This Week in AG History -- Dec. 14, 1980

Sunday School and Bible training have been a mainstay of the Assemblies of God since its founding in 1914. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the AG made a concerted effort to promote Sunday School training. This resulted in the Gospel Publishing House setting up a promotional office in 1935 to stimulate interest in Sunday School and to advertise Assemblies of God Sunday School curriculum. The AG hosted national Sunday School conventions annually during the 1940s and early 1950s in Springfield, Missouri. After 1953, regional conferences replaced the earlier national meetings.

In the fall of 1980, seven regional Sunday School conferences were held at Orchard Park, New York; Atlanta; Des Moines, Iowa; Fort Worth, Texas; Las Vegas; Portland, Oregon; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. These were reported in the Dec. 14, 1980, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

An estimated 8,500 persons attended these conferences, which centered around the contemporary work of the Holy Spirit. Each session lasted for a couple of days and included Bible study, sermons, worship, testimonies, and open discussion.

At each conference, General Superintendent Thomas F. Zimmerman delivered a keynote address called, “This Is That,” which focused on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He stressed that we are living in the last days and that the working of the Holy Spirit is in accordance with Scripture and gives power for service. “Exciting things are taking place!” reported Zimmerman. “Thousands are responding to the gospel of Christ, and believers around the world are awakening to the power of the Holy Spirit. We want to continue to be an integral part of the growing floodtide of modern Pentecostal revival.”

“At the same time,” he pointed out, “areas of concern and confusion exist in the Church. The renewal of dynamic Christianity is bringing with it various extremes in both preaching and practice in areas such as faith and confession, healing and health, shepherding and discipleship, spiritual gifts and manifestations, and a broad spectrum of activities and excesses. It is time to prayerfully and positively consider and address these issues.”

Much discussion took place concerning these topics, and one of the outcomes was the announcement of a national convocation on the Holy Spirit, which was held in Springfield, Missouri, in August 1982.

Read “Regional Conferences Focus on the Contemporary Outpouring of the Spirit” on pages 6-7 and Thomas F. Zimmerman’s address, “This Is That,” on pages 8-10 of the Dec. 14, 1980, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “6,000 Miles to Find Christ,” by Christine Hosack

• “The Sheep and the Shepherds!” by Evangelist Steven R. Madsen

• “We Can Hide God’s Word in Our Hearts,” by Robert Cunningham

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.