A History of Christian Doctrine #3 - Online Christian Library

Trinitarian Pentecostal Organizations
she died of an apparently accidental overdose of a medical
prescription.
Aimee McPherson was the “lifetime president” of the
ICFG. After she died, her son, Rolf McPherson, served as
leader until his retirement.
Today the IFCG has grown beyond its controversial
past. It has a large overseas constituency due to mergers
with indigenous groups. In the U.S. it grew to 1,742
churches and 227,307 constituents in 1996.
Compared to other Pentecostal organizations, historically
the ICFG has had a high percentage of women ministers,
has been less concerned with outward holiness,
and has been the most receptive to the Charismatic movement.
While the church officially proclaims that tongues
is the initial evidence of the Holy Spirit, this doctrine is
not universally held. One of the best-known ICFG pastors
in recent years is Jack Hayford.
The Pentecostal Church of God (PCG) (301,786)
was founded in 1919 by some trinitarian ministers in the
AG who did not want a statement of faith such as the AG
adopted in 1916. Its first leader was John C. Sinclair
(1863-1936), one of the AG’s executive presbyters in
1914. He later withdrew from the PCG, however, and
became independent.
In 1933 the PCG adopted a statement of faith similar
to that of the AG. Over the years it has been considered
more liberal than the AG in matters such as holiness and
divorce and remarriage. In the U.S., the PCG has grown
from 81 churches and 4,296 constituents in 1936 to
1,224 churches and 119,200 constituents in 1996.
The Open Bible Standard Churches (46,000)
resulted from a merger of two groups in 1935. The first
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