The Assemblies of God is a global classical Pentecostal denomination that originated in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1914. Rooted in evangelical orthodoxy and the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit, the fellowship pairs local church autonomy with cooperative missionary sending, emphasizing baptism in the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues as its initial evidence.
Founding of the Assemblies of God: Hot Springs, 1914
In the decade following the historic 1906 Azusa Street Revival, independent Pentecostal preachers and congregations spread rapidly across the United States. However, this early growth was marked by administrative fragmentation. Hundreds of independent evangelists operated without formal credentials, missionary contributions frequently went unmonitored, and local assemblies possessed no mechanism to adjudicate doctrinal disputes or protect legal property titles.
To address these challenges, several prominent Pentecostal leaders—including Eudorus N. Bell, J. Roswell Flower, and Howard Goss—issued a call for a general convention. In April 1914, more than three hundred delegates convened at the Grand Opera House in Hot Springs, Arkansas. They sought to establish an organization that could coordinate global missionary sending and domestic church planting without establishing an authoritarian hierarchy that might quench the spontaneous leading of the Holy Spirit.
The delegates voted to incorporate as the General Council of the Assemblies of God. E. N. Bell was elected the first general chairman (later titled general superintendent), while Flower served as the first general secretary. Unlike centralized denominations governed by bishops or presbyteries, the founders designated the body a "cooperative fellowship," affirming the independence and self-governance of every local congregation. In 1918, the fellowship relocated its national headquarters to Springfield, Missouri, where it established Gospel Publishing House, central administrative facilities, and its flagship educational institution, Evangel University, as detailed in our broader history of Pentecostalism.
Core Assembly of God beliefs and the Statement of Fundamental Truths
When the Assemblies of God was founded, leaders initially resisted drafting a formal creed, fearing that human catechisms might restrict spiritual liberty. However, between 1913 and 1915, a sharp theological controversy known as the "New Issue" or "Jesus Only" movement erupted within early Pentecostalism. Proponents of this view rejected the historic Christian doctrine of the Trinity and insisted on rebaptizing believers exclusively in the name of Jesus.
To preserve biblical orthodoxy, delegates to the 1916 General Council adopted the Statement of Fundamental Truths—a sixteen-point confessional document outlining core Assembly of God beliefs. This document explicitly affirmed the classical doctrine of the Trinity, defining the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as distinct persons within one undivided divine essence, establishing clear boundaries examined in our guide to Pentecostal beliefs.
Within these sixteen fundamental truths, the Assemblies of God highlights four distinct teachings as its "cardinal doctrines":
- Salvation: Received solely through repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ, whose atoning death and bodily resurrection provide forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
- Baptism in the Holy Spirit: An empowering spiritual experience distinct from and subsequent to the new birth, bringing an enduement of divine power for life, ministry, and evangelistic witness.
- Divine Healing: An integral part of the gospel, provided in the atonement of Christ and available to all believers through faithful prayer and anointing with oil.
- The Blessed Hope: The imminent, premillennial return of Jesus Christ to rapture His church before the tribulation, followed by His visible return to reign on earth.
A central distinctive reaffirmed in the Statement of Fundamental Truths is the doctrine of "initial physical evidence": the conviction that speaking in unknown tongues (glossolalia) is the normative biblical sign indicating that a believer has received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Cooperative fellowship: How an AG church is governed
The institutional structure of the Assemblies of God reflects a balance between local congregational freedom and regional coordination. Rather than functioning as a top-down hierarchy, the denomination operates as a voluntary cooperative fellowship.
At the congregational level, each local AG church exercises substantial autonomy. An affiliated congregation authors its own local bylaws, elects its own board of deacons, owns legal title to its church building and property, and votes democratically to call or dismiss its senior pastor. Pastors are not appointed or assigned by regional bishops, which distinguishes the fellowship from hierarchical bodies such as the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee).
At the regional level, churches are grouped into geographic and ethnic districts. District councils oversee the examination and licensing of ministers, provide counseling and conflict resolution for troubled congregations, and organize regional youth camps and leadership training. At the national level, the General Council convenes biennially, bringing together ordained ministers and lay delegates from every registered congregation to elect national officers, update denominational bylaws, and direct world missions.
World missions has served as the heartbeat of the Assemblies of God since its inception. AG World Missions supports thousands of career missionaries and global associates across more than 250 nations and territories. Rather than establishing permanent colonial mission stations, the fellowship's strategy has been to plant self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating national churches. Consequently, the World Assemblies of God Fellowship today encompasses over 70 million adherents worldwide, making it the largest Pentecostal communion on earth.
Ethnic diversity and Hispanic growth
In the United States, the Assemblies of God USA reports approximately 3 million adherents across roughly 13,000 congregations. While many historic mainline denominations and some evangelical bodies have reported declining membership over the past two decades, the Assemblies of God has maintained steady domestic growth, driven predominantly by ethnic and linguistic diversity.
A primary driver of this demographic vitality is the fellowship's network of non-geographic ethnic districts. To empower non-English-speaking communities, the General Council established specialized districts that operate alongside traditional state boundaries. Today, more than twenty percent of Assemblies of God adherents in the United States are Hispanic, worshiping in over 2,500 Spanish-speaking and bilingual congregations. The fellowship also maintains dedicated districts and fellowships for Korean, Vietnamese, Samoan, Slavic, and Haitian believers.
This multicultural composition has helped the Assemblies of God maintain a notably younger demographic profile than most American denominations. Denominational reports indicate that roughly half of all attendees in American Assemblies of God churches are under thirty-five years of age, reflecting strong investments in children's ministries and campus outreach, as documented in our study of Pentecostal churches by state and our comparison with the historic African American tradition of the Church of God in Christ.
Assemblies of God worship and community life
Worship at an Assemblies of God church blends contemporary evangelical style with classical Pentecostal warmth and expectancy. Weekend services typically center on extended periods of musical praise led by a band featuring guitars, keyboards, and drums, with lyrics projected on large screens.
Congregational participation is enthusiastic. Worshipers freely raise their hands, clap, and verbally express praise. During or immediately following the music, services often include times of quiet reflection where members anticipate the moving of the Holy Spirit. If a message in tongues or a prophetic word is given from the congregation, pastoral leaders ensure it is followed by biblical interpretation and tested according to 1 Corinthians 14. This balanced atmosphere helped bridge classical Pentecostalism with the twentieth-century Charismatic renewal.
Preaching is typically expository and evangelistic, lasting thirty to forty-five minutes and focusing on practical biblical truth, personal holiness, and victorious Christian living. Services frequently conclude with an altar call, where attendees are invited forward for individual prayer, salvation, divine healing, or spiritual renewal.
Outside of Sunday worship, Assemblies of God churches support extensive discipleship programs for every generation. These include Royal Rangers (a scouting-style character mentorship program for boys), National Girls Ministries, Chi Alpha campus ministries active at hundreds of secular university campuses across the United States, and Speed the Light, a youth-driven initiative that has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to fund vehicles, water wells, and media equipment for foreign missionaries.
What to expect when visiting an Assemblies of God church
Visiting an Assemblies of God congregation is an accessible, welcoming experience. Facilities range from historic small-town chapels to expansive multisite campuses in major suburban corridors. Dress is predominantly business casual or everyday casual, and greeters are stationed at entrances to assist newcomers and guide parents to secure children's check-in areas.
Visitors curious about Spirit-filled worship or searching for a permanent church home can use our national directory of Pentecostal churches to locate Assemblies of God congregations by zip code and city. To learn more about service flow, etiquette, and hospitality, consult our practical guide to what to expect at a Pentecostal church before attending.