, and Siloah, Maine.

In October 1900, Parham returned to Topeka, smitten with the prospects of what God would do to and with a people who surrendered to His will and took Him at His Word. Parham wrote, “I returned home fully convinced that while many had obtained real experiences in sanctification and the anointing that abideth, there still remained a great outpouring of power for the Christians who were to close this age.” He continued, “I went to my room to fast and pray, to be alone with God that I might know His will for my future work. Many of my friends desired me to open a Bible school. By a series of wonderful miracles we were enabled to secure what was then known as ‘Stone’s Folly,’ a great mansion patterned after an English castle, one mile west of Washburn College in Topeka.”

Stone’s Folly was a beautiful, elaborate building that was never finished as the builder anticipated. With forty students Parham opened his mission with the motivating thought of creating a spiritual atmosphere for the development of an effective witness for Christ. The school, which stayed open for only one year, was comprised of both married and single students occupying apartments in the building. Most were earnest lay people, with a dozen having already been engaged in the ministry. They represented a scattering of denominations, but the majority were from Holiness and Methodist bodies.

Research has suggested that the curriculum of Parham’s school was very simple, with all of the students studying a given biblical topic, exploring together what the Bible taught on the subject, and then moving on to another topic. The Bible was the only textbook used. In addition to Bible study, much prayer was rendered for guidance and inspiration. This was accomplished in what was then known as the prayer tower. There, continuous prayer was offered by volunteers, who kept three-hour vigils. Finally, it was Parham’s thinking that knowledge without practical application was useless; therefore he encouraged his students to make home visitations.

Through the summer of 1900 and into the fall, Parham and his charges maintained a diligent and studious effort to unravel biblical questions concerning divine healing, sanctification, repentance, conversion, and the second coming of Christ. Their burning desire was supernatural in scope, with days passing at times before they would allow their exhausted bodies to rest.

One of their great concerns throughout their discourse of study was the second chapter of Acts. Parham had wrestled with the implications of this powerful chapter. In December of 1900, as he prepared to depart for a series of meetings, he remarked to his students, “I believe our experience should tally exactly with the Bible, and neither sanctification nor the anointing that abideth, taught by Stephen Merritt and others, tallies with the second chapter of Acts.” Having heard so many different religious bodies claim different proofs as the evidence of their having the Pentecostal baptism, he set the students at work studying to see what the Bible had to offer as evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He stressed that they must go before the world with something that was indisputable, having confidence that it tallied absolutely with the Word of God. He was convinced that a supernatural experience accompanied regeneration and sanctification.

After three days of services, Parham returned to Topeka and Bethel Bible College on the morning of December 31, 1900. At 10:00 he rang the bell to call the students to chapel to discuss what conclusive thoughts they had derived while he was absent. As he questioned each one by one, he was amazed that they repeated the same story: that while there were several heavenly things that occurred on the Day of Pentecost, the common denominator of each of the 120 in the upper room was that they spoke with other tongues. This they concluded should be the biblical evidence of a genuine baptism in the Spirit.

With their profession of faith regarding what they perceived to be the mind of God, they charted a course of action that they hoped would end with each of them receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost. At once an air of expectancy charged the school premises. They began to pray in earnest that God would honor their faith and reveal His truths as He did nineteen hundred years ago in Jerusalem when His Spirit fell on another set of believers awaiting the same promise.

Erastus Stone’s Dream Castle—Birthplace of Pentecostalism

by John W. Ripley

About seventy-five years ago—on December 6, 1901—a bizarre three-story mansion near Seabrook, known as Stone’s Folly, was completely destroyed by fire. It was located, according to the newspapers, about one mile west of Washburn College, which would place it about two miles west of Topeka’s western boundary. The site is now that of Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church, near 17th and Stone.

Six months earlier the thirty-room structure of startling design that might be termed Early Disneyland was purchased on contract by one Harry Croft, a notorious bootlegger or “jointist,” as he was frequently referred to in police news. He had been operating the mansion as a roadhouse or resort, beyond the jurisdiction of Topeka’s snooping police force.

Mrs. Croft, who discovered the fire about 11 A.M., was alone at the time. Her appeal for help brought volunteer firefighters from the Seabrook area and a chemical wagon from Topeka’s fire department, but by the time they arrived the interior of the structure was a raging inferno. By nightfall a smoked-blackened masonry shell was all that was left of Stone’s Folly.

The spectacular fire was front-page news for Topeka papers. Arthur Capper’s popular weekly, the Mail & Breeze, told its readers, “Stone’s Folly was built several years ago by an eccentric old man named Erastus R. Stone.” When he built the mansion in 1887, Erastus Stone was all of fifty-two years of age.

Sheriff Porter Cook thought the fire was caused by a defective flue. Around town, however, rumor persisted that the fire was the work of an arsonist. Everyone knew that Sheriff Cook had vowed to padlock the place unless Harry Croft ceased his dispensing of wine and women and his operation of games of chance.

Another opinion about the cause of the fire was voiced by a recent tenant. It was more than speculation; it was an accusation. When news of the fire reached Kansas City, Missouri, where the Reverend Charles Fox Parham was conducting gospel and faith healing services, he unhesitatingly put his finger on the cause of the fire. Brother Parham’s Bethel College and Bible School had been evicted months earlier from Stone’s Folly by bootlegger Croft, at a most unfortunate time. The national press was showing an interest in certain mysterious goings-on at Bethel before Croft bought the property. What caused the fire? Here is a quote from the posthumous biography of the Reverend Charles Fox Parham, authored by his wife:

When living in Kansas City we heard that the building where the Pentecost first fell was burned. This was not a surprise to us as it has been turned into a roadhouse, and the rooms that once heard only the voice of supplication and praise to God had been desecrated by worldly revelry. Warning was given that such actions would not go unpunished, for the house was dedicated to the Lord from its highest place of observation to the cellar.

The “highest place of observation” was the higher of the two turrets atop Stone’s Folly.

One would suppose that in 1887 the construction of such an imposing structure as Erastus Stone’s would be covered by the local press, but apparently it was too far out of town. Strangely, too, because across the prairie to the north the construction of homes in Potwin Place made news regularly in both morning and evening papers. Possibly Mr. Stone was too tight to engage Mr. Potwin’s press agent.

This much we know about Erastus Stone. He was born in Carthage, Illinois, August 12, 1836. He died at eighty-one in Pasadena, California, June 16, 1917, and was buried at Chanute, where he lived for about twenty years after leaving Topeka. His obituary in a Chanute paper devoted much space to his Christian life but nothing regarding his business activities.

He established a nursery near Seabrook at a most propitious time in the mid-1880s when a real-estate boom was in the offing. The promise of rapid-transit street railway systems that would extend to the far suburbs triggered the wholesale platting of nearby farms into residential building sites. And there was Mr. Stone, ready and willing to provide trees and shrubs for an army of developers and a larger army of homebuilders.

Not content with the thriving trade in nursery stock, Mr. Stone entered the real estate development field by buying a thirty-acre tract from Walter Oakley (the street was named for him) and platting it as Waverly Place. It extends east and south from the corner of 17th and Gage Boulevard. He came out of that deal with a profit of twenty thousand dollars plus a ten-acre site he had reserved for his future dream palace, south and east of 17th and Stone. In 1888 he proceeded to build a mansion designed after a medieval castle he had coveted in Europe, but with embellishments of Asiatic origin added as construction progressed.

The late Paul Lovewell, as a youth living in College Hill, spent much time exploring the property during this decade of vacancy. Vacant, that is, except for a couple of resident ghosts. Paul estimated that the foundation of the mansion was about forty by seventy-five feet. The three-story house was set back at least one hundred feet from the road and was surrounded by a grove of shade and fruit trees. The walls were of brick over a sturdy wooden frame. The corners and windows were trimmed in a white cut stone. The two towers with the spires and balconies which ornamented the exterior created a vision of something out of Arabian Nights, according to Lovewell. He said that its castle-like appearance added a sort of mystic atmosphere to the almost barren stretch of prairie west of Washburn College.

The interior was fully as ornate as the exterior. Each of the rooms on the first and second floors—eighteen in all—was finished in a type of hardwood that differed from the others. By the time the crew of skilled cabinetmakers were about to begin on the third-floor rooms and turrets, the real-estate boom suddenly collapsed and with it Mr. Stone’s bankroll. He had already invested thirty thousand dollars or more in the construction, but he was never to spend a single night there.

At that time Erastus Stone with his wife and three children lived in his attractive two-story brick and stone-trimmed home nearby, just west across Stone Avenue. In 1898 it was sold to Robert Stone, a prominent Topeka attorney, not related to Erastus Stone. The home is now owned by Lillian Stone Johnson, daughter of the late Robert Stone, and is currently rented to the Sisters of Charity.

Why did Erastus Stone ever attempt to build such a gigantic home for a family of five? Lillian Stone Johnson, who as a child witnessed the fire, remembers a rumor to the effect that it was Erastus Stone’s ambition to own the finest mansion in the state. The claimant for that honor then was John D. Knox with his twenty-three room “Belvoir” north of Potwin Place, which Stone intended to relegate to the number two spot. Incidentally, John D. Knox and his private banking firm were also victims of the postboom depression.

Eventually Stone’s Folly, as it came to be known after construction was halted, was taken over by the American Bible Society of Philadelphia, which held a five-thousand-dollar first mortgage on the property. For nearly a decade the place remained practically vacant. In September of 1900 the Reverend Charles Fox Parham approached the local agent for the property with an offer to rent the mansion.

During the previous two years Parham and his wife, Sarah, had been conducting the Bethel Healing Home in a three-story brick building that still stands on the northwest corner of 4th and Jackson, later the home of the Topeka Provident Association. In approaching the agent for Stone’s Folly, Brother Parham may have convinced the agent that God would come forth with the rent. The Parhams were long on faith in God. As an example, here’s a quote from the Mail & Breeze, February 23, 1901, about five months after Parham’s newly founded Bethel College and Bible School had taken over Stone’s Folly for its campus:

All things come through faith. We ask God for food and raiment and we receive them. I have started many a day without a cent and returned with $25.00; my prayers had been answered. . . . I needed a turkey for my students for Christmas day; I prayed for it; my prayer was answered; a farmer’s wife sent us a turkey.

Elsewhere Brother Parham told of the time he had been invited to speak at a gospel meeting in Kansas City, but he didn’t have the fare. Yet he walked to the railroad station, praying all the way, and what happened? A complete stranger approached him in the depot and handed him an envelope containing—you guessed it. If ever there existed a formula for beating depression and inflation, Brother Parham had it.

Stone’s Folly served as an ideal campus with classrooms and living quarters, for only about nine months—from October 1900 to July 1901—but certain events that took place during that school year were destined to have a far-reaching effect on both Protestant and Catholic churches in America.

Charles Fox Parham was born in Muscatine, Iowa, June 14, 1873. At the age of five he came with his parents to Sedgwick County, Kansas, where his father bought a farm. Charles, a sickly lad, attended nearby country schools. Later he enrolled at Southwestern College, Winfield. All through college he was in poor health, but during his final year he cured his unspecified ailments by prayer. Then and there he decided to become a faith healer.

Whether or not Parham graduated from Southwestern College, his biographer neglected to state. He was, however, ordained as a Methodist minister when only seventeen. Soon afterward, the Boy Preacher, as he was known, began his ministerial career as pastor of not one but two churches. Sunday mornings he filled the pulpit of the Methodist church in Eudora, his new home, then drove or sometimes walked five miles to Linwood, where he conducted services Sunday afternoons.

It was at Linwood where the Boy Preacher and Methodism parted company. Mrs. Parham’s biography, understandably biased, states that her husband’s troubles at Linwood that led to his resignation stemmed from established church policies to which he objected. For example, he was reluctant to accept a salary that had been raised in part by such worldly enterprises as church suppers and entertainments. Also, certain members of the congregation had it in for him because of his active participation in the temperance movement. It may be assumed that Brother Parham’s advocacy if not actual practice of faith healing was a controversial issue at Linwood. When Charles Parham’s father learned of his son’s break with the traditional Methodist Church, he observed that Charlie had been cut out for a Methodist preacher but they just ran out of goods.

Immediately following his departure from Linwood and Methodism, Brother Parham embarked on a career of evangelism, holding services in towns of eastern Kansas and western Missouri. In 1896 he married a Tonganoxie girl, Sarah Thistlethwaite, who had become acquainted with him while attending his services in Lawrence. No sooner had Sarah’s name been changed to Mrs. Parham than her husband generously bestowed upon his bride the title of the Reverend Sarah Parham.

Thereafter the Reverend Sarah served as assistant pastor and faith healer except during the times she was confined by the births of their five children. They had been married for two years when the Parhams, with their firstborn, settled in Topeka for what proved to be three momentous years, from mid-1898 until mid-1901.

Brother Parham, from his photos, was a tall, slender, and handsome man. He was apparently the possessor of great charm. While he was conducting a gospel meeting in Lawrence, Kansas, the Journal World described him as a soft-spoken gentlemen—hardly the type one expected to encounter conducting revival meetings. “A pretty fine fellow,” the Journal World concluded.

With all its errors of commission, omission and typography, the volume of biography authored by Sarah Parham is far more informative about her husband’s finest hour than the report by the professional historian, William E. Connelley. In his Kansas and Kansans, he omitted Parham’s most important years—his three years in the Topeka area.

The Parham institution on Jackson Street is listed in Sam Radges’s city directory of 1898 as The Divine Healing Home and Mission with the Reverend Charles and the Reverend Sarah Parham in charge. Later, the name was changed to The Bethel Healing Mission, an institution which published an eight-page, biweekly paper called Apostolic Faith, which was aimed at bringing in both students and patients. From a volume of Apostolic Faith in the newspaper section of the State Historical Society, one may read of miraculous cures by the dozens of a variety of illnesses that had stumped doctors of medicine.

The scarehead over one testimonial reads “Blood Poisoning and Gangrene.” One Mary Meyer, no address given, stated in part that “the flesh had fallen off of one of my toes, exposing the bone. The doctor said unless the foot was amputated immediately I had only forty-eight hours to live. I thought of the Great Physician and sent for Brother Parham [this is the first intimation that he made house calls]. . . . In three weeks I was completely cured, and the flesh was all restored.”

Another from a Mrs. J. A. Grove, Ottawa: “Our daughter was dangerously sick with heart trouble . . . she was in paroxysm all night . . . the doctors gave me certain signs what would precede her final struggle. When these signs appeared we sent for Brother Parham. Our daughter was gasping in the agonies of death when Brother Parham entered the room. Her death was but a few seconds away. But the power of faith raised her up. She got dressed, ate a hearty breakfast, and went to school.”

In the columns of Apostolic Faith, Parham soundly condemned the brand of faith healing advocated by Mary Baker Eddy of Boston. Christian Science was all wrong, contended Editor Parham, because it maintains that death and disease are illusions. On the contrary, Parham pointed out that diseases are very real but they require the services of an Apostolic faith healer to effect cures.

In one editorial Parham took to task the then world-famous Charles M. Sheldon for his failure to include a faith healer in his fictional band of churchgoers who volunteered to live for one year “as Jesus would,” in the all-time best seller, In His Steps. Why, asked the Reverend Parham rhetorically, didn’t at least one of the characters demonstrate the power of faith healing, as Jesus would?

From the columns of Apostolic Faith one learns of activities at Parham’s branch missions located in Emporia, Ottawa, and Eskridge. Their apparent purpose was to recruit students who desired to learn the art of faith healing at the Topeka headquarters. The advertised rate for tuition including board and room ranged from four to seven dollars a week depending upon the amount of domestic chores a student was willing to perform.

By midsummer of 1900 the student body of the Jackson Street mission had grown to such an extent that Brother Parham set out to find larger quarters. Somehow he learned of Stone’s Folly, ideally located out in the country away from worldly distractions such as the wide-open saloons and houses of ill fame that thrived along Kansas Avenue, only a block east of the mission. Employing his power of prayer and persuasion, Brother Parham convinced the agent for Stone’s Folly that he and his flock would make ideal tenants for the vacant mansion.

The student body that moved into the mansion late in September 1900 and enrolled in the renamed Bethel College and Bible School, was, in appearance, unlike collegiates elsewhere. The rich and the poor; young and old; singles and married couples with families. Adults were assigned specific duties which included cooking, sewing, laundering, milking the two cows, and general work around the grounds. Here was a pure communal campus. What it may have lacked in accreditation it more than made up in seriousness of purpose and determination by its heterogeneous student body. As Time would say, “No rah-rah kids, these.”

In describing the exterior of Stone’s Folly earlier in this article, the students’ use of the higher of the two towers was not explained. Parham’s students, from the first, designated the higher tower as their prayer tower. It was there that they instituted a marathon prayer service for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Every single prayer that went out from that prayer tower consisted of a common appeal to the Almighty to baptize one or hopefully all of the little prayer band with the Holy Spirit. Some wondered if they would know when the Holy Spirit appeared. So Brother Parham called his students together before leaving one day for Kansas City and suggested that in his absence each student separately search the New Testament for some evidence common to baptism by the Holy Spirit.

When Parham returned a few days later, the students reported that they were in unanimous agreement that the evidence common to most baptisms of the Holy Spirit was “speaking in tongues,” a phenomenon now known as glossolalia.

Of the several references to “speaking in tongues” in the New Testament, the Bethel students attached much importance to Acts 1:1-5. The situation finds Jesus after the Resurrection addressing His disciples in Jerusalem, urging them to remain in the little Christian community instead of following Him. “You must wait for the promise made by My Father about which you have heard Me speak. John, as you know, baptized with water, but you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit and within the next few days.” The disciples waited.

While the Day of the Pentecost was running its course (that was the fiftieth day after the Resurrection), the disciples were all together in one place when suddenly there came from the sky a noise like that of a strong wind, which filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues like flames of fire, dispersed among them and resting on each one. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began talking in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them the power of utterance.

A few onlookers were certain that the disciples had found a jug of new wine and had imbibed to excess.

But today theologians contend that from this infilling of the Holy Spirit, the Christian church dates its beginning.

Meanwhile, back at Bethel College, the student body continued praying but with the conviction that when and if one of its members should be baptized by the Holy Spirit, the occasion might be accompanied by the gift of “speaking in tongues.” Their faith was rewarded on the morning of January 1, 1901—the very first day of the twentieth century.

A watch party on New Year’s Eve had been a strictly temperance affair during which students prayed earnestly and continuously for evidence of the Holy Spirit. Nothing happened. The next morning Agnes Ozman, one of the dedicated students who had studied at two Bible schools before coming to Bethel, approached Brother Parham, asking if he would place his hands upon her head and join her in the prayer tower in prayer. Agnes remembered that many of the baptisms described in Acts were accompanied by the “laying of hands” on the one who wished to be baptized. No sooner had Brother Parham complied than Agnes Ozman began to utter syllables that neither of them understood. She was “speaking in tongues.”

During the next week several holy baptisms were received at Bethel College, each preceded by prayer and the laying on of hands and followed by glossolalia. Parham himself, accompanied by ministers of several different denominations, reportedly was baptized by the Holy Spirit then talked in tongues.

In a party the ministers set out to tell the world. They got only as far as Kansas City. There they encountered disbelief and sparsely attended meetings. Discouraged, the party turned around and returned to Topeka. However, today Pentecostals look back on New Year’s Day, 1901, as the . . . time . . . the American Pentecostal movement began.

The local press in describing the strange goings-on at Bethel College—the babbling in strange languages brought on by prayer—referred to the students and staff as a bunch of religious fanatics. The single exception was a report in the weekly Mail & Breeze, which described the students as “religious enthusiasts” in a story with the headline “New Religion Discovered at Stone’s Folly.” This was the first newspaper to prophesy the shape of things to come.

Bethel College, thriving on publicity generated by performances for the press of actually speaking in tongues, was in for a rude shock in the form of the sale of Stone’s Folly to Croft the jointist. In its tenth month Bethel College practically ceased to exist. The Parhams and a few students moved back to the Jackson Street mission for a few months, then on to Kansas City, where Brother Parham announced plans for a new Bible college to be located in Houston, Texas.

The Houston school is important to the Pentecostal movement because it was there that W. J. Seymour, a Negro preacher blind in one eye, . . . went forth to Los Angeles to spread the message. Following the first service he conducted in Los Angeles, in a small Negro church, the deacons told him not to come back with all that glossolalia jazz. The home of a sympathetic church member was turned over to Brother Seymour as a meeting place. One evening it was the scene of what might be described as mass baptism, with the entire congregation speaking, singing, and shouting in tongues. Word spread. A larger meeting place was found—a rebuilt livery stable which became known as the Azusa Street Temple. In that southern California climate . . . Pentecostalism thrived. According to J. L. Sherrill’s account in his book They Speak with Other Tongues, the revival at 312 Azusa Street continued for three years. Rich and poor alike came to see what was going on. Visitors came from distant points. Stories appeared in the national press and, whether they were favorable or not, made good reading for the public. As news of the Azusa Street revival spread across the country, new Pentecostal meeting places appeared. The new religion was on its way. It has never been halted. . . .

Meanwhile, back in Houston where we left Brother and Sister Parham saving souls, curing the sick, and turning out crops of new evangelists from their Bible school, things were going exceedingly well. But they yearned to return to southeastern Kansas where the seeds of Pentecostalism they had sown after leaving Topeka had sprouted and thrived in the form of congregations in every hamlet. Finally they settled down in Baxter Springs as their home.

During the next twenty years Brother Parham devoted much time to his goal of visiting every Pentecostal church in the United States and Canada. Early in January 1929, during a visit to Temple, Texas, he was addressing a gathering of Pentecostals when he collapsed. When he had recovered sufficiently to travel, he returned to his home and a sickbed. No hospitalization for Parham the faith healer. The Parhams’ next-door neighbor, a Mrs. N. Patton, a trained nurse, attended the seriously ill preacher until his death, which occurred January 29, 1929. He was then fifty-six. His illness was a complication of influenza, abscess on a lung, and neuralgia, according to the biography.

So great was the number of mourners that the funeral was held in the New Baxter Theater, with a seating capacity of one thousand. Yet fifteen hundred were obliged to stand outside in the cold during the service. The Baxter Springs Citizen’s front-page story of the funeral stated that over one hour was required for the twenty-five hundred mourners to file by the casket.

Brother Parham’s last days of suffering are described by Nurse Patton in Sarah Parham’s biography of her husband. The account concludes:

I have been asked, “Did he have a doctor?” and my answer to these doubting Thomases may seem rude. “Would it be any of your business if he had? But he did not.” Would they blame me for my seemingly abrupt answer if they knew, as I did, how he suffered, holding to his faith and ideals, when science offered rest in pills, hypo and other forms?

[Once] when [he] was suffering more than usual, . . . I vowed to myself that if he would accept a tablet or a hypo I would certainly give it to him and the world would never know. . . . Yes, if you wish to call it so, I would have cheated to bring relief to my fellow man.

But listen, this was his answer: “Oh, Mrs. Patton, tempt me not. Jesus suffered more than I, and if it is God’s will that I drink of this bitter cup, then let it not pass. . . .”

What a loving rebuke!

And so ended the life of Charles Fox Parham.

This building housed an early outpouring of the Holy Ghost in Kansas, 1902.

Stone’s Folly, the home of Parham’s Bethel Bible College, Topeka, Kansas, 1900.

NEW RELIGION “DISCOVERED” AT “STONE’S FOLLY” NEAR TOPEKA

The “discovery” of a new religion, or perhaps as its devotees claim, the recovery of that which was lost, has been made, and in Kansas, of course. The Rev. Charles Parham claims to be the discoverer, and has established a school where the new faith is practiced. It is called the Bethel gospel school and is located at “Stone’s Folly” near Topeka. Forty enthusiasts are following Parham in his new faith. They pray for what they get and get what they pray for. They do no work, yet they have plenty to eat and wear. They say the Lord provides. The school was established last September, and since that time only one student has quit—a man who declared that Parham and his followers were fanatics and that their scheme of human redemption had nothing to rest on.

Parham declares that on New Year’s day one of the students a Miss Ozman, became suddenly gifted with a strange tongue, and spoke in a language unknown to herself or the others, and knew not what she said. “The next day,” said Parham, “I went down town and upon my return found all the students sitting on the floor talking in unknown tongues, no two talking the same language, and no one understanding his or her neighbor’s speech. From that time on the spiritual development was marvelous, for the students now are able to write by inspiration.”

This article appeared in the Topeka Mail & Breeze, February 22, 1901.

A flier announcing Parham’s speaking schedule in the early 1900s.

A brochure cover indicating Parham was to be preaching at a meeting in Texas.

VOLIVA SPLIT HITS PREACHER

FRIENDS OF REV PARHAM LAY TROUBLE TO ZION CHURCH

FIGHT.

That Voliva and his followers in Chicago are responsible in a large measure for the present troubles of Rev. C. F. Parham, leader of the Apostolic Faith movement in San Antonio, now under arrest here charged with a serious offense, is the belief of a faction of his followers.

Rev. Parham, released on bond Tuesday, held services last night at the Majestic theatre, where he sought to reassure confidence in any inclined to lose faith in him. Rev. Parham could not be located today, but from intimate friends it was learned that he will fight the case against him to the last ditch and that he will not avail himself of the alleged opportunity to leave the city and escape prosecution.

Joseph Atkinson, in charge of the Apostolic tent at Olive and East Commerce streets, said today:

“Brother Parham says that the Chicago Dowieites are responsible for stories relating to his alleged immoral conduct and declares that these reports have followed him all over the United States and even into India. He says the reports have all been instigated by Voliva, Dowie’s successor.

“Brother and Sister Hall, in charge of the Apostolic movement here before the arrival of Brother Parham, were formerly connected with the Dowie religion. When Parham came here they agreed to turn over the entire affairs of the Apostolic church to him. Personally, I have found Brother Parham to be a fine man and it is difficult for us to give credences to the charges made against him.

“Much as I regret to say so, this trouble has caused a split among the ranks of the Apostolic faith in San Antonio, but I trust it will offer no serious bar to the advance of the faith.”

EVANGELIST IS ARRESTED

C. F. PARHAM, WHO HAS BEEN PROMINENT IN MEETING HERE, TAKEN INTO CUSTODY

C. F. Parham, former Dowieite, about 40 years old, and J. J. Jourdan, 22 years old, were arrested about noon today upon an affidavit made before Justice of the Peace Ben S. Fisk, charging the commission of an unnatural offense. The arrest was made by Constable Charles F. Stevens, who also made the affidavit upon which the warrant was issued, in default of $1000 bond each, the men were committed to jail to await the action of the grand jury.

Parham recently has been a prominent figure in the apostolic meetings being held in the Majestic theater, Houston street, and before coming to San Antonio, he was a member of Dowie’s hand at Zion City, Ill., where he participated in the conflicts that arose between Dowie and Voliva. When Voliva gained control of the city and church Parham, as a supporter of Dowie, left and has since been going over the country holding evangelistic meetings.

“San Antonio Light,” July 24, 1907

“Kansas City Star,” 1901

Chapter 2

“Ye Shall Receive Power”

As events at the Bethel Bible College accelerated and intensified, the very atmosphere became charged with emotion and expectation. The individuals cloistered at Bethel on New Year’s Eve were confident they were there to enact God’s will. The Pentecost of antiquity that was destined to embrace the Pentecost of the modern era was upon this group. The crucial moment had come.

The following pages include excerpts from three of the original participants of this very beginning of the “latter-day rain.” The first was written by Charles Parham himself. The second was written by Lillian Thistlethwaite, one of the original forty students of Bethel. The third and final account is the testimony of Agnes N. Ozman, the first person to receive the Holy Ghost in Parham’s Bible college. They can, better than any third-person historical account, share the characteristics of that hour. They succeed in painting a vivid picture of a determined people exhibiting an unadulterated faith.

The Latter Rain

by Charles Parham

We opened the Bible school at Topeka, Kansas, in October 1900, to which we invited all ministers and Christians who were willing to forsake all, sell what they had, give it away, and enter the school for study and prayer, where all of us together might trust God for food, fuel, rent, and clothing. The purpose of this school was to fit men and women to go to the ends of the earth to preach “this gospel of the kingdom,” Matthew 24:14, as a witness to all the world before the end of the age.

Our purpose in this Bible school was not to learn these things in our heads only but have each thing in the Scriptures wrought out in our hearts, and that every command that Jesus Christ gave should be literally obeyed.

No one paid board or tuition, the poor were fed, the sick were entertained and healed, and from day to day, week to week, and month to month, with no sect or mission or known source of income back of us, God supplied our every need, and He was our all sufficiency in all things. In December of 1900 we had our examination upon the subject of repentance, conversion, consecration, sanctification, healing, and the soon coming of the Lord. We had reached in our studies a problem. What about the second chapter of Acts? I had felt for years that any missionary going to the foreign field should preach in the language of the natives, that if God had ever equipped His ministers in that way He could do it today, that if Balaam’s mule could stop in the middle of the road and give the first preacher that went out for money a “bawling out” in Arabic that anybody today ought to be able to preach in any language of the world if they had horse sense enough to let God use their tongue and throat. But still I believed our experience would tally exactly with the Bible, and neither sanctification nor the anointing that abideth taught by Stephen Merritt and others tallied with the second chapter of Acts. Having heard so many different religious bodies claim different proofs as the evidence of their having the Pentecostal baptism, I set the students at work studying out diligently what was the Bible evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, that we might go before the world with something that was indisputable because it tallied absolutely with the Word.

Leaving the school for three days at this task, I went to Kansas City for three days [of] services. I returned to the school on the morning preceding watch-night services in the year 1900.

At about ten o’clock in the morning I rang the bell calling all the students into the chapel to get their report on the matter in hand. To my astonishment they all had the same story, that while there were different things occurring when the Pentecostal blessing fell, the indisputable proof on each occasion was that they spoke with other tongues. About seventy-five people, beside the school which consisted of forty students, had gathered for the watch-night service. A mighty spiritual power filled the entire school.

Sister Agnes N. Ozman (now LaBerge) asked that hands might be laid upon her to receive the Holy Spirit as she hoped to go to foreign fields. At first I refused, not having the experience myself. Then being further pressed to do it humbly in the name of Jesus, I laid my hand upon her head and prayed. I had scarcely repeated three dozen sentences when a glory fell upon her, a halo seemed to surround her head and face, and she began speaking in the Chinese language and was unable to speak English for three days. When she tried to write in English to tell us of her experience, she wrote the Chinese, copies of which we still have in newspapers printed at that time.

Seeing this marvelous manifestation of the restoration of Pentecostal power, we removed the beds from a dormitory on the upper floor, and there for two nights and three days we continued as a school to wait upon God. We felt that God was no respecter of persons, and what He had so graciously poured out upon one, He would upon all.

Those three days of tarrying were wonderful days of blessings. We all got past any begging or pleading; we knew the blessing was ours. With ever-swelling tides of praise and thanksgiving and worship, interspersed with singing, we waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

On the night of January 3, I preached at the Free Methodist Church in the city of Topeka, telling them what had already happened and that I expected upon returning the entire school to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. On returning to the school with one of the students, we ascended to the second floor, and passing down along the corridor in the upper room, heard most wonderful sounds. The door was slightly ajar; the room was lit with only coal oil lamps. As I pushed open the door I found the room was filled with a sheen of white light above the brightness of the lamps.

Twelve ministers, who were in the school of different denominations, were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with other tongues. Some were sitting, some still kneeling, others standing with hands upraised. There was no violent physical manifestation though some trembled under the power of the glory that filled them.

Sister Stanley, an elderly lady, came across the room as I entered, telling me that just before I entered tongues of fire were sitting above their heads.

When I beheld the evidence of the restoration of Pentecostal power, my heart was melted in gratitude to God for what my eyes had seen. For years I had suffered terrible persecutions for preaching holiness and healing and the soon coming of the Lord. I fell to my knees behind a table, unnoticed by those upon whom the power of Pentecost had fallen, to pour out my heart to God in thanksgiving. All at once they began to sing “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” in at least six different languages, carrying the different parts with a more angelic voice than I had ever listened to in all my life.

After praising God for some time, I asked Him for the same blessing. He distinctly made it clear to me that He raised me up and trained me to declare this mighty truth to the world, and if I was willing to stand for it, with all the persecutions, hardships, trials, slander, scandal that it would entail, He would give me the blessing. And I said, “Lord, I will if You will just give me this blessing.” Right then there came a slight twist in my throat, a glory fell over me, and I began to worship God in the Swedish tongue, which later changed to other languages and continued so until the morning.

Just a word: After preaching this for all these years with all the persecutions I have been permitted to go through with, misunderstanding and the treatment of false brethren, yet knowing all that this blessing would bring to me, if I had the time and was back there again I’d take the same way.

No sooner was this miraculous restoration of Pentecostal power noised abroad than we were besieged with reporters from Topeka papers. Kansas City, St. Louis, and many other cities sent reporters who brought with them professors of languages, foreigners, government interpreters; and they gave the work the most crucial test. One government interpreter claimed to have heard twenty Chinese dialects distinctly spoken in one night. All agree that the students of the college were speaking in the languages of the world, and that with proper accent and intonation. There was no chattering, jabbering, or stuttering. Each one spoke clearly and distinctly in a foreign tongue, with earnestness, intensity, and God-given unction. The propriety and decency of the conduct of each member of the Bible school won the warmest comment from many visitors.

Our first public appearance after others had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit was in Kansas City, in the Academy of Music, about January 21. The Kansas City papers loudly announced our coming. Two columns appeared in the Kansas City Journal, with large headlines on the front page. These headlines, being the largest on the front page, attracted the attention of the newsboys, and they not knowing a Pentecost from a holocaust ran wildly up and down the street crying their papers, “Pentecost, Pentecost, read all about the Pentecost.”

I have on record the sermon preached on this occasion, the first upon the baptism of the Holy Ghost in all modern Pentecostal Apostolic Full Gospel movements. Also on file all that the papers had to say about these things in those days. Through great trials and persecutions we conducted the Bible school in the city of Topeka itself, then on in Kansas City.

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:7).

The Wonderful History of the Latter Rain

by Lillian Thistlethwaite

The first shower of the latter rain occurred at Bethel Bible School.

In the year 1900, Charles F. Parham and his wife and family and a number of Bible students gathered in the Bethel Bible School to study the Word of God, using no textbook, excepting the Bible.

The building procured for this school was known by the people of Topeka, Kansas, as the “Stone Mansion” or “Stone’s Folly” because it had been patterned after an English castle, and he, having failed to “count the cost,” was unable to finish in the style planned. The beautiful carved staircases and finished woodwork of cedar of Lebanon, spotted pine, cherry wood, and bird’s-eye maple ended on the third floor with plain wood and common paint.

The outside was finished in red brick and white stone with winding stairs that went up to an observatory on the front of the highest part of the building. There was also a cupola at the back of the building and two domes built on either side. Into one of these a door was cut, making a room large enough for a small stove, a table, and a chair. This was known as the prayer tower. Volunteers from among the students took their turn of three hours’ watch; so day and night prayer ascended unto God. Sometimes a student would desire to spend the night in waiting before the Lord, and this privilege was allowed.

When the building was dedicated for the school, while in prayer on the top of the building, Captain Tuttle, a godly man, who was with Mr. Parham, said he saw (in a vision) just above the building a “vast lake of fresh water about to overflow, containing enough to satisfy every thirsty soul.” This we believe was the promise of the Pentecostal baptism which followed later.

There were about forty persons gathered here including the children. The method of study was to take a subject, learn the references on that subject, also where each quotation was found, and present to the class in recitation as though they were seekers, praying for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to be upon the message in such a way as to bring conviction.

Mr. Parham also taught through lectures. I shall never forget the one he gave on the Song of Solomon. How we were all lifted into the heavenlies and the room seemed filled with the glory of God’s presence!

It was just before the Christmas holidays that we took up the study of the Holy Ghost. Mr. Parham was going to Kansas City to conduct meetings there and to bring some friends back with him to spend Christmas and be present for the watch-night meeting. Before leaving the following is the substance of what he said:

“Students, as I have studied the teachings of the various Bible schools and full gospel movements, conviction, conversion, healing, and sanctification are taught virtually the same, but of the baptism there is a difference among them. Some accept Steven Merritt’s teaching of baptism at sanctification while others say this is only the anointing and there is a baptism received through the ‘laying on of hands’ of the gift of the Holy Ghost, yet they agree on no definite evidence. Some claim this fulfillment of promise ‘by faith’ without any special witness while others because of wonderful blessings or demonstrations, such as shouting or jumping. Though I honor the Holy Ghost in anointing power both in conversion and in sanctification, yet I believe there is a greater revelation of His power. The gifts are in the Holy Spirit, and with the baptism of the Holy Spirit the gifts, as well as the graces, should be manifested. Now, students, while I am gone, see if there is not some evidence given of the baptism so there may be no doubt on the subject.

“We see the signs already being fulfilled that mark the soon coming of the Lord, and I believe with John Wesley that at Christ’s second coming the church will be found with the same power that the apostles and the early church possessed.”

Thus closed the regular Bible lessons for a time, but there was individual and collective prayer and study of the Bible continuously.

On Mr. Parham’s return to the school with his friends he asked the students whether they had found any Bible evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The answer was unanimous: “speaking in other tongues.”

Services were held daily and each night. There was hallowed hush over the entire building. All felt the influence of a mighty presence in our midst. Without any special direction, all moved in harmony. I remember Mrs. Parham saying, “Such a spirit of unity prevails that even the children are at peace while the very air is filled with expectancy. Truly He is with us and has something more wonderful for us than we have known before.”

The service on New Year’s night was especially spiritual, and each heart was filled with the hunger for the will of God to be done in them. One of the students, a lady who had been in several other Bible schools, asked Mr. Parham to lay hands upon her that she might receive the Holy Spirit. As she prayed, her face lighted up with the glory of God, and she began to speak with “other tongues.” She afterward told us she had received a few words while in the prayer tower, but now her English was taken from her, and with floods of joy and laughter she praised God in other languages.

There was very little sleeping among any of us that night. The next day, still being unable to speak English, she wrote on a piece of paper, “Pray that I may interpret.”

The following day was Thursday. This day Mr. Parham observed as a day of special prayer and waiting upon the Lord. From 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. he believes to be the six hours Christ spent on the cross, so these hours were observed in special waiting on the Lord that all that was purchased upon Calvary should be wrought out in our individual lives. The “broken body” or the atonement for healing was especially honored in these meetings.

On this particular day the baptism of the Holy Ghost was sought earnestly, but no one received the gift. Having other duties in the home, I had not searched the Scriptures to know the Bible evidence, nor heard the decision of those who had, but in my own mind concluded as the gifts are in the Holy Ghost any of the nine gifts would prove the baptism; and as Paul said, “Desire earnestly the best gifts.” I, feeling faith was the most to be desired, was looking for this gift in some way to be manifested.

An upper room was set apart for tarrying before the Lord, and here we spent every spare moment in audible or silent prayer, in song, or in just waiting upon Him. There was no confusion as only one prayed audibly at a time, and when more than one sang, it was the same hymn. It was truly a time of precious waiting. His presence was very real and the heart searchings definite.

Mr. Parham was holding night services in Topeka, and before leaving he said, “I don’t suppose I shall be able to understand any of you when I return.”

Still I was not looking for “tongues” but some evidence from God, I didn’t know of what nature, that would convince me I had the baptism. We prayed for ourselves; we prayed for one another. I never felt so little and utterly nothing before. A scrap of paper charred by a fire is the best description I can give of my feelings. Then through the Spirit this message came to my soul, “Praise Him for the baptism, for He does come in by faith through the laying on of hands.” Then a great joy came into my soul and I began to say, “I praise Thee,” and my tongue began to get thick and great floods of laughter came into my heart. I could no longer think words of praise, for my mind was sealed, but my mouth was filled with a rush of words I didn’t understand. I tried not to laugh, for I feared to grieve the Spirit. I tried to praise Him in English but could not, so I just let the praise come as it would in the new language given, with floodgates of glory wide open. He had come to me, even to me to speak not of Himself but to magnify the Christ—and oh, what a wonderful, wonderful Christ was revealed. Then I realized I was not alone, for all around me I heard great rejoicing while others spoke in tongues and magnified God.

I think Mrs. Parham’s language was the most perfect. Immediately following came the interpretation, a beautiful poem of praise and worship to Christ, proving the words of the Savior—“When the Comforter is come . . . he shall not speak of himself . . . shall teach you all things and bring . . . to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you.” Then as with a simultaneous move we began to sing together, each one singing in his own new language in perfect harmony. As we sang “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” and other familiar tunes, it would be impossible to describe the hallowed glory of His presence in our midst. The cloven tongues of fire had been seen by some when the evidence had been received.

Mr. Parham came into the room while we were standing singing—kneeling he thanked God for the scene he was allowed to witness, then asking God if it was His will that he should stand for the baptism of the Holy Spirit as he had for healing, to give him the Bible evidence. His prayer was answered, the gift bestowed, and the persecution came also.

Never had such a hallowed joy, such a refined glory or such an abundance of peace ever come into my life. The Comforter had come, and the words of Jesus being brought continually to my remembrance as Scripture after Scripture was unfolded by day and by night filled me with a settled rest and quietness my soul had never known before. I lived in the heavenlies.

As we went into meetings, it seemed impossible that any could resist the messages given. Some understanding the languages were convinced, but others fulfilled the prophecy: “With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord” (I Corinthians 14:21).

On one occasion a Hebrew rabbi was present as one of the students, a young married man, read the lesson from the Bible. After service he asked for the Bible from which the lesson was read. The Bible was handed him, and he said, “No, not that one, I want to see the Hebrew Bible. That man read in the Hebrew tongue.”

At another time while Mr. Parham was preaching he used another language for some time during the sermon. At the close a man arose and said, “I am healed of my infidelity; I have heard in my own tongue the twenty-third psalm that I learned at my mother’s knee.”

The Bible school building was sold. We moved to a building in Topeka where we stayed for a short time, then went to Kansas City. While living in Kansas City, we heard that the building where Pentecost first fell was burned. This was not a surprise to us as it had been turned into a roadhouse and the rooms that once had heard only the voice of supplication and praise to God had been desecrated by worldly revelry. Warning was given that such actions would not go unpunished, for the house was dedicated to the Lord from its highest place of observation to the cellar.

In Kansas City, Missouri, Mr. Parham held a Bible school, also meetings. During this time souls were saved, some received their baptism, and others were healed. The persecutions were great, and we were learning many lessons.

In the third year of the work, God mightily vindicated the cause, and many souls were saved, wonderful healings took place, and the falling of the Pentecostal baptism was very convincing.

I do not know to what denomination all belonged who received the baptism at Bethel Bible School, but some were Methodists, others Friends, and some Holiness, while many belonged to no denomination.

There were only white persons present at the first Pentecostal shower. No colored people were ever in the school.

As Mrs. Parham’s sister, it has been my privilege to be in their home or in touch with their work continually. To witness Mr. Parham’s zeal and untiring energy you would not believe it possible he had been a sufferer for years until healed by the power of God. The work of his ministry was conducted entirely on faith lines. He looked to the Lord to open the field of labor and was obedient to that which he felt to be His will, then left the results with God, who hath said His Word shall not return unto Him void. His family was dear to him. He enjoyed doing the little things about the home, caring for the children and giving the love service, which makes life worth living. Soon after they were married he was given some land in the country, and I remember him saying to my sister, “If the Lord would only let me, we would have a little home and raise chickens.” But choosing the “better part,” together they continued the life of service for others.

He taught, as the discipline of the movement he represented and for his own life and practice, the keeping of the commandments of Jesus. He rejoiced in the opportunity to overcome evil with good. He also practiced the command to “give to every man that asketh of thee, and from thee turn from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away,” and God regarded an hundredfold. Many times he gave the last cent he had or clothes and food that would be needed the following day, but the Scripture obeyed brought the fulfillment of the promised “good measure” returned even to the running over. A marked characteristic of his work was his ability to reach all classes, the rich and the cultured, the poor and the outcast of society, with the same touch of understanding that makes of one common brotherhood all God’s creatures.

Having known the power of healing in his own life and believing God’s promises are the same today for those who could believe, he prayed for the sick who were healed even as sinners were delivered from the power of sin through faith in the Atonement. When Mrs. Parham first wrote me about the wonderful healings they were having among the people, I could hardly believe it possible. I knew Christ and the disciples healed the people, and I also believed that Mr. Parham was healed, but I thought these were special cases. I had a physical disorder that had troubled me for years. I would try the Lord and see if He would heal now as when here in person. God, searching the heart, knoweth all things. How great His patience and tender mercies toward us! He graciously healed me.

Later I contracted a cold resulting in a cough, which instead of getting better grew worse till I was confined to bed. My mother and the others were anxious about me, feeling I should have a doctor. To this I could not consent, for I had not only been healed myself but had seen many others healed through prayer. I remembered I had come for healing to prove God’s promises; now I felt God was proving me. They were praying for me at Bethel Bible School where Mr. and Mrs. Parham were in charge, yet I still remained sick. Later, Mr. Parham came into my mother’s home and prayed for me. I felt the healing virtue go through my body and was entirely delivered.

I thank God for His great love for His children; that He has purchased not only salvation for the soul but also healing for the body, which is the temple of the Holy Ghost. I also thank God for His faithful messenger, who has been an inspiration and blessing to so many and truly given his life as a living sacrifice in service for others, though his faith was often tried as by fire.

First to Receive Baptism of the Holy Ghost

by Agnes N. Ozman

I had been a Bible student for some years and had attended T. C. Horton’s Bible school at St. Paul, Minnesota, and A. B. Simpson’s Bible school at New York City. For some time I had been doing mission work. In the fall of 1900 I was in Kansas City and heard that a Bible school was to be opened at Topeka, Kansas. I had a desire to go to this school and asked the Lord, if it was His plan for me to go, to provide the fare. A sister gave me more than enough to pay for my fare, and so I felt assured it was God’s will for me to go. I was living by simple faith in the Lord, trusting Him to supply all my needs according to Philippians 4:19.

It was in October 1900 that I went to this school, which was known as Bethel College. We studied the Bible every day and did much work downtown at night. Prayer was offered night and day continually in a special upper room set apart as a prayer tower. I had many blessed hours of prayer in this upper room during the night watches. As we spent much time in the presence of God, He caused our hearts to be opened to all that is written.

I had some experience with the Lord, and tasted the joy of leading some souls to Christ, and had some marvelous answers to prayer for guidance and in having my needs supplied. I was blessed with the presence of the Lord, who in response to my prayer, healed some who were sick. Like some others, I thought that I had received the baptism of the Holy Ghost at the time of consecration, but when I learned that the Holy Ghost was yet to be poured out in greater fullness, my heart became hungry for the promised Comforter, and I began to cry out for an enduement with power from on high. At times I longed more for the Holy Spirit to come in than for my necessary food. At night I had a greater desire for Him than for sleep.

We were admonished to honor the blood of Jesus Christ to do its work in our hearts, and this brought great peace and victory. A text often used was this: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21).

As the end of the year drew near, some friends came from Kansas City to spend the holidays with us. On watch night we had a blessed service, praying that God’s blessing might rest upon us as the new year came in. During the first day of 1901 the presence of the Lord was with us in a marked way, stilling our hearts to wait upon Him for greater things. The spirit of prayer was upon us in the evening. It was nearly seven o’clock on this first of January that it came into my heart to ask Bro. Parham to lay his hands upon me that I might receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It was as his hands were laid upon my head that the Holy Spirit fell upon me and I began to speak in tongues, glorifying God. I talked several languages, and it was clearly manifest when a new dialect was spoken. I had the added joy and glory my heart longed for and a depth of the presence of the Lord within that I had never known before. It was as if rivers of living waters were proceeding from my innermost being.

The following morning I was accosted with questions about my experience of the night before. As I tried to answer, I was so full of glory that I pointed out to them the Bible references, showing that I had received the baptism according to Acts 2:4 and 19:1-6. I was the first one to speak in tongues in the Bible school, and it seemed to me that the rest were wanting to speak in tongues, too. But I told them not to seek for tongues but to seek for the Holy Ghost. I did not know at that time that anyone else would speak in tongues. I did not expect the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself to others as He did to me.

On January 2, some of us went down to Topeka to a mission. As we worshiped the Lord, I offered prayer in English and then prayed in another language in tongues. A Bohemian who was present said that he understood what I said. Some months later at a school-house with others, in a meeting, I spoke in tongues in the power of the Spirit, and another Bohemian understood me. Since then others have understood other languages I have spoken.

The hearts of other students were made hungry for the Holy Spirit, and they continued to tarry before the Lord. On the third of January some of the students went to the mission and others gathered in prayer at the Bible school, praying for the Holy Spirit. God answered their prayers by pouring out His Spirit; one after another began speaking in tongues and some were given interpretation.

* * * * *

The revival was on. History, as promised, had repeated itself some nineteen hundred years after the Day of Pentecost. Public reaction to this outpouring became the focus of the community. As was the case in Jerusalem, opinion was as diverse as the residents of Topeka and was mostly caustic in nature. Not unexpectedly, Parham and his associates were branded as lunatics and spiritual fanatics. The Topeka Capitol, the city’s major newspaper, prepared this report published January 6, 1901:

Strange goings-on at the old mansion in the southwest part of town . . . thirty-five persons form a strange religious body. Whole days are spent with prayer . . . but the really strange feature of the faith is the so-called gift of tongues from heaven . . . a sort of senseless gibberish . . . which they say is conveyed from God personally.

Newspaper journalists flocked to the scene and reported their findings throughout the Midwest, including Kansas City and as far away as St. Louis. Mario G. Hoover in his book, Origin and Structural Development of the Assemblies of God, states that “the result of this publicity was a deluge of curiosity-seekers descending on ‘Stone’s Folly’ to see for themselves the strange goings-on.” “Some of the visitors were favorably impressed,” states Hoover, “while others were extremely and openly critical.”

With the inception and reception of gospel truths, Satan always attempts to mirror the success of God, only through lies and deceit. As was the case when revival fell in Jerusalem in A.D. 33, now in 1901 in Topeka, Kansas, much criticism soon confronted the results that had taken place at Bethel Bible College. One student of the school, S. J. Riggins, withdrew on January 8, 1901, and renounced the institution as a fake. Eventually others departed but not on such a high note of negativity. The remaining students reveled in their new-found glory and prepared themselves to launch a crusade to spread their message of redemption. Unfortunately, the school would close within a year, for the owners decided to sell the property. Before they could do so, fire destroyed the mansion in December of 1901. This did not happen, though, before the fire of God had worked its perfect work.

There are significant notes that must be addressed concerning the ministry of Charles Parham at this point in his ministry and the forty students of Bethel, most whose names are now known only to God. Their place in Pentecostal history cannot be dismissed, for they must be acknowledged as some of the key characters of this history. Neither can the events of January 1, 1901, be cataloged in the back pages of Christianity’s elongated narrative. The setting at Bethel appears to be the first time in modern times that the phenomenon of speaking in tongues was credited as being the initial sign and evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. The Topeka outpouring initiated and set in motion the dogmas of Pentecostalism. It established that people could actively seek the baptism of the Spirit and know that, if they met the conditions and criteria of a yearning heart, they would receive it.

Most Pentecostals consider the Topeka, Kansas, revival to be the beginning of the modern era of apostolic restoration. Bethel Bible College would be responsible for the beginnings of development of the twentieth-century Pentecostal church. Pentecostals around this planet, regardless of denominational ties, owe at the very least a small debt of gratitude for the pioneering attitude the “Bethel-ites” had in seeking a higher fellowship with God. If nothing else, their indomitable spirit was exemplary and cannot go unrecognized as one of the reasons for the birth and continuation of modern-day Pentecost.

Howard A. Goss, 1911

A faded yet still recognizable engraving of Charles Parham, 1905

Chapter 3

The Mantle Is Passed

A few weeks after Parham and his students were baptized in the Spirit, seven of them journeyed to Kansas City, the first stop of an itinerary to proclaim their revival. A two-week meeting was held at 1675 Madison Avenue in a small storefront building. The going was very difficult because of skepticism on the part of the local churches. The message was seen as incredulous, and although the news media at first befriended the small band, after a couple of weeks the tenor of reporting and publicity became negative and critical in scope. The results after two weeks were very depressing and discouraging. Only one or two souls were converted.

Realizing their message was being rejected, Parham and his entourage returned to Topeka, disheartened, though quitting never entered their minds. This first series of rejections would not be their last, for it would be several years before they would see their message take root and prosper.

In February of 1901, Parham and twenty students made their way to Lawrence, Kansas, a sleepy town in the eastern part of the state, to conduct another crusade. The students left behind in Topeka were to pray and fast for the success of the meeting. Parham sought a facility and was granted permission to hold his services in a local music hall.

During the daylight hours personal and door-to-door witnessing was initiated by the students. No one could criticize them for their zeal and burden to share their experience, but again they met with opposition and their results were extremely disappointing. After just a short stay in Lawrence, they returned to Topeka.

For several months Parham remained in Topeka to teach and further solidify the school’s progress. On receiving news that the owners were to sell the building he now occupied, he made a major decision to move his ministry to Kansas City.

It would be a decision and move that would leave deep scars on him both spiritually and emotionally. The people, and the religious community in particular, shunned and rejected him to the point of open hostility. Twenty-five years later as a sick and broken man, he would write in his memoirs, “Both the pulpit and press sought to utterly destroy our place and prestige, until my wife, her sister, and myself stood alone. Hated, despised, counted as naught, for weeks and weeks never knowing where our next meal would come from, yet feeling that we must maintain the faith once for all delivered to the saints. When we had carfare we rode. When we didn’t, we walked. When buildings were closed to us, we preached on the street.”

The year 1902 saw Parham locate in Lawrence, Kansas, and for the time being, use that city as his base of operations. From there he would travel and preach in such cities as Galena, Keelville, Melrose, and Baxter Springs, Kansas. His first real success came two years after his Spirit baptism in Topeka in January 1901. In the spring of 1903, the turning point of his ministry came in a small town called Nevada, Missouri. At the invitation of a Holiness minister, Parham preached his message, and for the first time in two years that message was received with eager enthusiasm. Souls were filled with the Spirit. His “desert experience” was about to conclude.

From Nevada, the Parhams traveled to El Dorado, Kansas, where they met with reasonable success. Word from this revival spread to nearby Galena, and from that town the invitation to preach the gospel was extended.

The Parhams arrived in Galena in October 1903 and began conducting meetings in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur; he was a local merchant of the Methodist persuasion. After only one day of preaching in the Arthurs’ home, it became filled to capacity. The meeting had to be moved to a tent that was pitched in a nearby vacant lot.

Ethel Goss wrote in The Winds of God that because of Parham’s revolutionary message there was soon quite a stir in the area. As a result of his strong emphasis on divine healing, many people found deliverance from cancers, blindness, and a multitude of other diseases and ailments. Mrs. Arthur herself was healed of blindness.

The revival remained under the tent until the cold weather forced the participants indoors. A renovated store building called the Grand Leader Building on Main Street was secured. Even though it could seat one thousand people, soon it too would prove to be too small, for crowds began to fill the place to capacity. By the time the Galena crusade would conclude, nearly one thousand people would be healed, and nearly eight hundred would be converted, having received that baptism of the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues. This revival lasted until mid-January 1904.

From Galena, Parham moved the crusade to, as has been mentioned, such communities as Melrose, Keelville, and Baxter Springs, Kansas. It was, in fact, in Baxter Springs that Parham soon made his headquarters. This town would be his permanent home and residence until his death in 1929.

After establishing his residence, Parham felt the call of God to take the revival to Joplin, Missouri. In the fall of 1904, a meeting conducted in that town proved to be such a great success that it rivaled the meeting held the year before in Galena. Hungry souls congregated from all points, including people traveling from the surrounding states of Oklahoma and Arkansas. The move of God was greatly seen and felt during this meeting. Hundreds were Spirit-filled and healed. With the success of this meeting came much criticism and ostracism from the local press and community leaders. This did not stop the move of the Lord.

Whenever Parham concluded a crusade, he would attempt to leave someone in charge. This individual would be left behind to care for the newly born sheep. These early missions would at times be no more than a congregation of believers worshiping God in rustic settings, such as log homes located deep in the countryside. Sometimes the new converts would load up in a wagon pulled by a pair of mules and travel ten to fifteen miles to be in church. It was not unusual for services to last well into the wee hours of the morning.

Because revival, by divine design, began in the bread-basket of the country, the economy was built on a farming foundation. More often than not the men would have to leave a fellow parishioner’s home, travel the return trip of ten to fifteen miles, and proceed immediately to the fields to meet the demands of the farm for the day. The enthusiasm and euphoria was so intense, though, that this did not diminish their exuberance to be in service almost every night.

From Missouri, Parham was invited to Orchard, Texas, by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Oyler. They had received the Holy Ghost at Parham’s meeting in Galena, Kansas. On Easter Sunday, 1905, the crusade began.

It was an immediate success. People came in droves to hear Parham deliver the Pentecostal message. Many traveled upwards of twenty miles per night, a considerable distance in those days when the mode of transportation was either horse and buggy or walking.

During the revival at Orchard, a Mrs. Calhoun of Houston, Texas, visited the proceedings and while there was converted and filled with the Spirit. On her return home, she shared the conversion with her pastor, and after dissecting the Scriptures, she convinced him that Parham’s message was indeed scriptural. An invitation to Houston was immediately extended, and Parham, with an entourage of twenty-five, prepared to journey to Houston in July of 1905.

During this time, Parham was having serious health problems. Anyone who has ever conducted camp or tent crusades knows they are some of the most physically demanding services a revivalist can conduct. This, coupled with his daily street service, healing lines, and counseling, began to wear on his body. After a well-deserved rest back in Kansas and the completion of earlier commitments that had been scheduled, he and his workers proceeded to Houston, anxious to conquer that city for God. This meeting would prove to be a pivotal point in the spread and growth of the twentieth-century Pentecostal church. Howard A. Goss, then a twenty-two year old stalwart for Christ, wrote of his journey to Houston to assist Parham. Goss had been converted in Parham’s Galena crusade and would go on to be one of the outstanding leaders in the early development of the Assemblies of God and later the United Pentecostal Church. Goss testified:

True to my promise I sold my horse, rig, and everything I had and bought a ticket to Houston. I started out with my pockets empty of money, but my heart brimful of zeal and courage for the Lord. It was really a step of faith for all of us. But we felt that if He had led us to go, He would care for us, and thanks be to Him, He has never failed us through all these years. On the way down to Houston, we changed trains at Alvin, Texas, where we laid over for a few hours. During the noon hour we went uptown and held a street meeting. A large hospitable crowd quickly gathered, manifesting great interest in this “new religion.” Hungrily, they pressed us to come back again.

On our arrival in Houston, a special convocation was held by the workers who had preceded us to that city. We heard many of the remarkable things which the Lord had been doing in the Texas field. The outstanding feature of the revival held in Houston’s Bryan Hall was the remarkable healings. One was a lawyer’s wife, Mrs. Delaney, who had been seriously injured in a streetcar accident and as a consequence had considerable publicity in the courts of Houston, due to her resultant paralysis. When she was miraculously healed, her cure attracted the attention of the entire city.

The work in Houston experienced support from God in terms best described as waves of miracles. Many individuals of different sects and denominations came to Bryan Hall to hear Parham and his cohorts vocalize the Pentecostal message. One of those individuals was a black Baptist-Holiness preacher by the name of William J. Seymour. He attended Parham’s crusade and school during the winter of 1905-06.

William Menzies made a profound statement about him in Anointed to Serve: “It was the providence of God that the link between the ‘Parham phase’ of revival at Houston ushered in the ‘Seymour phase’ at Azusa Street in Los Angeles.” Menzies continued, “Seymour became convinced of the truth of the Pentecostal experience as he listened to the teaching of Parham, week after week in the Houston Bible school. He came to believe that the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues was the normative pattern for receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But Seymour had not as yet received the experience himself.”

The focus of revival took a sudden redirection. Parham continued to crusade in the South and Midwest with success and influence great numbers of people. Converts who came under his ministry numbered in the thousands. Ministers who had gained their initial spiritual education under his guidance, and who were sent to evangelize the nation, numbered in the hundreds. His work was fruitful, and he left a legacy matched by few men in any endeavor. But the focus and thrust of God’s hand was soon to shift to another locale, and another man would soon be raised and anointed to take the reins of Pentecostal leadership.

The Parham era was soon to come to a not-so-happy conclusion. After 1905, he did not necessarily fade away from the stage of revival, but his impetus was not the same. No student of Pentecostal history can deny Parham his just and due honor. To say he was the father of twentieth-century Pentecostalism can arouse much conjecture and debate. But his place in the annals of those men and women dedicated to the cause of latter-day revival is secure.

If one is to be objective in assessing conclusive life patterns of those individuals who shaped this history, then the frailties and mistakes of those individuals must not be deleted from such studies. It is knowledge of the whole man that enables one to ascertain what attributes lend themselves to the character of a man or woman of Parham’s stature.

Parham was by no means perfect. Anointed, yes. To state that he was led by God should arouse no argument from anyone in Pentecostal circles, but he was not perfect. Later in California, he and his protege, William Seymour, would part company on less than friendly terms. It appears that a seed of jealousy existed in Parham towards Seymour. This was exacerbated when Parham traveled to the West Coast and saw firsthand the tremendous success of Seymour in 1906-8.

One must also remember that it had barely been forty years since General Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox and the end of the Civil War. Guns had ceased to be fired over one of the major aspects of that war, slavery, but much of the country still had the philosophy that blacks were inferior to whites, even in a spiritual setting. The country was not yet prepared for the mingling of the races, even to worship God. Whether Parham was a racist is not certain, but there is documented proof that he privately thought little of the black race, many times referring to them as “darkies.” In his later life he associated freely and often with the Ku Klux Klan, supposedly to preach to them the Word of God for the sake of conversion.

It is sad but true that Satan still uses the race issue from both perspectives to keep the brethren at odds. One of his covert tactics is to divide, then attempt to conquer. Many would like to close their eyes to this ongoing phenomenon, but racial prejudice is still fervently alive in some Pentecostal circles. The bringing to bear some of what are extremely uncomfortable facts of Parham’s and other great leaders’ lives in the Pentecostal church reminds us that the Lord uses humans—regenerated humans, but humans nonetheless—to fulfill the work of a perfect God.

The chapter on the life of Charles Fox Parham was about to close as the chapter of another began to unfold. Again revival was to burst forth on an even grander scale. The words “Azusa Street” would soon be spoken on the lips of multitudes of thousands on almost every continent on the earth.

Houstonians Witness the Performance of Miracles

Houston Chronicle, August 13, 1905

Mysticism Surrounds Works of Apostles of Faith—Speak in All Tongues Known to Man—Weird Scenes That are Witnessed.

Among the languages spoken by the professors of Apostolic Faith, the government interpreters have made investigation and authoritatively report that all known modern languages have been demonstrated, including twenty Chinese dialects.

Among those healed during the meetings here have been Mrs. Hagan of periodic epileptic fits; Mrs. David of Houston Heights of consumption and voice recovered after nine years; Mrs. J. M. Dulaney of paralysis; small boy of Grimes County of curvature of spine and returned to home able to walk; aged Negro, who Friday threw away crutches at command of Dr. Parham.

Among those who have received the power of languages during the Houston meetings are Mrs. E. G. Fields, Mrs. Currier, Miss Post of Brunner, Henry Aylor, a wealthy ranchman, and Mrs. Sanders of Orchard, Will Wall, Kirk Evans, and Horace Turner.

* * * * *

“Leever a honsie, monsella ma hosta,” fervently prayed John Pinnock, a student disciple of Charles Parham, leader of the Apostolic Faith Brigade conducting meetings at Bryan Hall.

Feelingly and dramatically the Raphael-faced young disciple poured forth a torrent of words in a strangely unknown tongue, the import of his [unclear] being to him as mysterious and unknown as to his English-speaking hearers. But the inspiration of the strange outpouring forms the peculiarly distinguishing basis of the creed of the disciples of the Apostolic Faith.

With the frenzy of the martyr and the intensity of the fanatic came the earnest plea in the rare and unknown tongue, euphoniously enunciating in silvery cadence and ever anon the refrain, “Leever a honsie, monsella ma hosta.”

And so is exemplified the doctrine of the band of followers of the Apostolic Faith, who aver that with the gaining of the faith, as in the days of old it was given to the apostles according to Scripture, so comes as a divine gift the power of languages. Without study and without effort comes the power to speak, not a single tongue according to the teachings of a given school, but to speak all the languages of all the world as spoken by the most lowly in their corruption of the vernacular or as used by the most classic scholar in the [unclear] of his library. He may command the classics of a Homer or talk the jargon of the lowest savage of the African jungle.

But this power of language comes only when in the service of the Master.

A sermon to move the multitudes may be delivered from the pulpit, but the merest platitude may not be interchanged upon a subject frivolous or personal. The disciples may preach the gospel to every living creature, but he speaks the words into his mouth and knows not what he says.

So young Pinnock when asked what he had said in his prayers announced that he did not know nor could he tell what language he spoke.

Mrs. Bradbury, a lady of the following, is said to have burst into song some nights ago in a public meeting and sung one of these feeling German songs of religion. There were Germans in the audience who came to her later, and thanking her in the language of the Fatherland, were surprised to find she understood them not nor remembered the import of the song she sung.

Another young lady of the party once delivered a sermon in Japanese, and others declared to have spoken in various and sundry languages, and yet they are but farmer people from Kansas.

Many Witnesses

In Houston local converts have received the gift and can speak the tongues of the world. Among these is Mrs. E. G. Fields, whose husband is auditor of the Street Railway Company.

Mrs. Fields says that the strange power came gradually as her faith grew. At first but a few words, then others until constantly there were revealing through her mind strange and meaningless terms. These finally grouped themselves into sentences, and the sentences took form until now she feels that all the languages of all people are hers—not for use as language is ordinarily used but under inspiration for the benefit of the cause.

A few nights ago the scores of penitents who nightly gather at the altar had somewhat thinned when a low-browed young man who had knelt there suddenly cried out, “This is something new.” He, later, in telling of his visitation is said by a Latin scholar who attended to have burst into rhyme in that language in a couplet used by Virgil and to have portrayed a vision in language that would have done credit to many of the poets who wrote when the language of the city of the seven hills was in the very flower and pink of its perfection.

The Leader of the Faith

Charles F. Parham and a brigade of some twenty followers, young men and women whom he styles “student disciples,” came to Houston a month ago from Kansas. Since that time they have held meetings at Bryan Hall, have preached their peculiar gospel—that of reclaiming Zion to the Jews—and the leader has received the lame and halt and the afflicted, and stories of marvelous cures have gone abroad. The brigade has wandered far, and its members have preached as they have gone. Dr. Parham himself, once pastor of an orthodox church in Lawrence, Kansas, has wandered in many lands and preached in the language of the native wherever he has gone and brought about marvelous results.

He says he knows not the language he speaks while he is addressing his audience, but he is as if he were not and know not, being merely an instrument in other hands, and his body and vocal organs working under the dictation of an inspiration. Often, he states, is he inspired in various presences to burst into a language he knows not, and often have sayings of wisdom been translated back to him by foreigners.

His converts are blessed with the gift of language in various degrees. With some the power is absolute and without limit, while with others it is barely perceptible.

Age of Miracles

And yet more marvelous than the story of many languages are the rumors that have gone abroad of the marvelous healings that are being performed at the instance of Dr. Parham. An old man who lives at Houston Heights, named Davis, has suffered long with consumption and for years had not been able to speak, but is now conversing with ease.

Mrs. J. M. Dulaney, who for over two years was a chronic invalid, saw the leader of the sect in a vision and after waiting months came to him and was healed. She attends the meetings now and tells her story.

A little lad of five years, whose spine was affected, the vertebrae protruding painfully, and whose limbs had shriveled from disease, is daily walking and gaining strength. The spine is straightened and the shorter of the two limbs lengthened to the normal.

The members of the faith declare the “age of miracles” never passed away but that the power was [lost] just through waning faith.

There are many who profess to having been present when these “works of faith were wrought.” One reputable resident of Houston, who claims to have seen a woman restored to health through these weird incantations, declares it to have been a fact but does not pretend to solve the mystery.

Scene at the Altar

The scene about the altar of the healer at the close of the nightly service is one of pathetic interest, where blind faith falls over itself in an attempt to get the benefit of the laying on of the hands, which in the instance of Dr. Parham is alleged to cure all ills.

About the altar the seekers of the salvation pray earnestly. On an elevation easy of access sits the healer, clad in robes of biblical days. In fact, the outer garment is identical in cut and texture to the seamless garment of Christ, for which the soldiers cast lots after the crucifixion. This garment was brought from the Holy Land by T. J. Alley, the lecturer who spent many years in the Holy Land.

The weak in body but strong of faith surround the healer and with his hand on forehead are blessed and supposedly rejuvenated in the matter of health. The blessings are received in abject faith, and the reports of marvelous healings increase as the time passes.

In brief, the members of the Apostolic Faith hold that as the power of languages was given to the disciples of old, so that power is given unto the devout followers today, and as miracles of healing were performed in days of old, so are they performed today, and the modern apostles stand ready to prove their allegations.

Letter from John G. Lake to

Charles Parham, 1927

Brother Charles F. Parham

Baxter Springs, Kansas

Dear Brother Parham:

I have been wanting to write to you for a long time, but have been so very unsettled, and when things around me get unsettled I do not write to anybody until they begin to shape again.

It would be difficult for me to explain to you how or why I am in Houston. A something grew up in my soul that I wanted to see and talk with Carothers, and it kept grinding in me so long that eventually I found myself here. Seeley D. Kinne, Carothers and sometimes others of the preachers here and myself have been in the habit of getting together for little conferences—just to talk over our own soul state, the condition of the work in general, what God’s probable next step may be in the Pentecostal work, and other things of that kind. And out of it all there has grown in me a great desire to have a good conference with yourself.

Unfortunately, when you and I get together you have so much petty detail to look after that we never get a chance to sit down and converse about anything that amounts to anything. What I am anxious to talk over with you is your vision of the future of the Pentecostal movement, and whether or not any of us have sufficient light from God to know what His purpose is for this hour. Personally, I have never felt that you occupied the place in the movement that God intended you to occupy, and that your endeavor to sort of father the movement in some respects has been rather an effort to keep from being submerged, rather than to lead the hosts of God.

While at San Diego, I was in the habit of meeting with a few of the brethren in Los Angeles, Dr. Kenyon, Cannon, Wallace, myself and others. We would get together once in a while and talk things over. We did not discuss just the interests of the Pentecostal movement only, but whether or not there was anything that a group of sane men could do that would be of real value to the Christian institution. The consensus of opinion was that what the Christian world is suffering for more than anything else is a lack of Christianity. The world does not know what real Christianity is. Pentecost should have exemplified it. In that it has failed in my judgment about ninety-three percent. However, it has done this much. It has demonstrated that there is such a thing as the baptism of the Holy Ghost. That men may enter into God if they will. That some have in a slight degree. That none have in an outstanding way that would make their life or revelation comparable with the apostles, or the leaders of Christianity in the first centuries. We have rather been an order of cheap evangelism, with a rather cheap evangelistic message that is not worthy in the high sense of being called Pentecostal.

Next, my own idea was that if I were going to undertake to do for Christianity the thing that seemed to me would be the greatest blessing, and present to the world the ideal that it needs, I would like to do it through a sort of Bible university that first taught the full rounded life of Jesus Christ in man.

Second, that sent into the world a group of men to give that ideal to the public.

How my own soul has longed to see yourself above every other man measure up in God to the stature of the need of this hour. And while I take my hat off to you, and recognize in you a humble servant of God who has labored hard, and while you have been an amazing propagandist of the truth God revealed to you yet, brother, like myself and all the others that I see, there has been an utter failure to measure up to the stature of Fatherhood in God that would mark you as the real father and leader of the Pentecostal forces.

Now, brother, I am not scolding, and I am sure that you know my deep love for the men who bear this gospel, and especially for yourself, so that you will be ready to concede my aim is not only to help you, but to help my own soul and the souls of those about us to rise up in God to be and do and give the real Pentecostal life and vision to the world.

Every little man is doing the best he can on a big job. Gaston, the head of the Assemblies of God, is endeavoring to do his best, and is doing a fine work in keeping his institution orderly. True, they have drifted clear away from a true scriptural Pentecostal ideal, and every day are becoming more and more a little bigoted denomination. The spirit of denominationalism in the Assemblies of God is probably narrower than even in the old churches from which Pentecostal people have been escaping for the last thirty years. So that as a power to bless mankind and put an ideal before the world such as the Scriptures outline and as our soul is longing for, it does not seem to me they are worth discussing or considering.

None of the other divisions of the movement of which I know, except the movement headed by Bro. Goss [Oneness Pentecostals], holds much hope. I see more hope in Goss’s division of the movement than in any of the others. There is one thing we will have to concede, and everybody does who is really intimate with their assemblies and with their preachers, and that is that they show more genuine spirituality than any other branch of the movement. The mere fact of their emphasis of Jesus, that the other divisions of the movement regard as extreme, has tended to bless them in that it has brought them into close touch with the Lord’s life and Spirit.

The great mass of independent churches in the Pentecostal faith have a local status. They are all trying to do something. One of the things we are all compelled to admit is that so far as real Pentecost from God is concerned, it is rapidly drying out in the world. I believe in this connection that your own overemphasis on the question of false manifestation has done much to break down faith in God for all manifestation.

Now a personal word. For about three years I have been in a very broken state of health. About thirty years of awful strenuosity, and life lived at a pace and under a pressure that few men in the world have endured for so long, has had its natural effect in me, as I suspect in my soul it is having in you. And I simply had to break off and ease up. So for three years it has been a snail’s pace. But, brother, the thing has wrought a marvel in me. With the quiet and semirest, even though forced upon me, there has come an expanding vision, and a profound conviction that somehow if this is real Pentecost there must come out of it eventually the thing that Pentecost produced in the early church, and that was the real body of Jesus Christ. Not a church, but the church; not an organization, but the real organism that we have always recognized; not an ecclesiasticism, nor a dictatorship, nor a bureaucracy, but a group of Holy Ghost-baptized souls in which dwell and through which is manifest the life of the Lord.

In the New Testament church we see the church was a “minister of life unto life, and of death unto death.” The same Holy Ghost through Peter flashed out like a sword of glory and smote the disease from the lame man at the Beautiful Gate; it’s the same sword that flashed out of his spirit and sent Ananias and Sapphira to the graveyard. Maybe God has changed His mind. Perhaps the church of Jesus Christ is not a church anymore—just a mob. Probably Paul was mistaken when he gave us the church outline in the twelfth [chapter] of Corinthians. However, I cannot think so; I am rather inclined to feel, brother, that we have been too small for God’s uses and purposes in this matter. And one of the objects of my writing this letter is to ask your soul as the oldest man in this movement and the one who God honored in the formulation of its first message and the establishment of the school that was first honored with this latter-day outpouring, if you have any message for my soul, or any revelation from God along this line? What does the future hold to you; what is the hope of the future? Or are we to simply witness the dying of Pentecost as other lesser revelations of God have come to the world, fluttered and sputtered for a few years, and then disappeared? It seems to me that the test as to whether this is real Pentecost or not is in the fact that if it is, through it must be developed the church of Jesus Christ. Not only as a scattered, one here and one there, unknown to each other, invisible, unrecognized and unauthoritive body, whose names are written in heaven, but a Holy Ghost-united, authoritative, and God-controlled and God-directed and God-empowered body, through whom God could meet the challenge of Rome and hell and anti-Christ and every other institution of the devil that the latter days bring forth.

What my soul would give for one real council in God of the now hidden, wearied, discouraged, distracted, heartbroken Pentecostal preachers.

You will be interested to know that Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, who were in your Bible school when the baptism originally fell at Topeka, are members of my congregation here. I recently met another of that group, but have forgotten at this moment who it was.

Now, brother, about Africa. Did you know that Bro. Fockler was in Africa this last year, and recently went on to Australia? We had word from him recently telling us about his reception at Melbourne, that was very fine. Fockler is a fine evangelist, a man of sane mind, and is one of the growing men in this movement. One of the things, Parham, that is troubling me, is that yourself, Fockler, Sinclair, myself and the hundred others that constituted the original missionaries of this gospel, are slipping toward the graveyard very rapidly. We are shouting loudly about living until Jesus comes, but one by one our toes are preparing to be grass-root extensions. And I have always hoped that before we who saw the first glory and the first sunburst of power passed on, that we would leave behind us something that would at least conserve its history and embody its spirit and continue to bless the world.

The devil has robbed me financially since my breakdown in health, so that now when I am on my feet again and ready to go I am greatly handicapped for lack of resources. You talk of going to Africa. I would like to know definitely if you have plans to that end, or are you just “hoping”? I would like to go better than anything else in the world, but unless God would perform a financial miracle, it is an impossibility. Indeed, I am at a lost to know just why I am in Houston. The church at Spokane is crying for my return.

By the way, I was there for a week this winter before Christmas. I went from here to pray for an insane woman, who was instantly delivered, and I remained and preached for a week. The church at Portland begs me to come there; the little church at San Diego is moving along. All of them present a better opportunity than Houston. However, in all my life I never saw such distracted, petrified, soul-bound saints as in Houston. The dear little group at Katy are a lovely, godly group. The R________s are a group of little men with little minds, trying to fill big men’s places in life and in the work of God. It is pitiable and laughable to watch the trick monkey stuff. Dad R________ is extremely jealous, insanely so, and this causes him to stoop to such dishonorable little things as no one could believe unless you were on the ground and saw it. It always makes me think of a bantam rooster among a flock of decent-sized chickens. The only thing that bantam can do is strut, and sure, dear old Dad is a fine strutter.

Now, brother, for the finish. What I am interested in is, has God developed in you a sense of fatherhood in this gospel, or is your little missionary work the fulfillment of your ideal? My soul cannot help but turn to you for an answer. And though in time past your answers have been somewhat childish I cannot help but feel that with increasing years and gray hairs that perhaps God has honored you with the answer to the need of this hour as he once honored you with the answer to the need of thirty years ago.

One thing I observe, however, is that the truth of the origin of the Pentecostal movement, and its origin in your school at Topeka and the fact that you formulated the first Pentecostal message to the world is growing and is daily becoming a better-known fact. So that now even the prejudices of the Assemblies of God cannot submerge that truth, and neither can Florence Crawford of Portland, Oregon, get the world to believe any longer that she was the first white woman baptized in the Holy Ghost after Pentecost came; and the people of Los Angeles cannot use it much further for Los Angeles advertising stunt.

In my spirit I have been troubled about you. The last time I saw you you were too fat. You were eating too much and manifestly you were eating more meat than a man of your years can assimilate without producing blood pressure and heart strain. I am not aware that my advice or council ever did you good—that you paid any more attention to it than I have to yours. However, I do want to assure you, brother, of my deep, heartfelt interest and continued prayer for you. I will never forget the man who brought the glorious message of Pentecost and all that it has meant to both hell and heaven in my life.

Dear Parham, it is said here that you are coming to Houston in June for a camp meeting. I would like to know definitely what your plans are in that respect, as we have been planning a camp meeting to begin around May 1 and continue straight through the whole summer, and I would like to be able to formulate some idea. It was my hope in this camp meeting to be able to secure the real leaders of the movement for at least a couple of weeks at a time. And yet I do not want to interfere with any personal plans that you may have.

One of these days I trust God Almighty will get me off of the rocks, at least to the extent that I can send you a respectable offering for your paper, which I prize very much.

Your Brother in Christ,

JGL/FL

Dear Bro. Parham: This is a new epistle according to “John.” When are you coming around for another race? Am afraid I will lose my speed if you don’t come and keep me in practice. We have your little friend Ida in our home, and we think a great deal of her.

Florence M. Lake

Parham and some of his helpers standing on the courthouse steps, Carthage, Missouri, 1905. Parham is in the front.

Brunner Tabernacle, Houston, Texas, 1906. Charles Parham is standing next to the beam on the right with his hand held to his chest. H. A. Goss, a future leader with both the Assemblies of God and the United Pentecostal Church, is standing on the right next to the elderly man seated.

The morning edition of the Los Angeles Times, April 18, 1906, describing a service at the Azusa Street Mission.

Charles Parham, leader of latter-day Pentecostal revival, around 1924.

“Types of those who claim to have received the ‘gift of tongues’ at the New Testament church.”

Article in the Los Angeles Times July 23,1906, about Joseph Smale’s New Testament Church.

Chapter 4

Azusa Street: From Stable to Steeple

Los Angeles in 1906 was a city of diverse nationalities . . . a melting pot of Japanese, Blacks, Chinese, Russians, Greeks, Mexicans, and Anglo-Saxons. With a population of 250,000, it was a city pregnant with big dreams and a constant infusion of people seeking the better life. As an indication of the wild growth of the West in general and California in particular, city planners were deeply concerned with the fifteen-percent rate of growth experienced each year. Close to 30,000 people were migrating annually to the land of milk and honey, and concerns were based on the fear that the need for water could not meet the demands of such growth. Since the city is situated in what is in actuality a desert, the consternation over water still prevails there.

Los Angeles was teeming with all manner of ideologies, and the religious atmosphere seethed with expectation. Frank Bartleman, in his eyewitness account of revival in Los Angeles in 1906 retitled Azusa Street, stated that the religious life of the city was dominated by one Joseph Smale, whose large First Baptist Church had been transformed into the New Testament Church. This was attributed to the effects of the Welsh revival, which was in progress at the time. Another important religious influence in the city was Phineas Bresee, who had founded the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene in 1895. He established his new work because of what he saw as a “dying out” in the Methodist Church. He had previously served as one of its leading ministers for thirty years. Bresee sought to emulate the work of Wesley by ministering to the down and out of Los Angeles. His Nazarene Church was rapidly becoming the largest Holiness church in America. Bartleman, who was a professional journalist before being converted to Pentecostalism, kept an accurate and detailed diary of the events of what would come to be known as the Azusa Street revival.

Much of the documentation that is available today is the result of his on-site depiction of that momentous experience. He stated, “In the black community a rich social and religious life had developed during the last years of the century, with numbers of Methodist, Baptist, and Holiness churches located in the black community. This religious energy would soon center around a street that would hold historical significance . . . Bonnie Brae Street.”

One of the 250,000 residents of Los Angeles was a black woman by the name of Neely Terry. In 1905 she was part of Charles Parham’s student body during his revival crusade in Houston. She and William Seymour became friends, for as has been mentioned, he too was part of Parham’s group. Seymour, although he fully believed in Parham’s message, did not receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost in Houston, but Neely Terry did.

She migrated back to Los Angeles, where she found that her family and some close friends had been excommunicated from the Second Baptist Church, which was predominantly a black congregation. They were disfellowshipped for professing and expostulating the Holiness doctrine. Subsequently, they had organized a small Negro Holiness mission that associated with Bresee’s Church of the Nazarene. Vinson Synon in his masterful dissertation, The Holiness-Pentecostal Movement in the United States, stated that the mission elected a Mrs. Hutchinson to act as pastor of the group.

Miss Terry arrived in Los Angeles in March of 1906 and upon seeing the spiritual dilemma of her family and friends remembered the godly impression Seymour had made on her in Houston. She proceeded to contact him and invite him to Los Angeles for the purpose of assuming the pastoral duties of their small mission. Seymour, after some hesitation, acquiesced and accepted the invitation.

On his way from Houston to California, he stopped at well-known Holiness missions. One of his stops was in Denver, Colorado, at the headquarters of Alma White’s Pillar of Fire movement. His reception was anything but warm, for Mrs. White later wrote that “he was a very untidy person . . . wearing no collar.” Down through the years, Seymour would come to be known as a very godly man with a very humble disposition. His love for the Lord and his deep Holiness conviction were unquestioned. But he would carry the stigma of an unkempt person, not concerned with his personal appearance. He was even described by more than a few as “dirty.” It was hard to imagine that he would be the one chosen of God to soon lead a revival that would have worldwide influence.

He arrived in the early spring of 1906. His first message was preached from Acts 2:4 concerning the baptism of the Holy Ghost evidenced by speaking in tongues. This was preached by Seymour even though he himself had not yet received the baptism. On that same afternoon, when he returned to the mission, he found the door padlocked. He was later informed that Mrs. Hutchinson felt his teaching was contrary to accepted Holiness views. This was not the consensus of the majority of the members of the mission, however, for they readily and eagerly accepted his message.

Now, with no sponsor, nowhere to preach, and no accommodations, Seymour found himself relegated to the street. His street church would not be in existence long. One of the members of the small congregation felt pity for the man of God, and even though at first he denounced Seymour’s teaching, he invited him to his home, which was located on Bonnie Brae Street. His name was Richard Asberry, and this move and act of pity and good Samaritanism would soon be revealed as ordained of God.

For several days, Seymour began to preach the gospel message with anointed results. A young man by the name of Arthur G. Osterberg was present at these early meetings. The following is part of an article he wrote, which appeared in the Full Gospel Business Men’s Voice a few years ago.

Arthur G. Osterberg’s Testimony

It was through my mother’s penchant for seeking the deeper spiritual things that our family became involved with the Azusa Street revival. That revival did not spring fully grown into being. It was not a case of spontaneous flowering. It had a considerable history that grew out of several incidents of refusal on the part of certain groups to accept the Bible teaching on the subject of baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is now apparent it was God’s time for His latter rain, promised in Joel, and that He was searching for a people sufficiently humble, sufficiently consecrated and of “one accord,” as were the 120 at the first Pentecostal outpouring. But it seemed that so much of the soil of the human heart had gotten so dry and hard it was not receptive to the “refreshing showers.”

At the time I was pastoring a Full Gospel church in Los Angeles. That is, it was Full Gospel as we knew it then. We believed in sanctification as a second work of grace. We believed in God’s Holy Spirit all right but not speaking in tongues.

A Sister Hutchinson, conducting a revival in a colored Baptist church, began preaching holiness and sanctification as a separate work of grace. Folks came to the altar seeking sanctification. That raised quite an insurrection in that Baptist church. The members who believed in and insisted upon following the teachings of the evangelist were expelled from the church. They promptly rented a place on Santa Fe Avenue and continued to worship there.

During that time a lady came in from Houston, Texas. She had been in a Pentecostal revival down there where they spoke in tongues according to Acts 2:4. She came into the little meeting on Santa Fe Avenue and told the folks what had happened in Houston. William Seymour also came from Houston with the same story, and it started a revival among that Santa Fe group and [later] they began to receive the baptism. However, Sister Hutchinson didn’t believe in this teaching on the present-day outpouring of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. Accordingly, she locked the doors of the Santa Fe Avenue meeting house.

Ruth and Richard Asberry, who owned a cottage on Bonnie Brae, suggested they all go here and pray and ask the Lord what to do about this new situation. At the close of that prayer meeting, they decided to continue meeting there until the Lord opened the way for them to find another place of worship. The crowd was more than ample for the size of the house—the weather was warm and the windows were flung wide—with the result that the entire neighborhood could hear what was going on inside. Everyone became all excited about the speaking in tongues. The neighbors used to sit on their front porches and listen, and the word spread among both white and black that they had a prayer meeting going where the Lord was blessing and everyone was invited.

My mother was invited to attend the prayer meetings on Bonnie Brae Street. The following evening at dinner my mother told all about the prayer meeting and said she would like a minute in the testimony period at my church to tell the congregation about it. I started asking questions, and she could sense I wasn’t entirely sympathetic.

“Arthur,” she asked, “are you afraid of your own mother?”

“No, Mother,” I replied. “I’m not afraid of you, but I am a little suspicious about that prayer meeting. I don’t know about announcing it publicly until I learn a little more about it myself.”

There was a good reason for being a bit cautious. We had discovered down through the years that a good many strange things were taking place here in Los Angeles under the guise of religion, and it worried me. However, Mother got up and talked about that prayer meeting, and instead of using one minute she used ten. By the time she finished she had the entire congregation excited. After the service they flocked to the front of the church and suggested we all go to the Bonnie Brae prayer meeting.

Now, I wanted to go there alone and discover quietly for myself just what was taking place. After all, a pastor is the shepherd of a flock, and it is his duty to protect them from fanaticism and lead them in the ways of righteousness. If anything wasn’t just proper in those prayer meetings, I didn’t want my flock stampeded into it. My idea of going alone was a lost cause, however, when three of my deacons—Brothers Worthington, Weaver and Dodge—announced they were going to the prayer meeting. There was nothing I could do but invite them to ride with me in my Metz auto. It was a one-seater and was pretty full when the four of us got crowded into it.

That meeting on Bonnie Brae convinced me, not so much because of the speaking in tongues or the pattern of the meeting; but I could sense they were spiritual people and there was no nonsense going on. Although I didn’t quite understand the matter of speaking in tongues, I was convinced these people were sincere. That night as I drove home I felt quite disturbed and asked myself, What are you going to do? What are you going to do about your church?

It was evident that this teaching could revolutionize our whole theory because we believed in a second definite work of grace which we termed sanctification. I could see, however, that we didn’t have the baptism in the Holy Spirit. There was only one thing to do about this difference in theology—go to my Bible and find out for myself, straight from the Word of God. I started in the Gospels and turned one page after another, paying particular attention to the things Jesus said regarding what I termed Christianity. This finally brought me to the Book of Acts, which I read that night before going to bed. It was toward morning when I finished.

Besides pastoring my church, I was paymaster for J. V. McNeil Construction Company. I spent the rest of the week, after coming home from work, studying my Bible, particularly the New Testament, and searching the concordance for anything pertaining to the baptism in the Spirit. Finally I became convinced that our theology lacked something in its teaching on the second work of grace.

I began to go over all the sermons I had been preaching on that subject, and I had made up my mind I would have to find it in the Bible if I was going to go on preaching it. For two nights, with concordance and Bible, I searched the New Testament but couldn’t find any experience where a group went and sought sanctification as a second definite work.

There was only one thing to do, and that was to face the issue foursquare, not cut any corners, and then leave it to God and the people. I decided to make a whole-hearted, complete confession of the fact that I had been wrong theologically—to tell my church I had been going through my Bible, and that I wanted them to gather into the church and study the Book of Acts with me.

I returned to Bonnie Brae prayer meetings several times in the next couple of weeks. One night when I wasn’t there but my mother was, they announced they had found a place on a little street east of city hall, called Azusa Street, that once was a Methodist church and was presently used by a contractor for storage of building materials. They had learned he would surrender his occupancy, and decided to clean up the place and use it for services. They agreed that the following evening the folks would help that contractor put his stuff on trucks and move it out, then get busy and fix the lower floor ready for meetings.

My mother asked if I couldn’t help them. I said I could, but I was thinking that perhaps some of the workmen from our construction job would like some extra time. They were always asking for extra time, so I got three men to go with me down to Azusa Street, and I agreed I would personally pay them for any time they put in there.

When we arrived, some colored ladies already were working there, and the first thing they wanted to do when those men came in was to have a prayer meeting. The next thing we knew one of the ladies had one of the workmen down on his knees, and he was weeping and getting soundly converted. To the best of my knowledge, that was the first convert in the Azusa Street Mission, which took place before we opened it up—and that man was a Roman Catholic.

That is something that is a part of what I believe regarding this final outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is going to involve Catholic, Protestant, Jew and Gentile. Later on in Azusa Street, some of the folks who were quickest to receive their baptism or be wonderfully healed were Catholics, and these blessings were bestowed upon them by God sometimes even before we recognized they were converted. Undoubtedly they had sat in the meetings, had opened their hearts to the gospel, and their hearts were changed. But we were too prejudiced to see that.

I recall one Catholic man who was wonderfully healed of a club foot. He was rejoicing and praising the Lord in Spanish, for he couldn’t speak English. I tried to ask him when he got converted. He didn’t understand. Finally one of the brothers who spoke both English and Spanish managed to make him understand what we were asking. I will never forget the childlike simplicity of his reply. “Converted?” he said. “I no understand. All I know, one day Jesus He jump into my heart!”

For a while we even held up the whole program until we came to see that God was doing something we didn’t recognize. We had made our own formula that one must do so-and-so and repent according to the letter of the formula. But that doesn’t always work out to be the Lord’s way.

The leadership in Azusa Street was originally laymen, who, although they had not been elected as leaders, were prominent in the original group and were men of prayer who had taken it upon themselves to lead in the meetings at Bonnie Brae Street. Then, as the folks received the baptism, they would testify and add to the leadership in that way. We must remember that the first 120 were laymen when they started their ministry.

The crowd that filled Azusa Street the first day it was opened came in a good measure from the Bonnie Brae prayer meetings. I would say there were about one hundred persons that first night. We had meetings every night at that time, and the crowd would almost double each night until by the end of the week the place was packed. The benches were taken out and the entire auditorium filled with chairs. Every inch of space was used for seating. The size of the room, compared to other auditoriums, appears exaggerated when we tell about the crowds that gathered there, but they would stand two and three deep around the walls, in the doorways and windows, looking in from the outside—any place close enough to hear. When the place was full Sunday morning, I would be safe in saying there were 750 to 800 persons inside and 400 to 500 outside. All day long on Sunday there would be a crowd from 7:00 in the morning. There would be approximately 1,000 persons around there all day.

Brother William Seymour was unanimously chosen leader in Azusa Street. When he first came to Los Angeles, he had not yet received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He was a former Holiness preacher who believed in sanctification as a second work of grace. He had gotten into a meeting in Houston, Texas, and found it to be a Holy Spirit outpouring in which they believed much like the Full Gospel people of that day had been teaching, but the difference most noticeable among them was that in emphasizing the doctrine of the Holy Spirit they spoke in tongues. When Brother Seymour came to Los Angeles, he came saying he had been in that meeting and believed it was of God, and that he himself was a seeker for the baptism. He received his baptism [on Bonnie Brae] Street and spoke in tongues.

The prayer services were generally short. We would be down on our knees six or eight times in the course of Sunday morning service, praying for special requests as they came in. Then somebody would start a chorus or Brother Seymour would bring the message. There was no minute wasted. It was alive—it was active—moving—something going on all the time. To my mind, that was one thing that attracted a good many people—there was something doing—folks were not just sitting with folded hands waiting for someone to say or do something.

There was speaking in tongues in the services, but very few ever spoke loudly. It was in undertones and usually individually. Brother Seymour taught from the very beginning: “Let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret” (I Corinthians 14:13).” That had a slightly restrictive influence on those who were a little on the extreme side and wanted to get up and talk in tongues in every meeting.

Inside of a week, after meetings opened in Azusa Street, missionaries were being sent out. The first one was a Scandinavian brother by the name of Johnson. Brother Johnson was going first to Chicago, then on to New York to tell of the outpouring of the Spirit in Azusa Street. From there he was going to Stockholm and then proceed as the Lord led him.

Before Azusa Street officially opened, apparently around the time the prayer meetings were being held on Bonnie Brae Street, there was another Pentecostal group—some eight Spirit-filled Armenian families—who were conducting a small church on Boston Street. The church was conducted in the home of Demos Shakarian—grandfather of the Demos Shakarian who is now president of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International. These Armenian families had left their homeland and immigrated to America because of a vision which God had given to a Russian lad and passed on to Grandfather Shakarian, warning him to flee from the coming persecution which would be inflicted upon Armenian Christians. Finding no church which taught the present-day baptism in the Holy Spirit—a gospel message their elders had received from those who experienced the great outpouring of the spirit in Russia around 1860 and passed on to Armenia some 25 years later—these people had formed their own place of worship.

One day, about the time Azusa Street meetings were well under way, some members of the Shakarian family, passing near the Azusa Street Mission, heard what we called the “heavenly chorus”—something we seldom hear anymore. We would all sing a song or chorus, and everyone would join in. Then choruses would break out here and there, and some would be singing in tongues and some in English—and the harmony was wonderful. Once in a while a soprano voice would leap out, and you would hear it above the whole congregation. Then it would be mingled with other voices, and it all formed a beautiful harmony. Then the singing would stop short, and everyone would start praising the Lord, some speaking in an undertone in tongues, some clapping their hands in praise to God.

No one who has ever heard a congregation singing under the unction of the Spirit could ever forget or mistake it. That sound was sweet music to the ears of the Shakarian family members who heard it that day on Azusa Street. They immediately recognized it as evidence of the Holy Spirit as they knew it in their own worship but had been unable to find in any Los Angeles church. They returned to their people, thrilled with the knowledge that God was also beginning to move in America just as He had in their homeland of Armenia and in Russia before that.

It is most remarkable to observe how God nurtures and keeps alive His work through His message to one generation after another. It is awe inspiring to have lived these many years and have been privileged to see God draw together some of the scattered parts of the great picture—some from the far corners of the world—falling into place before our startled eyes.

Before the Word of God can reach its zenith—so far as our consecrated efforts can be used of Him to bring that to pass—I do believe we shall have to be “of one accord” in our prayers and seeking, as were the disciples in the upper room. I believe there must be less dry-eyes “reasoning” toward the deeper things of God and more tears of repentance and seeking in deep humility. When first finding the Lord as my Savior, I had a good deal of repenting to do, but when seeking the baptism in the Holy Spirit I did a great deal more deep repenting than when finding salvation. When one throws open the door of his heart and invites the Holy Spirit in, it is astonishing how much undesirable debris the light of His presence reveals.

We must realize that these Holy Spirit revivals that break out hither and yon are not isolated events but are all parts of one vast, latter-day movement. God’s Word states He will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. There are no national boundaries, no color lines, no denominational labels mentioned. The sooner we do away with boundaries, lines and labels, personal and national ambitions, and bickering—the sooner we humble ourselves to fit in wherever the plan of God can use us—the sooner we shall be able to bring back the King!

Additional Excerpts from Individuals Present at the Initial

Outpouring on Azusa Street in 1906

The news spread far and wide that Los Angeles was being visited with a “rushing mighty wind from heaven.” The how and why of it is to be found in the very opposite of those conditions that are usually thought necessary for a big revival. No instruments of music are used. None are needed. No choir. Bands of angels have been heard by some in the Spirit, and there is heavenly singing that is inspired by the Holy Ghost. No collections are taken. No bills have been posted to advertise the meetings. No church organization is back of it. All who are in touch with God realize as soon as they enter the meeting that the Holy Ghost is the leader. One brother states that even before his train entered the city he felt the power of the revival. Travelers from afar wind their way to the headquarters of Azusa Street. There they find a two-story, whitewashed store building. You would hardly expect heavenly visitations there unless you remember the stable at Bethlehem. But here they find a mighty Pentecostal revival going on from ten o’clock in the morning until about twelve o’clock at night. Pentecost has come to hundreds of hearts.

As soon as it is announced that the altar is open for seekers for pardon, sanctification, the baptism in the Holy Ghost, and healing for the body, people rise and flock to the altar. There is no urging. What kind of preaching is it that brings that? The simple declaring of the Word of God. There is such power in the preaching of the Word in the Spirit that people are shaken on the benches. Coming to the altar many fall prostrate under the power of God and often come out speaking in tongues. Sometimes the power falls on people and they are wrought upon by the Spirit during the giving of testimonies, or the preaching, and they receive the Holy Spirit. It is noticeably free from all nationalistic feeling. If a Mexican or a German cannot speak English, he gets up and speaks in his own tongue and feels quite at home, for the Spirit interprets through the face and the people say, “Amen.” No instrument that God can use is rejected on account of color or dress or lack of education. That is why God has so built up the work.

Seekers for healing are usually taken upstairs and prayed for in the prayer room. Many have been healed there. There is a large room upstairs that is used for Bible study. A brother fittingly describes it this way: “Upstairs there is a long room furnished with chairs and three California redwood planks laid end to end on backless chairs. This is the Pentecostal upper room where sanctified souls seek the Pentecostal fullness and go out speaking in tongues.”

* * * * *

Another present in those wonderful days describes his visit to Azusa Mission in September 1906:

I arrived at ten o’clock and at the early hour found the house practically full, with many more coming later, some glad to secure standing room. I remained until one o’clock, returned at two and stayed until five, thus spending six solid hours on that one day. And I was more than ever persuaded that the movement was of God. . . .

One thing that somewhat surprised me at that first meeting I attended, and also subsequently, was the presence of so many persons from the different churches, not a few of them educated and refined. Some were pastors, evangelists, foreign missionaries, and others of high position in various circles, looking on with seeming amazement and evident interest and profit. And they took part in the services in one way or another. Persons of many nationalities were also present, of which Los Angeles seems to be filled, representing all manner of religious beliefs. Sometimes these, many of them unsaved, would be seized with deep conviction for sin under the burning testimony of one of their own nationality and at once heartily turn to the Lord. . . .

Of course some persons attending the meetings in those early days of the revival mocked and cavilled, also as on the Day of Pentecost, and are doing so at the present. But this is true of every mighty work of the Holy Spirit.

The ostensible leader in this spontaneous, unstructured revival was, at least at the first, W. J. Seymour. His humility and simplicity seemed to invite the leadership of the Holy Spirit. God could have selected a more impressive person, but He used, rather, this relatively uneducated, obscure gentleman afflicted with a noticeably defective eye.

Brother Seymour generally sat behind two empty shoe boxes, one on top of the other. He usually kept his head inside the top one during the meeting, in prayer. There was no pride there. The services ran almost continuously. Seeking souls could be found under the power almost any hour, night and day. The place was never closed nor empty. The people came to meet God. He was always there. Hence a continuous meeting. The meeting did not depend on the human leader. God’s presence became more and more wonderful. In the old building, with its low rafters and bare floors, God took strong men and women to pieces and put them together again for His glory. It was a tremendous overhauling process. Pride and self-assertion, self-importance and self-esteem should not survive there. The religious ego preached its own funeral sermon quickly.

No subjects or sermons were announced ahead of time, and no special speakers for such an hour. No one knew what might be coming, what God would do. All was spontaneous, ordered of the Spirit. We wanted to hear from God, through whomever He might speak. We had no “respect of persons.” The rich and educated were the same as the poor and ignorant and found a much harder death to die. We only recognized God. . . .

We were delivered right there from ecclesiastical hierarchism and abuse. We wanted God. When we first reached the meeting, we avoided as much as possible human contact and greeting. We wanted to meet God first. We got our head under some bench in the corner in prayer and met men only in the Spirit, knowing them “after the flesh” no more. The meetings started themselves, spontaneously, in testimony, praise, and worship.

* * * * *

B. F. Lawrence described one episode that occurred in the early days of the Azusa Street revival when a newspaper reporter visited:

He had been assigned to write up an account of the meetings held by those supposed ignorant, fanatical, demented people. But it was to be from the standpoint of the comic or ridiculous—the more highly sensational the better. It was doubtless supposed that this would more freely meet the tastes of the readers of the paper. And the reporter went to the meeting with feelings in harmony with those of his employers. He was going to a “circus,” as he and others would say, so far as genuine worldly amusement is concerned. But fortunately for him, he witnessed some very touching and solemn scenes and heard the gospel truth so powerfully presented in the Holy Ghost by different persons that his frivolous feelings gave way to devout ones.

After a little while a Spirit-filled woman gave such a mighty exhortation and appeal to the sinner to turn to God that the reporter was still more greatly impressed. Suddenly she broke out, not voluntarily, but truly as the “Spirit gave utterance” (Acts 2:4), in a different language, one with which she was utterly unfamiliar. But it was in the native tongue of the foreign-born reporter, who was also proficient in the English language. Directing her earnest gaze upon him, she poured forth such a holy torrent of truth, by way of exposing his former sinful, licentious life, that he was perfectly dumbfounded, no one seemingly understanding the language but himself.

When the services were over, he at once forced his way to the woman, asking her if she knew what she had said concerning him while speaking in that particular foreign language. “Not a word,” was her prompt reply. At first he could not believe her, but her evident sincerity and perfectly grammatical and fluent speech thoroughly convinced him that she absolutely knew nothing of the language. Then he told her that she had given an entirely correct statement of his wicked life and that he now fully believed her utterances were exclusively from God in order to lead him to true repentance and the accepting of Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. And he at once faithfully promised such a course. Going from the meeting he informed his employers that he could not give them such a report as they expected him to present. He added, however, that if they wanted a true and impartial account of the meeting he would gladly give it. But they did not want that and also plainly told him that they did not need his services thereafter.

* * * * *

It would not be fair to suppose that all that happened at Azusa Street was perfectly in order, nor would it be fair to suppose that there was no discipline either. As is likely in any charismatic revival, some became fascinated by the sensational manifestations, rather than the God who energized, by the “tongues” rather than the baptizer. However, an eyewitness, A. W. Orwing, commented:

In the first year of the work in Los Angeles I heard W. J. Seymour, an acknowledged leader, say, “Now, don’t go from this meeting and talk about tongues, but try to get people saved.” Again I heard him counsel against all unbecoming or fleshly demonstrations and everything not truly of the Holy Spirit. Wise words, indeed. There had been some extremes and still are in other places. But these things no more represent the real Pentecostal work than do the follies in various churches represent genuine Christianity. Brother Seymour constantly exalted the atoning work of Christ and the Word of God and very earnestly insisted on thorough conversion, holiness of heart and life, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

* * * * *

Frank Bartleman’s concern over propriety and scriptural balance provided the needed correctives to keep the vigorous new revival in the proper channels. He wrote:

In the beginning of the Pentecostal work I became very much exercised in the Spirit that Jesus should not be slighted, “lost in the Temple,” by the exaltation of the Holy Ghost and of the “gifts” of the Spirit. There seemed great danger of losing sight of the fact that Jesus was “all and in all.” I endeavored to keep Him as the central theme and figure before the people. Jesus should be the center of our preaching. All comes through and in Him. The Holy Ghost is given to “show the things of Christ.” The work of Calvary, the Atonement, must be the center for our consideration. The Holy Ghost never draws our attention from Christ to Himself but rather reveals Christ in a fuller way. We are in the same danger today. There is nothing deeper nor higher than to know Christ.

Everything is given of God to that end. The “one Spirit” is given to that end. Christ our salvation, and our all. That we might know the length and breadth and height and depth of the love of Christ, having a “spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him [Christ]” (Ephesians 1:17). It was “to know him [Christ],” for which Paul strove.

I was led to suddenly present Jesus one night to the congregation at Eighth and Maple. They had been forgetting Him in their exaltation of the Holy Ghost and the gifts. Now I introduced Christ for their consideration. They were taken completely by surprise and convicted in a moment. God made me do it. Then they saw their mistake and danger. I was preaching Christ one night at this time, setting Him before them in His proper place, when the Spirit so witnessed of His pleasure that I was overpowered by His presence, falling helpless to the floor under a mighty revelation of Jesus to my soul. I fell like John on the Isle of Patmos, at His feet.

I wrote a tract at this time, of which the following are extracts: “We may not even hold a doctrine, or seek an experience, except in Christ. Many are willing to seek ‘power’ from every battery they can lay their hands on, in order to perform miracles, draw the attention and adoration of the people to themselves, thus robbing Christ of His glory, and making a fair showing in the flesh. The greatest religious need of our day would seem to be that of true followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. Religious enthusiasm easily goes to seed. The human spirit so predominates, the show-off, religious spirit. But we must stick to our test, Christ. He alone can save. The attention of the people must be first all, and always, held to Him. A true Pentecost will produce a mighty conviction for sin, a turning to God. False manifestations produce only excitement and wonder. Sin and self-life will not materially suffer from these. We must get what our conviction calls for. Believe in your own heart’s hunger, and go ahead with God. Don’t allow the devil to rob you of real Pentecost. Any work that exalts the Holy Ghost or the ‘gifts’ above Jesus will finally land up in fanaticism. Whatever causes us to exalt and love Jesus is well and safe. The reverse will ruin all. The Holy Ghost is a great light but focused on Jesus always, for His revealing.”

* * * * *

The revival, in spite of the humblest beginnings and mixed notices in the written press, quickly attracted widespread and fervent attention. Ministers, evangelists, pastors, missionaries, and other Christian workers from across the nation were drawn to Azusa Street during the three years of that great revival. These people would return to their own localities to propagate and preach what they had experienced under the ministry of Seymour and his associates.

An Elder Studervant, a black preacher on his way to minister in the interior of Africa, brought the Pentecostal message to New York City in December 1906. A. H. Argue and R. E. McAlister took the message to Canada, where it quickly spread. Rachel Sizelove carried the message to Missouri, Samuel Snell to Arizona, and C. H. Mason, one of the founders of the Church in God in Christ, to Tennessee. G. B. Cashwell took the message to the South. A man who would one day have a tremendous effect on Oneness Pentecostalism, Glenn A. Cook, brought the message east to Indiana.

In conjunction with the spoken word, Seymour and his colleges began to publish a four-page monthly pamphlet called The Apostolic Faith. It would grow to twenty thousand in circulation within its first year of printing. It was mailed, tacked to trees, and passed out, literally throughout the world.

It was a time of religious fervency for those who adopted the Pentecostal doctrines. The inception and beginning of this “latter-day rain” was a period of unprecedented spirituality, unity, holy living, and evangelistic zeal. The Pentecostal experience of A.D. 33 was no greater than the Pentecostal experience in A.D. 1906. History would look back at a phenomenon that it could not, even if it would, deny. Those who profess to be neo-Pentecostals, charismatics, and everything in between look to Azusa Street as the birthplace of their own unique, personal experience with God.

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, along with the other groups of like identity, owes its beginning to the activities that shook the world in a dilapidated building on the southwest side of Los Angeles—a building that once housed horses and the carriages they pulled. It was an exciting time, to say the least. Revival of a magnitude not seen for centuries had come, and the development of organized Pentecostal churches would soon follow in its wake.

Frank Bartleman in 1906. Because of his accurate journals and diaries, there is a well-preserved history of the Azusa Street revival that took place from 1906 to 1909.

William J. Seymour, leader of the Azusa Street revival, Los Angeles, California, 1906.

Richard Asberry’s house on Bonnie Brae Street, where the Holy Ghost first fell in Los Angeles, California, 1906

The building that would come to be known as the Azusa Street Mission, 312 Azusa Street, Los Angeles, California. This picture was taken in 1904 when the building had just been used as a livery stable. A “For Sale” sign is barely visible at the top of the building above where the men are standing in the street.

Brother Seymour and some of the individuals who first received the Holy Ghost at Azusa Street in April 1906. Seated from left to right are Sister Evans, Brother Hiram W. Smith, Brother William J. Seymour, the leader of the mission, and Sister Lum. It is believed that the little girl is Sister Crawford’s daughter. Standing left to right an unidentified sister, believed to be Sister Phoebe Sargent, Brother Evans, Sister Jennie Moore, Brother Glenn A. Cook, Sister Florence Louise Crawford, an unidentified Brother believed to be Brother Junk, and Sister Prince. The insert at the lower right is a picture of Sister Rachel Sizelove.

The Azusa Street Mission around early 1907

E. S. Williams was an eyewitness at Azusa Street in 1906. He wrote, “The front of the mission was packed with seekers and persons trying to assist them . . . my heart was hungry for God. . . . I began to seek the baptism with the Spirit, and on October 2, I received.”

Viola Bowdan, the mother of the PAW’s late Bishop Frank Bowdan. She received the Holy Ghost at Azusa Street.

This picture was taken at the Azusa Mission in 1906. Seated left to right: William J. Seymour, John G. Lake. Standing left to right: Mr Adams, F. F. Bowsorth, Tom Hezmalhalch

A tract of the Apostolic Faith Mission printed in 1906 by William Seymour

Chapter 5

The Spreading Revival

From 1905 to 1910 the Pentecostal revival spread rapidly throughout the world. It is remarkable how men and women responded to the fires of the new message of gifts, Holy Ghost power, and Spirit baptism. This was especially true among societies deeply entrenched in religious philosophies that had been ordained as common practice for centuries. Reports of people being filled with the Holy Ghost began to be received from Canada, Germany, Sweden, England, Holland, Norway, Asia, South America, and Africa. Although opposition was vicious in many quarters across religious sectors, nothing could hinder the progress of the movement.

Camp meetings became prevalent across the United States, drawing men and women from all walks of life. In 1907 a Pentecostal convention was held in Rochester, New York. Miss Susie A. Duncan reported that the languages of Chinese, Hindi, Greek, Hebrew, German, Italian, and French were heard to be uttered by those speaking in other tongues. Many healings and conversions were reportedly experienced, with many leaving for home with an euphoric spirit to tell the old, old story.

Florence L. Crawford was one of the very first to receive the Holy Ghost under Brother William Seymour’s direction. In 1907 she departed for Portland, Oregon, where along with Will Trotter she established what would become a great work in that city. She would be responsible for the establishing of several missions in the north-western part of the country. Fred J. Foster wrote in his book, Their Story: 20th Century Pentecostals, that under her capable and strong leadership several missions were opened, with many coming into the tongues movement. Soon an organization sprang up around her Portland headquarters. The Portland group called themselves The Apostolic Faith, the same name that Seymour’s and Parham’s groups used.

G. B. Cashwell, a minister in the Holiness Association, left for Los Angeles in November 1906 to witness personally the reports he had heard concerning the Azusa Street revival. Initially, he was upset with some of the features of the meetings, especially the mixing of white and black people in service. After he received the Holy Ghost, God healed him of his prejudice. Returning to the south in December 1906, he began an evangelical crusade that would come to be known as the Azusa Street of the South.

His first meeting was held in Dunn, North Carolina, in an abandoned tobacco warehouse. Thousands of people from miles around jammed the old warehouse to see and hear about the tongues movement. Many of the ministers of the Pentecostal Holiness Church and the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church attended and received the Holy Ghost. Leaving Dunn in early 1907, Cashwell, who by now was very well known, had many invitations to preach throughout the south. For two years he conducted meetings in North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, and Georgia. Huge crowds greeted him wherever he went, with hundreds being converted.

When Cashwell was conducting a revival in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1907, word of his ministry reached the leaders of the Church of God of Cleveland, Tennessee. Their general overseer, A. J. Tomlinson, went to Birmingham and while there had his first encounter with hearing someone speak in tongues. Upon returning to Cleveland, he soon learned that many of his brethren had already received the Holy Ghost. Consequently, Tomlinson invited Cashwell to Cleveland to preach the Pentecostal message in its fullness, and in January 1908 he received the Spirit baptism himself. The Church of God, now one of America’s largest Pentecostal bodies, was largely converted in 1908 with Cashwell responsible for the conversion of its dynamic leader.

Elder C. H. Mason, the leader of the Holiness group known as the Church of God in Christ with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, made a pilgrimage to Los Angeles in 1907. He had heard many reports of the Azusa Street Mission’s spiritual success and would not be denied seeing for himself if the reports lived up to their reputation. Mason took two of his associates, J. A. Jeter and D. J. Young. For five weeks they remained in Los Angeles, listening to Seymour and evaluating the message. They returned to Memphis also convinced that Seymour’s preaching was of God.

Although Mason embraced the new message, many within his fledgling organization did not, refusing to accept it. A deep split developed, with many leaving the original Church of God in Christ. Mason maintained his hold as titular head of the organization. After severe problems rocked his group, he eventually went on to lead this Pentecostal faction into the largest black Pentecostal body in the nation. William Menzies reported, “So great was Mason’s prestige that many white Pentecostal ministers accepted organization at his hands. From 1907 to 1914 his church was interracial. Many whites joined it because, as an incorporated denomination, the Church of God in Christ could obtain clergy permits for them on the railroads and aid them in being bonded for weddings.”

In Chicago, William H. Durham was pastoring a Holiness mission. He too visited the revival in Los Angeles in 1907 and received the Holy Spirit while there. On Durham’s return to Chicago, God used him as dramatically in the Midwest as He did Cashwell in the South. His North Avenue Mission would become one of the nation’s focal points regarding the progressive Pentecostal movement. Many people traveled to Chicago from all across America to hear Durham minister. He was a man of great persuasion and could be considered the spiritual father of other influential Pentecostal leaders, including E. N. Bell, who became the Assemblies of God’s first general chairman (superintendent); A. H. Argue, who would become a great Spirit-filled expositor in Canada; and William H. Piper, founder and pastor of the Stone Church in Chicago. Aimee Semple McPherson, the controversial evangelist, was later a member of Durham’s assembly in Los Angeles. She was healed of a broken foot in one of his services.

In 1910, Durham made a monumental decision to preach a doctrine God had shown him in the Scriptures called “The Finished Work of Calvary.” It projected the thought that sanctification was a continual process that began in the initial experience of salvation and continued with the setting apart of the believer by the work of the Holy Spirit. This was completely opposite of the Wesleyan doctrine of the second work of grace. The Wesleyan-Holiness idea was that at the first work a person received salvation through repentance. Then the second work brought sanctification. When people began receiving the baptism of Holy Ghost, they added it as a third work. The testimonies of that day began with “I’m saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost.” The great majority of Pentecostals propagated and adhered to this dogma. Durham vowed never to preach it again and set forth to reveal his belief in the finished work of Calvary.

In 1911, he purposely carried his message back to Los Angeles, only to find himself persona non grata. Doors that had once been opened to him were now closed. Men who were once friends of Durham’s were now opponents. It occurred to him to visit the place of his spiritual baptism—the Azusa Street Mission.

At first, he was accepted and greatly used of God. His power as a preacher and the force of his personality and will resurrected memories of the glory days of revival there, for the mission had slowly but perceptibly lost its influence beginning in 1909. Many people crowded the mission to hear and see Durham firsthand.

Brother Seymour was in the East on an evangelical tour, but when he arrived back in Los Angeles and heard of Durham’s new message, he proceeded to lock Durham out. Frank Bartleman accepted the new teaching and secured a mission on Kohler Street for Durham to preach in. This served them well but for only a short time, for the immense crowds became too much for the mission. A large building was secured at the corner of Seventh and Los Angeles Streets.

It was at this location that a thousand people attended services each Sunday. It was also at this time that the focal point of Azusa Street and the ministry of Seymour declined rapidly. It would never regain the impetus it once projected, and even though Seymour would forever be revered, other notable preachers throughout the country would soon siphon what influence he had held in the past.

Durham’s stay in Los Angeles was not long. His dictums would create a stir of intense controversy, pitting brother against brother. Bitter feuding became common among fellowships. Still, his teaching spread rapidly across the country, and many Pentecostal denominations adopted Durham’s message.

After a short stay in California, he proceeded East for an evangelical tour, finally returning to Chicago, where he died within a few months. Many persons benefited from the ministry of Durham during and after his life.

Great numbers of Italians often visited his services and received the Spirit. Soon these converts established the Italian Pentecostal Mission in Chicago, which became the center of many healings and miracles. From this mission many missionaries traveled to South America to spread the Pentecostal message.

Also numbered among Durham’s converts were men and women from Persia (modern-day Iran). They too started their own work in Chicago and grew to be a viable force in the Pentecostal community. Many of them carried their new religion back to their Persian homeland with notable success.

One of the thousands converted under Durham’s ministry was F. A. Sandgren. He received the Holy Ghost in 1907 while an employee of a Scandinavian religious paper published in Chicago. Using this paper as a vehicle, he immediately seized the opportunity to spread the news of Pentecost. Scandinavians in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and the northwestern part of the country were able to read about the revival sweeping the country. The pastor of the Swedish Baptist Church in Menominee, Michigan, received the Spirit in 1909 as a result of reading about Sandgren’s conversion in his paper. He sailed to Brazil with other Swedes who were newly converted.

In Indianapolis, Pentecostal revival broke out in the Christian and Missionary Alliance Gospel Tabernacle in January 1907. A young man who would eventually play a key role in the propagation of the Jesus Name message, Glenn A. Cook, was responsible for bringing the message to Indianapolis. Cook was one of Seymour’s original band of twelve at Azusa Street. Working at the California mission for a while after the Holy Ghost fell in 1906, Cook felt led of the Lord to evangelize. Traveling east he witnessed to everyone who would give ear.

While his ministry was confined to the United States, many of the friends he made at the Azusa Street Mission would leave the safety of these shores to spread the latter-day-rain gospel. Brother A. H. Post and Brother and Sister Downy would leave Azusa Street for the foreign fields. Brother and Sister A. G. Garr also left Azusa Street to go to India. After ministering there for a season, they went to China and settled in Hong Kong. There, God helped them to establish a commendable work. Revival spread quickly in these fields through the efforts of their dedicated service.

Glenn Cook’s ministry was relegated, basically, to the eastern and southern portions of the United States. Hundreds of people of all religious persuasions were converted under his ministry. Many of his spiritual children were birthed in the evangelistic crusade of 1907 held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Testifying of what God had done in California the preceding year, Cook stirred the hearts of many members of Gospel Tabernacle. They were so convicted of the message they heard that they sought Cook to lead them in the reception of the Holy Ghost. “Tarrying meetings” began to be conducted with a fervor that gripped the church for days and nights. The outpouring of the Spirit was not long in coming.

It must be stated here that the pastor, Dr. G. N. Eldridge, was away on vacation. When somehow word reached him of Cook’s activities, the pastor wired that Cook was to be denied access to his pulpit and the members were to desist in the “goings-on” of the previous week. All who continued to defy the order were to be locked out. In hindsight, it is somewhat comical to note the various ministers who were locked out of churches for preaching Pentecost during these embryonic days, including Seymour, Durham, and now Cook. So receptive were the people to this new message, however, that an alternative location was secured, and many of the congregation left the church proper to seek the Holy Ghost without distractions. Interestingly, Dr. Eldridge and his wife would later themselves receive the Holy Ghost.

Cook was greatly influenced by the work of Parham and his “gospel bands.” He was able to inspire the newly converted young people of Indianapolis to accompany him on forays to distant fields as far away as Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri. With eight to ten people in his company, he would set off, many times with neither script nor purse, to elevate this new generation of Pentecost. Many souls came to know the Lord through Cook and his band of expositors.

A great camp meeting was conducted by Cook and his followers on the farm of Jesse George in Mercer, Missouri. Mr. George had somehow heard of the Azusa Street revival and invited Cook to preach the Pentecostal message at this camp meeting. In the process, many people in northern Missouri and in Iowa were converted to Pentecostalism.

The Northwest was evangelized by Florence Louise Crawford, whose headquarters was in Portland, Oregon; Canada by A. H. Argue, R. E. McAlister, and A. G. Ward; the South by G. B. Cashwell, H. G. Rodgers, C. H. Mason, and M. M. Pinson; the Midwest by Glenn A. Cook, William H. Durham, William H. Piper, D. C. O. Opperman, and J. H. King. The East and the Northeast were the last geographical areas of the country to be evangelized en masse. Even though sporadic episodes of tongues were reported, there would be no permanent Pentecostal work of consequence in these areas until late 1907.

In 1907 Marie Burgess, who had received the Holy Ghost when a follower of the controversial Dr. Dowie in Zion City, Illinois, conducted a revival in New York City in a Holiness mission. She immediately met with resistance from the leader of the mission, and although the meeting lasted four weeks, she was asked to terminate it after the results were minimal. The message moved a few of the members, though, and she consented to continue the revival, only now in the privacy of their homes. Soon, when souls began to receive the Spirit, she rented a building on 42nd Street and named it Glad Tidings Hall. Her work would flourish and would ultimately become a great bastion for Pentecost on the East Coast.

With the advent of Sister Burgess’s ministry, the Pentecostal message spread rapidly throughout the Northeast. In Rochester, New York, Hattie Duncan and her sister operated Elim Faith Home. It espoused the message of Pentecostalism including the gifts of healing, for which it would become famous. William Mitchell started a Pentecostal mission in Chelsea, Massachusetts, in 1907. He too had first come into contact with the Pentecostal revival while under Dowie in Zion City. Cities in Ohio such as Dayton and Cleveland were indirectly influenced by the message from the lips of Glenn Cook. They would prove to be jump-off points for the message to spread into Pennsylvania, New York, and the upper Eastern seaboard.

As the word of Pentecost spread rapidly, it was not without great controversy. Menzies stated that Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, an internationally known Bible expositor of the first rank, referred to the Pentecostal movement as the “last vomit of Satan.” Menzies went on to state that Dr. Reuben A. Torrey, another leading fundamentalist evangelist, claimed it was “emphatically not of God and founded by a sodomite.” H. A. Ironside repudiated the Pentecostal movement as “delusion and insanity.”

As the Spirit of God was poured out not only in the United States but throughout the world, the same spirit that promoted men to say two thousand years ago, “These men are filled with new wine,” was still prevalent. The esteemed and then well-known professor Doremus A. Hayes of the Garrett Biblical Institute, a Methodist seminary, in 1909 dismissed the Pentecostal revival as another of the recent wave of urban cults.

There was indeed some justification for some of the criticism and negative reaction received between 1901 and 1914. There were emotional excesses, and groups were frequently without adequate leadership to supply correction and guidance. Some unscrupulous preachers took over the churches that called them to proclaim the Word, even at times absconding with funds that had taken years to raise and save. There was in some cases the feeling of a fly-by-night operation instead of a solidness that was greatly needed during this phase of the revival’s infancy. Many early Pentecostals attributed everything to the “leading of the Lord.”

It was a time of diverse feelings, thoughts, and emotions within the church community. While the move of God was strong, there existed a fierce and stubborn resolution by traditionalists to stop this spread of “delusion” that had come over so many throughout the land. Opposition was so great at times that Pentecostal preachers, missionaries, and converts were physically accosted and assaulted. It was a decisive time in the continued history of this wave of the Spirit.

As the first decade of the twentieth century drew to a close, the Pentecostal church and its people found themselves in a tenuous position. Not only was criticism fervent—even at times violent—there seemed to be developing a pattern of polarization and disassociation from within. Doctrines, fundamental differences between whites and blacks, cultural aberrations, regional conflicts, educational barriers, and the burgeoning egos of some early leaders were just part of the reason for the finger pointing that began as early 1906 at Azusa Street and really began to gain momentum by 1910-12.

While these problems seemed to be on the rise, they were countered with a great explosion of men and women across the waters hearing for the first time about Pentecostal renewal. No student of church history can minimize the prophetical statement that in the last days God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. The magnitude and depth of this prophecy can possibly be better appreciated when the focus of the history of Pentecostal revival from 1906 to 1912 is examined.

The Welsh revivals had made a deep impression on the British Isles during the early part of the century. In 1906 a company of Christians commenced to hold prayer meetings in Sunderland, England, asking God for revival and endowment with power. The Holy Spirit began to fall in September of 1907. By 1910, the whole of England had been flooded with the outpouring of modern-day Pentecostal revival. Cities such as Lytham, Preston, Bradford, and many towns in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland were affected by the move of the Spirit. Thousands were filled with the baptism, speaking with new tongues.

In Preston, England, in 1908, a small group of Christians gathered in prayer, seeking the deeper things of God. They had heard that a company of other Christians had received the miracle of the Holy Ghost with the same manifestations as the apostles in the upper room. A group of four of them went to Sunderland to see for themselves if the reports were true. Returning to Preston, they reported that they had never seen such praise and worship as they had seen in Sunderland. For nine months they searched the Scriptures and were convinced the gifts of the Holy Ghost had been lost to the church through unbelief and not because God had withdrawn them. They expressed the belief that simple faith would bring about a restoration of the gifts. God honored their faith by filling them with the Holy Spirit. The mission in Preston was responsible for other Pentecostal churches being established at Blackpool, Blackburn, Burnley, Bury, Chorley, Manchester, and Liverpool. Preston helped send missionaries to Africa, specifically the Belgian Congo. Thousands of Africans were filled with the Holy Ghost.

From 1907 to 1914, England was steadily inundated with the move of the prevailing Spirit. There came a lull when the First World War broke out, but not before countless souls came to know God through the Pentecostal persuasion.

In 1907, Pentecostal revival swept Scotland. From Kilsythe, where the Holy Ghost apparently first fell, it spread throughout the country. Wales was evangelized from 1899 to 1905. Reverend Techner and Sydney Mercy were the two men greatly responsible for the revival’s making its way to the Welsh miners and country peoples.

In 1906 Reverend T. B. Barratt of Christiania, now known as Oslo, Norway, made his way to the United States. His purpose was to try to raise funds to build a mission in his home town. A member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, it was his hope to receive a positive financial response from his sister organization in this country. He met with limited financial success, but before returning to Europe he heard about the revival in Los Angeles. He traveled on a whim to that city and heard for the first time the message of latter-day Pentecost—a message completely alien to his theological persuasion. But not long afterwards he gave himself over to prayer, at times laying before the Lord ten to twelve hours a day. Finally on October 7, 1906, he was filled with the Holy Ghost.

On his return to Norway, he began to preach this apostolic doctrine and to his amazement met with a resoundingly positive reception. In less than a month crowds of fifteen hundred to two thousand people crowded a local Oslo gymnasium to hear Barratt tell of the gift of the Spirit. Men and women of all walks of life and denominational affiliation packed the auditorium night after night. The results were unbelievable. Hundreds were filled with the Spirit, causing no small stir in one of the most austere cities in Scandinavia. From this initial meeting Pastor Barratt saw his work grow to close to three thousand members. He named it Filadelfia Temple, and it would become one of the leading assemblies in the whole of Norway.

In June of 1907, Pastor Barratt visited Copenhagen, Denmark. There he held a revival crusade to propagate the Pentecostal theme. Within a few days souls were being baptized with the Spirit, speaking in tongues. One such convert was Denmark’s most famous actress at that time, Anna Larsen. Through her conversion the door was opened for Brother Barratt to preach to other actors and actresses, the intelligentsia, and men and women in high places. Her conversion created a great stir in the whole of Denmark. Many of the leading newspapers editorialized her conversion unfavorably, hypothesizing that she had been hypnotized away from her good senses. A raging storm grew against Brother Barratt, but it did not deter him in his work for the Lord. Anna Larsen and her husband, Sigord Bjorner, would go on to become pastor and wife of a large work in Copenhagen. She would never again return to the stage as an actress.

In 1906 and 1907, again partly through the work of Brother Barratt, revival began to sweep through Sweden. In 1910 in the city of Stockholm, what was to become the first Pentecostal church in that city was organized. Pastored by Lewi Pethrus, a former Baptist minister, it began with twenty-nine members, all Holy Ghost filled. By 1913, it had grown to over five hundred members. This church would evangelize the whole of Sweden and through its efforts be responsible for Sweden having more than three hundred Pentecostal churches as of this writing.

In Le Havre, France, under the leadership and tutelage of a godly woman by the name of Mamoiselle Biolley, the Pentecostal church had its beginning in the early part of this century. Sister Biolley found herself up against a formidable foe in the Catholic Church, which dominated the religious scene in France. As many as ninety-five percent of the inhabitants adhered to the dogmas of Catholicism. When the Holy Ghost began to be manifested in France, the work was received with incredulity and fierce skepticism from the ranks of the religious elite. Religious persecution of these early Pentecostals was reminiscent of religious intolerance that had swept through Europe some four hundred to five hundred years earlier.

After endless evangelical thrusts and much prayer, it seemed as though revival would not take root in France as it had in other parts of Western Europe. Then, after much despair, Sister Biolley determined that the key to the heart of the Catholics in France would be through the Lord’s gift of healing.

To confirm His Word, God sent an English minister named Douglas Scott to Le Havre. Not long after his arrival, he felt led to pray for a man who had a severe lung condition. The Lord immediately healed him. This man who had just been so recently sick worked on the railroad and afterwards testified to everyone he met on his travels of his miraculous healing in Le Havre. This proved to be the spark needed for revival to take hold, for the sick and infirm began to travel to Le Havre to seek relief and deliverance.

In time, a church was organized, which soon reached a solid membership of three hundred. From Le Havre, revival spread to Rouen, a Catholic and communist stronghold. Meetings under the direction of Brother Domoustchieff drew upwards of eight hundred people each day, with many of them receiving the Holy Ghost.

Brother Domoustchieff was also instrumental in establishing Pentecostal churches in Paris and Argenteuil. In Paris he was accosted in great measure by the Catholic Church as well as by Spiritualist churches and the communists. With the help of God, though, he withstood the forces of evil, and the churches he founded took root and began to grow. France also saw revival manifested in other cities such as Marseille and Lisieux. From these cities missionaries evangelized French-speaking Belgium and French Equatorial Africa with wonderful results.

In 1908 in Mulheim, the Holy Ghost was poured out in Germany. In 1909, Berlin and Stuttgart experienced Pentecostal outpourings.

In 1905 Pandita Ramabai was used of God to preach the Pentecostal message to seventy orphaned girls in Mukti, India. On June 29 they were filled with the Spirit, initiating revival in India and Ceylon.

Miss Nettie Moomau, a missionary to China, heard about the outpouring in Los Angeles. She left China in October of 1906 and made her way to Azusa Street. Her faith and diligence was rewarded, for she was filled with the Holy Ghost not long after. She took the message back to China and precipitated what was to become revival in that mammoth country. Through her, a great healing ministry was realized. Pentecostal missions were started at Lo Pau, Shanghai, Michow, Taochow, Canton, Yunnan, Siimao, Kansu, Yunnanfu, and the great capital of China, Peking. To this day, few are aware of the thousands of Chinese who were filled with the Holy Ghost from 1907 to 1914. Of course it must be noted, these were years when missionaries were not discouraged by the provincial governments and before the communist regime of Mao Tse Tung came to power, expelling all religious workers and greatly discouraging open and organized worship. From these cities, native missionaries entered Manchuria, preaching the new covenant message there.

In March 1909 an American, G. S. Brelsford, and his family traveled to Egypt specifically to preach Pentecost. He labored untiringly for three years until his untimely death but not before witnessing many Egyptian conversions through Spirit baptism.

From 1910 to 1913 many American missionaries came to Egypt to testify of a better way. One of the most anointed was C. W. Doney and his wife. Their work was responsible for ten missions being established and hundreds of souls filled. Substantial works and great revival were experienced in such Egyptian cities as Assiout and Alexandria.

Revival swept Southern Africa in 1908, especially in the Belgian Congo. The first reports of souls receiving the Holy Ghost in Liberia was in 1916. Conversions in the Ivory Coast in French West Africa and in Nigeria were the result of Pentecostal missionaries leaving Rhodesia around 1910 to spread the gospel message of Acts 2.

The Holy Spirit is mentioned falling in South America in February 1909. A Methodist pastor by the name of W. C. Hoover, who happened to be the overseer of a mission in Valparaiso, Chile, had received a booklet from a former schoolmate living in Chicago. It outlined testimonies from individuals who had recently received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Hoover was enthralled by what he read and began to pray enthusiastically for this blessed gift. He called his congregation to seven days of prayer beginning the first week of 1909. These prayer sessions lasted for months when on July 4, 1909, the Holy Ghost fell on his assembly in a great way, anointing many so mightily that they then sprawled on the floor speaking in other tongues for hours. From Valparaiso, Dr. Hoover took his testimony to Santiago.

Brazil was the scene of revival in 1910; Venezuela in 1915; El Salvador and Central America in 1910 and 1911; and Mexico in 1915.

Australia was evangelized by Pentecostal converts as early as 1906. Revivals were also reported in Hawaii, the Philippine Islands, the Fiji Islands, and the West Indies about the same time.

The keen burden for souls possessed by men and women in the United States who were newly baptized was no less than phenomenal. There seemed to be little if any hesitation on the part of many of these converts to leave everything behind to spread the message of the Spirit as received by the 120 in the upper room. Their efforts were, by many standards, small, frail, and feeble attempts to take their doctrine around the world, but the results seem incredible in light of the lack of serious organization, the limitations of travel and communication, and the lack of financial stability within the ranks of most saints. Yet, from a small storefront in Los Angeles, eventually the entire world would be evangelized, promoting the way of Pentecost.

The quality of effort exhibited by these pioneers was amazing. It should serve to remind the generation of believers today that the Laodicean spirit that has bound so many to selfish interests had not yet tainted their zeal to compel the lost to Christ. Theirs was indeed a legacy of the true spirit of Christianity.

APOSTOLIC TRUTH

“THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE.”

VOL. J 4.

DECEMBER 1906.

NO. 6.

Issued for free distribution as the Lord supplies the means.

If you desire to receive APOSTOLIC TRUTH regularly, send name and address to

THOMAS G. ATTEBERRY, PUBLISHER.

LOCK BOX 529.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

TONGUES.

BY THOMAS G. ATTEBERRY.

During these present years which mark the close of the age of the Holy Spirit, God is once more manifesting Himself to the world in a special manner by restoring to the Church the gifts which were so manifest at the beginning of this dispensation. On the day of Pentecost, when the age of the Spirit was ushered in and the promise of the Father fulfilled, the one hundred and twenty who for seven days had been tarrying in the upper room, were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2-4.)

Instances of Pentecost.

While it is doubtless true that in every generation there have been some trusting souls who were able to rise above the doubt and unbelief of their day and lay hold of the promise of the Master given in his parting message to the world: “And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in My name they shall speak with new tongues” (Mark 16:17); and to have this promise verified in their own experience; yet in no generation since apostolic days until this present one was this true to any appreciable extent.

A tract printed in 1906 by Thomas G. Atterberry

‘HOLY GHOSTERS’ WIN WHITES AND NEGROES

Now Sect with Quarters In Forty - first Street Speaks a Strange Tongue.

SAY WORLD WILL END SOON

“Chief Baint” Sturtevant, One Time Longshoreman, Aided In His Meetings by White and Colored Deaconesses

For more than A year whiter And negroes have been conducting what is described on the board outside as “Tho Full Gospel or Holiness Mission” at 325 West Forty-first Street and holding dally meetings. Because of their strong faith In the power of the Holy Ghost to save the sinners In the neighborhood and the frequent use of that name in their teaching the mission has become known as the “Holy Ghosters.”

The services begin each night with an open-air address at Thirty-seventh Street and Eighth Avenue at 7:50 o’clock. Prayers are read by a tall, surpliced negro called “Chief Saint Sturtevant” and a white woman called Sister Williams. These are followed by hymns sung to the accompaniment of a harmonium. in which black and white doaconesses take part, all wearing short white jackets and black bonnets with flowing veils. In tne course of the service a prayer is delivered by a white boy, said to be 6 years old, but who looks older, in which he exhorts all the sinners standing by to repent while there is yet time, as the end of all things is at hand. After a collection has been taken up the Holy Ghosters march to their meeting place In Forty-first Street, which consists of two rooms on the ground floor opening on the street.

New York Times, June 1907

Glenn A. Cook, one of the original twelve at the Azusa Street Mission.

Frank Ewart, an eyewitness to the revival at Azusa Street.

Charles Harrison Mason, founder of the Church of God in Christ.

Bishop Mason built this, the first Church of God in Christ building, in 1906 in Lexington, Mississippi.

A flyer announcing a Pentecostal revival at a Baptist church. The two speakers were P. C. Nelson and T. W. Harris.

William H. Durham in a Pentecostal tent meeting, 1909. Brother Durham is standing in the center with his hand raised.

Chapter 6

Early Organizational Efforts

By 1908 the country began to realize the effects that Pentecost and its adherents were having on the religious scene. Everywhere whole communities were eager for the message to be brought and preached by men of renown of that time. Frank Bartleman wrote, “The latter part of March 1907, I received an invitation to come to Conneaut, Ohio, with a check enclosed of fifty dollars. They wanted Pentecost. I felt it was a call from God to go east, but could not help wondering if they really knew what they were inviting for themselves.”

Bartleman did go east. In fact, his stop in Conneaut was part of a revival campaign he undertook that year in which he traveled from California to Maine to preach the message. He was one of many well-known evangelists spreading throughout the country preaching to crowds as few as ten and as many as two thousand. The message and many of the messengers were gaining enormous popularity even though deep contention over the experience still existed among denominational churches.

The movement was gaining momentum for several reasons. For one thing, Pentecostals emphasized an experience that transcended the boundaries of doctrinal systems or differences in polity. There was an undenominational character to the movement that gave it widespread appeal. In addition Pentecostals were quickly learning the techniques that made the great revivals of the nineteenth century so successful, including evangelistic bands, mass meetings, conventions, and periodical literature that promoted their message across the land. Between 1900 and 1908 no fewer than thirty-four periodicals came into existence, the first of which was Parham’s Apostolic Faith. It was a democratic movement, drawing men and women from all walks of life, of all colors and backgrounds. And the new movement especially appealed to the youth of the country.

Not the least of the many reasons for growth was the energetic, sacrificial, missionary spirit common among the Pentecostals. They exuded realness, and their dedication was not only exemplary, but it contrasted with the staid, pious spirit so typical of organized religion at the time. These people were genuinely concerned about the saving of men’s souls.

Finally, God was in the plan. This was no less than the fulfillment of prophecy, and who could stand in the way of God’s Word being fulfilled?

Still, as time progressed, the Pentecostals had slowly been driven outside the framework of traditional organized American Christianity. They were rejected from most fundamental movements and were still considered by many to be the scourge of the earth.

Consequently many Pentecostals considered organizational efforts to be anathema. They thought that it would take away the spontaneity of the Spirit. Many of the leading preachers of that day felt organization was unscriptural.

Nevertheless about 1910-11, there seemed to be a move towards binding together those of like precious faith. In the South there existed several loosely organized bodies that had originally been founded as Holiness churches, including the Church of God, the Pentecostal Holiness Church, and the Church of God in Christ. From 1907 to 1914 many white ministers had been ordained by C. H. Mason, since his Church of God in Christ was chartered by the state of Tennessee. Their affiliation, however, was nominal, extending only to ministerial credentials. It is curious that these unchartered groups did not seek incorporation themselves before 1914, especially since they had the advantage of being white in what was then a very racist South.

As a rule most of the white Pentecostals preferred to gather informally in state camp meetings where their ecclesiastical affairs could be discussed freely without reference or deference to Mason or any church officials. Rapport was maintained between Pentecostal ministers and churches by means of various independent periodicals that began circulation after 1906. E. N. Bell, a former Baptist pastor from Fort Worth, Texas, who was converted under Durham’s ministry, edited a paper called The Apostolic Faith. Seymour edited a paper out of Los Angeles by the same name. J. Roswell Flower printed The Christian Evangel in Indianapolis. M. M. Pinson published Word and Witness in Arkansas. These and other periodicals made announcements of camp meetings, conventions, and missionary meetings.

Vinson Synon wrote in The Holiness Pentecostal-Movement in the United States:

Since the early Pentecostals outside the Southern churches felt that denominational organizations were to be avoided, partly because of Parham’s anti-denominationalism, interchurch meetings were rare. In various parts of the nation groups of ministers gathered in local “associations” for fellowship and mutual aid. The earliest of these was the Apostolic Faith Movement, which began in Orchard, Texas, in April 1906 under Parham’s leadership. In 1909 this group broke with Parham’s leadership and accepted the leadership of two Texas Pentecostal ministers, E. N. Bell and Howard A. Goss. In 1911 the group dropped the name Apostolic Faith Movement and accepted credentials from Mason’s Church of God in Christ. At the same time that Bell’s group was emerging in Texas, another group was developing in Alabama under the leadership of one of Cashwell’s converts, H. G. Rodgers. Meeting in Dothan, Alabama, in 1909, this group adopted the name “Church of God.” This name was adopted without knowledge of Tomlinson’s church with headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee. At the second meeting of the infant church in Slocumb, Alabama, in 1911, the group changed its name to the Church of God in Christ in deference to Mason’s church. Thus by 1911, three groups operated under the name of Mason’s church . . . the one in Texas led by Bell, the one in Alabama led by Rodgers, and Mason’s own groups in Memphis. . . . After 1911 a move was initiated by Bell and Rodgers to unite the Texas and Alabama groups, both of which were made up of whites who were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with existing arrangements with Mason’s church. At a meeting of both white groups in Meridian, Mississippi, in June 1913, a merger was effected which resulted in an all-white organization with 352 ministers. The next year, a call to Hot Springs, Arkansas, brought 300 together with a desire to unite. Meeting in the Grand Opera House on Central Avenue in “General Council,” the Assemblies of God was born. This would be the first meeting of what would eventually become the world’s largest Pentecostal organization.

Florence L. Crawford adopted the name that Parham had popularized, Apostolic Faith. Her Apostolic Faith Mission in Portland, Oregon, gradually became the mother church from which other missions in the Northwest came to look for leadership. It was from Sister Crawford’s Portland center that the first Pentecostal missionaries were dispatched to the foreign fields, as early as 1907 or 1908.

In the Midwest, by 1908 Parham was losing his effectiveness as central leader of the movement and was being replaced by such men as H. A. Goss, Arch P. Collins, D. C. O. Opperman, and as mentioned earlier, E. N. Bell. They, like Parham and Crawford, employed the term Apostolic Faith, at least for a while.

From 1909 to 1915, camp meetings were the most effective means of bringing all of the loose-knit “organizations” together to reflect on the progress of revival throughout the country. There they discussed new trends. By 1913 at least fifteen camp meetings were publicly announced in one of the several periodicals available at the time. Some of these camps were located in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and as far away as Maryland. Many hundreds of people attended the most successful of the camps. Sometimes lasting two to three weeks, they would resemble tent cities, for the participants slept, ate, and worshiped in tents.

Formality and programming was discouraged, which prompted many to be “led by the Spirit.” If one felt led to preach, teach, or announce a new message, all he had to do was take the floor and begin to exercise his or her right to explain “the mind of God.” Needless to say, confusion reigned in some of these meetings, giving credulity to the critics of early Pentecostalism. At one of the conferences of the Apostolic Faith group of Texas, it was unanimously approved that every minister “who received a new revelation” was not to preach it until the next conference, after the ministers had a chance to discuss it and evaluate it by Scripture.

Such associations provided the foundation for training programs. For years, many of the Pentecostal ministers had little if any formal education. In the early 1900s if one had an eighth-grade education, he was considered well schooled. Short-term Bible schools were conducted principally by Daniel C. O. Opperman, one of the founders of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. Such schools lasted only four or five weeks and were carried on entirely by “faith in God to direct and provide all needful things.” From December 1908 to October 1914, Brother Opperman conducted at least eight schools in Texas, Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama, Iowa, and Arkansas. Having once been a school principal in Zion City, Illinois, he had also been ordained by Dr. Dowie. He saw the need for systematic training for the rank and file of Pentecostal ministers if the program of God was to be efficiently as well as spiritually presented. At the conclusion of the school term, Opperman encouraged his students to take to the evangelistic fields.

Another man who had the burden to educate those with the Pentecostal fervor was D. Wesley Myland, who established a permanent school in Plainfield, Indiana. Schools that would become well known were Elim School in Rochester, New York, Bethel School in Newark, New Jersey, and Beulah Heights School in North Bergen, New Jersey. A heightened sense of the need for a systematic, structured course of religious studies would gain popularity as the ’20s and ’30s unfolded.

By 1910 there existed no less than four major Pentecostal associations. As souls were greatly added to their number, there began to be expressed a desire for these associations to amalgamate themselves into one cohesive unit. But each of the major Pentecostal groups had its own individual founders and leaders and was autonomous in constitution, teaching, fellowship, the dispensing of credentials, and in general had developed its own theological approach. The organized Holiness-Pentecostal groups adhered to the doctrine of sanctification as a second work of grace, which many unaffiliated ministers did not accept. Even politics, secularism, and racial biases influenced the personality and character of various associations.

As the Pentecostal movement began to grow both in scope and in sheer numbers, some of the more perceptive leaders thought a bold approach to organizing all of the Pentecostal groups into one entity was timely. They thought this not only beneficial but necessary for continuity and for the advancement of Pentecost’s focus, goals, and functions. This was no easy task as can be ascertained by the remarks made by H. A. Goss:

As there was no apparent way to gather up the reins of the different cliques which each seemed in danger of galloping off in its own direction, Brother Bell and I worked privately together on some kind of solution. We later found that Brother Opperman saw this need, too, as did a few other leaders.

We realized that great care was needed at this stage as we had been strictly taught against any form of organization. Irresponsible brethren, if they heard too much, might immediately use the opportunity to poison the saints against us before we could explain and call us “compromisers,” a serious charge in those days.

Of necessity, we secretly discussed calling a conference to organize the work. So in November of 1913, Brother Bell and I ventured to announce a conference at Hot Springs, Arkansas, from April 2 to 12, 1914. We signed the original call ourselves.

I say “ventured” advisedly because we knew that we were likely facing serious opposition unless God worked mightily. But other leaders took their stand with us and added their names to the call, which was being published month by month in the Word and Witness. I don’t think any of us had many rigid ideas as to how all this should be worked out, but we all supported the system against the threatened chaos of the moment. Among other leaders there still seemed to be apprehension as to our purpose. In spite of all, we stuck to our guns and prayed. This took courage, but it seemed we had a special filling of grace from the Lord, and we truly felt that He was leading.

The December 20, 1913, issue of Word and Witness carried the formal call for a “general convention of Pentecostal saints and church of God in Christ.” It was signed by M. M. Pinson, A. P. Collins, H. A. Goss, D. C. O. Opperman, and E. N. Bell. The statement read as follows:

We desire at this time to make this preliminary announcement of this general meeting so that workers far and near, at home and abroad, may sidetrack everything else and be present. Laymen as well as preachers are invited. . . . This call is to all the Churches of God in Christ, to all Pentecostal or Apostolic Faith assemblies who desire with united purpose to co-operate in love and peace to push the interests of the kingdom of God everywhere. This is, however, only for saints who believe in the baptism with the Holy Ghost, with the signs following. Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6; Mark 16:16-18; I Corinthians 12:8-11. Neither is this meeting for any captious, contrary, divisive, or contentious person. But we leave for the body itself to take up any subjects it desires more than what is herein afterwards mentioned.

Following were enumerated five subjects to be considered at the forthcoming meeting, which constituted the reasons for proposing an organization.

First—We come together that we may get a better understanding of what God would have us teach, that we may do away with so many divisions, both in doctrines and in the various names under which our Pentecostal people are working and incorporating. Let us come together as in Acts 15, to study the Word, and pray with and for each other—unity our chief aim.

Second—Again we come together that we may know how to conserve the work, that we may all build up and not tear down, both in home and foreign lands.

Third—We come together for another reason, that we may get a better understanding of the needs of each foreign field and may know how to place our money in such a way that one mission or missionary shall not suffer while another, not any more worthy, lives in luxuries. Also that we may discourage wasting money on those who are running here and there accomplishing nothing and may concentrate our support on those who mean business for our King.

Fourth—Many of the saints have felt the need of chartering the Churches of God in Christ, putting them on a legal basis, and thus obeying the laws of the land. . . .

Fifth—We may have a proposition to lay before the body for a general Bible training school with a literary department for our people.

Opposition to the proposal was fierce from many quarters. The great majority of Pentecostals were resolute in their feelings against “denominationalism,” and this is what they felt this proposal suggested. Many vowed to do whatever necessary to thwart the idea of centralized fellowship. Yet E. N. Bell continued to announce the need for organization. In the March 20, 1914, issue of Word and Witness he addressed the evils of uncontrolled independence within the Pentecostal movement: doctrinal instability, cliques grouped about individual leaders, inequities in monetary accountability, and unscrupulous leaders taking advantage of the simple people in their congregations.

Finally on April 2, 1914, in the resort town of Hot Springs, Arkansas, the first general council of the Assemblies of God began. Three hundred people from twenty states were in attendance. H. A. Goss had secured the local opera house for the sole purpose of housing the meeting. Many of the leading Pentecostal ministers and pastors of the day were in attendance including Jacob Miller, T. K. Leonard, J. Crouch, A. B. Cox, J. Roswell Flower, S. A. Jamieson, John G. Lake, B. F. Lawrence, M. M. Pinson, Fred Pitcher, E. N. Richey, E. N. Bell, A. P. Collins, and J. W. Welch. There were also men in Hot Springs who eventually became members and leaders of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World in just a few short years. Those included H. A. Goss and D. C. O. Opperman. E. N. Bell would subsequently become the first superintendent of these Assemblies of God.

In an environment of tension, the meeting began and proceeded with serious, thought-provoking discussion. The prevalent feeling was that the discussions were taking place in the midst of suspicions, doubts, intrigue, hope, despair, and disillusionment. There were times it seemed as though the meeting would end catastrophically, yet men of prayer and vision continuously prevailed for a call to unity. After ten days of tense negotiations and debate, the following resolution was adopted:

Whereas, God, our heavenly Father, sent His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world, who purchased and redeemed fallen man with His own precious blood, and called out of the world and saved a people, of whom He built and established His church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Head and Chief Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20), and organized and baptized it with the Holy Spirit, with its government upon His shoulders (Isaiah 9:6-7), and said: “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18); and

Whereas, He gave the holy inspired Scriptures as the all-sufficient rule for faith and practice according to II Timothy 3:16, as follows: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works,” we shall not add to or take from it (Revelation 22:18); and

Whereas, He commanded that there should be no schism (division, sectarianiasm) in His body, the General Assembly (church) of the firstborn, which are written in heaven (Hebrews 12:23); and

Whereas, We recognize ourselves as members of said assembly of God and do not believe in identifying ourselves with or establishing ourselves into a sect which constitutes an organization which legislates or forms laws and articles of faith and has jurisdiction over its members and creates unscriptural lines of fellowship and disfellowship which separates itself from other members of the General Assembly (church) of the firstborn, which is contrary to Christ’s prayer in John 17, and Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 4:1-16, which we heartily endorse:

Therefore, be it resolved, first, That we recognize that we have assembled as a general council of Pentecostal (Spirit baptized) saints from local Churches of God in Christ, Assemblies of God, and various Apostolic Faith Missions and Churches, and Full Gospel Pentecostal Missions, and assemblies of like faith in the United States of America, and foreign lands, whose purpose is not to legislate laws of government, nor usurp authority over said various Assemblies of God, nor deprive them of their scriptural and local rights and privileges, but to consider the five purposes announced in the convention call in the February 1914 issue of the Word and Witness, and to recognize scriptural methods and order for worship, unity, fellowship, work and business for God, and to disapprove of all unscriptural methods, doctrine and conduct, and approve all scriptural truth and conduct, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace, until we all come into the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, and to walk accordingly, as recorded in Ephesians 4:17-32.

Resolved, second, That we recognize all the above said assemblies of various names, and when speaking of them refer to them by the general scriptural name “Assemblies of God”; and recommend that they all recognize themselves by the same name, that is, “Assembly of God” and adopt it as soon as practicable for the purpose of being more scriptural and also legal in transacting business, owning property, and executing missionary work in home and foreign lands, and for general convenience, unity and fellowship.

It was thought that from this meeting one great Pentecostal organization would emerge. This is in fact what did occur, for today the Assemblies of God can still boast of being the single largest Pentecostal entity in the world. But if those patriarchs of the Hot Springs convention thought they had solved the problem of Pentecostal divisiveness, they did not accomplish their goal. It would not be long before there would exist more Pentecostal fellowships, associations, and organizations, compelled by various doctrines and leaders. One new doctrine hung on the horizon like a large rain cloud ready to empty its contents. It would change the lives of millions and have an inestimable effect on the Pentecostal movement. It would come to be known as the Jesus Name or Oneness doctrine, and it would shake Pentecostalism to its core.

Left to right: Harry Van Loon, D. W. Kerr, William Durham, around 1910

Henry Van Loon (left) and William Durham, 1910

Pentecostal Tabernacle choir, Memphis, Tennessee, 1910

Ladies Bible Class of Pentecostal Tabernacle, Memphis, Tennessee, 1910

Wagons were the mode of travel in the early days of Pentecostal revival. Here a group of saints are preparing to leave for church.

1912 Pentecostal camp meeting, Eureka Springs, Arkansas. E. N. Bell is in the front row, middle of the picture between two women in white blouses. D. C. O. Opperman is in the front row, the last man on the right. H. A. Goss is on the far right holding his hat.

A flyer announcing H. A. Goss and his wife in revival services around 1911.

“Pentecostal Testimony” announcing the death of William H. Durham, July 1912.

“The Christian Evangel,” July 19, 1913. Notice report about G. T Haywood in the second column.

An early tent meeting near Dallas, Wisconsin, around 1912

A “tent city” around 1913

Camp meeting, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1913. John G. Lake, one of the early leaders at Azusa Street, stands in the center.

Brother and Sister John McConnell, Waco, Texas, 1912

Camp meeting, northern Missouri, 1912. Left to right: Frank Crouch, Roy Scott, James Crouch, Mrs. Frank Crouch, Mary Crouch and, seated, Pearl Cox.

Short-term Bible school conducted by D. C. O. Opperman in Joplin, Missouri, around 1913.

Chapter 7

The New Issue

By the end of 1914 the new Assemblies of God had 531 people on its ministerial roster. The organization grew rapidly and became the most dynamic force in Pentecostalism. Many whites who at one time were members of Mason’s Church of God in Christ joined to the Assemblies of God, which was predominantly white and which embraced Durham’s doctrine of the finished work of Calvary instead of the Holiness belief in sanctification as a second work of grace. State councils began to be formed, and even though criticism was leveled from all points of the country, steady progress was made. Camp meetings continued to draw many spiritual adventurers, but they did seem to strengthen the fiber of the brethren.

In 1913, during a camp meeting in Arroyo Seco, California, a new message emerged that exalted the name of Jesus. During a camp baptismal service, R. E. McAlister, a Canadian Pentecostal, proclaimed to all in attendance that the apostles never invoked the titles of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost when they baptized converts but rather that they baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In addition one morning, a camp participant by the name of John Schaepe received insight into the power in the name of Jesus. Many people began to study the Bible and the passages of Scripture that referred to the name of Jesus. The apostolic baptismal formula in the Book of Acts received special attention.

From this camp and the ensuing discussion among ministers came the teaching of water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ and the oneness of God in Christ.

After the camp meeting, many believers on the West Coast accepted the message and were baptized in the name of Jesus. In November 1913 McAlister and Frank Small baptized thirty converts in the name of Jesus in Winnipeg, Canada. At Long Beach, California, a large contingency of people were baptized in the name of Jesus only. As the doctrine took root, it was widely viewed and believed by an ever-growing faction of Pentecostals that if Apostolic Christianity was to be fully restored, then water baptism in Jesus name for the remission of sins needed to be followed.

Probably the most well-known and most outspoken proponent of the Jesus Name message at first was Frank J. Ewart. Born in Australia, lately from Canada, and most recently from Portland, Oregon, he had gained a wide-spread reputation as a fearless Baptist preacher. In 1908 he accepted the Pentecostal message in Portland. When it was learned from his Baptist counterparts that he had defied Baptist theology, he was summarily excommunicated from his Baptist association. Ewart made his way to Los Angeles and became a disciple of William H. Durham. In time he became Durham’s assistant at Durham’s world-renowned church located at Seventh and Los Angeles streets. When Durham died, Ewart assumed pastoral duties at the church.

When the Jesus Name issue came on the scene in 1913-14, Ewart was considered one of the leading Pentecostals on the West Coast. He pondered McAlister’s message and discussed it with him and others for many months. In April 1914, the same year and month of the Hot Springs conference, he preached his first Jesus Name message in Belvedere, California. In attendance was Glenn A. Cook, his associate and a vibrant evangelist of Pentecost, especially in the Midwest.

On April 15, 1914, Ewart and Cook rebaptized each other in the name of Jesus in a tank set up in Ewart’s crusade tent. This marked the first rebaptisms in the name of Jesus. From this moment they purposed to convert the entire Pentecostal movement to baptism in “Jesus’ name only.”

Their message through the spoken and written word convinced many Pentecostals, and many were converted to accept the “New Issue” or “Jesus Only” message, as it was often called. Many of the converted accepted rebaptism in Jesus’ name yet still held to the doctrine of the trinity. Some accepted because they did not want to miss out on all God had for them. But most who were rebaptized in Jesus’ name did so with the understanding that Jesus was God and therein lay the power of true redemption which made salvation possible. They concluded that all the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Jesus and that the Godhead consisted of one Spirit, not three self-conscious persons. This doctrine became known as Oneness. Many of the most prominent Pentecostal leaders in the West embraced baptism in Jesus’ name. Up until January 1915, the “New Issue” was still a novelty. It was then that Glenn Cook with the permission of Ewart struck out east to preach and teach the new doctrine. When he arrived in St. Louis, he proceeded to stay and preach a week at the church of Mother Mary Barnes. At the end of that week he rebaptized some of the saints in the Mississippi River.

J. Roswell Flower had met Cook and heard him preach in Indianapolis in 1907 when Cook brought the Pentecostal message from Azusa Street. But the message of water baptism in Jesus’ name was too much for Flower, and he made every attempt to contact his Pentecostal contemporaries to forewarn them of Cook’s “false” doctrine.

One of the men Flower wrote was a rising young black Pentecostal residing in Indianapolis, named Garfield Thomas Haywood. He would one day become one of the most respected and beloved leaders, white or black, in all of Pentecostalism. He was pastoring and laboring over a small flock he had inherited in 1909. At first his congregation numbered thirteen people, but by 1915 his church, Christ Temple, had grown to over four hundred members.

Haywood received Flower’s communique, but it was too late. Cook had already visited Haywood and convinced him of the truth of the Jesus Name message. Haywood, along with his entire congregation, was rebaptized.

Haywood’s rebaptism caused great consternation among the Assemblies of God brethren who held to the trinitarian concept. Bewilderment, concern, and, in some circles, even fear began to permeate the body. More and more reports of “defectors” spread throughout the organization.

Then the impossible happened: E. N. Bell, the man selected as first general chairman (superintendent) of the Assemblies of God was rebaptized in the name of Jesus in a camp meeting in Tennessee in July 1915. When this happened, many leaders followed suit, and this, more than any other single event, catapulted the Assemblies of God into a frenzy. Even though Bell would recant his belief some time later, his move sounded alarm that the unity of the organization was being seriously threatened.

Leaders such as G. T. Haywood, H. A. Goss, B. F. Lawrence, L. C. Hall, D. C. O. Opperman, and H. G. Rodgers—men renowned in Pentecostal circles—accepted the new doctrine. R. E. McAlister and the main contingency of Pentecostals in Canada were rebaptized. All twelve churches in Louisiana and their ministers were soon added to the ranks of the Oneness brotherhood. It was to be a turning point in twentieth-century Pentecostalism.

J. Roswell Flower, soon to be the only remaining member of the Executive Board of the Assemblies of God to remain loyal to the original dictates of the organization, asked permission of some of the remaining leaders to call a general council. News began to circulate that a momentous meeting was to be held at Turner Hall in St. Louis, Missouri.

On October 1, 1915, Flower called the meeting to order, and for three days, October 1-3, there prevailed a spirit of masked unity. During those days the delegates prayed, fasted, and heard the preached word of the Lord, but it was clear in the back of everyone’s mind why they were really there. During the course of the convention, J. W. Welch was selected to serve as temporary chairman, a position he would subsequently be asked to serve permanently.

There was no way to delay the debate at hand. Even though prayer and fasting had invoked a spirit of calm and civility, there was a heavy burden hovering over the meeting. It was no secret that the future of the Assemblies of God hung in the balance.

Soon discussion on the “New Issue” had reached a feverish pitch. Although the brethren conducted themselves with inordinate patience and respect for each other considering the impetus of the hour, it dominated the scenario. Both camps fervently defended their theology. For several days debate continued, and only after everyone had had his chance to express himself did the discussion conclude. The Resolution Committee presented a six-point proposal. It was supposed to appease the entire body but was in essence an illusion of compromise. It was suggested that time be given to review, examine, and study both approaches to what was the correct procedure to water baptism even though the proposal seemed to be bent towards the trinitarian philosophy. It did little to vent the feelings of desperation and confusion. J. W. Welch was duly elected as chairman of the organization while Bell resigned as editor of The Christian Evangel, the official monthly paper of the Assemblies of God. The new Executive Board included no one of the Jesus Name persuasion.

This third general council was in a state of limbo, reminiscent of a man who had come through a battle not knowing whether he had won or lost. Peace of a sort would prevail for a while, but it would be short lived.

As 1916 unfolded, battle lines were again drawn, and the “New Issue” took on a more turbulent nature. Brothers who were once friends turned against each other in vehemently defending their cause. Bitter conflicts were reported across the nation, and it was with this prevalent spirit that J. W. Welch called the fourth general council to order in October of 1916. As they met again in St. Louis, this time at Bethel Chapel, the doctrinal issue was by far the dominating theme. According to J. Roswell Flower’s History of the Assemblies of God, “Every preacher and church was forced to take a stand on the ‘new issue.’ Charges of ‘Sabellianism’ and ‘Oneism’ were countered with accusations of ‘three-Godism’ and ‘popish slavery.’”

As debate began, it seemed as though the trinitarians had distinct leverage in the proceedings. Welch appointed a committee to adopt a formal creed that would once and for all spell out the body’s conviction regarding baptism and the Godhead. Those on the committee were T. K. Leonard, D. W. Kerr, S. H. Frodsham, S. A. Jamieson, and E. N. Bell. The committee was rock solid in their conviction of the trinitarian nature of the Godhead, and this left the Oneness brethren without a shred of hope of ever seeing the Assemblies of God adopt a policy favoring them. D. W. Kerr is widely held to be responsible for most of the language of the new creed. A highly intelligent and formally educated man, his fertile mind gave meat and solidity to the orthodox trinitarian train of thought. During the sessions and while the select committee met behind closed doors, the brethren committed to the Jesus Name camp challenged Welch and the convention concerning the propriety for such a biased set of thinkers representing the whole constituency. Their objections were brushed aside.

When the resolution on the Godhead was finally completed and brought to the convention floor, it again met with instant objection by the Oneness brethren. At last, the monumental vote was taken, and the trinitarian camp won the day. It was finally over. There was no room for jubilation, for the final blow that initiated total schism had been wrought. Men who had preached, prayed, and served together from the beginning of the Azusa Street outpouring were now unalterably divided.

G. T. Haywood published a periodical called The Voice in the Wilderness. This is the July 1910 issue.

Bethel Bible Training School, Newark, New Jersey, about 1918.

D. C. O. Opperman and his wife, Hattie, around 1914.

D. W. Kerr made important contributions to the doctrinal statement.

B. M. David, a Jew converted to the Apostolic faith, and his guest evangelist, G. T. Haywood. This picture was taken in 1914 at Grand Rapids, Michigan.

G. T. Haywood around 1912.

Ida Haywood, G. T. Haywood’s wife, around 1914.

A. D. Urshan, a Persian by birth, would become a great Oneness minister. This picture was taken around 1916.

Oak Hill Tabernacle, 2024 Roosevelt Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana. Here the Jesus Name message was preached in its embryonic stages. During one meeting in 1916 over one hundred trinitarians were rebaptized in Jesus’ Name.

This is the first Jesus Name baptism east of the Mississippi River. Glenn Cook is baptizing L. V. Roberts, Indianapolis, Indiana, March 6, 1915.

G. T. Haywood drew this tract in 1913.

Chapter 8

The General Assembly of the Apostolic Assemblies

The Oneness ministers were for the first time in three years alone. Their understanding of the Godhead alienated them from not only the Assemblies of God but the other mainline Pentecostal groups as well. Their solidarity was unquestioned, but it was left to decide what direction they were to proceed. Two months after their mass resignation from the Assemblies of God, they took steps to establish a new organization.

On December 28, 1916, a large contingency of Oneness ministers met in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, for the purpose of examining the possibility and plausibility of establishing a new organization. For three days prayer and fasting was the focus of their attention. On January 2, 1917, the first order of formal business was to elect the officers designated to lead the new body. D. C. O. Opperman was chosen as chairman, Lee Floyd as secretary, and Howard A. Goss as treasurer. Discussion centered around choosing a name for the new organization. They finally agreed (even though it carried a ring of redundancy) on the name The General Assembly of the Apostolic Assemblies.

What few records that are available from this group show a lack of firm direction even though the brethren seemed to exemplify pristine characteristics. There seemed to be little substantive leadership coming from Opperman. H. A. Goss and H. G. Rodgers were appointed along with Opperman to serve as a credentials committee. It was their delegated responsibility to prepare formal credentials for the embryonic organism. The texts of those credentials have unfortunately been lost, but it is known they were issued annually and cost twenty-five cents.

The body adopted eighteen articles of faith that were to act as the governing constitution. They were relatively loose in structure.

Article One concerned membership in the church. It read: “As members of the body of Christ, which is the true church (Ephesians 1:22, 23), the Word of God declares but one way of entrance therein, and that is ‘By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,’ and that is a baptism of water and Spirit.”

Article Four was entitled “God’s Standard of Salvation.” It stated: “We earnestly contend for God’s standard of salvation. In the Word of God we can find nothing short of a holy, Spirit-filled life, with signs following as on the Day of Pentecost.”

Article Five pertained to repentance and remission of sins. It read, in part: “John preached repentance. Jesus proclaimed it and before His ascension commanded that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name, beginning at Jerusalem. And Peter fulfilled this command on the Day of Pentecost.”

Other articles concerned divine healing, the Lord’s Supper, the second coning of Jesus, the translation of the saints, the Millennium, the final judgment, and the living of a wholly sanctified life.

Strange as it may seem, no direct mention was made of baptism in the name of Jesus or of the oneness of the Godhead. Certainly, every minister in the new organization believed in and preached these two cardinal doctrines.

Arthur Clanton’s book, United We Stand, describes and mentions some of the leading ministers associated with the GAAA. They included W. E. Booth-Clibborn, E. J. Douglas, F. J. Ewart, O. F. Fauss, H. A. Goss, B. H. Hite, Robert LaFleur, S. L. Wise, J. C. Brickey, S. C. McClain, John Schaepe, and D. K. Morris.

The periodical that became the official organ of the organization was The Blessed Truth. D. C. O. Opperman had been publishing this newsletter for two years in Eureka Springs, and the body voted to assimilate it as its official written manifesto.

Soon after the organization’s inception it encountered several critical problems that struck its death knell. For reasons not known., the GAAA could not receive recognition from the U. S. Government’s Clergy Bureau as a religious not-for-profit organization. It was essential that the fledgling alliance receive this recognition if it hoped to add to its ranks those ministers who meant and represented the future growth of the body. World War I was raging in Europe, with America entering the war on April 6, 1917. It was impossible for the younger ministers to receive exemption from military service.

Second, the most popular means of long-distance transportation in America at the time was by train. Most of the ministers of the GAAA were relatively poor. It was essential that the new Pentecostal organization be able to supply its ministers with clergy rates with the railroad systems of the country. Again, the GAAA could not provide this service to its members because the railroads would not recognize it as a legitimate religious entity. This crippled and hindered any momentum the organization hoped to achieve in its first year of operation.

Unfortunately, the GAAA existed less than a year. Its one convention at the beginning of 1917 would prove to be the first and last. Although the brethren’s concept of a unified body of Oneness believers was idealistic, their timing seemed to be their Achilles’ tendon. Some of the other major Pentecostal groups had been in operation for seven or eight years and had at least established some type of track record with the government.

The GAAA’s demise can also be attributed to the fact that there was already in existence a Oneness group that apparently had its inception as a Oneness body in late 1914. Again, from what limited records that are available, it seems to be the first organization that embraced Pentecostal/Apostolic theology accompanied by water baptism in Jesus’ name. It was at first a regional affiliation of ministers relegated to the West Coast. The GAAA knew its days were numbered and finally felt its most advantageous move would be to attempt a merger with the other little-known Jesus name affiliate. The name of the other obscure organization was the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.

S. C. McClain

Oliver F. Fauss and his sister, Amanda, 1914

Oliver Fauss on the left with O. C. Brumley, 1915

Chapter 9

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, 1907-21

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, as is true with all Pentecostal organizations, has its roots in the Azusa Street revival.

Although there was a tremendous move of God from 1901 to 1918, the early brethren left little written history to preserve the times for posterity. It seems as though the need to maintain the integrity of history for future generations was the furthest thing from the minds of those early pioneers, especially those who were the founding fathers of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW). It must be remembered that the precedent setting events of the first decade centered around spiritual themes and not necessarily themes of historicity. The saints in their desire to seek only the mind, will, and favor of God left little to study in the areas of church politics, organization, and historical content.

None of the major Pentecostal groups can boast of exceptionally good and quantitative historical documentation from 1907 to 1912, but the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World has what must be one of the scantiest records of archival documentation. Up until 1917 there is little more than a hodge-podge smattering of written references that would hardly fill a small pamphlet. Before Bishop Morris E. Golder’s History of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, there does not seem to exist even a concerted effort to compile a semblance of background material that represented its storied past. Prior to 1918, even after great scrutiny and research, the PAW’s history is relegated to a few lines of buried minutes. Periodicals, official organs, and records that could have given greater insight during the formative years have been all lost or discarded if they ever did exist.

The earliest records available of the embryonic PAW is found in the minute book and ministerial record dated 1918 and 1919. On page 5 there is a “brief record of minutes 1907-1917.” The general assembly of different “Pentecostal assemblies” met in Los Angeles on October 27, 1907. They were a conglomerate of bodies that embraced the Pentecostal outpouring although initially none were Oneness in theology. A Brother Pendleton was elected chairman pro tem and a Brother Clark was elected secretary pro tem. Neither one of these brothers, as far as can be ascertained, held any further positions with the organization.

The meeting seems to have focused on the basic introductory transactions that governed the organizing of all the Pentecostal groups, including the election of officers, the establishment of committees, discussion of constitution and bylaws, the establishment of an official paper, and general business. This conference seems to have had a break in the proceedings. The meeting was called to order on October 27, but business was suspended and a second meeting called on November 11. During this second meeting, a Brother Irwin was considered by the body to pursue the publishing of an official paper. After discussion the motion was dropped and a motion to adjourn carried.

It was a humble beginning, but a beginning nonetheless. Questions remain as to whether this was an isolated meeting of several Pentecostal groups or a major meeting of many of the leaders of the Azusa Street outpouring.

On July 8, 1908, the general assembly again met in Los Angeles and elected Sister Hopkins as temporary chairman and a man who would ultimately serve the PAW in its earliest years. His name was J. J. Frazee of Portland, Oregon. He was originally part of Florence Crawford’s ministry of that city. Frazee was elected as permanent secretary as Brother Clark, secretary of the previous conference, was called to the missions field in India. Seven lines of minutes have been left from the meeting held in 1908.

Four years pass before any records of consequence are rendered. On March 25, 1912, the general assembly again met in Los Angeles. The city of angels was still the focal point of the Pentecostal outpouring even though by now it had begun to lose much of its esteem and image as “the resident city of the Holy Ghost.” During this conference, Frazee was elevated from secretary to general superintendent, and John Mautz was elected to replace him as secretary. One is hopelessly left with his imagination as to what took place during this particular conference, for no record of business or any related transactions were preserved.

Almost five more years pass before data is presented as related to the general assemblies, although it is known that annual conferences were held in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1913 to 1916 at Elder G. T. Haywood’s Apostolic Faith Assembly (his church’s name before it was changed to Christ Temple).

On January 29, 1917, the general assembly met in Portland, Oregon. J. J. Frazee was still general superintendent, and it was he who called the meeting to order. Elsworth Davidson was elected secretary pro tem. The minutes of this conference state that the object of this meeting was “the perpetuating of the Pentecostal and missionary spirit.” Several names were listed of ministers who were in attendance although they did not play a key role in the further development of the PAW. Such names as George R. Farrow, Hanrose Smith, B. F. Michaels, William Owens, H. L. Britton, R. S. Seercie, C. F. Crooks, R. Fields, and J. O. Church were listed but fade into obscurity. (Farrow was a Oneness minister trained under Ewart who wrote “All in Him.”) After this brief notation the minutes announce the adjournment of what was considered a most harmonious and successful meeting.

In 1917, Elder G. T. Haywood was publishing a local church paper called The Voice in the Wilderness. Late in 1917, he began to publish written announcements of an upcoming meeting that was to be held January 17 to 27, 1918. It was basically a call for brethren of the Oneness persuasion. The notice stated that a spirit of revival was sought among the believers. The meeting convened as planned with J. J. Frazee acting as chairman and general superintendent.

After years and years of searching I was blessed to obtain an original 1918 minute book of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World and all but one of the minute books from each general conference from 1919 to 1930. (See the appendix for those from 1918-19 and 1919-20.)

The significant business of the monumental meeting in 1918 centered around the merging of the General Assemblies of the Apostolic Assemblies on January 22, 1918. The consolidated body retained the name of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.

Through this merger, the PAW with the stroke of a pen and the drop of a gavel became a force to be reckoned with on the religious scene. Some of the great Pentecostals of the day would claim affiliation with the new body. Revered names such as Opperman, Haywood, Fauss, Goss, Booth-Clibborn, Doak, Douglas, Ewart, Hall, Schooler, Roberts, and Chambers would for a season at least comprise a powerful, godly consortium. Within this corps of names could be found great preachers, convincing teachers, men of spiritual gifts and abounding talents, missions-minded men, and evangelists who could and did fill cathedrals to capacity with the mighty Word of God.

The newly merged organization named J. J. Frazee as its general superintendent. D. C. O. Opperman was elected secretary, and H. A. Goss was elected treasurer. G. T. Haywood was designated along with Opperman and F. J. Ewart to receive missionary monies.

Twenty-one field superintendents were selected to aid and assist the general superintendent. Their function resembled those of bishops in an episcopal system.

These were the essential aspects that led to the inception of the world’s oldest surviving Oneness body.

From 1906 to 1925, there seemed to exist an exploratory pattern by many a minister in Pentecost. It was not uncommon for individuals to leave one group and join forces with another in the space of a year or less. There are documented cases where some of the leading personalities of the early days of organizing belonged to as many as four or five organizations before they made the decision to settle with one final body of their choice.

There were several reasons for such a transitory state of mind during those days of transforming loyalties. There seemed to be much jockeying for positions of leadership. It is evident that the weaknesses of men then were no different than they are today. It can be surmised that some well-known and respected men of that day had an attitude of “If I can’t play, I’ll take my bat and go home.” There were some whose loyalty to an organization was contingent on how favorable their access to the top positions appeared. There were also some conflicts between brethren. Some had their roots in theological differences, while some were precipitated through personality clashes—some of the brethren simply did not like each other.

Differences surfaced because of geopolitical factions, social and financial standing, educational discrimination, and that most ugly of all the disparate reasons, racial prejudice. Because of the spiritual nature of this spiritual history, one may feel chagrined at even the mention that prejudice had any significant place in the development of Pentecost of the early 1900s. But to deny it and not admit that it existed would be a lie of omission. It should not seem strange that these factors existed then, for they exist now.

Racial prejudice was a factor in the development of early Pentecostalism. Many, if not most, of the earliest organizations had their base of operations in the South, where strict segregation laws had existed for years. Barely two generations had passed since the eradication of slavery, and there still remained a mindset of white/black, superior/inferior attitudes. These deeply entrenched philosophies unfortunately carried over into many Pentecostal organizations as is demonstrated by the fact that up until 1918 most groups were either all white or all black.

This attitude was not just relegated to the white brethren, for many blacks distrusted whites. Black nationalism under the leadership of the charismatic Marcus Garvey had a tremendous impact on some black Pentecostals in the early 1920s. Much suspicion and reverse discrimination was expostulated by blacks against their white brethren. When doors were opened for blacks to join ranks with whites of like spiritual persuasion, many refused the invitation with the general feeling they would be cast in secondary roles.

Blacks were not the only ethnic group to feel the sting of racism. When immigrants began to migrate from the old country in the early part of the century, many thousands of them heard Pentecost preached in the major metropolises of the country, especially New York and Chicago. For decades, though, they were forced to organize their own churches and organizations because of discrimination.

Racial fraternization was taboo in most settings for any reason during this time both in the North and in the South. The races simply did not mix, even to praise the Lord. It was an unspoken rule dictated by the social amenities of the day. Whenever the question of white Pentecostals organizing with black Pentecostals arose, in most cases it was summarily dismissed—society at the time deemed it “improper.” Even brethren who did not have an ounce of racist inclinations seldom ruled favorably for collusion.

Although Azusa Street from 1906 to 1909 was integrated at its inception, this was most definitely predetermined by the hand of God. But even Azusa Street could not escape the smart of racial bias, for by 1912 the whites had all left to organize their own assemblies, leaving Azusa Street to become an all-black congregation.

In the beginning many white brethren genuinely felt the mixing of the races would hinder the cause of Christ. This view would take on greater significance in the 1920s and 1930s. Their reasoning would center around the following points:

- Society as a whole would frown on a national religious organization comprised of both whites and blacks. The potential stigma was too much to consider.

- Most conventions would have to be held in the North to accommodate the blacks who were generally too poor to travel South and more importantly would be unwelcome. Problems of temporary housing and negative absorption in Southern communities was seen as too incendiary a problem to confront.

- Just as most blacks were financially unable to travel south for major Pentecostal conferences, the same held true for most whites who had to travel north each year to accommodate the blacks who were unwelcome in the South. This would eventually put a great strain on those who were never able to meet in close proximity to their own areas of residence.

The merging of the General Assemblies of the Apostolic Assemblies and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World was a bold and courageous move. The new group would be one of the first Pentecostal organizations to truly attempt to promote racial harmony, and initially this move was more than symbolic. Even though in 1918 seventy to seventy-five percent of the constituency was white, there seemed to be a determined effort to promote brotherly love and to exalt Christ as the Creator of all people.

Nevertheless it would not be long before this chivalrous effort would fail. Racial considerations would again surface in a few years and prompt changes that would alter the scope and personality of the PAW.

For reasons not known, primarily because of the lack of records, another PAW convention was held in October of 1918. This meeting was held in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. At the time a rampaging flu epidemic was sweeping the country, killing many people in its wake. Because of the increasing concern by the government that a national crisis was unfolding, a national order was issued by Washington that all public meetings be canceled. The meeting in Eureka Springs was cut short after only a few sessions.

Between January of 1918 and October of the same year, E. W. Doak replaced J. J. Frazee as chairman and W. E. Booth-Clibborn replaced D. C. O. Opperman as secretary. There are no viable reasons or records to explain the changes made in the hierarchy. It should be mentioned that W. E. Booth-Clibborn was a grandson of the Booths who founded the Salvation Army in London’s East End slums. It is exciting to discover how Pentecost through the years affected people of all social, racial, and economic strata.

The year 1918 was monumental for the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. The merger had been accomplished, political and spiritual intrigue existed, major leadership changes took place, but momentum had definitely been established. The mood for forward progress was evident. It was a time of illumination, and the groundwork had been laid to promote broad, bold initiatives for building the kingdom of God.

Two meetings of convention type were held by the PAW in 1919. The first, chaired by E. W. Doak, took place January 18-23, 1919. A complete original set of minutes is printed in the appendix.

The major theme of the January meeting of 1919 was the need to formally and legally incorporate the PAW. This would give the organization a not-for-profit status. Accomplishing this would also enable the body and its ministers and churches to receive all of the rights and privileges accorded an incorporated religious entity, including exempt status; eligibility for young men to receive conscientious objector status because of their affiliation with the PAW; the railroads’ granting clergy discount rates to the PAW’s ministers, a very important objective during those early years of operation; and ordination, carrying greater significance.

The actual physical incorporation of the PAW was carried out by E. W. Doak, G. T. Haywood, and D. C. O. Opperman. On January 25, 1919, they filed incorporation papers in the offices of William A. Roach, secretary of state of Indiana. The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World was now formally recognized by secular government.

Another of several significant proposals was brought to bear in the meeting of January 1919. It was officially designated that the PAW’s national headquarters be moved from Portland, Oregon, to Indianapolis, Indiana. Finally, a General Board of Elders was selected to aid and assist Chairman Doak. These men would replace the former office of field superintendent even though their roles mirrored the former. A. R. Schooler, G. C. Lout, H. A. Goss, D. C. O. Opperman, J. J. Frazee, L. C. Hall, N. Alexander, J. E. Osborn, Joseph Turpin, R. C. Lawson, Frank Small, and F. J. Ewart were chosen to serve on the General Board of Elders. T. C. Davis was selected as secretary pro tem, and G. T. Haywood was duly elected general secretary on the third day of the meeting.

Some of the preceding men would establish and distinguish themselves in Oneness history. In 1945 H. A. Goss would become the first general superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church, which is now the world’s largest Oneness organization. Frank Ewart would establish himself as a great churchman and historian. G. T. Haywood would become world renowned as a preacher, teacher, and pastor, and would be elected the first presiding bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. A. R. Schooler would reach the rank of bishop as would Joseph Turpin. Turpin would build a great congregation in Baltimore, Maryland. R. C. Lawson would go on to found and establish the mighty Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith with headquarters at his three-thousand member assembly in New York City. This organization now consists of many churches located throughout the United States and in several foreign countries.

Plans were made for the PAW to meet again October 10-19, 1919, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tomlinson Hall in downtown Indianapolis was rented for the evening worship services. The PAW paid the “astronomical” sum of $245.00 for the week. This building was used for concerts and public forums and could accommodate almost three thousand people. Reports and old photographs show that the hall was filled to capacity each night, which is remarkable in light of the fact that the saints were not as financially blessed as they are today to travel great distances. Hundreds came from as far away as the West Coast. Morning and afternoon business sessions were held at Oak Hill Tabernacle located on Roosevelt Avenue in Indianapolis. This church was pastored by L. V. Roberts, a close friend of G. T. Haywood. The conference was a great success. A tremendous spirit of unity prevailed, and the evening worship services were highly anointed. The saints could sense the favor of God on the proceedings.

The main emphasis of the business sessions seemed to be the development of a strong, cohesive form of self-government. The minutes of this meeting suggest that much time was devoted to enacting and voting on rules and regulations to give the organization direction. Evangelism, foreign missions, and the reaffirmation of Oneness doctrinal statements occupied much space on the business agenda. The convention of October 1919 was one of the most important in the history of the PAW, for it was in this meeting that several precedents were established that would govern the organization for many years to come.

The year 1919 could be described as the year of organization. The body and its ecclesiastical heads not only saw the need but the merit of drawing up a strong constitutional government to enhance the spiritual objectives of God through the body. The country itself was progressing quickly, establishing itself as a political, military, and economic world power. There existed within the ranks of the leadership of the PAW forward-thinking men who recognized the imperative of organizing the Oneness Pentecostal movement.

As the Roaring Twenties unfolded, the PAW was an organism trying to establish its identity. Though strong attempts were made and accomplished to strengthen the body, not all was well within the constituency. There seemed to be an undercurrent of foreboding that appeared to sabotage the good intentions of sincere brethren.

As one reads the historical accounts left from the early years of development, the PAW seemed to encounter an inordinate amount of major problems. One of those problems again stemmed from the ever-present tense racial situation, for more and more blacks were being added to the membership roles. Power struggles seemed to be a constant hazard to the equilibrium of the organization. It must be remembered that many of the most influential and dynamic men in all of Pentecost had aligned themselves with the PAW. Despite their positive legacy, it appears that there were some defections based on the grounds of pride or jealousy.

From 1920 to 1935, no fewer than twelve major Oneness organizations were born from the womb of the PAW. Some of those included the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance (later known as the Pentecostal Church Incorporated), the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel’s Church in Jesus Christ, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ, and the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith. Almost every Oneness organization today can trace its inception back to the PAW. With all of its inadequacies and failures, it can still take credit for being the oldest existing of all Oneness bodies, no mean historical feat.

True solidarity, though, could never be totally accomplished in the early 1920s because of the incessant migration of its members from one body to another. It was a decade of establishing lines of loyalty.

Both the 1920 and 1921 general conferences were held in September in Indianapolis, Indiana. Because executive officers were elected each year, the security that accompanies tenure could not be realized by the ecclesiastical heads. This surely put a great strain on those leaders attempting to achieve respectability and integrity during one of the organization’s most tentative periods. Changes were made so rapidly that a separate history under a separate cover could be devoted to each year’s unfolding drama. New rules and regulations began to bloat the bylaws of the constitution. Some of those rules contained deep commitments to excellence while others seemed to be created only because the brethren had exhausted all signs of reason.

The Executive Board of 1920 consisted of the following: E. W. Doak, chairman; D. C. O. Opperman, vice chairman; G. T. Haywood, secretary; William A. Mulford, assistant chairman; and B. L. Fitzpatrick, treasurer. The roster of officers for 1921 included E. W. Doak, chairman; A. R. Schooler, vice chairman; G. T. Haywood, secretary; C. W. Philleo, assistant secretary; and T. C. Davis, treasurer. Major hierarchical changes continued during the ensuing years of the 1920s with G. T. Haywood being the only individual who would serve in some executive capacity more than seven years during the decade. By 1925, H. A. Goss, F. J. Ewart, J. J. Frazee, William Booth-Clibborn, D. C. O. Opperman, S. C. McClain, E. W. Doak, T. C. Davis, and Andrew Urshan had left the PAW. Because of their leadership abilities, their departure made it difficult, if not impossible, to maintain cohesion. Nonetheless, God always saw fit that the movement had the men for the hour. The turbulent twenties would prove the Lord’s continued favor on the organization.

This man drove this vehicle from California to the 1919 convention in Indianapolis.

D. C. O. Opperman around 1914

A. R. Schooler and R. C. Lawson

G. T. Haywood around 1917

T. C. Davis

Elder and Sister William Mulford around 1918

Elder and Sister Arthur Lewis around 1918. Elder Lewis later became a bishop with the PAW.

The PAW’s second office, about 1921. This building was located at 2436 Boulevard, Indianapolis.

Elder and Sister G. B. Rowe around 1905. Elder Rowe was a future bishop of the PAW.

The PAW’s first office, about 1920. It was located at 1765 Boulevard Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World’s national conference, October 19, 1919, Indianapolis, Indiana

Part of the delegation at Christ Temple’s twenty-first annual church convention, August 1930, Indianapolis, Indiana

Part of the delegation at Christ Temple’s twenty-first annual church convention, August 1930, Indianapolis, Indiana

The stage area of the convention held in October 1919 in Indianapolis. Seated in the front row third from the left is Ida Haywood. Next to her are G. T. Haywood and E. W. Doak, whose hand is on the table. A. R. Schooler is barely visible on the extreme right.

Office of the PAW, October 26, 1920, Indianapolis, Indiana. Left to right: A. William Lewis, G. T. Haywood, William Mulford, E. W. Doak.

Chapter 10

Early Foreign Missions Work

As insignificant as they may seem to be, two important events took place within a span of a few months. In July 1921, Pastor L. V. Roberts of the Oak Hill Tabernacle Church sold to the PAW what had been his church edifice for seven thousand dollars. This was to become the organization’s first permanent headquarters building. And in 1922, G. T. Haywood was elevated to the office of executive vice-chairman, replacing A. R. Schooler.

Prior to 1922, there existed many monthly newsletters, bulletins, and religious organs printed and distributed throughout not only the PAW but seemingly every Pentecostal group in the country. It was a time of voracious reading by the country in general and by the Pentecostal community in particular. There was a glut of these monthly gospel tribunes. They ranged from single-page handwritten soliloquies to expertly produced canons incorporating pictures and professional typesetting, with some even done in color. The names of these monthlies were as varied as the authors and content themselves. They included The Herald, The Pentecostal Outlook, The Apostolic Voice, The Pentecostal Witness, The Apostolic Witness, and the list goes on. In 1919, the PAW recognized three official magazines: Meat in Due Season, published by Frank Ewart in Los Angeles; The Voice in the Wilderness, published by G. T. Haywood in Indianapolis; and The Blessed Truth, published by D. C. O. Opperman in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

The early fathers came to the conclusion that three official organs defeated the quest for uniformity and therefore commissioned A. D. Urshan, C. W. Philleo, A. R. Schooler, William A. Mulford, and A. Silverstein to introduce a new magazine that would serve as the one official monthly organ for the body. They christened the new magazine The Christian Outlook. To date it is still the official written voice of the PAW, having survived for over sixty years of continuous service.

From 1920 to 1924, foreign missions became an important objective for the body. The scope, magnitude, and vision of that era is astounding considering that the organization was bereft of finances and trained missionaries and was fighting to maintain stability on the home front. The PAW probably experienced its greatest foreign missions success in the 1920s and 1930s. The lack of funds and the PAW’s weak central government did not hinder or deter the brethren’s attempt to evangelize the world. By the late 1930s, missions fields would be operating under the PAW’s jurisdiction on five continents.

Officially, the Foreign Missions Department was formally organized in 1919-20 with D. C. O. Opperman, G. T. Haywood, and A. C. Baker serving as the first Foreign Missions Board. Some of the individuals who served as leaders of the Foreign Missions Department over the next ten to fifteen years included B. L. Fitzpatrick, C. W. Philleo, C. F. Lungstreet, L. R. Ooton, J. A. Frush, A. F. Varnell, G. B. Studd, George W. Cable, William Mulford, F. J. Ewart, Hilda Reeder, and A. D. Urshan.

Urshan and Haywood would raise the level of the missions board to new heights. Their strong missions-minded leadership would set the standards, criteria, and pattern that enabled the PAW to emphasize the importance of world evangelism. A Persian by birth, Urshan was in a unique position to understand not only the need but also the complexities of ministering to peoples draped in superstition and false dogmas.

Through the efforts of many dedicated men and women the Foreign Missions Board took root, but A. D. Urshan, G. T. Haywood, and Sister Hilda Reeder must be singled out as those individuals who gave the ministry true direction and clarity in the 1920s and 1930s. Sister Reeder was a very distinguished public schoolteacher who was saved under Haywood’s ministry. She used her varied talents and expertise to forward the cause of evangelism. The following is an excerpt from Sister Reeder’s book, A Brief History of the Foreign Missions Department of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.

History of PAW Foreign Missions

by Hilda Reeder

I do not think that it is inappropriate at this time to relate to the readers how I got started with the foreign missionary work in the beginning. I was filled with the Holy Ghost [on] November 1912 and baptized in Fall Creek April 1913 on Easter Sunday. March 1915 I was baptized in the name of Jesus at Oak Hill Tabernacle.

At the time that I received the Holy Ghost I belonged to the Witherspoon United Presbyterian Church. I had recently been elected president of the Ladies Missionary Society of that church. I left Witherspoon and went to the Apostolic Faith Assembly at Eleventh and Senate. I offered my resignation to the Ladies Missionary Society, but the ladies begged me to continue until my year was up, hoping that my going was only temporary. I did so but at the end of my term severed all connection with my former church.

About a year after [my] being saved, Elder G. T. Haywood, pastor of the Eleventh and Senate Apostolic Faith Assembly, asked me to take over the foreign missionary work of our assembly. There was no organization at that time. Every mission or assembly sent out its own funds to whom it wished. The assembly was very missionary minded and took up large sums for its size each month. Elder Haywood was in correspondence with a number of foreign missionaries all over the world. I answered these letters and sent offerings under his direction and advice. I also banked and kept a record of the missionary money collected and disbursed. Although I had been in church since a child, I had never had any feeling of brotherhood with any except those in the church I was in. It was very thrilling to feel that I was one of a great body of saints inhabiting every part of the globe, making the one body of Christ. It gave me great pleasure to do my tiny bit in helping to spread the true gospel.

I continued to carry on this part of the work at Eleventh and Senate until in 1918 Elder Haywood saw the need of an organization that had the recognition of the United States government. An organization was formed and chartered called the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World in recognition of the fact that all Spirit-filled people baptized in Jesus’ name were in Christ Jesus no matter in what part of the world they lived and irrespective of race, color, or status in life.

After the PAW was organized, a Foreign Missionary Department was formed. The individual churches were urged to send their offerings to that department. In those early years there was some difficulty in getting the Foreign Missionary Department on a sound footing. The secretary-treasurer was changed frequently. When there was a vacancy, Bishop Haywood, then elder, always took over until someone was again elected to fill the place. At such times I was his helper.

After many ups and downs, Bishop Haywood took over the work of the Foreign Missionary Department permanently. He again asked me to assist him and also Brother George W. Cable. Bishop Haywood was heavily burdened as the years passed with the administrative duties of the organization, and more and more of the foreign missionary work gradually came into my hands until finally I was practically doing it all. After Bishop Haywood’s death the PAW elected me the secretary-treasurer of the Foreign Missionary Department.

The years from 1918, when the PAW was organized, until 1924 were unstable ones for the newly created Foreign Missionary Department. It was a time of trying to find the right person to take charge and the right method of conducting its business. There was much disappointment and criticism during this time. . . .

At the first general convention, sometimes called general conference . . . a foreign missionary department labeled as such was not created, but certain provisions were made for collecting funds and the distribution of the same. Excerpts from the same minutes follow: “Motion made and carried that Thursday evening be given for missionary meeting and that a collection should then be taken for that part of the work.” “Motion made and carried that missionary offerings be sent to the Voice of the Wilderness, Blessed Truth, or Meat in Due Season at the option of the senders and funds not designated especially to those missionaries who have been rejected from other bodies on account of their stand for the present truth. Motion made and carried that editors G. T. Haywood, D. C. O. Opperman and F. J. Ewart handle and distribute the missionary funds; and that the Jewish missionary work receive proportionate consideration.”

From the minutes of 1920 is the following: “The officers thereof shall consist of executive chairman, vicechairman; secretary and assistant secretary; treasurer; secretary-treasurer of foreign missions and a board of three to work in conjunction with the secretary-treasurer of foreign missions. The above officers shall be nominated in order and elected by a majority vote of the ministerial members present and voting.” . . . For the year 1920-1921 . . . George B. Studd, 227 S. Main Street, Los Angeles, California [was] secretary-treasurer of the Foreign Missions Department. The Foreign Missionary Board consisted of D. C. O. Opperman of Dallas, Texas, G. T. Haywood, Indianapolis, Indiana, and A. C. Baker, Oregon City, Oregon.

Also from the minutes of 1920-1921: “that in view of the fact that the adoption of the present constitution . . . has totally annulled the former practice of forwarding missionary funds to the official organs of the body . . .” “Resolved that a financial report be published once each month by one of the official papers designated by action of this body as official organs in rotation relative to the disbursement of the above mentioned missionary funds.” “That this body elect a secretary-treasurer of foreign missions to receive and distribute missionary funds to the various missionaries who are standing for the present message on the name of Jesus and who shall keep a record of the amount sent to each person in order to more equally distribute the same.” “That each assembly be requested to set aside the second Sunday of each month as a day to lift special missionary offerings and send the same to the secretary-treasurer of Foreign Missions.” These regulations are in effect at the present time.

The minute book of 1921-22 records that B. L. Fitzpatrick was elected secretary-treasurer of foreign missions. It was not recorded who were the members of the board. They were probably C. W. Philleo, W. M. Mulford, and B. L. Fitzpatrick, who were all residing in Indianapolis at that time. From The Voice in the Wilderness of 1922 is the following: “After careful deliberation it was deemed imperative that Brother Mulford take in hand, for the time present at least, the oversight of our new foreign and home missionary worldwide movement which is now launching in the name of the Lord. One feature is the magazine entitled The Christian Outlook.” It was probably at this time that it was voted that thirty percent of the missionary funds be used to defray the expenses of the foreign missionary office although a record of the act was not found. But in the October 24, 1923, minutes is the following resolution: “Resolved that we abolish the former plan of deducting thirty percent of the missionary money to take care of the executive officers and that all the money received for the foreign missionaries be sent directly to the field minus the mere expenses of mailing, exchange, etc. Resolved that the secretary-treasurer of foreign missions be a member of the Executive Board and a member of the Missionary Board.”

At the annual conference at St. Louis, Missouri, in October 1923, A. D. Urshan, 866 N. State Street, Chicago, Illinois, was elected secretary-treasurer of foreign missions. The following has been copied from the April 1924 issue of The Christian Outlook: “In October 1923 we took the foreign missionary work of the PAW. Up to March the 31st of this year we have served free of charge. We have received offerings and old pledges amounting to $4,363.00. We have acknowledged every offering and pledge promptly. We have written our missionaries about seven times, and made six distributions amounting to $4,123.80. We have spent for the office fixtures and supplies during the last six months $65.01, and other expenses such as cabling, special deliveries, registered letters, exchanges or bank drafts and Canadian money, car fare etc. $56.78. All expenditures during the last six months to the amount of $102.30.

“If we had a paid stenographer and had to pay rent for an office we would have been obliged to either give up this service or take it from the missionary fund, but since Jesus has put love in our souls for His dear messengers in His great harvest, we have counted it a privilege to sacrifice our little flat with our free service to our missionaries. Now to have a stenographer we must because Sister Urshan’s present circumstances prohibit her from rendering any more service to the missionaries’ office with me, although she is more than willing to do so; and in order to have a successful assistant secretary to fill up this vacancy, we must have at least $75.00 per month for her room and board and for the upkeep of our missionary office. We hope in God and [that] lovers of His work at the regions beyond will send more offerings; if not we will have to keep ten percent of the offerings for the upkeep of this important office. We had about $35.00 offering and tithes sent to help this office last month. A. D. Urshan.”

By 1924 another change had been made in the management of the Foreign Missionary Department, which seems to have been quite a headache to the PAW (and still seems to be). The following is quoted from the December 1924 issue of The Christian Outlook: “For the benefit of many who are making inquiries we wish to state that Elder G. T. Haywood has assumed the supervision of the Foreign Missionary Department. Miss Hilda Reeder and George W. Cable are assisting him in the work. Miss Reeder is an accomplished public schoolteacher who has been the foreign missions secretary for Elder Haywood’s assembly for years, while Brother Cable has acted as financial secretary at various times for years.”

From the time that it was put into his hands in 1924 until the time of his death April 1931, the supervision of the Foreign Missionary Department remained in the hands of Bishop G. T. Haywood. There seems to have been two reasons for this. First, it was a position that entailed a great deal of labor and sacrifice gratuitously rendered which no one else seemed to covet. Second, Bishop Haywood was well known to the missionaries, better probably than any other man in the PAW. He had been in contact, either by letter or in person, with many of them before there had been a PAW. He was missionary minded far beyond the average. He had a vision of the body of Christ that we seem to have lost in these days. His vision embraced the wide world. We quote from The Voice in the Wilderness of 1920: “Let us stand together and push the battle to the gate in order that the gospel of the kingdom might be preached in all the world for a witness. Then shall come the end. G. T. H.”

Brother Haywood’s interest, his love, [and] his zeal for extending the kingdom of God reached out to every nation, people, kindred, and tongue. There can be no doubt that the missionaries who carried the light to those “who sat in darkness” sensed this. At least no one can deny that he had their full confidence. They felt that at all times they had the full benefit of all his powers to aid them in whatever way it was needed, whether by prayers, comfort, advice, or financial help.

Then, as now, there were those churches that were faithful and regular with their contributions, and some not so faithful and regular, and some which had no interest whatever in foreign missionary work, claiming that we had plenty of heathen at home. But for the most part the spirit in regard to foreign missions was a more wholesome one than at present. There were many more then “whose hearts made them willing” than now. . . .

The assistants to Bishop Haywood assayed to put the missionary records in some sort of systematic order. As to the records previous to 1924 I know nothing. They are not in my files. Brother George W. Cable bought a good loose-leaf ledger which we are still using today. In it we recorded all contributions with date of receipt [and] name of church, pastor, or donor. All distributions and expenses were also recorded. The books were balanced every month and checked with bank statements. (Every record, bank statement, bank book, stub etc. is at hand in the present office.) Names and addresses of the missionaries were alphabetized and kept in the back of the ledger. A record was kept under the name of each missionary of the amounts sent him from the time we took over until his account with us was closed. Neither Brother Cable nor I had had any business training in how to keep books, but we did our very best to keep everything in order and open to inspection at any time. Nevertheless, I can look back and see that more and better records could profitably have been kept. This failure was due to lack of knowledge on our part and not to negligence.

All policies concerning the conduct of foreign missionary affairs, of course, originated with Bishop Haywood. All decisions were made by him, but he often discussed these things with his assistants. In this way we came to have quite an intimate knowledge of the missionary picture. Just when Brother Cable ceased to assist and I alone helped, I do not remember. Finally, as has been stated elsewhere, as Bishop Haywood became more and more burdened with his duties as pastor of a growing church, administrative duties as presiding officer of the PAW and editor of The Christian Outlook, a large part of the work of the department that he once did gradually and almost imperceptibly fell into my hands.

* * * * *

Haywood and Urshan were instrumental in making contact with missionaries already serving on the foreign field but with no organizational affiliation. Many of these men and women would come to accept the Apostolic message and be absorbed into the PAW. Because Haywood and Urshan had created such a fervor for world evangelism, especially during annual convention time, there were many mission candidates who wanted to enlist in the service of the Lord. Most of these early pioneers did not have the credentials necessary for missions work such as formal training and prior experience. What they possessed, though, was a deep desire to share the gospel. Today the PAW’s ranks are full of individuals who possess most of the paper prerequisites necessary for missions work, but the desire to promote the Apostolic way across the earth has become tepid in relative terms.

Both Haywood and Urshan were very charismatic yet caring, and if it were not for these two traits, many of the early missionaries would no doubt have defected to other organizations. Adequate finances, then as now, were a major problem. Still these two men, with Sister Reeder’s unyielding force of will, were somehow able, with their limited resources, to keep the missionary program afloat. Urshan and Reeder kept meticulous records, and both were known to be scrupulously honest. Haywood and Urshan stayed in contact with all of the missionaries although communication was sometimes cumbersome and slow.

As has been mentioned, prior to Haywood’s acceptance of the Jesus Name message and his entrance into the PAW, he had already established relationships, on his own, with many missionaries. The following is a roster of missionaries he tried to support financially and the year he began correspondence with them:

Roster of Missionaries Prior to 1918

L. M. Anglin, Tainanfie, Chantung, China, 1915

Adolph Hiencke, Tainanfu, Chantung, China, 1915

P. R. Rushin, Philippines, 1915

Ernest R. Bass, Yunnan-fu, South China, 1914

Estelle Bernauer, Tokyo, Japan, 1914

Robert F. Cook, Bangalore, South India, 1914

Frank and Lillian Denny, Hong Kong

Kenneth E. M. Spooner, Rustenburg, Transval, South Africa, 1915

Yoshio Tanimoto, Hiroshima, Japan, 1914

H. E. and Faith Randall, Cairo, Egypt, 1919

In 1923, the Foreign Missionary Department received through pledges and offerings $4,363 with which to conduct its business. Many times, workers in the field would receive a draft of only twenty-five dollars, thirty-five dollars, or on a good day, fifty dollars, but in those early years it would seem like a fortune.

Raising monies in the 1920s was a constant problem. The leaders were faced with the apathy and indifference of the era. Because the body was so very new, every aspect of the organization needed the immediate attention of the men who held the helm of the ship. This, of course could not be accomplished in its infant stages. Therefore, foreign missions suffered, not necessarily because the body was not concerned or tuned in to its needs, but because it was already spread thin trying to keep the ship afloat.

Hilda Reeder

George Cable, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1929

At Nazareth, from left to right: Andrew Urshan, Timothy Urshan, G. T. Haywood, Ida Haywood, Ralph Neal, Susan Lightford, an unidentified woman, Fannie Haywood, and Ada Young.

The Timothy Urshan family, PAW missionaries to Israel

Timothy Urshan, G. T. Haywood, and Abraham Urshan

G. T. Haywood and his entourage on the steamship “Patria” about to leave New York harbor for the Holy Land, 1928. Rear, left to right: Pastor Susan Lightford and G. T. Haywood. Front, left to right: Ada Young, a member of Pastor Lightford’s King’s Chapel in New York City; Pastor Lightford’s nephew, Ralph Neal; Fannie Haywood; and Ida Haywood.

The Haywood family and Andrew Urshan at a tomb

Standing on the porch of the Whites’ residence in Jamaica. Left to right: Ida Haywood, Sister White, an unidentified child, Pastor White, G. T. Haywood.

Left to right: Jamaican Pastor White, Ida Haywood, George Cable.

Haywood baptizing Timothy Urshan in the name of Jesus in the River Jordan

Elder John and Susanna Sikora, native Poles, became PAW missionaries to Tallinor Estonia, in Europe. It later became part of the Soviet Union.

The company of baptized believers under the pastorate of Elder Sikora, Estonia.

Elder and Sister J. R. Ledbetter, who served more than ten years in Africa.

Elizabeth Steiglitz, PAW missionary, and a Chinese convert, Sai Naam, South China,

Anna Raby of Pasadena, California, PAW missionary evangelist to China

Sisters Haist and Spencer with two Chinese children, 1922

Elder and Sister L. B. Sly with their daughter, Ruth, PAW missionaries in South America.

Elder and Sister Henry McCune (far right) pose with their congregation in China. The McCunes served the PAW many years in China.

A PAW Sunday school at Kwoksun, China

Elder and Sister Samuel Grimes. They spent more than ten years in Africa. He later became presiding bishop of the PAW.

Elder Eugene Cheatham and family, who ministered in Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa

Elder and Sister William Burnside, PAW missionaries to Hong Kong in the 1920s

Brother Raymond Phelps served the PAW as a missionary even though he suffered heart and lung problems.

PAW mission at Nyangori, British East Africa, 1924

The Bible class of Elder and Sister R. A. Fleming in Tokyo, Japan, December 25, 1929.

Brother Robert Cook in the rear with safari hat and clergy collar, 1926. This PAW mission was at Bangalore, South India.

Sister Cook stands in front wearing the large white hat, 1926.

From left to right: Elder and Sister Barnett of Niles, Michigan, and Brother and Sister Cobie, around 1925. Elder Barnett was a Jew and a future bishop.

Young Booker T. Scott, future renowned evangelist and district elder

Left to right: Elders B. M. David, G. B. Rowe, William Mulford, and Johnson. Elder Rowe became one of the PAW’s first five bishops.

Left to right, standing: Elders Rowe, Sander, Rayl, and Barnett. Seated: Elders Frush and Brickey.

THE CHRISTIAN OUTLOOK, OCTOBER, 1923.

AN OPEN LETTER.

DEAR BRETHREN:—

The Convention held in St. Louis October 2, to 10th has come to a close. There was a great number of Ministers present from every part of the country.

The condition of things in general thruout the country among the ministers and Assemblies called for some very drastic changes in the operation of the Headquarters’ Offices, and the officials thereof.

After four years of continual service as Chairman of the P. A. of W., Elder E. W. Doak refused re-election, having expressed his intention many months before the Convention. He has served nobly as our Chairman, and in reality, deserved a rest from such heavy responsibilities. His work in many respects have been very commendable. He was faithful to his calling.

There was a considerable amount of controversy as to who should be the next Ex-Chairman, knowing the responsibilities attached thereto. For a while the tension ran high, but the Spirit of God prevailed. To settle the question peaceably it was decided that instead of the body being controlled by an executive chairman, that seven men be chosen as Presbyters whose duty it would be to handle the affairs of the Headquarters. The Seven men, or Presbyters are to serve without compensation.

The following were chosen to constitute a Board of Seven Presbyters:—

Elder Andrew D. Urshan, Elder G. T. Haywood, Elder H. A. Goss, Elder A. R. Schooler, Elder W. E. Booth-Clibborn, Elder J. M. Turpin, and Elder T. C. Davis.

Andrew D. Urshan, was appointed Secretary of Foreign Missions; Elder G. T. Haywood, Secretary of P. A. of W., with assistance; Elder T. C. Davis, Treasurer; Elder A. R. Schooler and Elder W. E. Booth-Clibborn were appointed a Committee of Evangelism.

Elder G. T. Haywood was appointed Editor in Chief of the Christian Outlook, with Elder M. E. Mills as office assistant.

Another important feature of the Convention was that in order to better carry on our general work and expenses, all ministers holding Credentials or License are required to send annually out of their offerings, $5.00, just as soon as possible. THIS WAS CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Immediately following the passing of the same $140.00 dollars was paid in by the ministers present, while others gave their promise to send theirs in at the earliest convenience.

The report has gone out that the P. A. of W. is charging $5.00 for Credentials, but this evidently was a mistake. We are sure that those who put out such a report have had a misconception of the purpose. The fee for Credentials and License remains the same.

All Foreign Mission money sent to this office will be turned over to Andrew D. Urshan, Secretary of Foreign Missions, whose address is 866 N. State St., Chicago, Ill.

All money intended for P. A. of W. office should be made payable to the Secretary of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.

The Christian Outlook is to be published on a different basis than heretofore, in that we are going to endeavour to reach more of our own people rather than catering to the public. We expect to publish wholesome matter, but on a plainer paper. It is our desire that the price of the same be changed to 15¢ per copy, and $1.50 per year.

Owing to the trouble among some of the Ministers in the Southern part of the country, it was decided that Credentials and Fellowship Certificates for such cases should be signed by Elder T. C. Davis and Elder H. A. Goss. In cases where it is not deemed a necessity the general course will be pursued.

Since being made responsible for much of the general work of this body, I am asking for the co-operation of all the ministers and saints to make this work a success. It is your work and not mine. If we fail, you fail. If we succeed, you succeed also. Let every one do his or her duty.

The Gospel for which we stand is at stake. The name of Jesus must be upheld without fellowship and co-operation we will accomplish little. As brethren of the Lord, LET US PROVE OURSELVES. You can either help build up, or help tear down, by the words that you speak.

The minutes will be published as soon as possible. Let all ministers send in for their renewal of fellowship certificates at once, so that all will be in by the middle of December. As your Secretary, I have my hands full. To pastor our large Assembly is sufficient to consume all of my time, but for your sake and the Gospel’s, I am willing to undergo many things.

Elder G. T. Haywood.

An announcement by G. T. Haywood in the October 1923 issue of The Christian Outlook.

Cover of The Christian Outlook, September 1923

Cover of The Christian Outlook, October 1923

Cover of The Christian Outlook, November 1923

Advertisement in The Christian Outlook, 1928

Cover of the church newsletter printed by G. T. Haywood and his Apostolic Faith Assembly, Indianapolis, Indiana, May 1924.

Minute book of the Apostolic Bible Students’ Association (now the Indiana State Council), 1924

FOREWORD

There was organized at Indianapolis, Indiana, on the 30th day of June, 1924, the YOUNG MINISTERS’ BIBLE CLASS for ministers and missionaries of the Apostolic Faith Assembly. Meetings were held every two weeks, at which times we had Bible discussions on the doctrines of Christ. God seemed to place a desire to see the Brethren come together and formulate an organization that would be a help to all brethren of the State. This body voted to invite all the brethren to meet with us on the 7th and 8th days of May, 1924. In this meeting there was organized the APOSTOLIC BIBLE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION for the purpose of placing Evangelists on the field to work in new territories as well as cities where there are missions. We know that the ministers and helpers can work better when their efforts are united. Our purpose is not to interfere with other organizations, but to work in harmony with them in spreading the gospel. We can see the need of working together, and the only way to do this is through organization. We are ready to receive all brothers who desire to co-operate with us in this movement.

We feel it our indispensable duty as partakers of the “Royal Priesthood” to do all that is in our power to carry the gospel unto the people. Our chief aim is to glorify God our Saviour, and Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that He might purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works; that we might show forth his praises in the midst of a crooked and preverse generation.

The time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God. We must earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints.

MINUTES OF THE GENERAL SESSION OF THE APOSTOLIC BIBLE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

Wednesday Morning—May 7th, 1924

Meeting called to order with singing and prayer.

Scripture reading.

The entire morning session was given to testimonies and praises.

On motion to adjourn until 2 P. M., May 7th.

Wednesday Afternoon—May 7th, 1924

Meeting called to order with singing and prayer. Scripture reading led by Elder G. T. Haywood.

On Motion that, Elder G. T. Haywood be temporary CHAIRMAN. Carried.

On Motion that, Bro. Robert Tobin be temporary SECRETARY. Carried.

On Motion that, this Body be known as the Apostolic Evangelical Gospel Association of Indiana.

Elder Haywood gave interesting talks on the need of an organization to thoroughly evangelize the State and surrounding territories.

The views of some of the brethren on organization:

I believe we need a better system whereby we may get together to help fight against SIN. —Elder Vance Walker.

I believe the co-operation of the brethren is much needed in this State as well as in others. I am sure that God would bless if we would do more work in small missions.

I am sure that it would be wise for the children of God to get together to promote the cause of the Gospel. I feel God will bless us if we work not only as individuals but collectively. —Elder Leo Gill

I am in favor of reaching the smaller places. It is a great help to a small place to have help coming in from time to time. I know it was a great help to Medora to have the brethren there the time the COUNCIL met with us. It seemed to revive the saints. I believe we need something that will create an interest in the work in the small places over the state. —Elder J. H. Bennett.

I am in favor of what all these brethren have said. There are several places we need to bring together if possible. I believe this is a good thing if we get it in operation. —Elder H. C. Hackler.

On motion that this body adjourn until Thursday at 10 A. M.

Historical notes written by G. T. Haywood on July 8, 1924

Chapter 11

The Body is Rent Asunder

The general conference of 1923 met in St. Louis, Missouri, October 4-6. One of the major concerns of the meeting was establishing the functions of the Executive Board. In essence a group of dissenters concerned themselves with the power exercised by the chairman and secretary. A resolution was adopted to establish a committee of seven presbyters “who shall have oversight over the affairs of the general body,” thus superseding the present offices of chairman and secretary. On October 4, the Resolution Committee reported the names they had nominated to serve in the capacity aforementioned. They were G. T. Haywood, A. R. Schooler, D. A. Murray, W. E. Booth-Clibborn, A. D. Urshan, H. A. Goss, and E. W. Doak.

Surprisingly, some of these well-known names met with stiff opposition on the convention floor. This seems to be one of the first signs that a serious split was not only possible but imminent. Heretofore, even though dissatisfaction with leadership had existed, it was not as evident as it manifested itself on that momentous day. In particular, E. W. Doak’s leadership was being seriously questioned. D. A. Murray was also looked upon in disfavor. After much research, it cannot be determined why Doak was losing his power base, but this would be the last meeting over which he would preside. His name would never surface again in any PAW minutes or records after 1924.

The final seven men chosen to serve as presbyters were G. T. Haywood, A. R. Schooler, J. M. Turpin, T. C. David, H. A. Goss, W. E. Booth-Clibborn, and A. D. Urshan. E. W. Doak was relegated to honorary member.

The year 1923 was also when the office of district elder was established. The men chosen that year to serve as district elders were:

H. N. Wingate, Lake Charles, Louisiana

John A. Nelson, St. Paul, Minnesota

A. C. Baker, Oregon City, Oregon

S. C. McClain, Ft. Smith, Arkansas

J. R. Shinn, Glendale, Texas

Carl Tritten, Appleton, Wisconsin

E. J. Douglas, Beacon, Tennessee

F. I. Douglas, Louisville, Kentucky

James A. Frush, Newark, Ohio

J. D. Grover, Huntington, West Virginia

S. N. Hancock, Detroit, Michigan

J. M. Turpin, Baltimore, Maryland

J. D. Hildreth, Bridgeton, New Jersey

George Cook, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

H. J. Frost, West Frankfort, Illinois

W. E. Kidson, Louisiana, Missouri

J. L. Kilbourn, Appliachia, Virginia

Oddus Barber, Boston, Massachusetts

T. M. Russell, Masters, Colorado

G. A. Russell, Naylor, Missouri

J. A. Rayl, Indianapolis, Indiana

Frank Small, Winnipeg, Canada

A. J. Cullifer, Geneva, Alabama

W. L. Stallons, Little Rock, Arkansas

D. A. Murray, Longview, Texas

G. C. Lout, Shreveport, Louisiana

J. J. Munday, Oakland, California

S. L. Ross, Skiatook, Oklahoma

Also in 1923 some false teachings began to surface from some of the brethren. Prior to this time seemed to be unity of mind and purpose concerning the basic credos of the PAW and its Apostolic message. But the convention had to address certain concepts that were being circulated, such as the doctrine that the saints would receive a redeemed body before the appearance of Christ from heaven. It is recorded that several brethren were disfellowshipped for teaching such a doctrine.

Perhaps though, no other act signaled unrest as did Resolution 4, offered on October 4, 1923. It read as follows: “Be it further resolved that because of conditions now existing in many parts of the country through no fault of the brethren but rather those that oppose the work of the Lord [to whom this refers has never been determined] it is deemed advisable that two white presbyters sign the credentials for the white brethren [especially in the South] and two colored presbyters sign the papers for the colored brethren.”

How long this hypocrisy would continue would soon be answered. The PAW was sitting on a powder keg, and no one, it seems, could or would offer any solutions to the dilemma. In fairness to the brethren, not every white constituent condoned such ignorance. Many of the PAW’s finest ministers were and are still white while many of its most bellicose detractors happened to be black. It is lamentable that Pentecost’s history involves something as deplorable as prejudice.

The purpose of Satan was, is, and will always be, until he is subdued, to divide and conquer. He was about to give the PAW one of his best shots, and racial intolerance was to be the weapon.

As 1924 began, not all was peaceful within the ranks of the PAW. Most of the lay members of the PAW did not realize the deep-seated diversities that threatened the body with potential schism. Subtle signs of imminent conflict could be found in some of the issues of The Christian Outlook in 1924. There were increased calls for unity—calls to withstand the devices of Satan to destroy the body—but it would soon prove to be to no avail.

The PAW’s general conference in 1924 was held in Chicago, Illinois, October 14-19. It immediately began on an ominous note, for the convention would open without a chairman or secretary, both having been left vacant through resignations. Some of the most distinguished men of the body severed their ties with the organization before this convention ended.

On October 14, William Mulford was selected to serve as chairman pro tem but the very next day was replaced in favor of G. T. Haywood. October 15 would come to be known as “Black Thursday” for the PAW. It was a disastrous day. Open contention broke out in the ranks of the leaders. The continuous problem of white/black relationships surfaced once and for all.

For several years some of the white PAW. Brethren were holding conferences outside of the official Pentecostal Assemblies of the World’s general conferences. These meetings were not sanctioned by the ecclesiastical heads of the body. These unauthorized conferences grew out of the need for the Southern brethren to have fellowship without having to travel north each year to the general convention, or that was the reasoning they gave for their actions. It is true that many of the Southern white brethren were financially unable to travel the necessary distances north to the annual conferences, and this caused the sincere brethren to feel alienated from the organization.

The first Southern Bible Conference was held in Little Rock, Arkansas, November 3-12, 1922. The meeting was held in an old Presbyterian church near the state capitol on the corner of 5th and Victory streets. It was called by S. C. McClain and William Mulford with D. C. O. Opperman chairing the meeting. E. W. Doak, the PAW’s chairman at the time was also in attendance. All of these men were current members of the PAW.

McClain and Mulford sent out a letter of invitation that read, in part:

You will be glad that the South, this fall, is to have a gathering of all the real saints of God. A great Bible conference will be held for all the Southern states. . . .

Our purpose in calling such a meeting is to work for greater unity; we all need one another. . . . The South has long looked for and hoped for true fellowship and unity, and we believe this meeting will do a great deal to bring this about.

This is not to be the beginning of a new movement, but a gathering of God’s people where all can feel perfect fellowship in the Spirit of God. We desire to fill a vacancy left in other gatherings, and, through the Holy Spirit, be able to love one another as He has loved us.

More than sixty ministers attended. W. E. Booth-Clibborn, another member of the PAW who was also in attendance, wrote a book on the proceedings. He called it A Call to the Dust and Ashes. (Excerpts are printed in this chapter.)

At the PAW’s general conference on October 4-6, 1923, in St. Louis, Missouri, many of the same brethren who had attended the meeting in Little Rock the previous year suggested that the first two days of the 1923 conference be given over to a similar meeting, with Doak agreeing. McClain would later state that the general body felt they were being coerced into absorbing the Southern Bible Conference into the PAW’s infrastructure. McClain stated that “our brethren made the mistake of not thinking how it would sound to use the word ‘Southern’ in this Northern meeting. Then, too, I was elected chairman of this part of the conference. This was a mistake as it gave the Negro ministers the wrong impression of the purpose of the meeting. Thus our effort to promote a good thing failed and contributed further to the decision of the white ministers to leave the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.”

Perhaps if the PAW had been conceived in the 1970s or 1980s, the forces of pride, tradition, and upbringing would not have been the same, and the history of the organization would have been drastically different. Undoubtedly, great outside pressure was put on the brethren, both whites and blacks, by the prevailing thinking of the country at that time.

From September 30 to October 3, 1924, a few days prior to the PAW’s convention in Chicago, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Texas, a district of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, met in Houston, Texas. In this meeting, three important questions were addressed:

1. Should the name of the general body be changed from the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World to the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Only? They decided to change the name to the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ. Many of the ministers thought the name was too closely related to “the world.”

2. The meeting chose to change the form of government by establishing separate management, one for the white race and one for the colored race. Each would operate as separate but unified entities (if that is possible), with their own places of worship, their own ministers, boards, and responsibilities.

3. This group finally decided to supply their constituents with their own printed material and literature.

Members of this group continued to express the notion that they did not have intentions of breaking away from the PAW, but they demonstrated a real lack of sensitivity and in the estimation of this author exhibited flagrant rebellion.

Arthur Clanton, in his work United We Stand, stated, “The majority of the brethren everywhere were opposed to complete separation. During the Chicago convention in 1924, it was proposed to the General Board of Presbyters that there be an Eastern and a Western division, the one to be exclusively colored and the other exclusively white, each to issue credentials to its own people. This proposal was rejected by the General Presbyters.”

The white brethren, Clanton stated, felt their ministry was hindered; therefore, they finally chose to completely cut their ties with the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.

The break and the reasons for the break that had threatened the organization for years were finally realized on Friday, October 16, 1924. Several men who would become prominent PAW leaders were thrust on the scene by the defection of some four dozen former leaders. Names such as Austin Layne, G. B. Rowe, J. A. Rayl, J. S. Holly, F. I. Douglas, Homer White, Elmer Akers, and J. A. Nelson were among an array of newcomers.

Wounded, but undaunted, the PAW survived its most serious crisis to date. It would prove the staying power and commitment of a dedicated group of men and women. The thought of a better day became the catch-phrase of the organization. Their faith in a positive future would not fail them.

The year 1925 would prove to be pivotal in the history of the organization. By this time there were over twelve hundred ministers listed in the minute book of that year. Even with the disastrous events of 1924, the organization still experienced growth. The tenth annual convention of the PAW met September 7-10 with G. T. Haywood and the saints of Christ Temple in Indianapolis, Indiana. Haywood and his congregation had just recently moved into their new facility, which had a seating capacity of more than one thousand. Saints from across the country flocked to Indianapolis. An air of expectancy hung over the meeting. Everyone was concerned as to what actions would be taken to strengthen the weakened organization. Their anticipation was soon dispelled. Not long into the proceedings, four major resolutions were passed:

1. That the title and office of presbyter be rescinded and the office of bishop be established.

2. That a presiding bishop be chosen from a group of seven men and serve as bishop.

3. That all bishops be subject to the general body.

4. That each bishop be assigned to a designated geographical territory.

On the third day of the conference, the body selected five of the seven men nominated to serve as the first bishops of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. They were G. B. Rowe of Mishawaka, Indiana; A. R. Schooler of Cleveland, Ohio; J. M. Turpin of Baltimore, Maryland; A. F. Varnell of Vandalia, Illinois; and G. T. Haywood, of Indianapolis, Indiana. Haywood was elected to serve as the first presiding bishop of the PAW.

The other major legislation and activities of this meeting were as follows:

1. Elder Karl F. Smith of Columbus, Ohio, was elected general secretary.

2. Bishop Haywood was to continue as editor of The Christian Outlook.

3. The PAW was deep in debt, and steps were taken to help alleviate the indebtedness including:

a. The printing equipment was sold, and the decision was made to hire an outside firm to print The Christian Outlook.

b. A resolution was passed to sell the original headquarters building with the intention of purchasing a smaller building.

c. The young people approached the body with the desire to establish a National Youth Auxiliary. The request was denied, and it was not until 1933 that the National Young People’s Union was established.

These three items of business exposed an inherent weakness in the PAW that would surface time and time again during the course of its future: the inability to inaugurate bold, brave, invigorating initiatives. For instance, it would be more than fifty years before the PAW would again have the capacity to print its own literature. A few early leaders such as Haywood possessed the minds and hearts of visionaries, but most of his contemporaries could not grasp his dreams of the organization. In fact, deep-rooted jealousy and resentment against him would be one of the causes of his early demise; he died at the age of fifty.

The PAW had survived the calamitous year of 1924, and significant changes had taken place. For a few years the organization would realize a calm and cessation of trouble.

In 1925 and 1926 the ecclesiastical fathers chose to steer clear of controversial matters as much as possible. Stability within the organization was the focus of the hour. The leaders did, though, try to give a great deal of attention to keeping missions a point of concern. It should be noted that Bishop Haywood, a printer and publisher at heart, used his great influence to maintain not only the continuity but also the quality of The Christian Outlook. This was accomplished during a time when many leaders were convinced the magazine was a drain on the finances of the organization. Throughout his tenure of office, sustaining the PAW’s official monthly organ would test his patience and tenacity of spirit. The Christian Outlook was a quality periodical, but the interest level from the constituency seldom reached the appreciation it deserved.

The number of missionaries and missions seemed to be holding steady. The PAW’s missions roster of 1926 read as follows: J. R. Ledbetter and L. Badger in Monrovia, Liberia, Africa; D. L. McCarthy, India; May Iry, Robert Sonnenburg, Alice Kugler, and George Cound in China; Leonard Coote, Japan; D. F. George, Jamaica; Louise Dockson, Palestine; N. O. Gunstad, South America; and Peter Roth, Switzerland. No doubt the influence of Bishop Haywood was responsible for keeping many of these faithful sojourners within the fold. There was an open and systematic recruiting campaign, urging them to leave the PAW and join forces with other organizations. These other groups were better organized, better financed, and better equipped. For these missionaries to stay with the troubled PAW exemplified a dedication that must never be forgotten. Working under the scrutiny of outside influences, much of it negative, and with meager resources and lethargic support, these men and women accomplished miraculous achievements.

Though the PAW’s present-day missionaries and directors carry the zeal and burden of times past, they fight an uphill battle to gain the deserved attention and appreciation of the general body. In essence, the PAW’s attention to missions is minuscule in relationship to its potential. It is simply and fundamentally not missions minded.

The PAW’s eleventh annual convention met in Indianapolis, Indiana, August 30 to September 3, 1926, again with Bishop Haywood and the members of Christ Temple serving as host. These were the days when individual church congregations and their facilities could still comfortably accommodate the expected crowds.

As mentioned earlier, the ongoing theme of the leaders was to follow a course of safety and caution in rebuilding the shattered morale of the organization. The leaders of the day felt the body could not endure another convention of divisiveness. They reasoned it wise not to raise precedent-setting or controversial issues unless absolutely necessary. The meeting was very well attended and a good spirit prevailed. Several major issues had to come to the floor, but as a whole the conference was uneventful.

The Bishop Board had to address a growing problem within the local churches concerning authoritarian roles and duties of the deacon and trustee. The bishops decided to outline the biblical responsibilities of both the pastor and deacon and print them in the annual minute book starting with the 1927 issue.

Another problem arose with one of the PAW’s original five bishops, Bishop A. R. Schooler. There seems to have been a moral failure in the life of this man whose name will forever be indelibly etched in the history of the organization. Probably forced to resign as bishop, he was replaced by a personality who would in the future try to control many a focal point of discussion. Elder S. N. Hancock of Detroit, Michigan, was controversial and could be irascible. A man of huge leadership abilities, his charisma could dominate a room full of other leaders, but his stubbornness was legendary. Proof of his skills of persuasion was manifested in his taking thirteen people in the early part of the century and building a church of two thousand solid members, a great feat in those days or any other day, especially when it is remembered that he preached a very fundamental gospel.

Another future bishop, F. I. Douglas, left his former charge in Louisville, Kentucky, and was introduced to the convention as the new pastor of the Apostolic Home and Assembly in Los Angeles, California.

All in all, it was a meeting devoid of any serious trauma and potential disaster. The leaders could not have asked for or expected anything more. The ship, yet feeling the effects of a bad storm, still sailed.

G. T. Haywood conceived, designed, and drew this original layout of the PAW’s official insignia in 1921.

“A Call to the Dust and Ashes,” 1922

THE MATTER OF THIS PAMPHLET.

No apology is offered for the fragmentary character of the truth brought together in this booklet.

The Conference (that still lives with vivid reality in the memory of those who were privileged to attend) was much on its way before anything was thought about taking down in writing or keeping a record of the marvelous things that God was giving us His ministers. When finally undertaken, the task proved difficult because the meetings were numerous and the intervals short and so much was being wrought in our own hearts.

Many of the slogans and key-phrases that were voiced in this Ministerial Conference are herein collected in a permanent form. These epigrams and short maxims will be sufficient to recall those who attended the connection in which they were expressed. For others, who were not present, it will be easy to catch on to the general sense of thought. A short synopsis has been given of some of the more exceptional messages. In addition the compiler has felt led of God to insert a few brief paragraphs and passages embodying that which lay upon his heart during the Conference, and that, for lack of opportunity and time, remained unsaid. It will be seen that all these trite sayings have been arranged in some order of sequence. It has taken much work but the Lord has given wisdom and strength.

FOR WHOM INTENDED AND BY WHOM SENT.

This tract is only intended for ministers, preachers and workers and it is purposed as far as possible to limit the circulation among such only as are in the field declaring the gospel. It is published at the unanimous request of the conference assembled at the time with a view of letting all share indirectly in the benefit received during this memorable gathering of God’s own servants. It is sent in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to all who earnestly desire to be perfected more thoroughly and attain to greater usefulness as ministers of the gospel.

THE FIRST SOUTHERN BIBLE CONFERENCE.

How it came to be;—

For a long time there was a feeling that the Southern brethren especially should get together for the purpose of cultivating united action and of discussing the problems that were peculiar to their own southern field of labour. A committee was appointed to make arrangements and to finance the undertaking as well as to advertise it generally; so as to have a full representation of the Pentecostal brethren of the South. This Conference of course was called in affiliation with “The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.”

The Committee was as follows:

W. L. Stallones,

Ark.

D. C. O. Opperman

Tex.

G. C. Lout

La.

Ben Blunt

Ark.

G. C. Stroud

La.

Chas. Smith

Miss.

J. C. Brickey

Tenn.

Jas. Shinn

Tex.

C. Barringer

Mo.

C. A. Pyatt

Ark.

B. H. Hite

Mo.

E. J. Douglas

Tenn.

S. L. Ross

Okla.

J. A. Cullifer

Ala.

R. G. Cook

Ark.

W. H. Lion

Okla.

The following letter was sent by the Committee to the Pentecostal brethren in the South:

“Greetings to you fellow-soldiers in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ:

You will be glad that the South, this fall, has a gathering of all the real saints of God. A great Bible Conference will be held for all the Southern states, at Little Rock, Arkansas, November 3rd to 12th, 1922. God has done much for us in the past and we have truly had great meetings, but is God limited? Can we not have greater ones? May we not freely ask Him to make this the very best Conference we have ever had. Amen.

Our purpose in calling such a meeting is to work for greater unity—we all need each other—let us come together, even at an expense, for a ten days feast of the Word of God and to stimulate us to greater fellowship and unity. The South has long looked and hoped for true fellowship and unity and we believe this meeting will do a great deal to bring it about. All will have an equal chance to take part, etc. Signed, McLain.

It is not necessary to give the rest of the letter wherein business details are entered into, but we can well see the why and wherefore—the purpose for calling this Conference.

A REPORT.

Beloved brethren everywhere, who in these blessed latter days labor in the gospel in this “movement of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit:” Greetings to you in the love of God which never fails, peace to you all be multiplied, and grace be yours from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is difficult to describe and write about things in which the hand of God has been greatly evident, but I deem it expedient to give a short account of the ten days that were spent face to face with our God recently at Little Rock, Arkansas, U. S. A. Between sixty and seventy preachers, ministers and pastors, mostly from the Southern part of the United States met together in Conference on November 3rd and what ensued proved to be the marvellous workings of God in our midst. Matters of discussion and business were as if by mutual agreement laid aside from the first and for seven days the Conference was absorbed in spiritual things alone, the program being entirely left in the hands of God.

The first morning meeting a brother arose and simply said that the greatest crying need of the Pentecostal movement was a praying ministry. He said little more and sat down and we knelt in prayer. We arose and another brother stood to his feet and said that before coming he was approached by one of the saints inquiring of him the reason why the Conference had been called. He said he was unable to give a definite answer but that now the Conference had begun and that he was facing his brethren; while he was on his knees, God had whispered in his soul that the Conference was FOR US. We knelt again in prayer and the Spirit of God swept over us in such vigorous waves of glory that everyone was hushed in awe and melted to tears. The next to speak said in brief that for many years he had believed that we had missed God in most of our Conferences, that instead of their having been seasons in which ministers could, behind closed doors, give themselves to heart searching, confession of short comings and failures and seeking the face of God for renewed vision, greater consecration and power, they had too often proved times of debate and contention; in which matters of business were pre-eminent on the program the discussion of which frequently brought personal feeling. He said that he felt that now the time had come for God to get an opportunity to deal with His ministry, that it would be good for preachers to examine their lives, to mend their nets, to break their hearts, to weep with one another before God pleading for a fresh vision, interfceding for a lost world. Brother Opperman thereupon called the assembly to their knees. Then another, and still another brother arose; voicing each from a fresh view point the same sentiment. After each had spoken we fell upon our knees and each time it was plainly visible that God was piloting things to a desired end.

The afternoon meeting proved the same; the spirit of God began to break hearts on every side. The power of God swept us deeper and deeper into the spirit of prayer and supplication. The spiritual heat became so intense and the glory of God so manifest that one began to be afraid to get up and speak lest one might hinder or grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

There was no doubt that the searchlight of God was turned on His ministry and that the preacher was the target at which God was directing all his arrows, and as the all-seeing eye of God was felt to be focused upon each one individually we began to realize where we had came short, where we had failed God.

Some spent the days in a delirium of tears and the spirit of weeping would break forth until none could speak, none could be heard and we would fall upon our knees time and time again, and call upon God for mercy, for forgiveness, for pardon, for power, for grace, for revival, for wisdom, yea for ALL as each need be came afresh manifested.

Meetings were held at 10:30 and 3:00 and 7:30 p. m. Evangelistic services at night would be over at 11:00 and immediately thereafter another preachers’ meeting would be called and from 11:30 P. M. often we waited to see the break of a new day. Food was forgotten, sleep and other necessities of life—the reality of “things unseen” was overwhelming. For ministers alone there was an all night prayer meeting with confession. There was also a communion service alone for preachers, followed by foot washing, lasting till 3:00 in the morning—it could not be brought to an end. The love and fellowship that had grown in our midst gave expression in unending embracing and kissing that was truly holy, nningled with tears and prayers, and praises that were not merely heard or seen but felt.

Many expressed themselves at the end as having been in the furnace of purification; and it was the unanimous sentiment that God himself had led the meeting from start to finish. The entire Convention truly proved a love feast.

The special theme throughout the Conference was the preach er; his calling, his responsibilities, his vision, his walk, his be havior, his prayer life, his preaching, his compassion, his medi atorship, his purpose of heart, his face, his eyes, etc., certainly the Conference was FOR US.

The Chairman of the Committee expresses it thus: “How good it was to sit under the hammer of God’s word, to face the sword of the Spirit, and O how it did profit us to fall upon the rock and to be broken in pieces.”

Deep concern was felt by many that every single heart present should break, must break: the confessions finally became heart rending. More and more deeply did God probe and cut to the quick, till a don’t care feeling spread and everyone invited the knife. What yearnings that it should come stronger, that it should come straighter, that it should slash and slice. Every heart desired a permanent work should be done, a thorough and lasting change to be wrought. Each said “Lord deal with me.”

The evangelistic meetings proved at first to be somewhat heavy but there was a great break-through toward the last and about eighteen received the Holy Ghost and many were baptized in water.

It is impossible to describe all. Now that it is past it is al most useless to speak of it except that it may awaken in the hearts of the brethren a desire, a hunger for more meetings of this kind.

Personally I can say that without exception the best and the most beneficial Conference that I have ever attended on the American continent for the past ten years was the first Southern Bible Conference. All the glory belongs to God. There is a prayer that has been born in many a heart—anxious and concerned for the welfare, the increase and spread of God’s work and kingdom—that many conferences shall be given us through the mercies of God that shall by far exceed in power and intensity, even this of which we write—a little foretaste of mightier things to come.

Oh! Yes the business?—Well! it was astonishing how speedily it was attended to. May God revolutionize our whole mode of Conventions. Now to the matter, the meat and marrow of the exhortations. Yours for greater, better, holier preachers; for men of God that shall excel in consecration, wisdom and power.

W. E. BOOTH-CLIBBORN.

The executive officers Assemblies of the Pentecostal World, 1925

Bishop A. R. Schooler

Presiding Bishop G. T. Haywood

Bishop J. M. Turpin

Bishop G. B. Rowe

Bishop A. F. Varnell

K. F. Smith, Secretary

Advertisement in The Christian Outlook, August 1925

Left to right: G. B. Rowe, K. F. Smith, G. T. Haywood, S. N. Hancock, J. A. Rayl

The Haywood family around 1922. Seated: Ida and G. T. Haywood. Standing: their daughter, Fannie.

The Haywoods around 1926

Bishop Haywood was an avid fisherman.

Future Bishop Floyd I. Douglas, 1924

A future bishop, William Crosley, sits in the front row with the white shirt and tie, around 1927.

A future bishop, J. L. Sipes, stands in rear, third from left, around 1927.

G. T Haywood on the left and a future bishop, John Caldwell, in Los Angeles, California

Ida Haywood on the right, 1928. Note the “saved” dresses.

G. T. Haywood, standing in the middle, poses with saints on the front steps of his home, Indianapolis, Indiana.

E. F. King, Indianapolis, Indiana, became the first chairman of the National Sunday School in 1926.

Franklin E. Curts, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1926

Future Bishop Samuel Hancock, 1921, Detroit, Michigan

Chapter 12

The End of the Beginning, 1927-30

The year 1927 was fortunately another year of calm for the PAW. The annual convention was held in Indianapolis, Indiana, commencing on August 30, and except for a few noteworthy occurrences, it was uneventful. The convention’s Resolution Committee, comprised of E. F. Akers, Frank Curts, Herbert Davis, J. A. Rayl, and Austin Layne, suggested dividing the territories of the PAW into six districts or regions. Each of these districts or regions were to be presided over by a bishop, assisted by a state or district elder. This convention, then, saw the first attempt to draw geographical lines for a national organism.

From the limited records available for 1926-27, a group of concerned Sunday school leaders informally met during the convention of 1926. It can only be presumed that during this meeting these concerned individuals laid the groundwork for the establishing of what would come to be known as the Sunday School Association of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World or eventually the National Sunday School Association. During the convention of 1926, articles and bylaws were formed for such an auxiliary. Elder K. F. Smith of Columbus, Ohio; Elder Herbert Davis of Leavenworth, Kansas; Brother William Webb of Indianapolis, Indiana; Brother R. M. Davis of Baltimore, Maryland; and Elder E. F. Akers of Dayton, Ohio, were appointed to act as the Bylaws Committee. Brother E. F. King of Indianapolis, Indiana, was elected the first chairman of the National Sunday School Association. His staff included Brother R. M. Davis, vicechairman; Sister Willa B. Howard of Indianapolis, Indiana, secretary; Sister Mary Johnson of New York City, assistant secretary; Mary Johnson of Hazelwood, Pennsylvania, treasurer.

The second annual meeting of this fledgling group took place August 28, 1927, at 10:00 A.M. Another session was held in the afternoon on the same day.

Some future leaders of the PAW were chosen from the body during the 1927 convention to serve as district elders. In fact, thirty-two men would be elevated to this office. Some of the individuals whose names would become well known were Oddous Barber, R. F. Tobin, D. Chenault, J. R. Ledbetter, and B. D. Pettiford. Also elevated were Austin Layne, J. S. Holly, F. I. Douglas, J. A. Nelson, Herbert Davis, S. R. Burrow, and E. F. Akers. These men would later become bishops within the organization. J. M. Turpin, J. A. Rayl, G. B. Rowe, S. N. Hancock, and G. T. Haywood were reappointed to serve as bishops for the ensuing year with K. F. Smith serving as secretary-treasurer. Again a steady course prevailed, but it was a disguised calm, for another gathering storm cloud formed on the not-too-distant horizon.

Little substantial growth was realized the last three years of the decade of the 1920s. In hindsight it is probable that this lull contributed to the survival of the organization, for it gave the fathers the opportunity to concentrate on the spiritual aspects of the body. Their sense of anchorage and the resulting shoring up of the body’s general health would be needed. It would not be long before the organization would again be forced to prove its character and moral fiber in the face of debilitating forces.

In 1928, the country was basking in financial revelry before the Great Depression. Factories were booming at full capacity . . . money flowed like water . . . it was promised there would never be another World War . . . times were very good. The rich got richer, and the poor, though poor, had hopes of cashing in on the unlimited opportunities of the day. It was the golden age of Hollywood, of sports, of politics. America had a champagne mentality—the good could only become better. The Holiness movements and specifically Pentecostalism still carried a stigma but nothing like the early days of the twentieth century and what Parham, Seymour, and others had to endure.

Churches of the Apostolic persuasion were growing by leaps and bounds. Though the average PAW assembly in 1928 numbered 35 to 50 members, large for that day, it was not an exception for some churches to claim 200, 300, 400, and even close to 1,000 members. Bishop Haywood’s Christ Temple in Indianapolis was closing in on 1,000 members. Bishop Turpin in Baltimore claimed 300 to 400 members. Bishop Hancock of Detroit could claim an equal number. Numerous assemblies throughout the country had congregations of 150 to 200 people, a good number even by today’s standards. It was a moderately good time for Pentecost as a whole. The racial attitudes of the day had not changed much, but there was a concerted effort by the PAW to rise above the racist attitudes of the time.

The Christian Outlook of 1928 and 1929 suggests the apparent growth of the PAW, especially regarding the organizing of councils and the growth of individual churches. Here are some excerpts from The Christian Outlook of 1928 and 1929 which speak of that growth.

April 1928

Los Angeles, California. We wish to praise the Lord for sending us Sister Helen Allen of Louisville, Ky. During her three weeks’ meeting fifteen were baptized, ten filled with the Holy Ghost, and five restored.

Elder F. I. Douglas

June 1928

Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Lord is blessing here in spite of all the enemy can do. During a special meeting held recently, over twenty were baptized in Jesus’ name and several received the Holy Ghost. Visits from Brothers Rowe, Tobin, Gill, and others have aided in strengthening us to fight the battle against sin. The work is prospering under the pastorate of Elder Guy E. Eason.

May 1928

Akron, Ohio. The Lord is blessing here again after a long dry season. The rain is falling. Seven have been baptized in Jesus’ name and two received the Holy Ghost. Pray for us here.

Elder W. C. Johnson

June 1929

Northern District Council. The Northern District Council of the PAW, which was organized at Grand Rapids, Michigan, in October of 1928, convened for the fourth time in Battle Creek, Michigan, in April and the assembling was the largest of any of the preceding meetings. God met us there and the part of the city in which we met was stirred. Pray for us that God will be glorified and His people be helped.

Bishop S. N. Hancock—Detroit, Michigan, Chairman

July 1929

Dayton, Ohio. We are glad to report victory in Jesus’ name. His blessings are still showered upon us here. We have baptized 188 in Jesus’ name and many of them have received the Holy Ghost since our taking over the work. Our building is too small to accommodate the people, so the Lord has opened the way for us to buy and build. Continue to pray for us.

Elder William Martin

* * * * *

The PAW was growing, but with positive growth there usually exist unique challenges. The daughter of Bishop Haywood, the late Fannie Haywood Ellis, told me before she went to be with God that it was about this time (1928-29) that her father and his leadership as presiding bishop began to be seriously challenged. To quote Sister Ellis, “The conventions in the late 1920s and early 1930s were a test of my father’s patience, character, stamina, determination, and resiliency, for many of his contemporaries made his life miserable. . . . My father was not an argumentative person but one who always attempted to meet a potentially volatile situation with diplomacy and tact. He carried many ‘bloody’ men until he too became bloody. The pressures and burden of carrying the PAW through some of its most difficult days eventually broke him.” When asked what she felt was the single cause of her father’s early demise at fifty, she remarked, without hesitation, “the brethren.”

Things seemingly have not changed much since then, for often there exists a highly combative attitude in some of the PAW’s convention settings. While most of “the brethren” are sincere and want nothing more than to praise God, to experience fellowship among the constituency and for the organization to realize success, a true sense of unity factor is still to be fulfilled.

The PAW’s thirteenth annual convention met in Chicago, Illinois, on September 3 to 7, 1928. The major events of this convention included:

- The emergence and outspokenness of Elder Samuel Grimes, who would later become the second presiding bishop of the PAW. From the minutes of this convention, he seems to have been very vocal.

- The emergence and prominence during the convention of the Eastern District Council, which was comprised of the states on the eastern seaboard. Its official delegate was Elder P. J. Bridges.

- The elevation of soon-to-be prominent names to the office of district elder, including Elders Leonard Coote and S. K. Grimes.

As 1929 closed out the decade, the body still survived. After the calamitous year of 1924, few had given the PAW any chance to survive beyond that year, but it was, as can be seen, destined of God to carry on.

When the record of the 1920s, especially the late 1920s, is presented and objectively studied, the fortitude of the early fathers of that era demands that they be admired. It is true that the PAW often seemed to trifle in superfluous debate, rhetoric, and inconsequential parliamentary procedure. The record would ostensibly and readily suggest that during this decade very little real substantive legislation was enacted to catapult the organization into a new, higher realm of service.

Yes, there was the establishment of a few councils, the elevation (at which the PAW would become adept) of brethren to the office of bishop, the creation of the office of district elder, the drawing up of a few dioceses, and the organizing of the National Sunday School Association, The Christian Outlook, the National Women’s Federation, and the Foreign Missions Board. But despite success in these areas, the organization would plod along at a snail’s pace, not necessarily because of the lack of dynamic leadership, but because of what has plagued the PAW for years—the lack of dynamic “followership.” The quality of active, visionary, hands-on support from the “followership” level was lacking in the 1920s. It still shackles the national leaders of the PAW with the inability to exercise, promote, and bring to fruition their dreams for this generation. This, and the fact that many of the brethren were yet concerned with advancing their own personal causes instead of focusing on the advancement of the organization, stifled the body’s progress.

But the sincere, the honest of heart, the dedicated, those who silently and without fanfare made up the backbone of this great organization cannot be denied their due, for these “young dreamers” and “old visionaries” had courage. They had will, they had spirit, they had “guts.” It takes a special, unique integrity to stay on board what seems to most a floundering vessel, and for a few years in the mid 1920s, that is what the PAW resembled. Still, the majority of the PAW’s patriarchs stayed. If they accomplished nothing else, they stayed. They endured. If their record seems to be a microcosm of futility, history must testify of their resiliency, for they did endure.

An objective history can have no place for sentimentality. Unfortunately, histories are written by and read by potentially subjective men and women. It is nearly impossible to review the lives of these individuals and not draw some conclusions. I have attempted with all diligence to write a history as far removed from subjectivity as possible, but to some it may seem these closing remarks drip with the opinionated sentiment of a love novel. I hope that is not the case. But it seems that longevity and steadfastness should merit the accolades of those blessed with the advantage of hindsight.

In the end, the legacy of success cannot or should not be gauged by things accomplished, accrued, or accentuated. God’s barometer of success is simply based on the final issue of how faithful to His mission His people have been. If that is the case, the fathers must be judged successful, for they were, if nothing else, faithful. They could even be described as chalices of gold.

The last PAW convention of the 1920s met in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 27-30, 1929, with Bishop Haywood presiding. During this meeting, F. I. Douglas of Los Angeles, California; R. G. Pettis of East St. Louis, Illinois; and A. William Lewis of Cleveland, Ohio, were nominated and subsequently elevated to the office of bishop. K. F. Smith of Columbus, Ohio, was again elected as secretary-treasurer. Two future bishops were elevated to the office of district elder: John Caldwell of San Diego, California, and Bennie Nelson of Red Wing, Minnesota.

As with the previous four conventions, no major problems or debates reached the convention floor. A “business as usual” spirit prevailed.

There was peace for the moment, but it would not last long. The twenties were over. The thirties would bring more heartache, division, and disillusionment.

If there is one scriptural reference that could adequately describe the PAW’s continued existence at the close of 1929, it would be I Samuel, 7:12, on the occasion of Israel’s magnificent defeat over their incessant enemies, the Philistines: “Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying,

Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.”

F. I. Douglas on the left and G. T. Haywood

Bishop G. B. Rowe, second from the left, and R. F. Tobin, third from the left, share a light moment with some brothers.

Left to right: J. A. Rayl, an unidentified brother, and Bishop G. B. Rowe, 1928

“Let us go into the house of the Lord.” People, from the time of the early church, have needed a place to worship. The history of the church building is as diverse as the history of the church itself. The following pictures are some of the PAW church buildings from around 1916 to the late 1920s.

Apostolic Home and Assembly, Los Angeles, California, around 1924

Bishop J. M. Turpin’s assembly, Baltimore, Maryland

Holiness Apostolic Center, Boston, Massachusetts, 1926

Apostolic Faith Assembly

Elder E. F. Akers’s assembly, Dayton, Ohio, 1926

Apostolic Faith Assembly, Athens, Ohio, 1928

Part of a holiday calendar given by Christ Temple, Indianapolis, Indiana

The Building of a Temple

Bishop Haywood and his official board break ground, 1924

Mules were used to haul large stones.

The brethren build the walls.

This tent was used while remodeling was being done at Christ Temple, 1919.

The finished temple, 1924

The sanctuary; final cost: $80,000.00

Advertisement in August 1927 Christian Outlook

Appendix

Minutes of

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World,

1918-20

The original minute book of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, 1918-19

•APPENDIX A

MINUTES OF THE PENTECOSTAL ASSEMBLIES OF THE WORLD, JANUARY 21, 1918.

The meeting was called to order by J. J. Frazee, General Superintendent.

Motion made and carried that J. J. Frazee act as chairman for the convention.

Motion made and carried that W. E. Kidson act as secretary for the convention.

Motion made and carried that only Spirit filled saints be permitted to attend business meetings.

Motion made and carried that editors G. T. Haywood, F. J. Ewart and D. C. O. Opperman be the committee to consider suggestions to be brought up before the convention.

Motion made and carried that Thursday evening be given for missionary meeting and that a collection should then be taken for that part of the work.

Report given by L. Leibowitz of his work with the government in behalf of the P. A. of W.

Valuable information given by a number of brethren as to the requirements of the laws to receive recognition without being chartered.

Definite information given by G. T. Haywood that all ministers are exempt from draft for military service.

Motion made and carried to adjourn.

W. E. KIDSON, Sec’y.

January 22, 1918.

The meeting was called to order by J. J. Frazee, chairman.

Motion made and carried that minutes of last meeting be accepted.

Motion made and carried that The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World and the General Assemblies of the Apostolic Assemblies unite as one body.

Motion made and carried to adjourn.

W. E. KIDSON, Sec’y.

January 23, 1918.

The meeting was called to order by J. J. Frazee, chairman.

Motion made and carried that minutes of last meeting be accepted.

Motion made and carried that G. A. of A. A. and P. A. of W. vote separately to declare its offices non-existent and its officers relieved of their respective positions.

Motion made and carried that The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World be used as the name for the united body.

Motion made and carried that all officers be elected for one year from date.

Motion made and carried that all offices as existed in the P. A. W. be retained in the united body with the addition of treasurer.

Motion made and carried that J. J. Frazee act as General Superintendent.

Motion made and carried that house be open for the nomination of secretary and treasurer.

D. C. O. Opperman elected secretary unanimously.

H. A. Goss elected treasurer unanimously.

Motion made and carried that F. J. Ewart, G. T. Haywood, H. A. Goss, L. V. Roberts and L. C. Hall act as committee to consider credential application blanks.

Motion made and carried that above committee also make suggestions for Field Superintendents.

Motion made and carried to adjourn.

W. E. KIDSON, Sec’y.

January 23, 1918.

The meeting was called to order by J. J. Frazee, General Superintendent.

Motion made and carried that all officers are non-existent and all officers relieved of their respective duties from this date.

Motion made and carried to adjourn.

W. E. KIDSON, Acting Sec’y.

January 24, 1918.

The meeting was called to order by J. J. Frazee, chairman.

Motion made and carried that the charge for issuing credentials be reduced to 50c and that a fellowship certificate be attached to every credential and a charge of 25c made yearly for renewing the same.

Motion made and carried that 1/5 of receipts from credentials be given to the secretary and 4/5 to the General Superintendent.

Motion made and carried that all credentials given by the P. A. W. and G. A. A. A. be invalid on and after July 1, 1918, and that all renew as soon as possible.

Motion made and carried that application blank for credential as presented to the body be accepted.

Motion made and carried that office of treasurer be transferred to J. J. Frazee.

Motion made and carried that the duties of the Field Superintendents shall be as follows:

To have a general survey over the field wheresoever they may perchance to be and to investigate any questionable applicant or holder of credential and to with-hold or recall any application blank or credential upon the evidence of two or more substantial witnesses, and report the same to the secretary who will immediately report the same to the general superintendent with the evidence signed by said superintendent and witnesses giving place and date wherein proof was obtained.

Moreover the Field Superintendents shall be one in doctrinal points that mark the distinction of this branch of the work from all others, in order that they may be able to render proper service in keeping the work in the unity of the Spirit until we all come to the unity of the faith.

The power of the Field Superintendent in conjunction with local pastors and assemblies shall be to assist them as far as possible on a mutual plain in any difficulty they may be called upon by said pastor and assembly for an advisory council.

Motion made and carried that money received for credentials by the Field Superintendents be forwarded to the treasurer and General Superintendent, J. J. Frazee.

Motion made and carried that the brethren as selected by the committee as Field Superintendents be voted on as a whole.

Motion made and carried to adjourn.

W. E. KIDSON, Sec’y.

January 25, 1918.

The meeting was called to order by J. J. Frazee, chairman.

Motion made and carried that minutes of last meeting be accepted.

Motion made and carried that Field Superintendents require every applicant to fill out the application blank in full without exception.

Motion made and carried that all Field Superintendents shall be blameless; the husband of one wife; of good behavior; not a novice; one that rules his own house well. (1 Tim. 3:1-7;) Titus 1:5-9.

Motion made and carried that General Superintendent have new credentials and application blanks printed not later than ten days after the close of convention. Motion made and carried that present officers hold their position for one year and thereafter until his successor be elected.

Motion made and carried that G. T. Haywood, D. C. O. Opperman, F. J. Ewart and J. J. Frazee have authority to fill any vacancy in office.

Motion made and carried that all credentials be signed by J. J. Frazee, General Superintendent, D. C. O. Opperman, Secretary, and a Field Superintendent, otherwise they are invalid.

Motion made and carried that credentials be issued only to those who are properly ordained and have ample proof of their ministry.

Motion made and carried that local preachers should have credentials or letter of recommendation from their local assembly and no one be on the general list except those who are worthy beyond dispute and eligible to clergy rates.

Motion made and carried that all credentials from this date be signed by the officers as named above.

Motion made and carried that G. T. Haywood, D. C. O. Opperman and F. J. Ewart arrange for the next meeting of the body.

Motion made and carried that all those selected and considered qualified by the committee for Field Superintendents be unanimously elected.

Motion made and carried that all applications for credentials should be on new form to be printed and no more old blanks used.

Motion made and carried that a woman can fill the offices of Evangelist or Missionary, but not Pastor or Elder.

Motion made and carried that all ministers of the PAW be advised to extend to all visiting ministers true ministerial courtesy when they come into their midst.

Motion made and carried that G. T. Haywood draw up articles of advice and admonition to ministers to pray for all rulers and this to be published in the Blessed Truth, Meat in Due Season, and Voice in the Wilderness.

Motion made and carried that D. C. O. Opperman, G. T. Haywood, and F. J. Ewart act as information bureau relative to things legal pertaining to the movement and also as a passport bureau.

Motion made and carried that missionary offerings

1919-1920 minute book of PAW

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE

Pentecostal Assemblies of the World

The “Pentecostal Assemblies of the World” is the continuation of the great revival that began at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, A. D. 33, and is founded upon the foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the Chief Corner Stone. Acts 2:1-42, Eph. 2:19, 20. Although the true followers have been little known yet from that time until now there has always been earnest contenders “for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” See Jude 3; I Kings 19:18.

At various intervals, throughout the past centuries, the followers of the apostolic faith and doctrines have become prominent through great revivals that have appeared in Great Britain, United States and Canada.

In the days of Tertullian (A. D. 207), Chrysostom (4th century), Christians of 13th century, the early Quakers, Wesley, Whitefield, and Irving the gifts and manifestations of the apostolic church were much in evidence as the revival spirit swept over the country.

In Kansas (1901) the revival broke forth and moved southward to Texas, being known locally only, but finally reaching Los Angeles, California (1906), from whence it spread throughout the whole earth, entering into nearly every nation under heaven, penetrating the heathen darkness of India, China. Africa and the Isles of the sea, fulfilling the commission of our Lord, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,” (Mar. 16:15-20; Matt. 28:18, 19; Lu. 24:47-49; Acts 1:4-11), and proclaiming the soon coming of the Lord.

So great was the awakening that in a few years in nearly every town of any size whatever there were witnesses to the pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit (Lu. 24:48; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:4), and soon there began to appear in different localities places of worship where in the gifts of the Spirit were manifested, designating themselves by such names as The Apostolic Faith Mission, Pentecostal Mission, Apostolic Faith Assembly, Full Gospel Assembly or Mission, Assembly of God, etc., their one common aim being to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” in the days of the apostles, taking the Bible as their creed, discipline, and rule of order and charter.

Our chief aim is to glorify God our Savior, even Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works; that we should show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light; and that we may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom we shine as light in the world, holding forth the Word of Life, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide their feet into the way of peace. See Tit. 2:13, 14; 1 Pet. 2:9; Phil. 2:15, 16; Lu. 1:79.

Our duty is to lift up the fallen, visit the sick, strengthen the

WHOLLY SANCTIFIED LIFE.

We believe that in order to escape the judgment of God and to have the hope of enjoying the glory of life eternal, one must be thoroughly saved from their sins, wholly sanctified unto God and filled with the Holy Ghost. And that a wholly sanctified life is the only true standard of a Christian Life. Heb. 12:14; I Pet. 1:15-17.

RULES GOVERNING TIIE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PENTECOSTAL ASSEMBLIES OF TIIE WORLD.

BY-LAWS.

ARTICLE I.

Section 1. Each annual session of this Body shall be designated and called “The General Assembly of The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World,” and each meeting of the Board of General Elders thereof shall be called “The Assembly of the Board of General Elders of The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.”

Sec. 2. The officers thereof shall consist of a General Overseer, Vice-General Overseer, General Secretary, Assistant General Secretary, General Treasurer, and Secretary and Treasurer of Foreign Missions; and a board of three to work in conjunction with the Secretary and Treasurer of Foreign Missions; a committee of three on evangelism, to be selected by the Executive Board; and a board of twenty-four (24) General Elders, including the General Overseer, Vice-General Overseer, and General Secretary, who shall hold office for the term of one year, or until their successors are elected and do accept.

ARTICLE 2.

Section 1. General Overseer, Vice-General Overseer, General Secretary, General Treasurer, Secretary and Treasurer of Foreign Missions, shall be nominated in order, and elected by a majority vote of the Ministerial members present and voting,—including recognized women evangelists,—such officers to be elected by ballot.

Sec. 2. The Assistant General Secretary shall be chosen by the General Secretary.

Sec. 3. The General Overseer, Vice-General Overseer, and General Secretary, shall constitute an Executive Board.

ARTICLE 3.

Section 1. General Elders may be selected by the General Assembly, or by committee of five (5) selected for such purpose; and when selected may be elected as provided in Article 2, and shall be chosen from any portion of the world wherein such selection shall be deemed necessary; and when all of said General Elders have not been selected and elected as herein provided, before the General Assembly shall have closed,-then the Executive Board may select and elect the number sufficient to make up the whole number.

Sec. 2. Said Board of General Elders shall have such authority as may be delegated to it collectively or to each member thereof individually by the General Assembly.

ARTICLE 4.

All motions of importance, and resolutions, shall be in writing and signed by the moving party, and be determined at time of such submission, or on a day and hour thereafter to be fixed by the General Assembly; or may be referred to a committee for action and report thereon.

ARTICLE 5.

Voting on matters before the General Assembly, shall be by the uplifted hand, and, in case of doubt, the presiding officer or any member may call for the ayes and nays, which shall be recorded by the Secretary, and a majority of those present and voting, shall determine such matter voted on; except in the case of the election of the officers as herein provided.

ARTICLE 6.

Section 1. Persons desiring to receive Credentials, in connection with this Body, shall be at least twenty-one (21) years old.

Sec. 2. Must have had the one Baptism, as prescribed in Acts 2:4, 8a; Acts 10:44 to 48; Acts 19:1 to 6; and believe in, teach, and preach the same, and shall have had such Baptism at least one year.

Sec. 3. Shall have worked as a faithful worker with some local Assembly at least one year, and shall secure from the Pastor of the Assembly a written recommendation thereof.

Sec. 4. Must be able to read and write.

Sec. 5. Must be able to conduct a religious service when necessary.

Sec. 6. Must be able to officiate at a Marriage Ceremony, Funeral Service, Baptismal Service, and the Lord’s Supper.

Sec. 7. Women Evangelists shall be permitted to officiate at Marriage Ceremony, Funeral Service, Baptismal Service, and Lord’s Supper, in cases of emergency.

Sec. 8. When such Women Ministers, having charge of Assemblies at the present, or at the time of the passing of these By-Laws, and whenever a woman evangelist enters into a field and raises up a work, she shall maintain oversight thereof as long as she is there, until a man is raised up in their midst, who will know and understand the situation sufficiently to be entrusted therewith: subject to the General Assembly to adjust such matters as may be deemed necessary.

Sec. 9. Any person desiring to be licensed as a worker in this Body, may obtain such License, by complying with the following requirements:

(a)    Must have the One Baptism as above set forth.

(b)    Believe in same.

(c)    Must have had some fruits of the Spirit in their lives.

(d)   Must obtain a letter of recommendation from him (her) home assembly, wherein he (or she) has been working, showing fitness and ability.

(e)   Shall present such letter, with Application, to the General Secretary, who shall thereupon issue License to such worker.

ARTICLE 7.

Section 1. Ordination may be had and given, after candidate has met requirements, by the General Elder of the District and two or more Ministers of the Gospel, in the faith, so acting.

Sec. 2. No person shall be ordained, or licensed, who has divorced his wife (or her husband), and remarried, since coming into the Body of Christ;—both of whom having been members of the Body of Christ.

ARTICLE 8.

The General Assembly in session, or Board of Elders in session, may fill any vacancy in office occasioned by death, resignation, or removal.

ARTICLE 9.

The person moving a resolution, or motion, may open and close the debate thereon; and such person may take not more than fifteen (15) minutes of time on any motion, resolution, or question, unless special permission for such purpose be given.

ARTICLE 10.

The Headquarters of The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, being located at Indianapolis, Indiana; yet a subsequent session thereof may be held in some other city of the United States should the General Assembly so decide.

ARTICLE 11.

The Manual of Rules-of-Order (Roberts’) shall be referred to for decision and acceptance, whenever consistent with the Holy Ghost and us.

ARTICLE 12.

These By-Laws may be amended at any session of The General Assembly; provided such amendment be in writing and presented to The General Assembly, in session, on the day prior to the action thereon.

RULES-OF-ORDER.

1. The General Assembly of The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World shall be called to order by the presiding Officer, opened with prayer to God, followed by an exhortation by the Chairman, or someone whom he may appoint.

2. Reading and approval of the Minutes of the last stated and intervening meeting of the General Assembly, and its Board of Elders (if any such has been had). And such Minutes may be approved by the statement of the presiding officer, viz.: “Therefore if no objections, the Minutes will be approved as read.”

3. Reports of Committees and Officers.

4. Unfinished business.

5. New business, and appointment of Committees.

6. Hearing of appeals, and grievances.

7. Selection, and election, of Officers for the ensuing year.

8. These Rules-of-Order may be amended at any session of the General Assembly.

9. Motion to adjourn.

The foregoing By-Laws, and Rules-of-Order, having been adopted at a regular session of The General Assembly of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World held assembled at Indianapolis, Indiana, commencing October 10, 1919, and ending October 19, 1919, the following Motions and Resolutions were also adopted:

1. On motion, the By-Laws and Rules-of-Order be adopted as a whole, and all, or any, conflicting actions of the Body as a whole, or in part, are repealed.

2. On motion that “The Voice in the Wilderness;” and “The Blessed Truth,” be recognized as the official organs of this Body for the ensuing year.

3. On motion that this Convention appoint a Committee of three (3), whose members shall be authorized to inaugurate great evangelistic campaigns throughout The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World; and that the whole movement be exhorted to earnest and prevailing prayer for the mightiest aggressive, systematic evangelists yet seen, whose slogan shall be, “The Redemption of the World by the Power of God.”

That the above-mentioned Committee be instructed to take such steps with the Local or District councils, as will be necessary to care for the fruits of revivals.

That the alcove-mentioned Committee be authorized to receive finances for the execution of these campaigns, and that the Saints of God everywhere be entreated to heartily support the same.

4. Resolved, That each Assembly and Minister of the Gospel be requested to send to The General Secretary a liberal offering before December 1, 1919.

5. Resolved, That all Assemblies, connected with The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, be requested to place under the names of their places of worship, the words, (“The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World,”) in brackets, or, (“P. A. of W.”) in brackets, to give some sign of systematic fellowship.

6. Resolved, That the funds received from Credentials be applied to the expenses of the office of the General Secretary.

7. Resolved, That in view of the fact that the adoption of the present Constitution with its accompanying by-laws has totally annulled the former practice of forwarding missionary money to the three official organs of this Body hereinafter named, to-wit: “The Voice in the Wilderness,” “The Blessed Truth,” and “Meat in Due Season,” and in order that the various Assemblies or individuals contributing donations to the general missionary treasury be better informed its to the expenditure and distribution of said funds to the various workers or fields; therefore be it

Resolved That a financial report be published once each month by one of the official papers designated by action of this Body as official organs in rotation relative to the disbursement of the above-mentioned missionary funds.

8. Resolved That this Body select a General Secretary and Treasurer of Foreign Missions to receive and distribute missionary funds to the various missionaries who are standing for the present message, on the name of JESUS, keep a record of the amounts sent to each person monthly, in order to more equally distribute the same.

And, that each Assembly be requested to set aside the second Sunday of each month as a day to lift special missionary offerings, and send the same to the General Secretary and Treasurer of Foreign Missions.

That, a special Board be appointed to work in conjunction with the General Secretary and Treasurer of Foreign Missions, to advise and encourage the various Assemblies to remember this particular cause.

9. On Friday, October 10, 1919, the following motions were adopted:

(a) Bros. L. C. Hall, D. C. O. Opperman, G. T. Haywood, and S. E. Cheeseman, be appointed a committee of four (4) with power to appoint other three (3), making a committee of seven (7) as a whole, to consider and act upon Resolutions, referring them back to the General Body for vote of adoption, such resolutions to be presented in writing, signed by the maker and given to the General Secretary.

And in pursuance of such motion, said committee reported they had added thereto the following persons, namely, Bros. A. C. Baker, C. R. Wilkes and Alexander R. Schooler, making the committee as a whole.

(b) That the Order of Business as outlined by Bro. S. E. Cheeseman in typewritten statement, be adopted in all of its sections as a whole.

10. On October 13, 1919, the following motion was adopted: That a committee of five (5) on Credentials, be appointed having power to act on the question of complaints, appeals, or grievances; said committee to consist of the following-named persons, namely: Bros. H. A. Goss, H. E. Reed, Earl D. Hill, R. C. Lawson and James Turpin.

11. On Tuesday, October 14, 1919, the following resolution was adopted: That on Thursday, October 16, 1919, at 10:30 A. M., this Assembly should commence and determine by deliberation, the following Scriptural questions:

(a) That one baptism, as recorded in Acts 2:4, Acts 10:44-48, Acts 19:1-6, is evidenced by the speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance, its the initial evidence thereof.

(b) That the New Birth (being “born again”), includes a genuine repentance, water-baptism in Jesus’ name, and the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.

(c) That the Lord’s Supper, (blessing the bread and wine, and partaking thereof), was continued by the Church after the Day of Pentecost.

12. On Wednesday, October 15, 1919, the following officers were elected, for the ensuing year:

General Overseer—Eld. E. W. Doak, Indianapolis, Ind.

Vice-Gen. Overseer—Eld. Alexander R. Schooler, Cleveland, Ohio.

General Secretary—Eld. G. T. Haywood, Indianapolis, Ind.

General Treasurer—Eld. T. C. Davis, Indianapolis, Ind.

Sec’y. and Treasurer of Foreign Missions—EId. George B. Studd, Los Angeles, Calif.

13. On motion a Committee of five (5) be appointed for nomination to the office of General Elder such names as they choose, said committee to consist of the following appointed persons:

Eld. E. W. Doak, Gen. Overseer.

Eld. A. R. Schooler, Vice-Gen. Overseer.

Eld. G. T. Haywood, General Secretary.

Eld. A. C. Baker, General Elder.

Eld. H. A. Goss, General Elder.

14. On motion report of General Secretary on Finances be adopted.

15. On motion clause in By-Laws providing for office of Secretary and Treasurer of Foreign Missions, also include provision for the appointment of a Missionary Board having for its purpose the stirring up of interest in the cause of foreign Missionaries who are standing for the present truth. In accordance therewith, Eld. D. C. O. Opperman, Eld. G. T. Haywood, and Eld. Andrew C. Baker, to constitute a special Board, to work in connection with the Secretary and Treasurer of Foreign Missions.

16. On motion a Missionary offering be lifted at Tomlinson Hall on Sunday afternoon, October 19, 1919, same, when taken, to be sent to the Secretary and Treasurer of Foreign Missions.

17. On motion that the Executive Board be empowered to establish a Headquarters Office at Indianapolis, Ind.

18. On Thursday, October 16, 1919, this Assembly commenced its deliberation on the three questions specified in the resolution of October 19, 1919, which same were finished on Saturday, October

18, 1919, it being the opinion of a majority of this Assembly that the affirmative of these questions was correct.

19. (a) Friday, October 17, 1919, the following motion was passed, viz.: That the Assistant General Secretary be empowered to act as Joint-Secretary for the issuing of Credentials or License in the Southwestern section of the country.

(b) The report of the Credential Committee was adopted.

(c) That we require written recommendation from General Elder in the District where applicant lives, to accompany each application for a renewal of Fellowship Certificate.

(d) That Ordination Services be held by this Assembly on October 18, 1919, after the regular order of business is concluded.

20. On Saturday, October 18, 1919, the following business was transacted:

1. Committee on selection of Elders reported the following names as General Elders, to-wit:

D. C. O. Opperman, Eureka Springs, Ark.

Andrew C. Baker, Oregon City, Oregon.

R. C. Lawson, New York City.

F. J. Ewart, Los Angeles, Calif.

W. E. Kidson, Louisiana, Mo.

C. R. Wilkes, Boston, Mass.

L. C. Hall, Zion City, Ill.

H. A. Goss, Pictou, Ont.

Frank R. Anderson, Lohn, Tex.

Earl D. R. Hill, Mt. Vernon, Ill.

F. I. Douglas, Louisville, Ky.

W. E. Booth-Clibborn, St. Paul, Minn.

J. M. Turpin, Baltimore, Md.

E. J. Douglas, Beacon, Tenn.

Frank Small, Winnipeg, Man.

James Frush, Newark, Ohio.

G. C. Lout, Noble, La.

Which said names were adopted and said persons elected as part of the said General Elders; thereupon the Executive Board was directed to supply the rest of the names for such Board of General Elders.

2. Also, the following motion was adopted: That the selection of the time and place of the next session of The General Assembly be made by the Executive Board.

3. On motion that the business part of The General Assembly close, and that the Convention adjourn after the closing meeting in Tomlinson Hall, Sunday night, October 19, 1919.

E. W. DOAK, General Overseer.

G. T. HAYWOOD, General Secretary.

Ministerial Record

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 10.

Abanathy, William, 1806 Dakota St., Dayton, Ohio. Evangelist.

Adams, Jessie, Trumann, Ark. Licensed.

Adams, Lillian M., 2105 W. 6th Ave., Vancouver, Brit. Columbia.

Airhart, W. M., 919 N. Senate Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Alexander, N., 509 E. 33rd St., Chicago, Ill.

Allen, G. H., Beach Bluff, Tenn.

Anderson, Mrs. Bess D., Lohn, Tex. Evangelist.

Anderson, Mrs. Elizabeth, Buffalo, N. Y.

Anderson, Frank R., Lohn, Tex. Evangelist.

Anderson, Harvey D., San Antonio, Tex., Evangelist.

Angel, John B., 386 9th St., Oakland, Calif.

Angel, Lucy A., 386 9th St., Oakland, Calif.

Applegate, Mrs. Annie, 924 S. 31st St., Billings, Mont.

Arensbach, C. N., 1634 N. Fairfield Ave., Chicago, Ill.

Arenson, Oscar, St. James, Minn.

Armstrong, John, 357 S. Mounds St., Dayton, Ohio.

Atkinson, Harry F., 800 N. Ohio Ave., Atlantic City, N. J.

Atkinson, Mrs. Minnie, Merryville, La.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 20.

Bacchus, M. Z., 72 Broad St., New Britain, Conn.

Baddell, Saul E., 3065 Lau Franco St., I.os Angeles, Calif.

Baggett, Bennie, Le Blanc La.

Baggett, Mary T. Kinder La.

Baker, Andrew C., 600 Duane St., Oregon City, Ore.

Baker, Lulu S., 600 Duane St.. Oregon City, Ore.

Ball Walter, Henryetta, Okla. Evangelist.

Ballinger, C. M., 223 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, Calif.

Baninger, C. E., 807 W. Cherry St., Marion, Ill.

Banon, Mary E., Oakland, Calif.

Barber, Oddous, 610 Shawmut Ave., Boston, Mass.

Barlow, Miss Delilah, Walnut Springs Tex.

Barnett, Rose, 1205 Dimesville St. Louisville Ky. Licensed.

Bates, Chas. W., Oakland, Calif.

Bates, Jane L., Oakland, Calif.

Bates, Monroe, Cedar Glades, Ark.

Bateson, Albert, Oakland, Calif. Evangelist.

Beaty, Elmer, Kansas City, Mo.

Beaver, G. C., Kansas City, Mo,

Beaver, William J., 917 E. No. St., Greensburg, Ind.

Beaver, Mrs. M., 917 E. No. St., Greensburg, Ind.

Bennett, F. A., R. F. D., Ft. Smith, Ark.

Bennett, J. H., Medora, Ind., Box 92.

Bennett, Mrs. J. H., Box 92, Medora, Ind.

Benson, Eld. Elwood J., 1343 Patton St., Philadelphia, Pa. Minister.

Berntsen, B., 13 Men Lou Hutung, Peking, China.

Berntsen, Mrs. B., China. Foreign Miss’y.

Bettis, Charles V., Pawnee, Okla.

Bilbo, Geo., Seale, La. Evangelist.

Bilbo, Gertie, Seale, La.

Birdsey, Chancey G., 717 Echaudin St., Los Angeles, Calif.

Birdsey, Mamie B., 717 Echaudia St., Los Angeles, Calif.

Blankenship, Julia, Cleveland, Tex.

Blankenship, R. L., Cleveland, Tex.

Blunt, Ben, Poplar Bluff, Mo. Pastor.

Blunt, Harry, St. Elmo, Ill.

Booker, A. W., Superior, Wis. Licensed.

Booker, Mrs. M., Minneapolis, Minn. Evangelist.

Boone, Mrs. Josie, Clebourne, Tex.

Booth-Clibborn, Samuel, St. Paul, Minn.

Booth-Clibborn, W. E., 464 Pierce St., St. Paul, Minn.

Booth-Clibborn, Mrs. W. E., St. Paul, Minn.

Borden, Ed., Belleville, Ill. Pastor.

Boring, A. E., 820 Fayette St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Bottomley, Golden, 1913 Castro St., Oakland, Calif.

Boudan, Maggie, 3137 Upper Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif.

Boudan, William, 3137 Upper Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif.

Bouse, William H., Shelbyville, Ind.

Bowman, Chas. B., 216 N. Campbell Ave., Chicago, Ill.

Bowman, Fannie, 106 Halsted St., Dowagiac, Mich.

Boyd, C. E., Louisville, Ky.

Brathwaite, Claude L., 1793 Third Ave., N. Y. City

Brewer, Mary, 335 W. 16th St. Place, Indianapolis, Ind.

Brickley, J. C., Beach Bluff, Tenn.

Brickley, Mrs. M. E., Beach Bluff, Tenn.

Bridges, J. F., Washington, D. C.

Brooks, D. R., Kimberly, Ala.

Brooks, J. B. Cloy, 1323 Crystal St., E. Toledo, Ohio. Licensed.

Brotheiaite, Malvina, 1793 3rd Ave., New York City.

Brown, G. W., Sallisan, Okla.

Brown, Loyd D., 1412 Linden Ave., Springfield, Ohio.

Brown, Willie, 1524 N. Missouri St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Brown, W. L., Hot Springs, Ark.

Brown, Wm. H., 900 Sutter Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y.

Browning, E. D., Fields, La.

Bryan, A., 108 W. 138th St., New York City.

Buckner, Wesley L., 4700 Ashbottom Rd., Highland Park, Ky.

Bucy, Chas. E., 423 Hudson St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Buffalow, M. E., 220 Walker Ave., Berkley, Norfolk, Va.

Bulger, D. D., 226 S. Warren St., Dayton, Ohio.

Bullock, Ralph D., Lebanon, Ore.

Bundock, E., Box 329, Mount Forest, Ont., Can.

Burch, Thomas Smith, New Castle, Tex.

Burger, Thomas F., Toledo, Ohio. Licensed.

Burnell, Ira, Logansport, Ind. Evangelist.

Burns, Charlie W., North Fork, W. Va. Minister.

Burnside, W. M., Gen. Del., San Francisco, Calif.

Burrow, S. R., Monteagle, Tenn. Evangelist.

Bush, Rachel, care 1902 N. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Butler, John W., Pawnee, Okla. Evangelist

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 30.

Campbell, Guy, 718 Bates St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Carlisle, Geo., 901 E. Maryland St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Carter, Geo., 224 1/2 W. 2d St., Pueblo, Colo.

Carter, Margaret, Eureka Springs, Ark. Foreign Miss’y.

Carty, Georgia, 122 W. 115th St., New York City. Licensed.

Casto, James L., Northfield, N. J.

Castle, Howard Cecil, 320 No. Olive St., So. Bend, Ind.

Caudill, Arthur, 601 Boundry St., Portsmouth, Ohio.

Chambers, Geo. A., Ottawa, Ont., Can. Evangelist.

Chance, Geo. T., 218 W. 63rd St., New York City.

Chandler, L. G., Trumann, Ark. Licensed.

Chapman, W. C., 513 3rd Ave., Huntington, W. Va.

Chase, Elvira, 113 E. 100th St., New York City.

Cheatham, J. W., 8231/2 W. Federal St., Youngstown, Ohio.

Cheeseman, S. E., 823 W. 6th St., Joplin, Mo.

Chenault, Dunlop, San Antonio, Tex. Pastor.

Chisolm, R. B., Union, Miss. Pastor.

Christianson, G. M., 530 Liberty Ave., Jersey City, N. J.

Churchill, D. C., 414 Fifth St., Portland, Oregon.

Churchville, John E., 3510 Melon St., Philadelphia, Pa.

Cissna, A. H., 501 Cathcart Ave., Piqua, Ohio.

Clark, B. M., Essex, Mo.

Clark, Walter B., 2076 E. 109th St., Cleveland, Wisc.

Clary, Wm., Essex, Mo.

Cleghorn, W. E., Oakdale, I.a.

Clinton, Bertha, 801 1/2 S. Main St., Ft. Worth, Tex.

Codrington, James E., 1837 Pemberton St., Phila., Pa. Licensed.

Coleman, Andrew L., Indianapolis, Ind.

Collier, Thenie, R. F. D. No. 2, Alpena Pass, Ark.

Collins, Harry W., 521 E. Ocean, Long Beach, Calif.

Collins, Isam P., Georges Creek, Tex.

Condrajin, Harry, Stockton, Calif.

Cook, Geo. J., 1720 South St., Philadelphia, Pa.

Cook, Lulu, 1720 South St., Philadelphia, Pa. Licensed.

Cook, Ralph G., 616 Shawmut Ave., Boston, Mass.

Cotton, Miss Tuma May, 1323 N. 4th Ave., Pocatello, Idaho.

Covington, Henry, 1200 E. 25th St., Los Angeles, Calif.

Covington, Sarah, 1200 E. 25th St., Los Angeles, Calif.

Craine, Clarence, Eureka Springs, Ark.

Crary, Geo. S., 514 Westgate St., Pasadena, Calif.

Crary, Olga, 514 Westgate St., Pasadena, Calif.

Crawford, C. H., 2025 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, Minn.

Crawford, Ida M., 3735 Gilford Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Crawford, J. C., Owensboro, Ky. Evangelist.

Creasman, LaFayette, Old Fort, N. Car. Licensed.

Curry, Nell, 15 Lowell St., Charleston, W. Va.

Curtis, J. A., Fisk, Mo.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 40.

Dahney, Mrs. Roberta, Washington, D. C.

Dailey, D. G., St. Mary, W. Va.

Dauer, George, 726 N. 32d St., E. St. Louis, Mo.

David, B. M., 1902 N. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. Evangelist.

David, Mrs. B. M., 1902 N. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Davis, Albert S., Essex, Mo. Evangelist.

Davis, Herbert, 1314 Dakota St., Leavenworth, Kan. Licensed.

Davis, J. J., Merryville, La.

Davis, J. T., Union, Miss. Minister.

Davis, Mae, Aquilla, Tex.

Davis, Pearl Mae, Bronson, Tex.

Davis, Ruth, 1902 N. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. Evangelist.

Davis, T. C., 2201 Fernway Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Davis, Zechariah, Iota, La.

Davison, William, Delta, Iowa.

Davy, R. J. C., Los Angeles, Calif. Evangelist.

Demeritt, Milton, R. F. D., Box 1, Miami, Fla.

Denny, Frank, Los Angeles, Calif.

Derrick, C. C., 2601 Memphis St., El Paso, Tex.

Deskin, Gesse P., Alvarado, Tex.

Dickerson, Gertrude, Louisville, Ky.

Dickerson, R. L., 1631 S. Floyd St., Louisville, Ky.

Dickey, J. H., Bidville, Ark. Minister.

Dixon, C. L., Cairo, Ill.

Doak, E. W., 1902 N. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Doak, N. A., 1902 N. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Douglas, Annie B., 772 S. Jackson St., Louisville, Ky.

Douglas, F. I., 772 S. Jackson St., Louisville, Ky.

Dowden, Chas. W., Shepherd, Tex.

Dowe, Mrs. F., 375 Montrose Ave., Winnipeg, Man., Can.

Dsipko, Mike, 174 S. Utah St., Los Angeles, Calif.

Dsipko, Fedor, 174 S. Utah St., Los Angeles, Calif.

Duca, James, Dewar, Okla. Evangelist.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 50.

Ealy, G. O., 946 N. California St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Early, James M., 386 9th St., Oakland. Calif.

Easley, Moses, 924 N. Bell St., Kokomo, Ind. Licensed.

Ebbo, E. B., 725 Thomas St., Grand Rapids, Mich.

Eby, Natan F., Picton, Ont., Can. Pastor.

Edge, D. N., Route 2, Lenaha. Tex,

Edgington, Millian O., 1125 S. 12th St., Terre Haute, Ind. Licensed.

Edgington, Irene, Mrs., 1125 S. 12th St., Terre Haute, Ind.

Edkins, E., So. Africa. Evangelist.

Edwards, Augusta J., 1634 Monroe St., Gary, Ind.

Edwards, Mathew, Spokane, Wash.

Edwards, Olie L., 1634 Monroe St., Gary, Ind.

Elliott, Thos. M., 816 Ossington Ave., Toronto, Can.

Ewart, F. J., 145 N. Ditman St., Los Angeles, Calif.

Ezell, Richard, 129 N. Richland Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. Licensed.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 60.

Faris, Earl Lewis, Gen. Del., Portsmouth, Ohio.

Farrow, Geo. R., Turlock, Calif.

Farrow, Lulu, Turlock, Calif.

Fauss, Oliver F., Bronson, Tex.

Fenn, Dollie, Walnut Springs, Tex. Evangelist.

Finley, G., Royalton, Ill.

Fitzpatrick, Bracken L., 1902 N. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Floyd, Lee, Eureka Springs, Ark. Elder.

Forbush, Walber H., Huntington, W. Va.

Foster, W. H., Walnut Springs, Tex. Evangelist.

Fowler, R. R., 415 Clinton St., Martins Ferry, Ohio.

Franklin, Paul B., 4325 Fern Drive, Los Angeles, Calif.

Fray, James E., 21 N. Detroit Ave., Tulsa, Okla.

Frederick, Mary A., Los Angeles, Calif. Miss’y.

Frederick, Wm. A., Los Angeles, Calif. Miss’y.

Frens, Carl, 830 Lafayette Ave., S. E., Grand Rapids, Mich. Minister.

Frost, H. J., Naylor, Mo. Evangelist.

Fukway, Estella, 1537 N. Senate Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Fuselier, A., Philips Bluff, La. Evangelist.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 70.

Gannett Mrs. Montie B., 464 Pierce Ave., St. Paul, Minn.

Garner, Jesse Albert, Whittington, Ark.

Gaylord, R. L., Livingston, Tex.

Gilbert, Chas. E., 630 E. 17th St., Louisville, Ky.

Gill, Henry, 386 9th St., Oakland, Calif.

Gill, Louise, 386 9th St., Oakland, Calif.

Glatt, Chas., Chicago, Ill.

Glennie, Martha E., 386 9th St.. Oakland, Calif.

Goodman, O., Trumann, Ark. Licensed.

Goss, Mrs. Ethel E., Picton, Ont., Can. Evangelist.

Goss, H. A., Elder, Picton, Ont., Can.

Grant, S. S., Benton, Ill. Pastor.

Graves, A. N. Bemis, Tenn. Pastor.

Graves, W. P., Trenton, Tenn. Evangelist.

Gray, Frank, Koga, Machi, Ibaraki Ken, Japan.

Gray, S. E., Malvern, Ark.

Green, Mrs. A. W., 124 N. Missouri Ave., Atlantic City, N. J.

Green, Elder W. A., 124 N. Missouri St., Atlantic (sic in original) iCty, N. J.

Green, James, 624 LaSalle St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Griggs, Mrs. L. P., Swiatook, Okla.

Grover, J. D., 513 3rd Ave., Huntington, W. Va.

Grover, Mrs. J. D., 513 3rd Ave., Huntington, W. Va.

Grover, Mrs. Laura, 2829 Wash. Ave., St. Louis. Mo. Miss’y.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 80.

Habacker. Miss Tillie, Box 429, Orphanage, Hong Kong, China.

Hackler, H. C., Medora, Ind.

Hahler, John Henry, 1415 Buchanan St., St. Louis, Mo.

Haist, Miss, Waang Kong, via Sai Nam, So. China.

Haley, W. F., Provicial, La.

Hall, Eldora, 386 9th St., Oakland, Calif. Licensed.

Hall, Mrs. Jean, 2900 Enoch Ave., Zion City, Ill.

Hall, Mrs. Lota B., Anacaco, La.

Hall, L. C., 2900 Enoch Ave., Zion City, Ill. Evangelist.

Halland, C. W., R. F. D. No. 4, Philpot, Ky.

Hallquist, Margaret, 210 W. State St., Redlands, Calif,

Hallquist, William, 210 W. State St., Redlands, Calif.

Hamlin, Henry, 204 E. Market St., Urbana, Ohio.

Hammond, Bessie J., Turlock, Calif.

Hammond, Corabelle, Santa Cruz, Calif. Missy.

Hammond, Harriett M., Oakland, Calif.

Hammond, R. G., Turlock, Calif.

Hammonds, I. H., 646 Bowen Ave., Chicago, Ill.

Hampton, W. H., Benton, Ark. Minister.

Hancock, S. N., 2050 Highland Pl., Indianapolis, Ind.

Hansford, E. L., Edgerly, La. Pastor.

Hansford, Lizzie A., Glenmore, La.

Harding, Caroline A., 65 N. Broadway St., S. Nyack, N. Y. Evangelist.

Harley, Anna May, Dillon, S. Car. Licensed.

Hart, J. S., Lexington, Ky. Evangelist.

Harper, Joseph, 386 9th St., Oakland, Calif. Licensed.

Harris, Sarah, Columbus, Ohio. Miss’y,

Harrison, Mrs. Addel, Los Angeles, Calif. Miss’y. to China.

Harrison, W. H., Lake Charles, La.

Havard, J. J., Tillman, La. Evangelist.

Hawthorne, Ben F., Portsmouth, Ohio.

Hawthorne, Mrs. Ruby, Caneyville, Ky. Evangelist.

Hayes, Jennie, Livingston, Tex. Miss’y.

Hayes, Chas. W., Livingston, Tex. Evangelist.

Hays, Dallas, Wadsworth, Tex. Pastor.

Hays, M. T., Warrior, Alabama. Minister.

Haywood, G. T., l902 N. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. Pastor.

Hearron, Hiram, Hot Springs, Ark.

Hedge, Artie M., W. Ohio St., Indianapolis, Ind. Licensed,

Henderson, S. R., Jennings, La. Evangelist.

Hendrickson, Mrs. Charlotte, 5926 Barisallo Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.

Hendrickson, .lames N., Box 257, Larson (Burke Co.), N. Dak.

Hensley, Carl M., China. Miss’y.

Hensley, Mabel E., China. Miss’y.

Henson, A., 2316 N. Sydenham St., Philadelphia, Pa.

Henson, Thomas, Senath, Mo. Licensed.

Hildreth, J. D., Bridgeton, N. J.

Hill, Earl D., 1209 S. 12th St.. Mt. Vernon, Ill.

Hite, B. H., Jackson, Tenn. Evangelist.

Hoag, Lydia, 121 E. Griggs St., Grand Rapids, Mich. Licensed.

Holder, Samuel, Indianapolis, Ind.

Holmes, Miss Phoebe, Waang Kong, via Sai Nam, So. China.

Holmes, Sidney, Kinder, La. Evangelist.

Howe, Charles E., Indianapolis, Transient.

Howe, Mrs. Chas. E., Indianapolis, Transient.

Hubbard, Bery F., 34 Sterling St., Boston, Mass.

Hubbard, Eliza., 34 Sterling St., Boston, Mass. Licensed.

Hulibell, Frank, Bayside, Tex.

Hulvey, Lewis H., Dewar, Okla. Pastor.

Hunter, Elnora, Columbus, Ohio. Miss’y.

Hunter, Mrs. Nancy J., 27 Westminster St., Roxbury, Mass. Licensed.

Hutcherson, John N., 2106 Franklin Ave., St. Louis, Mo.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 90.

Inniss Elizabeth, 1793 3rd Ave., New York City. Licensed.

Iry, Mrs. M., 139 Belleview Ave., Benton Harbor, Mich. Licensed.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 100.

Jackson, Mrs. Elizabeth, Boston, Mass. Licensed.

Jackson, H. E., Aquilla, Tex.

Jackson, James L., Pastor, Mission, 1547 W. Ohio St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Johnson, Albert, 1634 Monroe St., Gary, Ind. Licensed.

Jameson, Guy, 3118 Berwell Ave., Cleveland, Ohio.

January, Mrs. L., Indianapolis, Ind. Miss’y.

Jimenez, Albino, 8229 Croesus St., Los Angeles, Calif.

Johnson, Alebrt, 1634 Monroe St., Gary, Ind.

Johnson, Mrs. J. A., Corning, Ark.

Johnson, J. B., St. Paul, Minn.

Johnson, J. E., Box 1, Falun, Wisconsin.

Johnson, Mary M., Glenmora, La.

Johnson, N. A., 1788 Eighth St., W. Oakland, Calif.

Johnson, W. E., Kinder, La. Evangelist.

Jones, Edward, Indianapolis, Ind. Evangelist.

Jones, E. L., 428 N. Ninth St., Elwood, Ind.

Jones, G. C., Delaware, Okla,

Jones, Jas., 542 Blake St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Jones, John A., 725 Thomas St., Grand Rapids, Mich.

Jones, Mrs. John A. (Daisy), 725 Thomas St., Grand Rapids, Mich.

Jones, R. G., 1412 Linden Ave., Springfield, Ohio.

Joyner, Paul M., Union City, Tenn.

Juergensen, C. F., 55 Monkawa, Cho, Tokyo. JAPAN.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 110.

Kemper, N. N. Fullerton, La. Pastor.

Kennedy, Geo. W., Dublin, Tex. Evangelist.

Kerley, Glover C., Senath, Mo.

Keyes, Alfred L., 2170 E. 30th St., Cleveland, Ohio,

Keyes, Mrs. A. L., 2170 E. 30th St., Cleveland, Ohio.

Kidson, W. E., 902 N. 3d St., Louisiana, Mo.

Kilgers, Claude P., Hot Springs, Ark.

Kirk, B. F., 630 Collinsville Ave., E. St. Louis, M.

Kirk, B. F., 630 Collinsville Ave., E. St. Louis, Mo. 10/4/19 (Licensed).

Klaus, Karl, Chicago, Ill.

Knighten, E. B., Cleveland, Tex.

Knutson, Mrs. Bertha Mackey, 464 Pierce St., St. Paul, Minn. Licensed.

Kraus, Mary, Eureka Springs, Ark. Miss’y.

Kraus, Sibyl, Eureka Springs, Ark. Miss’y.

Kugler, Miss Sarah, Waang Kong, via Sai Nam, So. China.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 120.

Lacy, F. M., 4492 Trumble St., Bellaire, Ohio,

Lacy, Lelia M., 4492 Trumble St.. Bellaire, Ohio.

La Fleur, Mrs. Maude May, Oakdale, La.

LaFleur, Robt. L., Oakdale, La.

Lambert, W. L., 105 Boze St., Ft. Worth, Tex.

Lambert, Thomas I., Walnut Springs, Tex. Evangelist.

Laney, A. M., Evadale, Ark. Licensed.

Lawson, Mrs. Carrie T., New York City. Miss’y.

Lawson, R. C., New York City. Elder.

Le Broq, Jos. F., McBean, Quebec, Can. Evang.

Lee, Mrs. Martha, 2829 Wash. Ave., St. Louis, Mo. Evang.

Leech, Mrs. Bessie, Box 543 Byesville, Ohio. Licensed.

Lewis, Willard, Indian Springs, Ind. Pastor.

Lightford, Susan G., New York City, N. Y. Evangelist.

Lindo, Alicia, 40 E. 133d St., New York City.

Litterall, Dora, Louisville, Ky.

Lloyd, Earnest B., 809 Darnell St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Loden, Ora E., Eunice, La.

Loden, W. R., Eunice, La.

Lott, Mrs. Dolla, Walnut Springs, Tex. Ciss’y.

Lout, G. C., Box 158, Noble, La.

Lout, Mrs. Ruth, Noble, La.

Lowe, A. B., 3258 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, Calif.

Lowe, E. G., 3258 E. First St., Los Angeles, Calif.

Lowe, Mrs. S. B., Los Angeles, Calif.

Lower, J. D., Ashley, Ind.

Lucas, Susa, 1439 Obenchain Ave., Springfield, Ohio.

Lyding, Alfred S., 1025 State St., Racine, Wis. Minister.

Lyons, L. L., Oreta, La.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 130.

McCarty, W. T., 931 S. Pike St., Shelbyville, Ind.

McClain, S. C., Eureka Springs, Ark.

McDaniels, G. C., Malvern, Ark.

McDaniel, Mrs. Louisa, 1128 Penn St., Camden, N. J.

McGraw, H. J., 2810 Florida St., El Paso, Tex.

McGraw, Mrs. H. J., 2810 Florida St., El Paso, Tex. Licensed.

McLean, H. H., Barron, Wis.

McLean, S. C., Eureka Springs, Ark.

McVicar, Ethel, 386 9th St., Oakland, Calif.

Manion, Wm. A., San Francisco, Calif. Minister.

Mansbridge, Columbus, Ohio.

Marine, Oliver J., Benton, Ark. Minister.

Marple, Mrs. Marguerite, 15 Lowell St., Charleston, W. Va.

Marsh, Lorenzo, 232 W. 136th St., New York City.

Marshall, Grace, care D. C. O. Opperman, Eureka Springs, Ark.

Martin, E. E., Spring Hill, W. Va.

Mason, Mrs. Alice, 15 Torrell St., Charleston, W. V.

Mason, Mrs. Alice, 15 Torrell St., Charleston, W. Va.

Massengale, J. W., Jacksboro, Tex.

Mason, W. W., Derwent, Ohio. Evangelist.

Mathews, Guy F., 508 E. Grant St., Beloit, Wis.

Mathews, M .V., 145 N. Ditman St., Los Angeles, Calif.

Mathews, Wentworth A., 69 W. 139th St., New York City.

Mathis, W. W., Lexington, Tenn. Evangelist.

Mautz, Jannie, 745 E. 15th St., Los Angeles, Calif.

Mautz, Jacob, 745 E. 15th St., Los Angeles, Calif.

Mayton, Agnes, 1175 2d Ave., E. Akron, Ohio.

Mayton, Paul, 1175 2d Ave., E. Akron, Ohio.

Medford, Harry S., Godley, Tex. Evangelist.

Medford, Lee F., Godley, Tex. Evangelist.

Medley, Estella, 616 Shawmut Ave., Boston, Mass. Licensed.

Merril, Mrs. Nancy J., 24 S. Grant St., Stockton, Calif. Evangelist.

Merril, S. I., Pastor, 248 Grant St., Stockton, Calif.

Merrin, Mrs. Edith E., Yelm, Wash.

Merrin, W. H., Yelm, Wash.

Michael, Chas., 104 E. 102 St., New York City.

Miller, Edna Irene, Lake Charles, La.

Millen, I. F., 2811 Eschol Ave., Zion City, Ill. Minister and Evangelist.

Miller, Ione, Tower Hill, Ill. Miss’y.

Miller, J. H., 386 9th St., Oakland, Calif.

Miller, Mrs. J. H., 386 9th St., Oakland, Cal.

Miller, Miss Ollie, Walnut Springs, Tex.

Miller, Ruth, Tower Hill, Ill. Missionary.

Miller, Walter L., 47 Seminole Ave., Washington, Pa.

Miller, Wm. Scott, Lake Charles, Mo. Evangelist.

Mitchell, W. G., Minneapolis, Minn.

Mitchell, Miss W. G., 2025 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, Minn. Missionary and Evangelist.

Mocuacueng, Oliphant, Germinston, S. Africa.

Molloy, Rachel E., So. Lochaber (Guysboro Co.), Nova Scotia, Canada. Evangelist.

Molongoane, F. N., Box 201, Krugersdorf, Transvaal, So. Africa.

Monk, A. M., Noble, La. Evangelist.

Moore, A. O., Ceborn, Tex.

Moore, George M., Portland, Ore.

Moore Haywood, Box 113, Hico, Tex.

Moore, M. H., Morehouse, Mo.

Morrow, W., Cleveland, Ohio. Minister.

Morgan, Bettie E., Carson, La.

Morgan, James, Jr., Harviell, Mo. Evangelist.

Morris. Mrs. Annie, Box 142, Merryville, La.

Morris, D. K., Merryville, La., Box 142 Evangelist.

Morris, H. N., R. F. D. No. 6, Owensboro, Ky.

Morse, Harry, 386 9th St., Oakland, Cal.

Morse, Maude, Oakland, Cal.

Morton, Frank Chas., Whittier, Cal.

Mullett, A. W., 21 Diana Court, Furly St., Winnipeg, Can.

Mullin, Clara M., 968 Thirty-fourth St., Bellaire, Ohio.

Mundy, Mrs. Fred, Los Angeles, Cal.

Mundy, J. J., 1025 State St., Racine, Wis.

Munson, M. Adolph, 6342 Estella Ave., Los Angeles, Cal.

Murphy, Miss Francis, New York City.

Murray, D. A., Dighton, Okla., Box 8.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 140.

Neal, Howard, 310 N. West St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Nelson, Miss Selma, 2503 Harvey Ave., Fresno, Cal.

Nevins, Thomas, 2234 Volley Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Nicholas, Boris, Great Falls, Mont.

Noise, Geo. Russel, S. Bellingham, Wash.

Norris, Chas. E., Modena, Mo.

Norris, L. H., Modena, Mo.

Norris, Mollie, Modena, Mo. Licensed.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 150.

Odom, S. A., Goodrich, Tex.

Odson, Harlan, St. Paul, Minn,

O’Laughlin, Mrs. Johanna C., 616 Shawmut Ave., Boston, Mass.

Licensed.

O’Mary, W. C., 223 18th St., Billings, Mont.

Omsley, Harry, Minneapolis, Minn. Evangelist.

Ooton, Lee Roy, 131 North St., Elwood, Ind.

Opperman, D. C. O., Eureka Springs, Ark.

Orcea, Christ, 315 2d Ave., So. St. Paul, Minn. Pastor.

Osborn, O. G., Benton Harbor, Mich. Minister.

Osborne, J. E., Box 445, Cleburn, Tex.

Osterwald, F., 2730 Walker St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Otterman, M. L., 412 Leslie St., Stuttgart, Ark. Evangelist.

Otterman, Mrs. S. L., Stuttgart, Ark. Evangelist.

Overstreet, Chas. E., 717 E. Chandia St., Los Angeles, Cal.

Owendorf, M. J., Voth, Tev.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 160.

Patton, J. W., Jacksboro, Tex.

Patton, Walter, Jacksboro, Tex.

Pearson, Wm. C., 386 9th St., Oakland, Cal.

Pederson, Robert, Hot Springs, Ark. Licensed.

Pemberton, B. H., St. Louis, Mo.

Pennington, J. W., Cartersville, Mo.

Pennington, Mrs. J. W., Cartersville, Mo.

Perkins, Mrs. Nettie, Kokomo, Ind.

Petcoff, Evan, Mac Tier, Ont., Can. Evangelist.

Philleo, Claude W., 612 Adams St., Wausau, Wis.

Phillips, Ralph, Waang Kong, via Sai Nam, S. China.

Phillips, Mrs. Ralph, Hong Kong, China. Miss’y.

Phillips, Raymond R., Grand Prairie, Tex.

Plester, J. W., Yellow Grass, Sask., Canada. Evangelist.

Poole, F. E., Los Angeles, Ca. Evangelist.

Poole, Sarah E., Los Angeles, Cal.

Potter, Della, 946 N. California St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Pratt, J. C., 284 Flower St., Akron, Ohio. Licensed.

Price, Ed., Russellville, Okla. Exhorter.

Price, William, 270 A Shawmut Ave., Boston, Mass. Evangelist.

Prince, E. A. Bloomington, Ind.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 180.

Raby, Anna, Topeka, Kan. Evangelist.

Ragl, J. A., 3517 Wood St., Wheeling, W. Va. Evangelist.

Raines, David M., Masonic Temple, Spokane, Wash.

Raines, Litllie H., Masonic Temple, Spokane, Wash.

Ramsay, F. S., Ta Tung, Fu Shansi Province, N. China.

Ramsay, Mrs. F. S., Ta Fung Fu, N. China. Foreign Missionary.

Randall, H. E., Lynden, Wash. Missionary.

Randall, Mrs. H. E., Lynden, Wash. Miss’y.

Reed, Frank R.

Reed, H. E., 226 Curl St., Hot Springs, Ark.

Reid, Katherine A., 1511 7th St., Sacramento, Cal.

Reid, W. D., 1511 7th St., Sacramento, Cal.

Reppond, Nellie, Tower Hill, Ill. Missionary

Rhoads, Frank M., Portland, Oregon

Rhodes, Thomas H., Box 521, Kiefer, Okla. Evangelist.

Rice, Mrs. A. M. 220 N. 6th St., Elwood, Ind.

Riley, H. A., Dewar, Okla.

Roark, E. E., Alto, Tex. Evangelist.

Roberts, H. A., Underhill, Manitoba, Can.

Roberts, Lula, 442 S. Wheatland Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Robinson, John, 1025 N. Senate Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Robinson, W. H., 1110 Montgomery St., E. Toledo, Ohio.

Rogers, Everett J., 2212 S. Adams St., Marion, Ind.

Rollins, Faitha, R. F. D., No. 2, Box 1, Miami, Fla. Licensed.

Rosa, Adolph, 418 Washington St., Camden, N. Jersey. Minister.

Ross, A. D., Turlock, Cal.

Ross, S. L., Eureka Springs, Ark. Pastor and Teacher.

Roth, Mrs. Minnie M., Oregon City, Ore. Foreign Missionary.

Roth, Eld. Peter A., Oregon City, Ore.

Roth, Isaac, 774 9th St., Oakland, Cal.

Rowe, G. B., 215 Pigeon St., Ligonier, Ind.

Rulien, J. P., 515 Chippewa St., Eau Claire, Wis.

Rucks, John W., Gore, Okla. Licensed.

Rutherford, W. A., Riverdale, Md.

Rymer, S. A., Benton, Tenn.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 190.

Safpho, Mrs. Millie Jane, Highland Place, Indianapolis, Ind.

Sanchez, Manuel, Oakland, Cal.

Sanders, Oren, 1457 Central Ave., Frankfort, Ind.

Sauer, W. D., 1323 Center St., Des Moines, Iowa.

Scheape, John, Los Angeles, Cal.

Schooler, Alexander R., 2193 E. 31st St., Cleveland, Ohio.

Schooler, Alexander R., 2193 E. 31st St., Cleveland, Ohio. Pastor.

Schrader, Mrs. Anna, Winfrey, Ark. Evangelist.

Schrader, G. W., Winfrey, Ark. Evangelist.

Schuaiter, Wm. J., 333 Hilborn St., Lodi, Cal.

Schuessler, Miss E. M., Aquilla, Tex.

Schuessler, Mrs. Ollie L., Box 263, Cheslea, Okla.

Schuessler, W. L., Dublin, Tex.

Scott, Alice, 386 9th St., Oakland, Cal.

Scoville, W. J., St. Paul, Minn. Evangelist.

Sego, Elsie, 907 Sheridan Ave., Richmond, Ind.

Sego, H. C., Richmond, Ind. Evangelist.

Sego, Margaret, 907 Sheridan St., Richmond, Ind.

Sell, Sheridan C., Cleveland, Ohio.

Sharp, S. E., Route 1, Beckville, Tex.

Sharpley, Dena, 3155 Indiana Ave., Chicago, Ill.

Shaw, David S., Boston, Mass.

Shaw, Joseph, Boston, Mass.

Shearer, Harvey, Cleveland, Tex.

Sheidler, R. E., Oklahoma City, Okla. Minister.

Sheidler, Mrs. R. E., Oklahoma City, Okla. Evangelist.

Shepherd, Katherine A., 1115 Walnut St., Alameda, Cal.

Shepler, Henry W., Maxwell, Ind. Minister.

Sherrard, M. L., 200 Long St., Cambridge, Ohio.

Sherrard, Mrs. M. L., 200 Long St., Cambridge, Ohio.

Shipley, S. D., 116 4th St., Monett, Mo. Deacon.

Shinn, Mrs. Ella, Glendale, Tex.

Shinn, J. R., Glendale, Tex.

Shobe, Mrs. Hattie B., 328 16th St. Place, Indianapolis, Ind. Licensed.

Skirivin, Horace, Indianapolis, Ind. Licensed.

Skirlvin, Thomas, Indianapolis, Ind. Licensed.

Sly, L. B., care “The Blessed Truth”, Eureka Springs, Ark. Miss’y.

Sly, Mrs. L. B., care “The Blessed Truth,” Eureka Springs, Ark.

Small, Bro. Frank, 739 Alexander Ave., Winnipeg, Man. Pastor.

Small, Margaret, Route 5, Marion, Ind. Miss’y.

Smith, Blanche R., Route 6, Union, Miss. Miss’y.

Smith, Chas. A., Route 6, Union, (sic in original) iMss. Pastor and Evangelist.

Smith, Chas. W., Baldwin Park, Los Angeles, Cal.

Smith, Edward, 386 9th St., Oakland, Cal.

Smith, Edward F., Los Angeles, Cal.

Smith, Geneva, 386 9th St., Oakland, Cal.

Smith, Henry A., Benton, Ark.

Smith, H. A., 3230 Gleason Ave., Los Angeles, Cal. Miss’y.

Smith, Mrs. H. A., 3230 Gleason Ave., Los Angeles, Cal. Miss’y.

Smith, Lena A., Box 113, Hico, Tex.

Smith, Mrs. M., Pasadena, Cal. Evangelist.

Smith, Theodore, Skiatook, Okla.

Smith, T. B., Pasadena, Cal. Evangelist.

Snelling, Coy C., Delma and Dorthy, Sikeston, Mo.

Snyder, Joseph, Senath, Mo. Evangelist.

Snyder, J., Princeton, Ind.

Sonnenberg, Miss Lydia, Benton Harbor, Mich. Licensed.

Spicer, A. D., Vanda1ia, Ill.

Spooner, Mrs. Cora E., Box 193, Benton, Ark.

Spooner, C. W., Benton, Ark.

Stacey, Edw., Trumann, Ark.

Stallones, W. L., Essex, Mo.

Stallones, Mrs. W. L., Essex, Mo.

Stampley, Joseph D., Bemis, Tenn. Evangelist.

Stanley, Arthur, 180 Fairmount, Ave., Hyde Park, Mass.

Starkey, Ella, 1720 South St., Philadelphia, Pa.

Steelberg, Wesley R., 664 W. 69th St., Los Angeles, Cal.

Steele, Laura J. D., Los Angeles, Cal.

Steele, J. F., Los Angeles, Cal.

Steiglitz, Elizabeth, 2829 Washington Ave., St. Louis, Mo. Miss’y.

Stephens, Charlotte, St. Paul, Minn.

Stevens, J. F., 1027 S. 12th St., St. Louis, Mo.

Stewart, Louise, 1006 Fayette St., Indianapolis, Ind. Licensed.

Stone, E. S., St. Paul, Minn. Evangelist.

Stone, T. S., 416 Wash. St., Camden, N. J. Minister.

Storey, Charles W., Oakland, Cal.

Stout, J. H. 1224 Oliver Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Stovall, Harry E., Box 342, DeRidder, La.

Stroud, Dollie L., Leesville, La.

Stroud, G. C., Box 436, Leesville, La.

Studd, Geo. B., 227 S. Main St., Los Angeles, Cal.

Studd, Mabel P., Los Angeles, Cal.

Stump, W., Gift and Chapel St., Columbus, Ohio.

Sullivan, Mike, Dewar, Okla. Evangelist.

Susersky, Mrs. Anna, 1173 2d Ave., E. Akron, Ohio.

Susersky, Steve, 1173 2d Ave., E. Akron, Ohio.

Sutton, Eli, Chillicothe, Ohio.

Sweeney, Jas. Wm., Mt. Vernon, Ill.

Sweet, Harry, Shelbyville, Ind. Licensed.

Sweet, Joe, Shelbyville, Ind. Licensed.

Swenson, Axel, Falun, Wis. Pastor.

Swindal, Berry, Hot Springs, Ark. Licensed.

Swineford, Robt., Indianapolis, Ind.

Swinton, Miss Lydia L., 2503 Harvey Ave., Fresno. Cal.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 200.

Tarvin, H. L., Columbus, Ga. Licensed.

Taylor, Charles V., 830 S. Noble St., Shelbyville, Ind. Licensed.

Taylor, Everett B., 53 S. York St., Wheeling, W. Va.

Taylor, G. A., Shively, Ky.

Taylor, Hiram, 830 S. Noble St., Shelbyville, Ind. Evangelist.

Taylor, John Henry, Belleville, Ill. Evangelist.

Taylor, Lena F., 53 S. York St., Wheeling, W. Va.

Taylor, Mrs. Nellie, 714 River St., Gallipolis, Ohio.

Tefft, Frank E., 1224 Oliver Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Terry Henry, 92 Railroad St., Oberlin, Ohio.

Thebe, Jeremiah R., Box 21, Krugersdorf, Transvaal, So. Africa.

Thompson, L. J., Scotts Hill, Tenn. Evangelist.

Tiller, Julia, care 1902 N. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.

Tinker, Miss Jessie, 150 N. Greenwood Ave., Pasadena, Cal.

Todd, L. W., Cleveland, Tex.

Toole, Earl, Evangelist, Leachville, Ark.

Trojan, Geo., 216 W. Locust St., Chicago, Ill.

Tucker, Grace Olive, 1243 45th Ave., Oakland, Cal. Evangelist.

Tucker, W. B., 1243 45th Ave., Oakland, Cal.

Tulley, Mrs. Willard, Eureka Springs, Ark. Foreign Miss’y.

Turner, W. L., 145 N. Ditman Ave., Los Angeles, Cal.

Turpin, J. M., 1122 E. Lexington St., Baltimore, Md.

Turpin, Ruth B., 1122 E. Lexington St., Baltimore, Md. Licensed.

Turpin, William H., Senath, Mo. Evangelist.

Tuttin, Carl, 1047 Oneida St., Appleton, Wis.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 210.

Uhrich, David E., 1903 University Ave., Muncie, Ind.

Urshan, Timothy D., Bacoba, Torky, Persia. (Near Bagdad.)

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 220.

Van Arsdale, Gus, Columbus, Ind.

Varnell, A. F., 3318 J. St., Sacramento, Calif.

Varnell, Mrs. A. F., 3318 J. St., Sacramento, Calif.

Velie, A. E., Pine Island, Minn.

Via, James B., 1814 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Vinson, John T., Indianapolis, Ind.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 230.

Wade, Alfred, Bellaire, Ohio.

Walden, Wm., c/o Sis. Lucas.

Walent, Mrs. Anna, 1253 Third Ave., E. Akron, Ohio.

Walent, Paul, 1253 Third Ave., E. Akron, Ohio.

Walker, Emanuel, Los Angeles, Calif.

Wall, N., Purvis, Miss. Pastor.

Wall, Mrs. Rintie, Purvis, Miss. (Miss’y.)

Waller, Edw. M., 44 E. 133 St., New York City.

Waltman, C. O., Springville, Tenn. Pastor.

Waltman, Mrs. Lillie, Springville, Tenn. Evang.

Ward, Fannie, 1552 S. 13 1/2 St., Terre Haute, Ind.

Ward, Wm., 1552 S. 13 1/2 St., Terre Haute, Ind.

Wardell, A. P., La Grand, Ore.

Warner, Herbert B., 501 Riverside Ave., Marion, Ind. For. Miss’y.

Warner, Mrs. H. B., 501 Riverside Ave., Marion, Ind. For. Miss’y.

Washington, Mrs. George S., 804 Payette St., Indianapolis, Ind. Licensed.

Washington, George S., 804 Fayette St., Indianapolis, Ind. Licensed.

Washington, G. T., 773 W. 25th St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Watkins, J. T., Gholson, Miss. Pastor.

Watson, Arthur, 120 Gladstone Ave., Peterboro, Ont., Can.

Watson, Emery, Indianapolis, Ind. Licensed.

Weathersbee, Geo. W., Hicksbaugh, Tex.

Webster, Evalyn A., Santa Cruz, Calif.

Wells, Susan A., 141 N. Hampton St., Boston, Mass. Licensed.

West, J. F., Trumann, Ark. Licensed.

West, Jesse L., 2019 Center St., Moundsville, W. Va. Evang.

Westover, Joseph, Indianapolis, Ind.

Wheelis, Mark, Poplar Bluff, Mo.

White, Mrs. Clara, 28 Sterling St., Boston, Mass. Licensed.

White, Delmer C., 1343 Glenn Ave., Portland, Ore.

White, H. E., Langley St., Indianapolis, Ind.

White, James C., 618 Shawmut Ave., Boxton, Mass. Licensed.

Whiteside, Henry, Alliston, Ont., Box 294.

Whiteside, Miss Rilla, MacTier, Ont., Can.

Whittington, Maude, Benton, Ill.

Whittington, W. H., Benton, Ill.

Wilkerson John, Indianapolis, Ind. Licensed.

Wilkerson, Wm., 610 Shawmut Ave., Boston, Mass.

Wilkes, C. R., 616 Shawmut Ave., Boston, Mass.

Wilkes, Laura, 616 Shawmut Ave., Boston, Mass. Licensed.

Williams, Mrs. Carrie, 415 S. 10th St., Cambridge, Ohio.

Williams, Chas. W., 1131 Boone St., Indianapolis, Ind.

Williams, Myrtle B., 616 Shawmut Ave., Boston, Mass. Licensed.

Williams, W. D., Truman, Ark. Evangelist.

Wimberly, Mrs. Ada, 18 Highland Place, Indianapolis, Ind.

Wingate, Mrs. Bethel, Merryville, La. Miss’y.

Wingate, H. N., Kinder, La.

Wingate, J. C., Merryville, La. Evangelist.

Winters, F. P., 386 9th St., Oakland, Calif.

Wise, S. L., Remling, Tex. Pastor.

Witherspoon, W. T., 183 W. Park Ave., Columbus, Ohio.

Wood, W. G., Berryville, Ark.

Woodard, J. S., Grapps Bluff, La.

Wood, c/o Sis. Lucas.

Woods, John L., 1067 S. Yellow Spring St., Springfield, Ohio.

Woolsay, F. K., 24 S. Grant St., Stockton, Calif.

Woolsey, Mrs. Jeanne, 24 S. Grant St., Stockton, Calif.

Wright, W. F., Walnut Ridge, Ark.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 250.

Yarbrough, G. W., 456 St. Antoin St., Detroit, Mich.

Yest, Mary, Chicago, Ill. Foreign Miss’y.

Yest, Nicholas, 3327 S. Hamilton Ave., Chicago, Ill.

MINUTE BOOK, PAGE 260.

Zimmer, Lillie, Victoria, Tex.

Zuefle, C. C., 215 20th St., Huntington, W. Va.

Bibliography

The Holy Bible

Bartleman, Frank. Azusa Street.

Bell, E. N., editor. Word and Witness.

Blumhofer, Edith Waldvogel. The Assemblies of God: A Popular History.

Booth-Clibborn, W. E. A Call to the Dust and Ashes.

Bresson, Bernard. Studies in Ecstasy.

Chalfant, William B. Ancient Champions of Oneness.

Clanton, Arthur. United We Stand.

Ewart, Frank. The Phenomenon of Pentecost.

______, editor. Meat in Due Season.

Flower, J. Roswell, History of the Assemblies of God.

______, editor. The Christian Evangel.

Foster, Fred J. Their Story: 20th Century Pentecostals.

Goss, Ethel. The Winds of God.

Golder, Morris E. A History of the Pentecostal

Assemblies of the World.

Haywood, G. T., editor. The Assembly Bulletin.

______, editor. The Christian Outlook.

______, editor. The Voice in the Wilderness.

Hodges, George. The Early Church.

Hoover, Mario G. Origin and Structural Development of the Assemblies of God.

Houston Chronicle. Houstonians Witness the Performance of Miracles.

Kuiper, B. K. The Church in History.

McClain, S. C. Highlights in Church History.

Menzies, William W. Anointed to Serve.

Opperman, D. C. O., editor. The Blessed Truth.

Ozman, Agnes. “First to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost.”

Reeder, Hilda. A Brief History of the Foreign Missions of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.

Parham, Charles. The Apostolic Faith.

Synan, Vinson. The Holiness-Pentecostal Movement in the United States.

World Book Encyclopedia.

Credits

The pictures on the following pages are used by permission of Assemblies of God Archives.

Pages:

16, 40, 41, 64, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 118b 120a, 121, 122, 142, 143, 146, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 177, 178, 179a, b

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

Appendix: Minutes of The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World 1918-20

Bibliography

Credits

Charles Parham: Trailblazer for God

“Ye Shall Receive Power”

The Mantle Is Passed

Azusa Street: From Stable to Steeple

The Spreading Revival

Early Organizational Efforts

The New Issue

The General Assembly of the Apostolic Assemblies

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, 1907-21

Early Foreign Missions Work

The Body is Rent Asunder

The End of the Beginning, 1927-30

Appendix