The Pentecostal Church of God (PCG) is a Finished Work Pentecostal denomination of Christianity headquartered in

Bedford, Texas Bedford is a city located in northeastern Tarrant County, Texas, United States, in the "Mid-Cities" area between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth. It is a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. The population was 49,928 at the 2020 United State ...

, United States. As of 2010, there were 620,000 members, 6,750 clergy in 4,825 churches worldwide. The PCG is a member of the

National Association of Evangelicals The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an American association of Evangelical Christian denominations, organizations, schools, churches, and individuals, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. The association represents more than ...

, the Pentecostal World Conference and the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America. The church's official publication is ''The Pentecostal Messenger''.

History

First called the Pentecostal Assemblies of USA, the PCG was formed in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in 1919 by a group of Pentecostal ministers who had chosen not to affiliate with the

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

and several who had left that organization after it adopted a doctrinal statement in 1916. John C. Sinclair, an early Pentecostal pastor in Chicago, and a former Assemblies of God presbyter served as the first moderator. The Pentecostal Assemblies of the USA was dissolved in 1922, and the organization resumed under the name Pentecostal Church of God. In 1927, the denominational headquarters relocated to Ottumwa, Iowa; in 1933, to Kansas City, Missouri; in 1951, to

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...

in 1951; and in 2012, to Bedford, Texas. Although the relocation to Bedford, TX followed the

2011 Joplin Tornado The Joplin tornado, also referred to as simply the Joplin EF5, was a large, deadly and devastating Enhanced Fujita scale, EF5 tornado that struck the city of Joplin, Missouri, United States during the evening hours of Sunday, May 22, 2011, causi ...

, the decision to move had started at least three years earlier when the 2009 General Convention voted to explore relocating to a larger metropolitan area. The reason for the move was because of lower income due to declining minister and church membership and Messenger College could no longer support itself.

Beliefs

The Pentecostal Church of God combines

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

and

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

doctrines in its Statement of Faith. *Both the Old and

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

is the inspired word of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. *Believes there is one God that exists as a

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

. *Salvation is available through

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

's sacrifice on the cross. *Salvation can be lost if one turns away from God by a human's

free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...

. *Believes in water baptism according to the Trinitarian formula. *After salvation, a Christian can be baptized with the Holy Spirit, which is evidenced by

speaking in tongues Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is an activity or practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid voc ...

. *

Sanctification Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

occurs progressively, that begins at the time of regeneration. *Heaven and hell are literal places; heaven being for those who have received salvation, and hell for those who have rejected it. *The

Christian Church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...

is made of all true Christians. *There are two ordinances: water baptism and the Lord's supper. Water baptism symbolizes identification with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. The Lord's supper is done in remembrance of Christ's death. *Members practice

tithing A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...

. *Believes that Jesus Christ will return and that his return is imminent, personal, pretribulation, and premillennial.

Organization

The church is led by a General

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

(formerly called General Superintendent and before that General Moderator and General Chairman) and a General Convention which meets biennially. It is divided into a number of districts, including four Hispanic districts in the United States. Each district is served by a district bishop, previously district superintendent. District conventions meet annually. In 2002, the General Convention came to a consensus to change the title of their overseer from General Superintendent to Bishop. The change was made because internationally, the term ''bishop'' is more commonly related to religious leaders than the previous title. Prior to 2011, the International headquarters were located in

where a college and a publishing house operated. In 2012 The International Headquarters moved to Bedford, TX and the College, Messenger College, followed and is located in Euless, Texas. As of 2017, the International Headquarters has changed its name to the IMC, International Missions Center. The Messenger College learning center was relocated to the fourth floor of the International Missions Center, and classes began in the new location at the start of the 2018-19 academic school year. Moderator/Chairman
Rev. A. D. McClure: 1927-1933
Rev. G. F. C. Fons: 1933-1935
General Superintendent
Rev. Marion D. Townsend: 1935-1937
Rev. Harold M. Collins: 1937-1942
Rev. J. W. May: 1942-1947
Rev. H. T. Owens: 1947-1949
Rev. M. F. Coughran: 1949-1953
Rev. R. Dennis Heard: 1953-1975
Rev. Roy M. Chappell: 1975-1987
Dr. James D. Gee: 1987-2001
General Bishop
Rev. Phil L. Redding: 2001-2005
Rev. Charles R. Mosier: 2005–2006
Rev. Charles G. Scott: 2007–2015
Rev. Loyd L. Naten: 2015–2017
Dr. Wayman C. Ming: 2017–current

Notes

References

*''Our Story: The History of the Pentecostal Church of God'' *''We've Come this Far by Faith''

External links