United Pentecostal Church International

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The United Pentecostal Church International abbreviated VPG ( United Pentecostal Church International also known as UPCI ) is the largest non-Trinitarian Pentecostal Church based in St. Louis , United States . It was created in 1945 through a merger of the Pentecostal Church Incorporated and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ .

According to its own information, the community comprises more than 42,000 churches (including subsidiary congregations and house groups ) with 41,000 recognized pastors and a worldwide membership of around 5.1 million (as of 2019). It consists of national organizations that are united as the VPG Global Council, chaired by the General Superintendent , David K. Bernard .

The VPG emphasizes sanctification in all areas of life. After her conviction can only be in the biblical sense saved , when you are reborn spiritually in obedience to the Gospel. This is done through repentance ( death of sin ), baptism with water in the name of Jesus Christ ( burial ), and the baptism of the Holy Spirit ( resurrection ). The sign of the latter is speaking in tongues . The VPG believes in salvation by grace alone through faith; the works are only byproducts of faith.

history

The VPG emerged from the Pentecostal movement, which originated in the teachings of Charles Fox Parham in Topeka and the Azusa Street Revival under the direction of William J. Seymour in 1906. The VPG traces its organizational roots back to 1916 when a large group of Pentecostals began to unite around the teaching of the oneness of God and water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. Several representatives of this doctrine met in Eureka Springs and on January 2, 1917, formed a unitary Pentecostal organization called the General Assembly of the Apostolic Assemblies.

The General Assembly of the Apostolic Assemblies merged with the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW) and placed itself under the leadership of the African American Garfield Thomas Haywood . This group held the first meeting in Eureka Springs in 1918. This interracial organization took on the name PAW and remained the only Pentecostal organization of the unitary denomination until the end of 1924. The racist “Jim Crow Laws” in the southern states led many white leaders to withdraw from the PAW instead of remaining under the PAW's African-American leadership. However, many local churches in the south remained integrated while trying to comply with local segregation laws.

In 1925 three new unified churches were founded: the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ , the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance and the Emmanuel's Church in Jesus Christ . In 1927 steps were taken to reunite these organizations. At a joint convention in Guthrie , Oklahoma, the Emmanuel's Church in Jesus Christ and the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ joined forces and adopted the name Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ . This merger brought together around 400 Pentecostal preachers of the single denomination. In 1931 a unity conference with representatives from four unity organizations met in Columbus to bring all unity Pentecostals together. The Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance voted to merge with the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ , but the terms of the proposed merger were rejected by that body. Nevertheless, in November 1931, the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ and the PAW united. The new organization kept the name of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.

In 1932, the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance changed its name to Pentecostal Church, Incorporated to reflect its organizational structure. In 1936 the clergy of Pentecostal Church, Incorporated voted to work towards a merger with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ . However, final unification was only achieved in 1945 when these two unitary Pentecostal organizations merged to form the United Pentecostal Church International . The merger of these two bodies brought together 521 churches.

In global missions, VPG pursues a double strategy of involvement and targeted public relations. As a result, the United Pentecostal Church International has followers in 212 countries and territories. The vast majority of their entire members are not white. It has multicultural multiracial churches in major cities around the world.

In the United States and Canada, the VPG traditionally reflects majority culture, with the majority of its members being of Caucasian and Anglo-American descent. In the final quarter of the 20th century, the VPG became more careful to include every race and culture in North America. As a result, the US and Canada VPG has established several important ministries over the years that focus on evangelizing minority groups. As of 2013, these services have made significant progress and are run by representatives of the various ethnic groups. The Spanish evangelism service is responsible for over 700 Spanish-speaking pastors and around 350 Spanish-speaking congregations. The build-the-bridge ministry structure develops strategies for intercultural ministry, city ministry, and especially evangelism in the African American community. Its leaders estimated that the VPG has around 500 dark-skinned pastors. Multicultural ministries coordinate contact with 18 languages ​​and ethnic groups, including 186 pastors and 195 congregations. Based on these statistics, in 2013 about 1,400 pastors, or 15% of the total, were from minority groups, and about 800 churches, or 18% of the total, served mainly ethnic minorities. In addition, most VPG churches include significant ethnic minorities, especially larger churches, growing churches, and churches in urban areas. This participation was estimated to be 10-15% of the membership. Overall, an estimated 25 to 30% of VPG membership in the US and Canada in 2013 were non-white.

This diversity is increasingly reflected in leadership. For example, according to a 2012 survey of 55 counties in the United States and Canada, there were 31 minority group heads and 39 minority group leaders. Of these, 11 had African American or black board members; 5 had Asian, Pacific, or Native American board members; and 5 had Hispanic board members. The Board of General Presbyters , the governing body of general conference, has African-American or dark-skinned, Hispanic, and Asian members. The work of the organization is carried out by 8 general departments, each of which has a minority representation on its general committee or board. Participation is at least 20% for various departments such as Youth, Sunday School, and North American Missions.

Teaching

Deity

The VPG adheres to a "unity" concept of the deity, in contrast to the orthodox belief in the Trinity . Therefore, an understanding of Unity Doctrine versus Trinitarian Doctrine is vital in any analysis of VPG beliefs.

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three constitutive persons or hypostases - the Father, the Son ( Jesus Christ ) and the Holy Spirit ; "One God in three persons". The three persons are different, but one "substance, essence or nature". In contrast, believers in oneness believe that God is absolutely and indivisibly one. They also affirm that in Jesus the full fulness of Godhead dwells bodily and that Jesus is the only name given for salvation ( Col. 2: 9  HFA ). The Father was revealed to the world in the name of Jesus, the Son was given the name Jesus at birth, and the Holy Spirit comes to the believers in the name of Jesus. Thus they believe that the apostles correctly fulfilled Christ's command to baptize “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” by baptizing all converts with the saying in the name of Jesus Christ ( Mt 28:19  HFA ; Acts 2.38  HFA ; Acts 8.16  HFA ; Acts 10.48  HFA ; Acts 19.5  HFA ; Acts 22.16  HFA ).

The believers in oneness underline that God revealed Himself as Father (in parental relation to humanity), in Son (in human flesh) and as Holy Spirit (in spiritual act). They acknowledge that the one God existed as Father, Word, and Holy Spirit prior to his incarnation as Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and that while Jesus himself walked the earth as God incarnated, the Spirit of God continued to be omnipresent.

Soteriology

The VPG derives its soteriology partially from Acts 2,37-39  HFA and Joh 3,3-5  HFA . The gospel is defined as "the good news that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again". Followers of this denomination believe that in the biblical sense one can only be saved by being spiritually born again in obedience to the gospel. This is accomplished through repentance ( death of sin ), water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ ( burial ), and receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the first sign of speaking in tongues when the Spirit gives the utterance ( resurrection).

Therefore, the VPG does not share the soteriology advocated by most evangelical Protestants, namely that belief or belief in Christ alone is the only requirement for salvation. Although many evangelicals would refer to this as "salvation by works," the VPG maintains that "salvation is by grace through faith based on the Atonement of Jesus Christ."

Buses

The VPG teaches that repentance is essential to salvation. Repentance is defined as a complete turning away from sin and toward God. The next steps in repentance are water baptism and baptism with the Holy Spirit. According to the VPG doctrine, no one can find repentance on their own, but only by the grace of God. Full redemption is only achieved through the subsequent water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ as well as the baptism with the Holy Spirit, which is proven through speaking in tongues. Man is considered to be born sinful. A child may only be baptized when he or she can distinguish right from wrong and thus be able to repent.

Water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ

According to the CPI teaching, the next step in salvation is baptism by immersion in water in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. No Trinitarian formula is used as the baptism formula, but only "in the name of Jesus Christ" is baptized. Mt 28:19  HFA is interpreted in the sense that the names of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit each refer to Jesus . In part, the thesis is supported that the Trinitarian formula was only inserted into Mt. 28:19 at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325.

Speaking in tongues

The VPG takes the view that speaking in tongues is the direct, external, observable and audible proof of the initial fulfillment by the Holy Spirit and the fulfillment of the commandment of Jesus to be born of the Spirit ( Jn 3 : 5  HFA ), represents. The VPG's convictions on this subject are derived from the Acts of the Apostles (especially 2.4; 17.38–39; 10.46; 19.6) and other biblical passages.

Sanctification

The VPG emphasizes that salvation is achieved with grace through faith in Christ. This belief is connected with obedience to his commandment to be "born of water and the Spirit" ( Jn 3,5  HFA ). It is emphasized that Christians should do good works ( Eph 2:10  HFA ).

In light of this biblical principle, the VPG teaches that one should lead a life that demonstrates the attributes of Christ. Inner holiness, like the demonstration of the fruits of the Spirit in the life of the Christian, should be accompanied by external signs of holiness, according to the VPG. The VPG continues to teach gender roles, including the belief that women should not cut their hair ( 1 Cor 11: 3-15  HFA ) or wear pants. The modesty inward and outward applies to women and men alike, although the men have fewer dress codes than the women. Members are discouraged from adorning themselves with cosmetics or jewelry that are biblically defined as "gold or pearls or an expensive collection" and are instead asked to show their beauty through their actions ( 1 Timothy 2 : 8-10  HFA ).

organization structure

The basic structure of the VPG consists of parishes at the local level and presbyteries at higher organizational levels. Local churches are autonomous, elect their own pastors and other leaders, own their own property, decide on their own budgets, establish their membership, and conduct all necessary local business. The central organization advocates a modified Presbyterian system: pastors meet in section, district, and general conferences to elect leaders and regulate Church affairs. The annual general conference is the highest authority in the denomination and has the power to determine articles of faith, elect ministers, and establish guidelines. A general superintendent is elected to lead the entire Church. On October 1, 2009, David K. Bernard was announced as the new General Superintendent .

Leaders at all levels are allowed to marry and have children. Homosexuality is viewed as a violation of biblical teaching, and the community rejects homosexual acts and marriages as well as adultery and fornication. However, the VPG has made it clear that it affirms the worth and dignity of every human being and speaks out against bigotry and hatred and only regards a person's sin as negative and not the person himself.

distribution

According to the VPG, it has grown from 521 member churches in 1945 to 4,819 churches (including subsidiary churches and preaching posts), 10,627 pastors, and 750,000 electorate in the US and Canada in 2019, according to the VPG. Outside the United States and Canada Canada, it has 34,779 churches and preaching posts, 25,292 licensed pastors, 691 missionaries, and 3.25 million members in 195 countries and 35 territories. The international religious community consists of national organizations, which are united as the Global Council of the VPG under the chairmanship of the General Superintendent . Total global membership, including North America, is more than 5 million. According to its own information, there are still 17 countries in which it is not yet active.

In the German-speaking countries in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland there are a number of parishes as well as subsidiary parishes and house groups. The evangelist Charles G. Robinette, who had previously been the senior pastor in Vienna for years, acts as chairman and board member for the DA-CH region.

Several meetings take place every year in different regions in the German-speaking area, such as youth camps, Elisha conferences, Bible schools, under the AMTC (Apostolic Ministry Training Center) program.

In Austria the Pentecostal congregation has several churches or preaching offices like in Vienna, Salzburg and Linz. The services are offered in different languages ​​such as English, German, Farsi and French.

In Germany she has churches in Berlin, Wolfenbüttel, Duisburg, Paderborn, Worms, Bonn, Landstuhl, Fürth, Munich. Pastor Charles G. Robinette leads the parish in Berlin.

In Switzerland there are three churches in the cities of Interlaken, Geneva and Zurich. The services are offered in German and English.

General conference

At the annual general conference, all delegates gather for a common service that includes praise, worship, and a sermon. Training seminars on specific topics for the respective church services are also offered. All participants also use this opportunity to collect donations for charity.

educational institutions

The VPG is the only non-Trinitarian Pentecostal Church to maintain a school that is recognized by the Association of Theological Schools . The Urshan Graduate School of Theology was recognized this status by the University Commission in June 2018.

Overview of educational institutions / Bible schools
Educational institution city country Note
Australian Apostolic Bible College (AABC) Sydney Australia
Apostolic Ministry Training Center (AMTC) Vienna Austria represented by several campuses throughout Austria
Apostolic Center for Theological Studies (ACTS) Quezon City Philippines
Harvest Bible College Glasgow Scotland approved by the State
Millennial Bible College Bilston England
Christian Life College Stockton United States approved by the State
Urshan College St Louis United States stately recognized, formerly known as the Gateway College of Evangelism
Apostolic Bible Institute St. Paul United States
Texas Bible College Lufkin United States
Purpose Institute Canton United States worldwide campuses
Northeast Christian College Fredericton Canada
Indiana Bible College Indianapolis United States
Christian Service Training Institute San Diego United States also offers distance learning online, with campuses in California, Georgia, and Florida
Centro Teologico Ministerial Pasadena United States
l'Institut Biblique Français Melun France
Apostolic Ministry Training Center (AMTC) Berlin Germany represented by several campuses throughout Germany
Apostolic Ministry Training Center (AMTC) Zurich Switzerland represented by several campuses throughout Switzerland
Instituto Teológico Pentecostal (ITP) Madrid Spain
Urshan Graduate School of Theology Wentzwille United States
Baguio Evangelism Apostolic Ministries (BEAM) Baguio City Philippines
Central Luzon Apostolic Institute of Ministries (CLAIM) Angeles City Philippines
Palawan Apostolic Bible Institute (PABI) Puerto Princesa Philippines
Apostolic Institute of Ministries (AIM) Davao City Philippines
Robert K. Rodenbush Global Training Center Balozi Latvia
Apostolic Bible College Hamilton New Zealand

literature

  • David K. Bernard - The New Birth. (The new birth)
  • David K. Bernard - The Oneness of God. (The oneness of God)
  • Talmadge French - Our God is One. (Our God is one)
  • David S. Norris - I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology. (I AM: A unitary denomination of the Pentecostal Church)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ United Pentecostal Church, Inc. . Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  2. ↑ UPCI: About | United Pentecostal Church International. Retrieved May 27, 2020 .
  3. ↑ David K. Bernard: A History of Christian Doctrine, The Twentieth Century AD 1900-2000 . Ed .: Word Aflame Press. tape 3 , no. 98 . Hazelwood, Missouri, USA 1999.
  4. ↑ UPCI: Members | United Pentecostal Church Int. Retrieved May 27, 2020 .
  5. ↑ UPCI: Members | United Pentecostal Church Int. Retrieved May 27, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Creed. In: UPC-GSN / VPG-DACH. Retrieved on May 27, 2020 (German).
  7. ↑ David K. Bernard: The Oneness of God (The Unity of God) .
  8. ^ David K. Bernard: The Apostolic Life . Ed .: Word Aflame Press. No. 99-100 . Hazelwood, Missouri, USA 2011.
  9. ^ Thomas A. Fudge: Christianity Without the Cross: A History of Salvation in Oneness Pentecostalism . Universal-Publishers, 2003, ISBN 978-1-58112-584-9 ( google.at [accessed on May 27, 2020]).
  10. ^ Walter J. Hollenweger: The Pentecostal Churches: Self-portrayals, documents, comments . Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2015, ISBN 978-3-11-081449-1 ( google.at [accessed on May 27, 2020]).
  11. ↑ Homosexuality. Retrieved May 28, 2020 (American English).
  12. ↑ Home | Global Missions. Retrieved May 27, 2020 .
  13. ^ Robinette Charles and Stacey | Global Missions. Retrieved May 27, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Leadership. In: UPC-GSN / VPG-DACH. Retrieved on May 27, 2020 (German).
  15. ^ Apostolic Ministry Training Center - Apostolic Training in the German Speaking Nations. Retrieved May 27, 2020 (American English).
  16. ^ Churches. In: UPC-GSN / VPG-DACH. Retrieved May 27, 2020 (American English).
  17. ↑ Pentecostal Church Zurich |. Retrieved on May 28, 2020 (German).
  18. ^ ATS - Member Schools . Archived from the original on June 9, 2008.
  19. ^ Accreditation Information . In: Higher Learning Commission . Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  20. ^ Bible College . In: edu.upci.org . Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  21. ↑ https://www.upca.org.au/bible-college.html
  22. ↑ http://amtc.upc.eu/?lang=de
  23. ↑ https://upcphils.org/ministries/bible-colleges/
  24. ↑ https://www.harvestbiblecollege.co.uk
  25. ↑ http://www.upcgbi.org/millenial-district-bible-school
  26. ↑ https://clc.edu
  27. ↑ https://urshancollege.org
  28. ↑ http://myabi.org
  29. ↑ https://www.tbcnow.com
  30. ↑ https://www.purposeinstitute.com
  31. ↑ http://www.northeastchristiancollege.com
  32. ↑ https://indianabiblecollege.org
  33. ↑ http://www.cstisandiego.com
  34. ↑ http://centroteologico.net
  35. ↑ https://epufrance.org/ministeres/ibf/
  36. ↑ http://amtc.upc.eu/?lang=de
  37. ↑ http://amtc.upc.eu/?lang=de
  38. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/InstitutoTeologicoPentecostalMadrid
  39. ↑ https://ugst.edu
  40. ↑ https://upcphils.org/ministries/bible-colleges/
  41. ↑ https://upcphils.org/ministries/bible-colleges/
  42. ↑ https://upcphils.org/ministries/bible-colleges/
  43. ↑ https://upcphils.org/ministries/bible-colleges/
  44. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/pg/RKRGlobalTrainingCenter/about/
  45. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/pg/ABCofNewZealand/about/?ref=page_internal