United Pentecostal Church History

The United Pentecostal Church is a fairly newer organization, established in the mid 1900s. In the forward of their manual, a little background is given which I will quote in part.

"During the last 21 days of the 19th century, a band of earnest, hungry-hearted ministers and Christian workers in Bethel Bible College, Topeka, Kansas, called a fast, praying earnestly for a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which, to their joyful surprise, came upon them in the early hours of the morning on January 1, 1901. The people were heard speaking in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance, just as it had happened on the day of Pentecost in the year 30 A.D. A great revival immediately broke forth, which soon reached to the State of Texas, and thence west to Los Angeles, where in the year 1906 it centered in an old building on Azusa Street......
"With the coming of the Holy Spirit, the word of the Lord became a new book. Truths which had been hidden for many years were made clear. In the year 1914 came the revelation on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The pivotal doctrines of the absolute deity of Jesus Christ and the baptism in his name became tenants of faith....
"The number of those who believed the full Pentecostal message grew rapidly, and soon it was realized that in order to properly reach the world with the great Gospel message, ...it was necessary to have a proper basis of cooperation and fellowship.
"During the early half of this century various groups were organized. Among them two of the major bodies known as The Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ, Inc., and the Pentecostal Church, Inc., became so closely associated in doctrine and fellowship that in 1944 steps were taken to unite the two bodies into one organization known as the United Pentecostal Church."

Below are links which give the history of different aspects of the Pentecostal or Apostolic movements. It is interesting to learn that not all early Apostolics held to the same strict ideas over salvational issues as currently expressed by the UPC.

You may want to check out The Apostolic Archives International, the Historical Center of the Assemblies of God and the Society for Pentecostal Studies.

To view the list of ministers from 1952, click here. To view a complete listing of United Pentecostal Churches from the 1952 directory, click here. To view the list of districts from 1952, click here. To view the Articles of Faith from 1952, click here.

Thomas Fudge, former UPC member whose father still holds license in the UPC, has written a scholarly book about the history of the United Pentecostal Church which is sure to cause some shaking within the organization. Mr. Fudge interviewed over 200 people and thoroughly documents information concerning their history. One thing you rarely see mentioned is the fact that one of the two groups which formed the UPC was not as hard line in beliefs as the UPC is today. Some believed a person was saved when they came to God in repentance. This can be seen in the very first edition of their official publication, The Pentecostal Herald, where they invite differing articles on the "new birth." (See the UPC Beliefs page for an exact quote.)

Click here to order Mr. Fudge's book from Amazon.com.

To view the first 25 pages of his book at no charge, click here. To view much more of his book at no charge on Google, click here.

Click here to read an article from a Canadian newspaper which describes the then forthcoming book. Click here to read an article written by Thomas Fudge concerning why he wrote the book. This page contains links to reviews and an interview.

Below are links, favorable and unfavorable to UPC, Apostolic, Oneness, and general Pentecostal history.

Apostolic/Oneness History

General Pentecostal History

Oneness Pentecostalism (PDF file)- Interfaith Evangelism Assessing the Roots of Pentecostalism- Randall J. Stephens

Oneness Pentecostalism- Watchman Expositor Pentecostalism- Gary E. Gilley

Dividing Over Oneness- Christianity Today The Restoration Vision in Pentecostalism (AOG)- D. William Faupel

History of Oneness Pentecostals- Ernie Sanchez A Gallery of Visionaries (Early Pentecostals)- Christianity Today

Oneness Pentecostalism- The Bereans The Silent Pentecostals (Latin History)- Christianity Today

Oneness History- The Apostolic Truth Ministries All Shook Up (Early Pentecostals)- Christianity Today

United Pentecostal Church International- Religious Movements Part VI- The Modern Age: Lesson #45- Pentecostalism- The Interactive Bible

A Brief History of the United Pentecostal Church- Mark Bassett Hell Hatched Free Lovism' (Evangelical reaction to Pentecostal movement)- Christianity Today

The Origin of Denominations (UPC)- Jack Thompson The Pentecostal Family (Has some UPC)- Religious Tolerance

P.A.W. History- Bishop Charles A. Sims Welcome to the History of the Pentecostal Church- Apostolic Truth Ministries

Rev. Albert Dewey Gurley and Mid-Southern Oneness Pentecostals- has many links to further info Azusa Street Timeline- Robert Longman, Jr.

The Merger- Stanley W. Chambers The Origins of the Pentecostal Movement- Vinson Synan, Ph.D.

Road to the Merger- J.L. Hall Brief History (Parham & Seymour)- E. Myron Noble

UPCI First General Board Picture The Revival Legacy of Charles F. Parham (PDF file)- Gary B. McGee

Early Pentecostals in St. Louis, Missouri- Part One- J.L. Hall Pentecostal Pioneers- Penetcostalpioneers.org

Early Pentecostals in St. Louis, Missouri- Part Two- J.L. Hall William J. Seymour and the Azusa Street Revival- Gary B. McGee

PDF Files- A number of old UPC/Apostolic official publications Pentecostalism- New Religious Movements