History of the General Council Headquarters

In 1913, a woman named Rachel Sizelove came to Springfield, Mo., to visit family. While in prayer one day, she saw a vision of a sparkling fountain in the heart of Springfield. The fountain sprang up gradually and begin to flow to the east, west, north, and south until soon living water covered the entire land. A short time later, in 1914, the General Council of the Assemblies of God formed in Hot Springs, Arkansas. A small headquarters and print operations were set up in Findley, Ohio. Then, in 1915, the operation moved to St. Louis, Missouri where it remained until 1918, when it relocated to a building on Pacific Street in Springfield.

In early morning hours of January 1, 1915, five teenage boys on their way home from a watchnight service decided to take a short cut through White City Amusement Park, which sat on the corner of Boonville and Division streets in Springfield. The boys knew the park had developed a bad reputation in town due to the nature of some of its entertainment. They decided to pray and ask God to use the property for his glory. The boys claimed a two-block area for God that stretched from Boonville Avenue to Campbell Avenue, and from Division Street to Calhoun Street. White City Amusement Park closed shortly after and was replaced by a baseball field where a farm team of the St. Louis Cardinals played.

The baseball team eventually moved and the Assemblies of God purchased the property and built the Gospel Publishing House Plant in 1949. Today, the building houses Plant Operations, the Creative and Design Center, Pre-Press Center, Printing, Bindery, and warehouse areas. A four-story administration building was added on Boonville in 1961 and currently includes ministry offices, Human Resources, Computer Services, Public Relations, Pentecostal Evangel, Enrichment, and executive offices. A six-story distribution center was added in 1972 on Campbell Street. The building houses Mailing Services, Literature Mailing, Merchandise Shipping, Customer Services, Product Services, Radiant Life Resources, and World Missions.

Today, the Assemblies of God occupies all of the land the boys claimed and several additional blocks. It produces an average of 16 tons of gospel literature a day and coordinates with over 1800 missionaries in fulfilling Rachel Sizelove's vision of the gospel spreading throughout the world starting from Springfield.

• The Headquarters complex includes 18 buildings covering 10 city blocks.

• The General Council employs approximately 1,160 employees.

• The Gospel Publishing House currently employs 325 people.

• GPH publishes Radiant Life curriculum, Pentecostal Evangel and other publications and promotional and support materials for the General Council of the Assemblies of God.

• GPH prints 14-16 tons of Gospel Literature every day.

• About 268,000 copies of the Pentecostal Evangel are printed in a 20-hour period each week.

• It takes 214 miles of paper to print the Pentecostal Evangel each week. If stretched out the paper would span the distance from Springfield to St. Louis, Mo.

• GPH Publications include:
  One weekly
  Five monthly
  Two bi-monthly
  15 quarterly, 350 quarterly-curriculum items
  Three semi-annual
  Eight annual

• Average number of active jobs in production: 600 jobs.
• Average number of jobs closed out each month: 225.
• Total paper purchased in an average year: Approximately 6 million pounds.
• Total cost of paper each year: $3,469,900.
• Total ink purchased each year: 110,922 pounds.
• Total cost of ink each year: $177,060.