Pentecostal World Fellowship





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About the Pentecostal World Fellowship
| Beliefs | Mission
| Membership | Leadership
| History | Contact
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The Pentecostal World Fellowhship is a cooperative
body of Pentecostal churches and groups worldwide of approved standing.
It is not a legislative body to any national entity, but it is rather
a coalition of commitment for the furtherance of the Gospel to the
ends of the world and thus shall function as a service agent to:
- uphold one another in prayer.
- support and encourage one another in the task of missions and evangelism.
- promote Christian fellowship and cooperation among Pentecostal people
throughout the world.
- provide means of consultation and cooperation among the members
and related agencies.
- share mutual concerns and insights relating to any crucial spiritual
and temporal issues of the Church.
- administer relief in times of crises.
- promote exchange of personnel in special areas of ministry.
- disseminate helpful information and up-to-date statistics for the
benefit of the Church.
- voice to the world and governments in defense of the faith, social
justice, and persecuted believers, as the PWF.
Statement of Faith
| Beliefs | Mission
| Membership | Leadership
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The Pentecostal World Fellowship has adopted the following
document which crosses denominational lines to form a guiding principle
for membership. Members of the PWF should subscribe to the following Statement
of Faith:
We Believe:
- the Bible to be inspired, the only infallible, authoritative
Word of God;
- that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit;
- in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth,
in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious atoning
death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection,
in His ascension to the right hand of the Father and in His
personal return in power and glory;
- that for the salvation of lost and sinful man regeneration
by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ is absolutely
essential;
- in the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of
speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance
according to Acts 2:4, and in the operation of the spiritual
gifts and ministries.
- in the ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling
the Christian is enabled to live a godly life;
- in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they
that are saved to eternal life and they that are lost unto
the resurrection of damnation;
- in the church of Jesus Christ and in the unity of believers;
- in the practical application of the Christian faith in
everyday experience and the need to minister to people in
every area of life, which includes not only the spiritual,
but also the social, political and physical.
Mission and Purpose
| Beliefs | Mission
| Membership | Leadership
| History | Contact
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Historically, the purpose of the Pentecostal World Fellowship
has been to create an opportunity for a triennial gathering of
Pentecostal groups to share in mutual information; support and
edification called the Pentecostal World Conference. More recently
a change of name and purpose was approved from one of simply chairing
a Pentecostal World Conference every three years to a new set
of purposes. These purposes are to:
- encourage missions partnerships among participating Pentecostal
groups.
- speak to governments and nations on behalf of Pentecostal
believers everywhere and especially in countries where persecution
exists or where individual rights and freedoms are compromised
for the sake of the gospel.
- share as a Pentecostal World Fellowship in humanitarian aid
through its various Pentecostal members by sharing information
of assistance given and where possible to cooperate in humanitarian
efforts worldwide.
- serve as a cooperative fellowship whereby educational institutions
approved by individual Pentecostal members of the Pentecostal
World Fellowship would be recognized by other member groups.
- pursue the fulfillment of the Lords command to evangelize
the lost in the shortest possible time, providing them the opportunity
to hear and respond to the gospel in all of its fullness, by
encouraging and assisting one another, promoting harmonious
relationships, and seeking the most effective means of its accomplishment
under the dynamic leadership of the Holy Spirit.
- emphasize worldwide prayer networks and coordinated prayer.
Membership
| Beliefs | Mission
| Membership | Leadership
| History | Contact
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Any national council or fraternal organization, which subscribes
to the Statement of Faith and can substantiate such agreement
through organizational statements of faith, which desires to cooperate
in the work of the PWF, is eligible to apply for membership. They
shall complete a membership application and submit it to the office
of the chairperson with an attached recommendation letter from
an Advisory Committee member representing the region of the applicant.
Membership is subject to the approval of the Advisory Committee.
In accepting membership in the PWF, each member thereby accepts
responsibility for assisting in the furtherance of the purpose
and work of the Fellowship. There will be annual membership dues
required to join, and continue in, membership in the PWF. Annual
membership dues will be governed according to the criteria and
rate established by the Advisory Committee of the PWF at its annual
meeting.
Any independent organization or church, which desires to become
a member of the PWF as a non-voting member, can apply for non-voting
memberships provided they meet the same qualifications as voting
members. They shall complete and submit a membership application
form to the office of the chairperson with an attached recommendation
letter from an Advisory Committee member representing the region
of the applicant. The Advisory Committee shall act upon the application
at their next meeting.
Leadership
| Beliefs | Mission
| Membership | Leadership
| History | Contact
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Dr.Thomas E. Trask, Chairman
Dr. Trask has served the Assemblies of God as general
superintendent (chief executive officers) since November
1993. Prior to his election, he served the church as its
general treasurer for 5 years. He was elected chairman of
the Pentecostal World Fellowship in 1998 and also served
as co-chairman of the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of
North America. He has devoted more than 25 years to the
pastorate. He is passionate about the necessity for a fresh
Pentecost in the 21st century.
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Dr. Cornelio M. Castelo, Vice Chairman
Dr. Castelo has served the Church of God in many leadership
roles, including that of field director of Mexico, Brazil,
and Central America. He was instrumental in establishing
the Church of God Bible School in Monterrey, Mexico and
the Mexican Bible Seminary. Currently he is director of
the Church of God Master of Ministry program in Mexico.
Born and raised in Mexico, his rich ministry impacts the
lives of thousands. He has served on the Advisory Committee
of the Pentecostal World Fellowship since 1979 and was elected
its vice chairman in 1998.
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Dr. Prince Guneratnam, Secretary (Malaysia)
Dr. Prince Guneratnam has been the senior pastor of Calvary
Church, a strong missions church in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
since 1972. An Assemblies of God leader in Malaysia, he
has recently been elected chairman of the Christian Federation
of Malaysia, a body that represents the Christian community
in that country. He is vice-chairman of the World Assemblies
of God Fellowship. He has served on the Advisory Committee
of the Pentecostal World Fellowship since 1986 and on the
Presidium since 1995. He was elected secretary of the Pentecostal
World Fellowship in 2001.
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History
| Beliefs | Mission
| Membership | Leadership
| History | Contact
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Meetings have been held every three years in a key city of the
world. These conferences have been conducted in Zurich (1947),
Paris (1949) London (1952), Toronto (1958), Jerusalem (1961),
Helsinki (1964), Rio de Janeiro (1967), Dallas, Texas (1970),
Seoul (1973), London (1976), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
(1979), Nairobi (1982), Zurich (1985), Singapore (1989), Oslo
(1992), Jerusalem (1995), Seoul (1998), and Los Angeles (2001).
The advisory committee is responsible to plan and implement
arrangements for the triennial conferences.
Contact Information
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Presidium Members
Thomas E.
Trask, Chairman (USA)
Cornelio
Castelo, Vice Chairman (Mexico)
Dr. Prince Guneratnam, Secretary (Malaysia)
Dr. David Yonggi Cho (Korea)
Dr. Felipe S. Ferrez (Philippines)
Dr. David Petts (England)
Dr. R. Lamar Vest (USA)
Advisory Committee
Reverend Jack-Tommy Ardenfors (Sweden)
Dr. Isak S. Burger (South Africa)
Rev. Ingolf Ellssel (Germany)
Reverend Serafin Contreras Galeano (USA)
Rev. Arto Hämäläinen (Finland)
Dr. Han Yung-Chul (Korea)
Rev. Kazuo Kikuyama (Japan)
Dr. Ernest P. Komanapalli (India)
Dr. William F. Kumuyi (Nigeria)
Reverend James D. Leggett (USA)
Bishop George McKinney (USA)
Guiseppe Melusso (Italy)
Rev. David Mohan (India)
Reverend William D. Morrow (Canada)
Dr. Paul C. Risser (USA)
Rev. Roger Skaug (Norway)
Dr. Alex Tanuseputra (Indonesia)
Dr. Matthew K. Thomas (India)
Reverend Pavel Rivis Tipei (Romania)
Reverend José Wellington (Brazil)
Dr. Ray H. Hughes, (USA) (Emeritus)
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