The Assemblies of God: A Bibliographic Essay

Abstract

This essay will focus on some of the more important Pentecostal literature that specifically relates to the Assemblies of God (AG) denomination. The AG is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world, with approximately 50 million adherents worldwide. Conservative estimates place the total number of Pentecostals worldwide, including the AG, at 250 million. Thus, it is probable that the Pentecostal movement will have a lasting impact on global Christianity for many years to come. The term Pentecostal is derived from the biblical story in Acts 2 which describes the giving of the Holy Spirit to the church on the day of Pentecost. The AG is a subset of a larger group that claims the title Pentecostal or Classical Pentecostal.1 Classical Pentecostals trace their beginnings to the Azusa Street Revival of 1906 and are typified by their Methodist Holiness origins, a genesis in the lower socio-economic strata of society, and a doctrinal insistence on evidential glossolalia, commonly known as “speaking in tongues,” as proof of the “baptism in the Holy Spirit.” The AG and the Church of God in Christ are the two largest Classical Pentecostal denominations—although technically the AG’s origin was about ten years after the Azusa Street Revival when racist motivations led to the exodus of the white congregants from the revival.