Leaders of the early U.S. Pentecostal movement met in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and organized the General Council of the Assemblies of God. Along with unity and doctrine, they aimed to coordinate and support missionary work, making global evangelism central from the start.
At the second General Council in Chicago, delegates publicly committed themselves to an ambitious evangelistic and missionary vision. This helped set expectations that the new fellowship would be outward-focused rather than only building internal structures.
As overseas outreach expanded, the Assemblies of God created a dedicated Foreign Mission Division to organize missionary appointment and oversight. This marked a shift from mostly informal missionary “faith ventures” to a more coordinated denominational missions system.
A major theological dispute led the General Council to adopt a Statement of Fundamental Truths affirming Trinitarian doctrine. This clarified the fellowship’s doctrinal identity and shaped which churches and missionaries it would officially support going forward.
Margaret Peoples traveled to what is now Burkina Faso with Assemblies of God support, becoming an early Pentecostal missionary in West Africa. Her work included language learning and Bible translation efforts, illustrating a growing emphasis on long-term, locally grounded ministry.
After early Pentecostal missionaries affiliated with the Assemblies of God, a U.S.-connected Assemblies of God district was organized in Japan. This step shows how AG missions often moved from individual missionaries to structured, field-level organizations that could support churches and leaders.
During World War II, the Japanese government pressured Protestant groups to consolidate, and Assemblies of God churches joined the United Church of Christ in Japan in 1941. This disruption demonstrates how political conditions could reshape mission-founded churches and force new strategies for survival.
Assemblies of God youth began the Speed the Light program to raise money for missionaries’ practical needs like transportation and communication tools. The program reflected a mid-century shift toward organized fundraising that aimed to remove logistical barriers to church planting and evangelism.
After World War II, Japanese Assemblies of God congregations reorganized, and in 1949 a self-governing Japan Assemblies of God was formed. This development highlights a core missions goal: moving from externally directed work toward national leadership and church governance.
The Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge (BGMC) began as a way to teach children about missions while funding needs such as literature and ministry resources for missionaries. Alongside Speed the Light, it widened the missions support base by mobilizing families and local churches through children’s programs.
Lay leader Sam Cochran and others launched what would become Light for the Lost to provide evangelism resources for missionaries, especially gospel literature. The program later became part of the national Assemblies of God structure, strengthening a long-term pipeline for mission materials and media.
International leaders formed the World Pentecostal Assemblies of God Fellowship to strengthen cooperation among national Assemblies of God bodies that had grown largely through AG USA missions. This created a more formal global network for consultation, partnership, and shared mission priorities.
In the 1990s, the Assemblies of God promoted the “Decade of Harvest” as a push toward intensified evangelism and missions leading up to the year 2000. The initiative encouraged national churches to set large goals and emphasized coordinated effort across the growing worldwide Assemblies of God family.
In 1993 the international body changed its name to the World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF). The rename reflected a move toward a stable, long-term structure for global collaboration while maintaining that national churches remained autonomous.
By the year 2000, the Decade of Harvest had helped normalize regular global meetings and cooperation among national Assemblies of God bodies. While missions methods continued to evolve after 2000, the period closed with a clearer global structure (WAGF) and multiple long-running funding programs supporting AG international missions.
Assemblies of God international missions (1914–2000)