Pentecostal Assemblies of the World
The Pentecostal Assemblies Of The World holds that its origin can be traced to the Azusa Street Revival (1906-1909) under the leadership of William J. Seymour . Bishop G.T. Haywood was never a member of the Church Of God In Christ or The Assemblies of God he was a member of the P.A.W. since 1911. The P.A.W. was never a part of the Church Of God In Christ it came strictly from the Azusa Street revival In 1906.
The PAW was officially organized in 1919. For historical clarification it must be noted that the Church Of God In Christ Inc. was originally founded in Lexington, MS. in 1897 as a holiness church by Bishop Charles Harrison Mason , Elder C.P. Jones , Elder J.E. Jeter and Elder W.S. Pleasant . During this time the Church Of God In Christ fellowship of churches were united by the doctrines of sanctification , and holiness .
In 1912 a group of primarily white Christian believers broke association with the Church Of God In Christ primarily due to racial barriers, laws of segregation, and disputes among leadership and congregants. This group would go on to form the Assemblies Of God .
The late Bishop Morris E. Golder wrote: "The original organization bearing the name of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World came into existence in the year of 1906 in the city of Los Angeles, State of California." The late Bishop G. T. Haywood concurs with this fact, writing in the Voice In The Wilderness in 1921: "It (The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World) was started in 1906 in Los Angeles, California."
This was also the position asserted by Bishop Ross Paddock, the former Presiding Bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. He declared that after one year of being organized, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World had its first annual business meeting and that, at the same time, it was Trinitarian in its doctrine and liturgy of water baptism.
It was in this context of varying ideas, personal differences, doctrinal and other conflicting elements that not only was the need of organization seen, but the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World in its original state (1906) came into existence. However, it was not until 1919 that it became incorporated and took on the identity of being an Apostolic "Oneness" body of ministers and believers.
According to Dr. David Bundy, a Pentecostal historian at the Christian Theological Seminary, as early as 1907 , a white Baptist minister in Los Angeles , was preaching non-Trinitarian water baptism in the Name of Jesus . According to Dr. Deborah Sims LeBlanc, William and Maggie Bowdan, the parents of former Assistant Presiding Bishop Frank Bowdan, were baptized in the Name of Jesus after the Azusa Street Mission Revival (1906-1909).
As an outgrowth of the Asuza Street movement, a fellowship of "pentecostal assemblies" met in October 1907 in Los Angeles, and followed-up with similar meetings in subsequent years. This fellowship was known as the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. J.J. Frazee (the PA of W's first General Superintendent) and G.T. Haywood participated in these meetings.
In 1913, during the Assembly Of God General Assembly, a great controversy arose regarding the so-called "new issue" that water baptism was to be administered in "the Name of Jesus Christ" rather than in "the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." The majority of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World community accepted both the liturgical change and a "Jesus Only" or Oneness approach to understanding God.
Among those who accepted the Oneness doctrine in the early period was Elder Garfield Thomas Haywood, an African American minister from Indianapolis , who pastored a very successful Pentecostal church on Indianapolis that had, in 1913, between 400-500 members. The racial make up of the congregation was about 50% African American and 50% white. The name of the church was Christ Temple Apostolic Faith Assembly.
Christ Temple was one of the largest Pentecostal churches and congregations in the world. Bishop Haywood was rebaptized in the Name of "Jesus Only" in approximately 1913. Subsequently, he rebaptized his entire congregation in the Name of Jesus.
Bishop Haywood played a tremendous role in the early days of the Pentecostal movement. His association within the establishment of the Assemblies of God and influence to the United Pentecostal Church are noteworthy.
Bishop Haywood was born in Greencastle, Indiana , and when he was three years old, his parents moved to Indianapolis. He would spend the rest of his life living in Indianapolis. He began pastoring in 1908, multi-gifted, a professional cartoonist-artist, Gospel song writer, poet, author of several books, teacher, and preacher. He was speaker at many of camp meetings. He traveled extensively throughout the country. He also traveled to the Middle East , Palestine , the British West Indies , and Canada . Prior to becoming the Presiding Bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of World, he held the office of General Secretary. He was by far the most sought after speaker, teacher and preacher in the Pentecostal and Oneness movement during his lifetime as a minister.
In 1913, hundreds of preachers attended a camp meeting in Arroyo Seco, California . The truth of the Oneness of God was given, accompanied by the new revelation of baptism in the name of Jesus. Evangelist R.E. McAlister was selected to preach on the subject of water baptism. He began with the accepted baptismal message and spoke on the different modes of baptism, mentioning triune immersion by which the candidate was immersed three times face forward. He summed it up by “they justify their method, by saying that baptism is in the likeness of Christ's death, and make a point from scripture that Christ bowed his head when he died.” that to them, it was necessary to baptize once for each person in the Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). He concluded his message abruptly by saying that the scriptural answer to this was that the Apostles invariably baptized all their converts once in the name of Jesus Christ. He ended by stating the words Father, Son, and Holy Ghost were never used by the early church in Christian baptism. McAlister was taken aside at the time and told not to preach this new theory about the “baptismal formula.”
However, many hearing McAlister speak received the new revelation of the name Jesus. Three important men attended and were influenced by this new revelation, these were Frank Ewart, G.T. Haywood, and Glenn Cook. |
