The Assemblies of God Celebrates 100 Years Of Global Evangelism!
Dear Visionary Leader:
The Assemblies of God began with a few hundred men and women in Hot Springs, Arkansas, who committed to do the greatest work of evangelism the world had ever seen.
One hundred years later, the Assemblies of God has grown to more than 67.5 million adherents and 366,000 churches worldwide, with about 3 million followers in the U.S. Every 25 seconds a new convert is added and every 39 minutes a new church is planted.
Last week, thousands from across America and 120 countries gathered in Springfield to celebrate the centennial of the world’s largest Pentecostal Fellowship.
Though the convention in part focused on the church’s accomplishments, the group that gathered in the JQH Arena on Thursday night for the kickoff service made it clear they are not resting on the past. “God is not done!”, about 8,000 people said in unison, under the direction of Dr. George Wood, General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God.
“We measure our success not by how many people we have, but by the tremendous task that still lies before us. There are a couple billion people who’ve never had an adequate presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Dr. Wood said. “Let’s finish the task.”
John Apami said he traveled about 20 hours with a group of 47 people from their home in Papua New Guinea to Springfield to attend the centennial celebration.
The AG has about 1,000 churches in Papua New Guinea. The church was formed in 1948 after Australian missionaries came to the island country to preach the Gospel.
The World Assemblies of God Fellowship connects leadership councils, like the one in Papua New Guinea, all over the world. Dr. Wood, who serves as the top leadership of the AG in the U.S., also serves as the chairman of the world fellowship. He was recently re-elected to another three-year term.
Andrew Anane-Asane, president of the Ghanaian Assemblies of God Fellowship, said when he moved from Ghana to the U.S. in 2006, he wanted to bring the style of preaching, dancing and prayer from his home church to his new church in Wisconsin.
Anane-Asane said the growth of the AG in Africa is incredible, especially the growth in Ghana.
At the Thursday kickoff service, President of Ghana John Dramani Mahama spoke to the thousands of attendees. A committed member of the AG, Mahama spoke of the positive impact the church has made on Ghana. In Africa there are over 17 million AG adherents.
NATIONAL BACK TO CHURCH SUNDAY
The Billion Soul Network, comprised of more than 2,000 denominations/organizations are nationally synergizing their efforts, along with church leaders, to challenge pastors and their respective parishioners to make faithful church attendance commonplace again in America and around the world. In step with this “clarion call,” Billion Soul has identified National Back to Church Sunday as an urgent priority and opportunity for America. Make plans to join more than 30,000 churches throughout North America on September 21, 2014. Millions of Christians are inviting their friends “back to Church.” Visit www.backtochurch.com to learn more!
WINNING MY RACE: DISCOVERING THE ENERGY, TIME AND DISCIPLINE TO FULFILL YOUR DESTINY
Winning My Race is an inspirational guide to answering the call God has placed on your life. Written by New York Times best-selling author and Team USA Doctor Dr. Ben Lerner, Winning My Race covers the essential steps to treating your body as God’s temple, getting in the best shape of your life and attaining health you need to win your race.
This book was inspired by the health crisis facing America and the world today. With so many easy-to-make, unhealthy choices constantly bombarding us, our collective health is deteriorating at an alarming pace. When our health fails, it becomes an incredible struggle to complete the race that God has set before us. Dr. Lerner believes that Winning My Race will provide the motivation and inspiration necessary to revolutionize your health, as well as the practical tools to complete the transformation. Visit www.WinningMyRace.com to learn more and get your copy today!
I believe each of us desire to be on the cutting-edge throughout our lives and ministry. Last week, we learned the first step is to admit where we are as to our level of effectiveness. We will not simply recover the cutting-edge through human force alone. Our Lord wants us to have the axehead on the axe handle. When we lose the axehead, the end result is bruised hands, tired bodies and skinned up trees!
The second step to recovering the cutting-edge is to Acknowledge Its Loan. In 2 Kings 6: 5-7, when Elisha spoke to the young man who had lost the axehead, he said, “for it was borrowed.” We never possess God’s power; God’s power possesses us! The power of the Holy Spirit has been given to us in order to assist us in the fulfillment of our divine calling in the world. What was started through divine force cannot be completed through human flesh. The supernatural will never be the result of natural effort.
We need to consistently find some time to allow the Holy Spirit to freshly anoint our lives for servant leadership. The axehead has to remain on the axe handle. When there are times that we may sense we are slipping in our walk with the Lord, we need to admit where we are that time and then come quickly back and ask the Lord to revive our hearts. History is replete with Christian organizations who began in the hot flames of revival but over time the axehead slipped off the axe handle and they ultimately ended up lethargic, lukewarm and lost.
Until The Last Person Has Heard,
Dr. James O. Davis
Cofounder / Billion Soul Network
Cochair / Global Networking
