United Pentecostal Church International

The United Pentecostal Church International emerged from the Pentecostal movement, which traces its origins to the teachings of Charles Parham in Topeka, Kansas, and the Azusa Street Revival led by William J. Seymour in 1906.[5] The UPCI traces its organizational roots to 1916, when a large group of Pentecostal ministers within the Assemblies of God USA began to unite around the teaching of the oneness of God and water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.[3][6] Several Oneness ministers met in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and on January 2, 1917, formed a Oneness Pentecostal organization called the General Assembly of the Apostolic Assemblies.[7]

The General Assembly of the Apostolic Assemblies merged with another church, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW), and accepted the leadership of G. T. Haywood, an African American. This group held the first meeting in Eureka Springs in 1918. This interracial organization adopted the PAW name and remained the only Oneness Pentecostal body until late 1924. Southern Jim Crow laws and racial hatred resulted in many white leaders withdrawing from the PAW rather than remaining under African American leadership. Many local congregations in the Southern U.S., however, remained integrated while attempting to comply with local segregation laws.

In 1925, three new Oneness churches were formed: the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ, the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance,[8] and Emmanuel's Church in Jesus Christ. In 1927, steps were taken toward reunifying these organizations. Meeting in a joint convention in Guthrie, Oklahoma, Emmanuel's Church in Jesus Christ and the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ merged, taking the name the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ.[9] This merger united about 400 Oneness Pentecostal ministers. In 1931, a unity conference with representatives from four Oneness organizations met in Columbus, Ohio attempting to bring all Oneness Pentecostals together. The Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance voted to merge with the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ, but the terms of the proposed merger were rejected by that body. Nevertheless, a union between the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ and the PAW was consummated in November 1931. The new body retained the name of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.

In 1932, the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance changed its name to the Pentecostal Church, Incorporated to reflect its organizational structure. In 1936, Pentecostal Church, Incorporated ministers voted to work toward an amalgamation with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ. Final union, however, proved elusive until 1945 when these two Oneness Pentecostal organizations combined to form the United Pentecostal Church International.[10] The merger of these two Oneness Pentecostal bodies brought together 521 churches.[11]

In the U.S. and Canada the newly formed United Pentecostal Church International has traditionally reflected the majority culture with the majority of its constituency being White and Anglo-American. In the last quarter of the twentieth century, however, the United Pentecostal Church International attempted to shift its doctrines toward the inclusion of every race and culture in North America. In 2008, the United Pentecostal Church International published a statement against racism.[12] Despite attempts to reconcile with minorities, several congregations have left the United Pentecostal Church International citing persistent racism.[13][14]

The basic governmental structure of the UPCI is congregational at the local church level and presbyterian at higher organizational levels. Local churches are autonomous, electing their own pastors and other leaders, owning their own property, deciding their own budgets, establishing their membership, and conducting all necessary local business.[15] The central organization embraces a modified presbyterian system: ministers meet in sectional, district, and general conferences to elect officers and to conduct the church's affairs. The annual General Conference is the highest authority in the UPCI, with power to determine articles of faith, elect officers and determine policy. A General Superintendent is elected to preside over the church as a whole. On October 1, 2009, David K. Bernard was announced as the new General Superintendent.[16]

According to the UPCI, in the United States and Canada it has grown from 521 member churches in 1945 to 4,819 churches (including daughter works and preaching points) 10,627 ministers, and 750,000 constituents in the United States and Canada in 2019. Outside the U.S. and Canada it has 34,779 churches and preaching points, 25,292 licensed ministers, 970 missionaries, and a constituency of 3.25 million in 195 nations and 35 territories. The international fellowship consists of national organizations that are united as the Global Council of the UPCI, which is chaired by the general superintendent of the UPCI, David K. Bernard. Total worldwide membership, including North America, is at more than 5 million.[17]

Ministers at all levels are allowed to marry and have children. Homosexuality is considered contrary to biblical teaching and the UPCI opposes homosexual acts and homosexual marriage just as it opposes unbiblical heterosexual conduct such as adultery and fornication.[18] The UPCI has made it clear, however, that it affirms the worth and dignity of every human being and opposes bigotry and hatred.[19]

• Bernard, David. The New Birth.
• Bernard, David. The Oneness of God.
• French, Talmadge. Our God is One.
• Norris, David S. I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology.

• Official website of the United Pentecostal Church in America