Report of the General Secretary
George O. Wood
Fourteen years ago at the Minneapolis General Council, you gave me the incredible privilege of serving this Fellowship as general secretary. Like Jacob, these years have “seemed like only a few days” (Genesis 29:20 NIV).
My roots in our Assemblies of God family go back to the beginning. In 1914, a then single young preacher by the name of Ben Mahan felt called of God to start a church in Jeanette, Pennsylvania. He began by preaching on a street corner, got the church planted and established. My father, who had grown up in a completely dysfunctional family, was a rebellious teenager when he came into the Jeanette church as a 16 year old, walked the aisle to the altar, got saved, baptized in the Spirit, and called to be a missionary to China. My mother came from the Cleveland, Ohio church, pastored by J. Narver Gortner, and went to China as a single missionary in 1924 (the same year Dad was saved) – only 10 years after the Assemblies of God was formed. Her Bible school teacher was E. S. Williams, later our general superintendent.
My parents were part of the great Builder Generation of this Fellowship, and their love for Jesus and the Assemblies of God impacted me. They are but one couple from a multitude of ministers and lay people who laid the foundation for the Assemblies of God.
The results of the pioneering generations are seen today in the growth of this Church. In 1960, 27% of the Assemblies of God was inside the United States. But, the missionary zeal of our pastors, churches, and missionaries has impacted the world for Christ – and today 95% of the 57 million strong Assemblies of God is composed of people outside the USA. To God be the glory!
A look at the statistics below, however, will tell you that our growth in the USA has slowed at the same time that our international growth is galloping ahead. Without a doubt, we need a fresh reliance on the Spirit so that this present American population will be reached for Jesus through out witness and work. May a new generation of Ben Mahans plant and revitalize churches throughout out the country so that families like my own can come to know Jesus Christ!
As the general secretary, it is my privilege to report to you the statistics of our Fellowship gathered from the Annual Church Ministries Reports (ACMR) of 2006 and the comparisons to the prior biennium. Note that our data are reported on a calendar year period for the U.S. Biennial trends below compare year-end 2006 data to year-end 2004 data, or 2005-2006 to 2003-2004.
WORSHIP
Attendance in Sunday morning worship services averages 1,763,401. This represents growth of 25,938 attendees, or 1 percent since 2004. However, Sunday evening worship attendance dropped from 575,663 to 507,461 during that same period, a loss of 12 percent.
DISCIPLESHIP & EVANGELISM
Over 900 thousand people (903,760)made professions of faith through ministries of the local church, down from 933,569 in the previous biennium. This is in spite of the fact that more (9,584) churches in 2006 are reporting converts versus our last biennial report (9,451).
During the current biennium water baptisms (233,810) declined from the previous biennium total (247,006), but Holy Spirit baptisms (182,131) rose during the 2-year period (from 179,887 previously). New converts outnumber water baptisms through ministries of the local church by 4 to 1.
Additionally, we have received reports from U.S. Missions and districts, that through their ministries in the U.S. outside of a local church context, other converts were won and baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit.
The 2006 ACMR figures for Sunday school reveal growth in some areas, losses in others. We have 11,330 schools (down from 11,370) with 124,592 teachers and officers (up from 121,902). 1,425,401 (up from 1,408,776) are enrolled in our schools, an increase of 16,625 in the biennium, with an average attendance of 1,023,199 (up from 1,022,400) nationally, and 90 per school.
CHURCHES
Churches (12,311) reached the highest level on record, and had anetgain of 34, compared to 144 in the previous biennium. For almost every church added (534 total), one closed (500).
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP/ADHERENTS
Surpassing the 1.6 million mark, membership totaled 1,627,932, up 33,870 (2 percent) over 2004. The Fellowship comprises 2,836,174 adherents (including members, all who consider an Assembly of God their regular church home), a gain of 57,079, or 2 percent.
MINISTERS
We currently have 18,793 ordained, 8,463 licensed, 1,030 specialized licensed and 5,336 certified ministers for a total of 33,622– 586 more than in 2004.
Age: The median age of all ministers is 51 years, the same as in 2004. Senior ministers, age 65 and older, number 8,063 (or 24 percent of the total, again the same as in the last biennium). Of these, 4,761 are retired and 3,302 are active to some extent. Thirteen are age 100 or older.
Ministers deceased: During the past biennium, 741 ministers went on to their reward, joining the 793 who went to be with the Lord in 2003-2004.
Femaleministers number 6,265, or 19 percent of total ministers. Of these, 1,719 serve as church staff, 452 are senior pastors, 570 are U.S. or world missionaries, 188 are evangelists, and none are district executive officials. The percent of women ministers has increased slightly almost every year during the 1990’s to the present time.
Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
The Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC) is the premier historical research center for the entire Pentecostal Movement. Several milestones were reached this biennium. With the retirement of Wayne Warner, Darrin Rodgers became the new director in September 2005. The center increased its collection by approximately ten percent. Among the significant acquisitions were the personal papers of the late Edwin Louis Cole – including his extensive sermon note collection – deposited by his family.
The FPHC continues to be on the cutting edge of making our heritage accessible to new audiences. It launched a new website, www.iFPHC.org, which utilizes the latest web 2.0 social networking technologies. The FPHC digitized 60,000 pages of historic publications (bringing the total to over 540,000 pages) and introduced three new text-searchable DVD products. Assemblies of God Heritage magazine now reaches more people. The expanded annual edition, which replaces the quarterly issues, is now sent to all ministers in addition to subscribers.
With the centennial of the Azusa Street revival, FPHC staff fielded numerous inquiries from the media, scholars, church leaders, and people in the pew.
Contact us for your historical research needs or to donate materials at www.iFPHC.org.
CONCLUSION
It has been a joy these past 14 years to serve with the other executive officers: Thomas E. Trask, Charles T. Crabtree, and James K. Bridges. I am told that we have served longer together than any other leadership team in Assemblies of God history. I will miss very much the fellowship and friendship of Charles Crabtree who retires at this General Council. He and Ramona are great gifts of the Lord to this Fellowship, as are the Trasks and the Bridges. It has been a joy to serve with them!
I am also indebted to the superb staff of the Secretariat and the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center. In the past biennium, Wayne Warner, who led the Heritage Center for 25 years stepped down and the new director, Darrin Rodgers, and his staff are doing an outstanding job (visit www.iFPHC.org). Linda Reece manages the secretariat office with a superb group of women who work with excellence and joy (visit www.gensec.ag.org). Sherri Doty, our statistician, excels in the collection and dissemination of data about our Fellowship (go to www.ag.org and type “statistics” in the search box). My executive administrative assistant (EAA), Jewell Woodward, has worked at headquarters for 42 years – most of those as EAA to the general secretary. She has served with distinction and continues to do so. Finally, I am also grateful to my wife, Jewel, who has faithfully supported me over the years! May the Lord richly bless each of you!
For minister, district, church or statistical information, visit us at www.gensec.ag.org.
