Once we determine that our message is Jesus Christ, we must utilize the best method possible to convey this message to the world. If we are to follow the example of the Early Church, as recorded in the book of Acts, then we must be disciples who are empowered, equipped, and led by the Holy Spirit. We must embrace our Pentecostal heritage, both biblically and in our church history, so that we can complete the mission given us by Christ and fulfill our raison d’être as believers.

The Biblical Foundation

The starting point for us as individuals, churches, and the movement to live as the church in the first century is that we must be filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues. If we emulate the behaviors of believers in the book of Acts, we will walk in the Spirit individually and collectively, live in Christian community as a testimony to the world that God transforms lives, seek to win the lost and disciple the found, and we will see signs, wonders, and miracles follow.

Jesus directed His followers to wait in Jerusalem until they received power from on high. This was imperative because if had they proceeded on their own they would have attempted to fulfill the Great Commission by their own strength, ingenuity, and worldview. The result would have been a sect of Judaism that, more than likely, would have continued its prejudice against the Gentiles. This “business as usual” mentality was seen by what the disciples did while waiting for the Holy Spirit to visit them. In Acts chapter one, they determined that they needed to replace Judas with a new disciple to complete the set of Twelve. So, they prayed and, in Acts 1:26, they cast lots to determine his replacement. The casting of lots was an acceptable means of decision-making in their day. However, this is the last time they did this, as recorded in Scripture. After the Holy Spirit visited them on the Day of Pentecost, the phrase that characterized their spiritual maturity was, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (Acts 15:28).

When the Holy Spirit was poured out on them at the Day of Pentecost, their lives were changed forever. Their encounter with the Spirit of God in a personal and intimate manner gave them power and boldness that exceeded human ability. They had the Spirit of God in them! They were now able to move forward, as a group and as individuals, to propagate the message the gospel. This was a reminder of a comment Moses made, as recorded in Numbers 11:29: “I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached before the crowd, quoting Joel 2, and declared, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people” (Acts 2:17-18)—sons, daughters, young and old, men and women, servants.

The infilling of the Holy Spirit in individuals empowered them personally and yet united them collectively in one heart, one vision, and one mission. This is a biblical example of the “global individuality” mindset that we will discuss later. The Holy Spirit empowered believers individually to reach the world. At the same time, the world is won to Christ as the Holy Spirit individually convicts unbelievers and as they hear the Good News from believers.

Our Pentecostal Forefathers

Our spiritual forefathers in the Assemblies of God formed the movement as a means to fulfill the Great Commission by the power of the Holy Spirit. Darrin Rodgers, in the Assemblies of God Heritage magazine wrote,

Why did the doctrine and experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit become attractive to large numbers of people? Because it addressed one of their most basic spiritual longings—a desire to be close to God. Many believers were captivated by the desire for a deeper life in Christ; they were spiritually hungry and desired to be more committed Christ-followers. These ardent seekers saw in Scripture that Spirit baptism provided empowerment to live above normal human existence; this transformative encounter with God brought believers into closer communion with God and empowered them to witness.6

The individual experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit united people, young and old, in one vision and mission. Rodgers notes the impact and unity produced by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit: “They were unified by a common experience of the Spirit which brought them close to God and propelled them to be witnesses to the world. They were on a mission to share the love of Jesus in word and deed. They preached the gospel, prayed for the sick, witnessed miracles, published profound insights on the spiritual life, and established churches, schools, orphanages, and rescue missions.”7

In the early days of the Assemblies of God, the questions were not about whether or not believers would seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit and live in the Spirit, but rather focused on how they would live as a community of Spirit-filled believers and what the purpose of their movement should be. The calling of the first meeting in Hot Springs, Arkansas in April of 1914 stated these reasons for the first General Council of the Assemblies of God. First, they were seeking doctrinal unity within their group. Second, they sought the best means to conserve their work domestically and internationally. Third, they desired to understand the needs of world missions and how to best utilize their financial resources. Fourth, they wanted to put their churches in proper legal order. Fifth, they wanted to establish a Bible Training School as they understood the importance of preparing the next generation for life and ministry.8

The group of approximately 300 ministers who meet in 1914 has now expanded to a global movement. “Today there are 13,023 churches in the U.S. with over 3 million members and adherents. There are more than 67 million Assemblies of God members worldwide, making the Assemblies of God the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination.”9 Their emphasis on presenting the message of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit continues to make a significant contribution to the fulfilment of the Great Commission and serves as a positive example to the generations that succeeded them.

Why Must We Address This Value?

Since the Assemblies of God was founded by Pentecostals and continues to be led by Spirit-filled believers, why must we address this value? We must do so to ensure that our work is aligned with the Spirit of God and so that the next generation will have their own intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit and be empowered in their own right.

We must recognize the spiritual temptation to attempt to accomplish the Great Commission by our own power and strategies. We have access to excellent education outside of our movement and so many church growth models and missions strategies that appear to be successful. We can attempt to construct the same outcomes without the leading of the Holy Spirit, and it will produce results on some level. However, the only lasting fruit will come when the Holy Spirit leads, empower and enable us. We must take the time, however long needed, to pray, fast, and wait on the Holy Spirit to move in our lives individually and collectively.

Our methods must be Pentecostal so that the generation that follows us will experience the same intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit that empowered believers for centuries. Each generation must encounter the Holy Spirit so as to live in their vibrant and personal relationship with Him instead of living off their parents’ stories of past victories. In our church services, we must give time for the gifts of the Spirit to move in words of knowledge, tongues, and interpretation of tongues, word of wisdom, and to share testimonies of what the Spirit is doing in our community of faith.

As I travel across the United States as a missionary to promote Network211, I see a lack of time given for the Spirit to move, especially in churches where they have two Sunday morning services and time is of the essence. There was one particular church that caught my attention because the pastor told me, “I know that this sounds bad but I don’t want the Spirit to move in our services because it scares away the visitors.” While we should not build a defense based on one situation or individual, we should heed this as a warning.

If we are going to impact our world for Christ, we must do so by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual enemy, the devil, has dominion over the earth for a time and demonic forces are at work worldwide. We will not be effective in fighting the spiritual forces of evil without the Holy Spirit. The only effective method of engaging in spiritual warfare is to do so by the power of the Holy Spirit; all other methods will end in inglorious defeat.

It seems natural for our spiritual defenses to be in full force when we are overseas because we encounter opposition openly. For example, it is easy to see that I was thrown into a spiritual battle when I walked down the street from my hotel in Jaipur, India and saw a two-story shrine to the Monkey god that stood before one of the slum areas. Yet, the same spiritual battle is being waged here in the United States as we must filter what we watch on television and the Internet, in the name of entertainment, or we will fall prey to our enemy, the devil.

As our world is moving rapidly away from biblical values and the church is being attacked in so many ways, we must stand firm as Pentecostals or the Church will lose its “saltiness” (Matt. 5:13). May we be people led of the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, counseled by the Spirit, united by the Spirit, and so full of the Holy Spirit’s presence that He overflows abundantly upon everyone we encounter.

Network211

You may wonder how the Holy Spirit can be active in an Internet ministry. He is present in what Network211 does in a variety of ways. First, Network211 buys Google Ad words so that an individual searching online can find our evangelism sites more readily. This moves our advertisements closer to page one. The individual still has many options from which to choose, but I believe the Holy Spirit directs the person to click the Network211 presentation.

Second, the Network211 evangelism site uses a video and article to address the life issue that the individual Googled and then offers the Truth of Jesus Christ in a gospel presentation. I believe that the Holy Spirit moves on the hearts and minds of these individuals to be open and to hear the calling of our Savior. We then request that they click a response button and write to us to tell us about their life issues. Again, the Holy Spirit is moving in them to respond and to continue their quest for truth and answers.

Third, the Network211 response team, called “1-2-1 Connectors,” replies to people within 48 hours. They are Spirit-filled believers who pray that the Holy Spirit will give them insight, wisdom, a word of knowledge, and the most effective response to present the Truth of Jesus Christ.

Fourth, the Holy Spirit then moves on the hearts and minds of the individuals who receive a response from our 1-2-1 Connector teams to act upon the Truth they have received. Some will ignore us, others will write a second time, and still others will provide their contact details so that we can connect them with a local Assemblies of God church in their city, town, or village.

We can use the Internet as a tool of the gospel to present the Good News to individuals around the world and allow the Holy Spirit to move in their hearts. The tool is only a device, but when used for God’s glory it can connect us with people we will never meet in person.

As the story of this world winds down to its ultimate ending, the rise of evil in our world is inevitable. The church that determines to be relevant to its culture and accommodate society will fall. The church that stands firm to the end with the Word of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit will be a church that will celebrate the Lord for eternity. May our message be like that of the Apostle Paul when he wrote, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Cor. 2:4).

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6. Darrin J. Rodgers, “Fully Committed: 100 Years of the Assemblies of God,” Assemblies of God Heritage, 34 (2014), 5-6.

7. Darrin Rodgers, “Full Committed,” Pentecostal Evangel, April 13, 2014, 19.

8. George O. Wood, “Why the Assemblies of God Exists,” Pentecostal Evangel, April 13, 2014, 7-15.

9. Assemblies of God (USA) Official Web Site, “Assemblies of God,” accessed September 25, 2017, https://ag.org.