Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus

The Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus (Apostolic Assembly) is the oldest Spanish-speaking Oneness Pentecostal
Oneness Pentecostal
Oneness Pentecostalism refers to a grouping of denominations and believers within Pentecostal Christianity, all of whom subscribe to the nontrinitarian theological doctrine of Oneness...

denomination in the United States. It is also the oldest primarily Hispanic denomination in the world and is also the eighth fastest growing Hispanic

Hispanic

Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

denomination. It was founded in 1925 and incorporated in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

on March 15, 1930, and is currently headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Most of its congregations are in the United States, but the Apostolic Assembly also has a significant number of churches in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

and Central and South America.

History

The Apostolic Assembly is one of many denominations that grew out of the Azusa Street Revival

Azusa Street Revival

The Azusa Street Revival was a historic Pentecostal revival meeting that took place in Los Angeles, California and is the origin of the Pentecostal movement. It was led by William J. Seymour, an African American preacher. It began with a meeting on April 14, 1906, and continued until roughly 1915...

movement that emphasized unconventional and expressive forms of worship such as Glossolalia

Glossolalia

Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables, often as part of religious practice. The significance of glossolalia has varied with time and place, with some considering it a part of a sacred language...

or speaking in tongues . A novelty of the Azusa Street Revival

Azusa Street Revival

was its initial multiracial character. Unfortunately, this type of racial integration could not be sustained thereafter within the confines of one organization. This denomination is of all races.

The Episcopal Body

Below the General Board is the Episcopal Body, which includes all District Bishops and Pastors. Districts generally correspond to state or regional boundaries and are led by a Bishop who serves a four-year term. The Bishop is assisted by a District Secretary and a District Treasurer. Bishops may also rely on Elders, an elected position for Pastors who advise a small group of congregations on behalf of the corresponding district.

Congregations

Churches are established in three steps, contingent on membership. Initially, new congregations are classified as "New Works" and headed by a minister in charge. Upon reaching fifty members, the New Work can become a Mission, and the minister can be formally recognized as a Pastor.

With one hundred or more members, the Mission becomes a Church or Assembly headed by a Pastor. The Pastor may be assisted by deacons or ministers. The former have no ministerial privileges as this position is an antecedent and probationary period for formal induction into the ministry. Once ordained, ministers are under the authority of local pastors.

Local churches are not self-governed and pastors respond to two higher authorities described above: (1) Elders, sector leaders with advisory roles, and (2) District Bishops.

Congregations outside of the established districts are included under National Missions (Bishop Abel F. Aguilar). These are areas were there are not enough churches to establish a district.

Corporate groups

In addition to the formal political authority that flows from the General Board to local churches, there is a parallel organization built around gender or age groups to perform regular functions. Three Auxiliary Departments have been set up for societies of Men (known as Varones), Women (known as Dorcas), and Youth. Within churches, each of these groups has a local board, led by an elected or appointed president who is assisted by a vice president, secretary, and treasurer. This structure is replicated at the district level, where it is known as a federation, and at the national level, where it is known as a Confederation. However, at the Local level the Pastor may choose to organize differently a society. Program development and policy directives flow from confederations to federations to local societies. The latter are also required to assist with other local projects. At the Confederal and Federal levels, elections for officials is every two years. Electors for the Confederation tier, comprises two representatives of each district (Commonly the President and Vice President of said District Federation). Electors for the federation tier, comprises two representatives from each church (Again, commonly the President and Vice President).

Membership and statistics

As noted above, the Apostolic Assembly arose to meet the need to reach out to Mexican immigrants who were largely ignored by other Pentecostal denominations.(UPCI) Whereas this situation led to the development of a self-governed movement, this history also has presented severe challenges that continue to this day.

One recurrent challenge is connected to the composition of its membership. Since most of its members have historically been Mexican immigrants, Church growth has been subject to fluctuations in migration trends. Because of its mobile nature, immigrant communities are hard to count and keep as stable groups. But while challenging, the reliance on immigration has also helped membership in recent times. The Apostolic Assembly, like most Christian denominations in the United States, has problems retaining members, especially younger generations. A continued flow of immigration has undoubtedly kept membership figures from falling drastically, although there are no figures to actually track membership changes over time.

Another concurrent challenge has been the requirement to minister to both Spanish- and English-speaking members. Historically, Spanish has been the de facto language of the denomination, but newer generations do not always share the same cultural values and language as old and new migrant members. In response, there is an emergent trend of English-speaking congregations, along with a more deliberate attempt to reach Hispanic-Americans who do not speak Spanish.

The denomination is also challenged by its organizational capability. Early leaders supervised a relatively small number of congregations established along migrant routes. As the church has grown, it has become more difficult to oversee a larger number of congregations. A manifestation of this problem is the lack of reliable membership data. A recent official document acknowledges these and other related problems and provides a roadmap of strategies to enhance membership growth (please browse official page for more information)..

Finally, the Apostolic Assembly is challenged to raise its educational and theological levels. This is due to that initiation and ordination rules are not as demanding in this area as they are in other Oneness Pentecostal Denominations, thus raising the probabilities of ministerial unpreparedness to congregational and spiritual needs. To this point, the Apostolic Assembly currently has in most of its districts a CBAN (Colegio Biblico Apostolico Nacional or a National Apostolic Biblical College) College and it is now necessary that all deacons seeking ordination must attend courses in their District's CBAN, if there is one available to attend.

External links