The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (P.A.W.) is a Oneness Pentecostal denomination headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Claiming an estimated 2 million members in approximately 4,000 churches as of 2022, the Association of Religion Data Archives reported the PAW as having 54,934 members in 108 U.S. churches.

History

Early years (1914–1917)

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World is the result of the merger of two Oneness Pentecostal bodies in the early years of the Pentecostal movement. The oldest body was founded in 1914 by a Oneness minister named J. J. Frazier. The church was centered on the West Coast and was the first to use the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World name.

The second body resulted from a schism within the Assemblies of God USA in 1916. That year the Assemblies of God general council disapproved of Oneness Pentecostal doctrine and adopted a trinitarian Statement of Fundamental Truths. This forced a large minority of Pentecostal ministers and churches to withdraw from the Assemblies of God and form a new group advocating Oneness Pentecostalism. They were led by Garfield Thomas Haywood, formerly the leading African-American pastor within the Assemblies of God. This group met in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, to create an organization capable of issuing ministerial credentials named the General Assembly of the Apostolic Churches. The top officials of this new organization were D. C. O. Opperman and Howard A. Goss, formerly important leaders of the Assemblies of God.

See also

  • Christianity in the United States
  • Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ

References

  • Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (Official Website)
  • (Official Website)
  • Men's Department (Official Website)
  • Youth Department (Official Website)
  • Singles Department (Official Website)
  • Christian Education(Sunday School) Department (Official Website)
  • Aenon Bible College (Official Website)