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United Pentecostal Church International

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The UPCI logo.
The UPCI logo.

The United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) is a multi cultural United States-based international Christian faith of the Pentecostal movement, and is headquartered in the St. Louis suburb of Hazelwood, Missouri . The UPCI was formed in 1945 by a merger of the Pentecostal Church, Incorporated, and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ. The UPCI states the following about itself:[1]

  • since its formation in 1945, the UPCI has been one of the fastest growing denominations in North America, growing from 617 member churches in 1946, to 4,358 churches in 2007 (which includes 4099 autonomous and 258 daughter works),.
  • the UPCI in North America has 9,085 ministers.
  • the UPCI in North America reports a Sunday School attendance circa 650,000.
  • the UPCI has a presence in 175 other nations with 22,881 licensed ministers, 28,351 churches and meeting places, 652 missionaries, and a foreign constituency of over 3 million.
  • total worldwide constituency, including North America, is listed at 4,036,945.

History

When the Assemblies of God adopted the doctrine of the Trinity at its Fourth General Council in October 1916, the Oneness Pentecostals withdrew from the organization. Two months later, beginning in late December, Oneness ministers met in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and on January 2, 1917, they formed a Oneness Pentecostal organization called The General Assembly of the Apostolic Assemblies.

In late 1917 or early 1918 The General Assembly of the Apostolic Assemblies merged with the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World and held its first meeting in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, later the same year. This organization adopted the name of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. During 1925 three new organizations formed: The Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ, The Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance, and Emmanuel's Church in Jesus Christ (which still exists today).

In 1927 two of the new organizations merged. Meeting in a joint convention in Guthrie, Oklahoma, Emmanuel's Church in Jesus Christ and The Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ joined under the name The Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ. This merger, which united about 400 ministers, was celebrated at the next General Convention held in Port Arthur, Texas, in October of 1928.

In 1931, a unity conference with representatives from four Oneness organizations met in Columbus, Ohio, in an attempt to bring more Oneness organizations under the same banner. This attempt was partially successful. The Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance ministers voted to merge with The Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ, but the terms of the proposed merger were not accepted by the ministers of The Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ. A merger between The Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World was completed in November of 1931. The merged organizations adopted the name of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ but the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World never disolved and is now one of the largest apostolic organizations today.

In 1932, the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance changed its name to The Pentecostal Church, Incorporated, to better reflect its organizational structure. Neither of the two remaining organizations attempted another merger until 1936, when The Pentecostal Church, Incorporated ministers voted to work toward a union with The Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ. Negotiations were unsuccessful. Eight years later, in 1944, the two organizations reopened negotiations which would eventually lead the to the formation of the present United Pentecostal Church International in 1945.

UPCI doctrinal beliefs

Overview

The UPCI's doctrinal view derives its central theology of salvation from Acts 2:38: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." The UPCI teaches that this passage reflects the words of Jesus in John 3:5, "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." In order to fulfill the Biblical plan of salvation, a person must be spiritually "born again" by dying to sin through repentance, being buried with Christ in baptism, and being resurrected when receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost as evidenced by speaking in other tongues as the Spirit of God gives utterance. Its membership is made up of a broad cross section of the population. Their numbers have grown steadily at a pace which is significantly higher than any other Christian denomination in the United States over the last one hundred years. A scholarly work, Our God is One, by Talmadge French, has gotten a good deal of attention from non-Oneness groups.

Repentance

The UPCI believes that repentance is essential to salvation, as found in Luke 13:5. Repentance is defined as turning away from sin and turning toward God. According to the UPCI, true repentance requires forgiveness and cleansing of sins found in 1 John 1:9. As found in 2 Corinthians 2:10, members of the UPCI believe that repentance must be accompanied by Godly sorrow, as it is the motivator for true repentance. Repentance is also a prerequisite for receiving the Holy Ghost (John 14:17; Acts 2:38). Lastly, the ability to repent is temporary and may only be accomplished while one is alive (Hebrews 9:27).[2]

Baptism

Baptism is a second essential component of UPCI doctrine. Members of the UPCI affirm a need for baptism as shown in Matthew 28:19 and point to Matthew 3:13-16 as evidence that even Jesus was baptized. The UPCI mode of baptism is complete immersion in water, completed in the name of Jesus Christ. This method of water baptism is a point at issue between Trinitarians and Oneness Pentecostals. Both sides include Matthew 28:19 to support their claims, with Oneness believers supporting 'Jesus Christ' and Trinitarian believers supporting "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," as it appears in Matthew 28:19. The UPCI believes that the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is 'Jesus', making a distinction that the word name in the scripture is singular, thus all three titles refer to Jesus. Furthermore, the UPCI believes that salvation cannot be complete without baptism, specifically without the pronouncement of the name of Jesus Christ over the proceeding. This interpretation originates from Acts 2:38 and is substantiated by Acts 8:16, Acts 10:48, and Acts 19:5 as these are the only scriptures actually showing what was said and done in the early church as far as baptism is concerned.

Speaking in tongues

The UPCI embraces the view that speaking in tongues is the outward, observable, and audible evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The UPCI holds that speaking in tongues can be given to all, regardless of race, culture, or language. This is interpreted from Isaiah 28:11, Mark 16:17, Acts 2:4, Acts 2:38, Acts 10:46, and Acts 19:6. The tongue becomes the vehicle of expression for the Holy Spirit (James 3), and to a member of the UPCI, the pentecostal person says it symbolizes God's complete control over the believer. According to the UPCI, speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of infilling by the Holy Spirit; there should also be inward changes as found in Galatians 5:22-23 and are collectively referred to as the "Fruit of the Spirit." Speaking in tongues as the initial sign of receiving the Holy Ghost is also set apart from the tongues talked about in I Corinthians 12, 13, and 14 as one of the Gifts of the Spirit as the Bible explains. The UPC does not recognize 'All who believe on me shall receive eternal life' as an acceptable form of 'receiving Christ'. In short, there are three things that you must do in order to receive eternal life, Repent, be baptized in Jesus name and receive the Holy Ghost.

The Bible

The UPCI believes this of the Bible: "The Bible is the only God-given authority which man possesses; therefore all doctrine, faith, hope, and all instructions for the church must be based upon and harmonize with the Bible" (Manual of the United Pentecostal Church, 19). According to the UPCI, the Bible is the Word of God, and therefore inerrant and infallible. The UPCI rejects many extrabiblical writings (such as The Book of Mormon, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures) as well as various books others consider part of the Bible (the Apocrypha), and views church creeds and articles of faith as the thinking of men, and therefore fallible in comparison to the Bible.

Godhead

The UPCI teaches that the one God who revealed Himself in the Old Testament as Jehovah revealed himself in His Son, Jesus Christ. Thus Jesus Christ was and is God. For the UPCI, Jesus is the one true God manifested in flesh, for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (John 1:1-14; I Timothy 3:16; Colossians 2:9).

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God and one person, rather than one God in three persons as in the doctrine of the Trinity. The UPCI believes their conception of the Godhead is true to early Christianity's strict monotheism, and views the trinitarian concept of God as scripturally incorrect, compromising the biblical teaching of God as one.

The UPC's understanding of God corresponds to [[Modalism], but cannot be characterized as such and is thus the most serious difference between it and other Pentecostals and evangelicals, such as the Assemblies of God.

Holiness

The UPCI holds that salvation is accomplished by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by works (Titus 3:5). The UPCI teaches a code of conduct based upon what it believes to be scriptural teaching, although detractors allege that many of these beliefs are mandated by church officials. The UPCI professes holiness standards as a salvation issue and will not put up with disobedience to those standards. This includes beliefs that women should not cut their hair based off the old jewish custom and should wear dresses or skirts, not pants, according to a scriptural mandate to "Not wear that which pertaineth to a man" (Deuteronomy 22:5) and "adorn [yourself] in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety" (1 Timothy 2:8-10). Men and women alike are discouraged from wearing jewelry, scripturally "gold, or pearls, or costly array" (1 Timothy 2:8-10).

One contested holiness viewpoint in the UPCI involves ownership of a television set. Licensed UPCI ministers are not allowed to have televisions in their homes. This view has been passed down to the local congregations through the ministers, who frown on their membership possessing televisions. In the same vein, many ministers do not want their constituency attending movies or going to movie theaters. These teachings vary from church to church.

Here are some quotations taken from the UPCI minsters manual, 1995 revision:

"We wholeheartedly disapprove of our people indulging in any activities which are not conducive to good Christianity and Godly living, such as theaters, dances, mixed bathing, women cutting their hair, make-up, any apparel that immodestly exposes the body, all worldly sports and amusements, and unwholesome radio programs and music. Furthermore, because of the display of all these evils on television, we disapprove of any of our people having television sets in their homes. We admonish all of our people to refrain from any of these practices in the interest of spiritual progress and the soon coming of the Lord for His church."[3]

"We disapprove of school students attending shows, dances, dancing classes, theatres, engaging in school activities against their religious scruples, and wearing gymnasium clothes which immodestly expose the body.

We disapprove of school students being forced to take coeducational classes which involve boys and girls being mixed together in swimming, calisthenics, baseball, and other mixed athletics while clothed in ungodly attire which immodestly exposes the body.

We disapprove of school students being forced to take any classes in which, under the guise of health classes, sex education is taught coeducationally or films or lectures are given that promote amoral or unnatural behavior.

We disapprove of school students being forced to be taught by or listen to those who promote or advocate sexual activity of any kind other than that within the bonds of the marriage relationship of husband and wife."[4]

Notable churches within the UPCI

Listed in alphabetical order. These are notable churches within the UPCI, typically with average congregation over 1,000.

UPCI-affiliated educational institutions

At the national level, the UPCI supports seven educational institutions:

Many districts and churches also support educational institutions in their cities and states. These efforts are often admininstered by local churches.

Notable people within the UPCI

Listed in alphabetical order.

  • Rev. Dr. David K. Bernard, author, and president of Urshan Graduate School of Theology.
  • Rev. Kenneth Haney, author, and General Superintendent of the UPCI.
  • Rev. Anthony Mangun, Pastor of The Pentecostals of Alexandria in Louisiana.
  • Rev. Mark Morgan, Evangelist and Pastor based in San Francisco, California.
  • Rev. Dr. Daniel Segraves, Ed. D., author, and president of Christian Life College.
  • Rev. Lee Stoneking, Evangelist based in New York.


Notes and references

  1. ^ "About Us". United Pentecostal Church International. Retrieved 2006-06-21.
  2. ^ "Except Ye Repent". United Pentecostal Church International. Retrieved 2006-06-21.
  3. ^ http://www.bible.ca/cr-United-Pentecostal-(upci).htm
  4. ^ http://www.bible.ca/cr-United-Pentecostal-(upci).htm
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