The Development of Pentecostal Organizations

Rev. Charles F. Parham is commonly referred to as the father of modern Pentecostalism. When the baptism of the Holy Spirit fell on his Bethel Bible School in Topeka, Kansas on January 1, 1901, he named his movement, the "Apostolic Faith." Parham was not an advocate of organizing Pentecostalism. He felt that organization would be more harmful than helpful. He consistantly referred to the Apostolic Faith as a Movement.

Parham's attempt to keep the movement free from politics failed after leaders within the movement isolated him from leadership in 1907.  The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World began as a loose-leaf fellowship in 1906. It started as an off-shoot from the Azusa Street revival. In 1913, the Arroyo Seco Campmeeting helped to launch Oneness ideology. In 1914, the Assemblies of God was formed by both Oneness and Trinitarian ministers such as, Howard Goss, E.N. Bell, D.C.O. Opperman, J. Roswell Flower, and others who shared common ground on the topic of Holy Spirit baptism. Since that time Pentecostalism has been sub-divided into hundreds of groups. With over 600 organizations within the ranks of Oneness Pentecostalism alone. This documentation will show how some of the organizations came into existence. Click on the Links below to view the information.