Soon after being established, the North Cleveland Church of God immediately began ministry in the south of the city including erecting this tabernacle in 1910. This ministry developed into the South Cleveland Church of God. The dinner on the grounds pictured here may have been part of an all-day service on July 4, 1910.
THE SPIRIT SAID, "GO"
“The Spirit indicated that workers were to go out from this place, north, east, south, and west and said, ‘separate unto me those whom I want for the work whereunto I have called them.’ . . . The Book of Acts is being reproduced.”
— A.J. Tomlinson
March 8, 1909
March 8, 1909
As Tomlinson’s ministry expanded, so did the vision of the harvest embraced by the Holiness Church. Evangelism became the heartbeat of members and ministers. The most quoted words of the first General Assembly describe their commitment: “After the consideration of the ripened fields and open doors for evangelism this year, strong men wept and said they were not only willing but
really anxious to go.”
really anxious to go.”
A ten-week revival beginning in August 1908 caught the attention of Cleveland, Tennessee. Spiritual results included: 105 conversions, 163 baptized with the Spirit, and 106 added to the church. |
An Empowering Experience
Tomlinson’s theology, passion, and vision radically changed when he was baptized with the Holy Spirit. Although others had received a Spirit-baptism experience at Camp Creek, their lack of a Pentecostal theology limited their experience as a central feature of their spiritual journey. Some likely continued to understand speaking in other tongues as a manifestation of their sanctification. Tomlinson’s interest in Spirit baptism with the evidence of speaking in other tongues began in early 1907. He recalled, “By the close of the year, I was so hungry for the Holy Ghost that I scarcely cared for food, friendship, or anything else. I wanted the one thing—the baptism with the Holy Ghost.” While scheduling the third General Assembly to meet in Cleveland, Tomlinson invited G.B. Cashwell to preach about the Pentecostal experience. Cashwell had received his Spirit baptism at the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles. While Cashwell was preaching on Sunday morning, January 12, 1908, Tomlinson fell to the floor under the power of the Spirit. He later described his experience: "My mind was clear, but a peculiar power so enveloped and thrilled my whole being that I concluded to yield myself up to God and await results. . . . As I lay there, great joy flooded my soul. The happiest moments I had ever known up to that time. I never knew what real joy was before. . . . Oh, such floods and billows of glory ran through my whole being for several minutes!" Lying on the floor, Tomlinson experienced a vision in which he traveled the world preaching the gospel. As he returned to the United States, his attention focused on places he knew: "Then I came back to Cleveland and seemed to be asked if I was willing to testify or speak on the public square of the city; without any effort, my spirit seemed to give consent, then to Chattanooga, then my mind seemed to be carried along the rail road to Cincinnati right on through the city to my old home in Indiana. . . . I seemed to see us all on a missionary journey." |
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Following Tomlinson’s Spirit-baptism experience, his journal overflowed with descriptions of Pentecostal worship and ministry—preaching, speaking in tongues, interpretations of tongues, healings, and casting out demons. Evangelism along with caring for the poor and needy became normal. Charles Conn wrote, “If A.J. Tomlinson’s work for God was energetic before he received the Holy Ghost, it was prodigious afterward; if his effectiveness was good before, it was miraculous afterward.”
Evangelism became a consuming mission. When warm weather arrived in 1908, Tomlinson pressed a tent into duty in east Chattanooga. Following the establishment of a Church of God there, he pitched the tent in Cleveland in August for a ten-week meeting. Spiritual results included 105 conversions, 163 baptized with the Spirit, and 106 added to the church, including future general overseer, F.J. Lee. The next spring, the Cleveland church was compelled to take the gospel further. On March 8, Tomlinson wrote about the previous day’s Sunday evening service: “The Spirit indicated that workers were to go out from this place, north, east, south, and west. . . .” In late March and early April he undertook a preaching tour to Ohio, Indiana, and Alabama, concluding in Florence where he established the first Church of God congregation in that state. |
Baptist clerk and chorister, F.J. Lee, here with his wife, Eva, came into the North Cleveland Church of God during the ten-week fall revival in 1908. Lee became our second general overseer. |
Returning home for a day, Tomlinson and T.L. McLain then boarded a train bound for Florida. Florida became a great harvest field, and ministry there changed the face of the Church of God from Caucasian to multicultural, and from an American church to an international movement. Their first stop was Tampa where they organized the first Church of God congregation in the Sunshine State.
Their next stop was the Pleasant Grove Campground in nearby Durant. For ten days in May, Tomlinson preached the Pentecostal message and the necessity of being God’s church. This latter doctrine proved controversial, but he received 174 members into the church and credentialed nineteen ministers.
Their next stop was the Pleasant Grove Campground in nearby Durant. For ten days in May, Tomlinson preached the Pentecostal message and the necessity of being God’s church. This latter doctrine proved controversial, but he received 174 members into the church and credentialed nineteen ministers.
An Empowering Theology
As pastor and our first general overseer, A.J. Tomlinson articulated the theological foundation of the early Church of God. In his book, The Last Great Conflict, he reminded readers that God is love and God demonstrates love through His works and the works of His people. Love compelled the Father to give His only begotten Son for humanity. Referring to this gift, Tomlinson penned, “then love gave love.” In Christ, we too obtain the fullness of God’s love, which compels us to sacrifice our possessions and our lives to reach the lost. Tomlinson concluded, “This world is dying and going to hell for want of love. They must be loved.”
Tomlinson expressed the urgency with which the church must act. He contended that recognition of the value of souls and the reality of hell will cause any church that is half-asleep to wake up, behold the harvest, and act. Rather than shifting the responsibility to future generations, today’s church must put resources into the harvest. Those who cannot go should use all means available to send those who are able to go.
Motivation to quickly fulfill the Great Commission grew from a conviction that we are living in the last days. Tomlinson wrote in the inaugural issue of The Church of God Evangel, “The command to go, the command to evangelize is just as forcible today upon us upon whom the ends of the world have come, as it was when first uttered by our Lord and great Head of the Church.” Echoing Zechariah 14: 6-7, he continued,
"The Holy Spirit was given to the disciples in the morning to give them power to accomplish just what they did accomplish. He is given to us today for the same purpose. We dare not falter. . . . The time is short. The harvest is ripe. The sickle must be furbished and put into use."
Connecting Joel’s prophecy with the contemporary outpouring of the Spirit, Church of God pioneers saw their experience as the fulfillment of the biblical promise of the latter rain. The outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was for planting God’s church,
and the outpouring of the Spirit in these last days is to reap the final harvest before the Lord’s return.
Tomlinson asserted that the Spirit equips those who go “back to Pentecost” to reach the last-days harvest. First, the Spirit enables believers to testify about Jesus who said, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me” (John 15:26 KJV). Along with Spirit-empowered speech, returning “back to Pentecost” includes the restoration of the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, along with manifestations of signs and wonders. The results will be a supernatural spread of the gospel.
As pastor and our first general overseer, A.J. Tomlinson articulated the theological foundation of the early Church of God. In his book, The Last Great Conflict, he reminded readers that God is love and God demonstrates love through His works and the works of His people. Love compelled the Father to give His only begotten Son for humanity. Referring to this gift, Tomlinson penned, “then love gave love.” In Christ, we too obtain the fullness of God’s love, which compels us to sacrifice our possessions and our lives to reach the lost. Tomlinson concluded, “This world is dying and going to hell for want of love. They must be loved.”
Tomlinson expressed the urgency with which the church must act. He contended that recognition of the value of souls and the reality of hell will cause any church that is half-asleep to wake up, behold the harvest, and act. Rather than shifting the responsibility to future generations, today’s church must put resources into the harvest. Those who cannot go should use all means available to send those who are able to go.
Motivation to quickly fulfill the Great Commission grew from a conviction that we are living in the last days. Tomlinson wrote in the inaugural issue of The Church of God Evangel, “The command to go, the command to evangelize is just as forcible today upon us upon whom the ends of the world have come, as it was when first uttered by our Lord and great Head of the Church.” Echoing Zechariah 14: 6-7, he continued,
"The Holy Spirit was given to the disciples in the morning to give them power to accomplish just what they did accomplish. He is given to us today for the same purpose. We dare not falter. . . . The time is short. The harvest is ripe. The sickle must be furbished and put into use."
Connecting Joel’s prophecy with the contemporary outpouring of the Spirit, Church of God pioneers saw their experience as the fulfillment of the biblical promise of the latter rain. The outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was for planting God’s church,
and the outpouring of the Spirit in these last days is to reap the final harvest before the Lord’s return.
Tomlinson asserted that the Spirit equips those who go “back to Pentecost” to reach the last-days harvest. First, the Spirit enables believers to testify about Jesus who said, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me” (John 15:26 KJV). Along with Spirit-empowered speech, returning “back to Pentecost” includes the restoration of the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, along with manifestations of signs and wonders. The results will be a supernatural spread of the gospel.
By Every Means Possible
The early Church of God employed a variety of means and methods to reach the harvest. The first Assembly recommended Sunday schools as an effective way to plant churches. They observed, “We believe a Sunday school may sometimes be organized and run successfully where a church could not be established at once, thereby opening and paving the way for more permanent work in the future.” Brush arbors could be constructed quickly, and tents were a practical and portable way to provide inexpensive shelter for services.
Kenneth O. Brown suggested that tents provided social and psychological space to hear the gospel. It was easier to attend a meeting outside one’s own tradition if the setting was not a church building. Additionally, the uniqueness of a tent service held one’s attention, and the excitement allowed worshippers to expect and be open to the new and unusual. Tomlinson wrote in his journal on June 22, 1908: “Have been in a tent meeting in Chattanooga. . . . Closed there last night after a siege of 7 weeks. . . . People would stay for hours and sit on the rough boards with no backs, when they could hardly be kept an hour on nice comfortable pews in the churches.”
Often, local churches planted missions in nearby communities. Soon after Tomlinson established the North Cleveland Church in 1906, the congregation began looking for places to plant other churches. They held tent meetings, sent workers, provided finances, and in 1910 built a tabernacle to reach the southern part of the city. This led to the organization of the South Cleveland Church of God.
Fulfilling the Great Commission was not just the work of credentialed ministers—every Christian was encouraged to put their sickle into the harvest. Tomlinson challenged the General Assembly in 1911, “We have a number of workers who are not able to preach, but are willing to work at anything they can do. They are able to do personal work, hold cottage prayer meetings, distribute literature, and give ringing testimonies.”
The early Church of God employed a variety of means and methods to reach the harvest. The first Assembly recommended Sunday schools as an effective way to plant churches. They observed, “We believe a Sunday school may sometimes be organized and run successfully where a church could not be established at once, thereby opening and paving the way for more permanent work in the future.” Brush arbors could be constructed quickly, and tents were a practical and portable way to provide inexpensive shelter for services.
Kenneth O. Brown suggested that tents provided social and psychological space to hear the gospel. It was easier to attend a meeting outside one’s own tradition if the setting was not a church building. Additionally, the uniqueness of a tent service held one’s attention, and the excitement allowed worshippers to expect and be open to the new and unusual. Tomlinson wrote in his journal on June 22, 1908: “Have been in a tent meeting in Chattanooga. . . . Closed there last night after a siege of 7 weeks. . . . People would stay for hours and sit on the rough boards with no backs, when they could hardly be kept an hour on nice comfortable pews in the churches.”
Often, local churches planted missions in nearby communities. Soon after Tomlinson established the North Cleveland Church in 1906, the congregation began looking for places to plant other churches. They held tent meetings, sent workers, provided finances, and in 1910 built a tabernacle to reach the southern part of the city. This led to the organization of the South Cleveland Church of God.
Fulfilling the Great Commission was not just the work of credentialed ministers—every Christian was encouraged to put their sickle into the harvest. Tomlinson challenged the General Assembly in 1911, “We have a number of workers who are not able to preach, but are willing to work at anything they can do. They are able to do personal work, hold cottage prayer meetings, distribute literature, and give ringing testimonies.”
KIMBERLY, ALABAMA
Tent meeting in Kimberly ca. 1902. The congregation established from this revival came into the Church of God in 1910.
It was common for Tomlinson to seek out already existing congregations and bring them into the Church of God. This was the case in Kimberly, Alabama.
Martin Haynes was a Christian construction worker living in Birmingham, when the Roman Catholic Church hired him to build St. Vincent Hospital. Among the construction workers he employed were students who
had been studying at Charles Fox Parham’s Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas. One summer afternoon in 1902, Haynes and his brother Efford attended a meeting where one of the students preached on the Holy Ghost. Soon, Martin and Efford Haynes were baptized in the Spirit and called to preach.
Martin Haynes had utilized coal produced in Kimberly to operate construction equipment. That fall, he was invited to Kimberly to preach about the Holy Ghost in a tent revival on the property of William Doss. Several received the Holy Spirit, a Sunday school began in the Doss home, and an independent church was set in order, which was later called “The Church of God at Kimberly.”
When Tomlinson and M.S. Lemons traveled to Birmingham in July 1907 to learn more about the baptism with the Holy Spirit, they met Martin Haynes. Both Martin and Efford became ministers in the Church of God and served on the Elders Council. In 1910, Tomlinson brought the Kimberly congregation into the Church of God.
Martin Haynes was a Christian construction worker living in Birmingham, when the Roman Catholic Church hired him to build St. Vincent Hospital. Among the construction workers he employed were students who
had been studying at Charles Fox Parham’s Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas. One summer afternoon in 1902, Haynes and his brother Efford attended a meeting where one of the students preached on the Holy Ghost. Soon, Martin and Efford Haynes were baptized in the Spirit and called to preach.
Martin Haynes had utilized coal produced in Kimberly to operate construction equipment. That fall, he was invited to Kimberly to preach about the Holy Ghost in a tent revival on the property of William Doss. Several received the Holy Spirit, a Sunday school began in the Doss home, and an independent church was set in order, which was later called “The Church of God at Kimberly.”
When Tomlinson and M.S. Lemons traveled to Birmingham in July 1907 to learn more about the baptism with the Holy Spirit, they met Martin Haynes. Both Martin and Efford became ministers in the Church of God and served on the Elders Council. In 1910, Tomlinson brought the Kimberly congregation into the Church of God.
J.W. Buckalew planted the Alabama City Church of God in 1910 after he was jailed and his tent was burned.
Pioneers of Pentecost
Space here allows only a few examples of the many Church of God pioneer evangelists and church planters who sacrificially labored to fulfill the Great Commission—often facing fierce opposition.
J.W. Buckalew
Called “Old Rough and Ready” by some, John W. Buckalew (1870-1918) became one of the best-known evangelists in the Church of God. One of his most notable meetings was in Alabama City, Alabama, in 1910. The Gadsden Daily Times-News published the headline “Holy Roller Disturbing Mill Town” and reported, “Preacher defies guns and bulldogs and says he’s there to stay.” Buckalew later remembered, “We preached to thousands of people, standing around a little gospel tent. Gambling houses, pool rooms, and church ice cream suppers were closed out. . . . The Holy Ghost was there in such power that sometimes when I got in the pulpit to preach, I would see the power on the people in such a way, I would lay my Bible down and begin to invite souls to the altar.”
Townspeople expressed complaints about how late the services went into the night and how loud the worship was, so the city council passed an ordinance requiring the meetings close at 9:00 p.m. each night. When worshippers would not leave, drunken officers arrested the evangelist. Jail did not quieten Buckalew and his companions, however. While they sang and shouted, law officers returned to the tent and burned it. Buckalew wrote, “While the flames were ascending, we were in the iron cells praising God that we were counted worthy to suffer shame for His sake.” Undaunted, when Buckalew was released the next morning, he returned to the remains of the burned tent and preached the gospel. That night two thousand people reportedly gathered for the service. A Church of God was planted that remains to this day.
Space here allows only a few examples of the many Church of God pioneer evangelists and church planters who sacrificially labored to fulfill the Great Commission—often facing fierce opposition.
J.W. Buckalew
Called “Old Rough and Ready” by some, John W. Buckalew (1870-1918) became one of the best-known evangelists in the Church of God. One of his most notable meetings was in Alabama City, Alabama, in 1910. The Gadsden Daily Times-News published the headline “Holy Roller Disturbing Mill Town” and reported, “Preacher defies guns and bulldogs and says he’s there to stay.” Buckalew later remembered, “We preached to thousands of people, standing around a little gospel tent. Gambling houses, pool rooms, and church ice cream suppers were closed out. . . . The Holy Ghost was there in such power that sometimes when I got in the pulpit to preach, I would see the power on the people in such a way, I would lay my Bible down and begin to invite souls to the altar.”
Townspeople expressed complaints about how late the services went into the night and how loud the worship was, so the city council passed an ordinance requiring the meetings close at 9:00 p.m. each night. When worshippers would not leave, drunken officers arrested the evangelist. Jail did not quieten Buckalew and his companions, however. While they sang and shouted, law officers returned to the tent and burned it. Buckalew wrote, “While the flames were ascending, we were in the iron cells praising God that we were counted worthy to suffer shame for His sake.” Undaunted, when Buckalew was released the next morning, he returned to the remains of the burned tent and preached the gospel. That night two thousand people reportedly gathered for the service. A Church of God was planted that remains to this day.
Fred and Nora Chambers were part of an evangelist team that faced severe persecution while planting churches in North Carolina and Georgia.
Fred Chambers and Team
In 1911, Fred Chambers (1869-1950) and his wife Nora accepted a call to minister in western North Carolina. For two years, they served as an evangelistic team with E.J. and Millie Boehmer. Fred Chambers wrote, “There were no tithes, offerings, or financial backing from any source, no public works, and not one in [our] band had any money.”
Their North Carolina effort began in Culberson, where they faced severe opposition, including losing all their possessions when enemies burned their house. Yet, according to Chambers, on the morning after the fire, “a little band of the saints gathered around the ashes, the power fell, and we had an old-time meeting, shouting and praising the Lord. The outsiders looked on in amazement.”
Fierce opposition continued in Hayesville. The local paper suggested the Holiness band should be tarred and feathered, and their house was pelted with rocks on several occasions. When one man attempted to shoot E.J. Boehmer (1881-1953) while he was preaching, the gun failed to fire.
Preaching near Blairsville, Georgia, the evangelistic team continued to face opposition. Their house was stoned and windows broken. They borrowed a Methodist church, which opponents burned. They moved their services to a schoolhouse, and it was burned. They worshipped in a store, and it was destroyed. When they constructed their own meetinghouse, it too was burned.
Realizing the Church of God could not be burned out of the community, opponents turned their violence toward the preachers. One night a mob of about seventy-five men attacked their cabin, dragged Chambers outside, and beat him until he was unconscious. He described the experience, “They told me they . . . had fully decided to stamp out holiness in that neighborhood. They had two or three
large hickories with which they gave me the severe lashing. Two would hold me, one by each arm, and the third fellow would do the beating, while the rest stood and looked on.” He continued, “My flesh was badly bruised from the blows, and my nerves were shattered.”
In 1911, Fred Chambers (1869-1950) and his wife Nora accepted a call to minister in western North Carolina. For two years, they served as an evangelistic team with E.J. and Millie Boehmer. Fred Chambers wrote, “There were no tithes, offerings, or financial backing from any source, no public works, and not one in [our] band had any money.”
Their North Carolina effort began in Culberson, where they faced severe opposition, including losing all their possessions when enemies burned their house. Yet, according to Chambers, on the morning after the fire, “a little band of the saints gathered around the ashes, the power fell, and we had an old-time meeting, shouting and praising the Lord. The outsiders looked on in amazement.”
Fierce opposition continued in Hayesville. The local paper suggested the Holiness band should be tarred and feathered, and their house was pelted with rocks on several occasions. When one man attempted to shoot E.J. Boehmer (1881-1953) while he was preaching, the gun failed to fire.
Preaching near Blairsville, Georgia, the evangelistic team continued to face opposition. Their house was stoned and windows broken. They borrowed a Methodist church, which opponents burned. They moved their services to a schoolhouse, and it was burned. They worshipped in a store, and it was destroyed. When they constructed their own meetinghouse, it too was burned.
Realizing the Church of God could not be burned out of the community, opponents turned their violence toward the preachers. One night a mob of about seventy-five men attacked their cabin, dragged Chambers outside, and beat him until he was unconscious. He described the experience, “They told me they . . . had fully decided to stamp out holiness in that neighborhood. They had two or three
large hickories with which they gave me the severe lashing. Two would hold me, one by each arm, and the third fellow would do the beating, while the rest stood and looked on.” He continued, “My flesh was badly bruised from the blows, and my nerves were shattered.”
Sallie A. Shepherd
The first Church of God congregation in Arizona was born in revival. A headline in the September 2, 1922, Church of God Evangel announced: “A Church Established in Phoenix, Ariz.” The article’s author, Sallie A. Shepherd, had come from California to conduct the revival. The Church of God had licensed Sallie as an evangelist in 1916, while she was married to Benjamin Shepherd and living
in Copper Hill, Tennessee. Together the Shepherds conducted revivals and planted churches in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. Shortly after moving to California, Benjamin died leaving Sallie alone. Undaunted, she labored to plant a congregation in
Baldwin Park until the Lord turned her heart toward Phoenix.
Shepherd had never been to Phoenix before beginning the revival in which “Satan was present in every service and used all his
Satanic powers against us. . . . But God who knows how to direct the battle always wins if we do not hinder.” While experiencing a lack of financial resources, she supposed this hardship presented an opportunity to fast for seven days.
God moved in the revival, and several testified of healing, including one of tuberculosis. According to Evangelist Shepherd, “Fire was seen twice during the services, and there were many manifestations of the Spirit.” Results included eight saved, five sanctified, and three baptized with the Holy Spirit. On August 6, Brother Hockett (from California) set a congregation in order with fifteen members.
The first Church of God congregation in Arizona was born in revival. A headline in the September 2, 1922, Church of God Evangel announced: “A Church Established in Phoenix, Ariz.” The article’s author, Sallie A. Shepherd, had come from California to conduct the revival. The Church of God had licensed Sallie as an evangelist in 1916, while she was married to Benjamin Shepherd and living
in Copper Hill, Tennessee. Together the Shepherds conducted revivals and planted churches in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. Shortly after moving to California, Benjamin died leaving Sallie alone. Undaunted, she labored to plant a congregation in
Baldwin Park until the Lord turned her heart toward Phoenix.
Shepherd had never been to Phoenix before beginning the revival in which “Satan was present in every service and used all his
Satanic powers against us. . . . But God who knows how to direct the battle always wins if we do not hinder.” While experiencing a lack of financial resources, she supposed this hardship presented an opportunity to fast for seven days.
God moved in the revival, and several testified of healing, including one of tuberculosis. According to Evangelist Shepherd, “Fire was seen twice during the services, and there were many manifestations of the Spirit.” Results included eight saved, five sanctified, and three baptized with the Holy Spirit. On August 6, Brother Hockett (from California) set a congregation in order with fifteen members.
El Espíritu dijo, “Id”
La teología, pasión y visión de A.J. Tomlinson cambió radicalmente cuando recibió el bautismo con el Espíritu Santo. Mientras G.B. Cashwell predicaba la mañana del domingo 12 de enero de 1908 en la tercera Asamblea General, Tomlinson cayó al suelo bajo el poder del Espíritu.
A medida que el ministerio de A.J. Tomlinson se expandía, también la visión de la Iglesia de la Santidad se ampliaba en cuanto a la cosecha. La evangelización se transformó en el latir del corazón de los miembros y ministros. El 8 de marzo de 1909, Tomlinson escribió acerca del servicio vespertino del domingo del día anterior: “El Espíritu indicó que los obreros debían salir de este lugar, al norte, al este, al sur y al oeste…”.
Como pastor y nuestro primer supervisor general, Tomlinson estableció el fundamento teológico de la Iglesia de Dios naciente. Él escribió que Dios es amor y demuestra ese amor a través de Sus obras y de las obras de su pueblo. La motivación para cumplir con prontitud la Gran Comisión surgió de un sentir profundamente arraigado de que estamos viviendo en los
últimos días.
La Iglesia de Dios en sus inicios utilizó diversos medios y métodos para cosechar la mies, tales como enramadas y tiendas de campaña en propiedades arrendadas. Muchos evangelistas pioneros y fundadores de iglesias trabajaron con gran sacrificio por cumplir la Gran Comisión, a menudo enfrentaron una feroz oposición. Entre ellos estaban J.W. Buckalew, Fred Chambers y Sallie Shepherd.
A medida que el ministerio de A.J. Tomlinson se expandía, también la visión de la Iglesia de la Santidad se ampliaba en cuanto a la cosecha. La evangelización se transformó en el latir del corazón de los miembros y ministros. El 8 de marzo de 1909, Tomlinson escribió acerca del servicio vespertino del domingo del día anterior: “El Espíritu indicó que los obreros debían salir de este lugar, al norte, al este, al sur y al oeste…”.
Como pastor y nuestro primer supervisor general, Tomlinson estableció el fundamento teológico de la Iglesia de Dios naciente. Él escribió que Dios es amor y demuestra ese amor a través de Sus obras y de las obras de su pueblo. La motivación para cumplir con prontitud la Gran Comisión surgió de un sentir profundamente arraigado de que estamos viviendo en los
últimos días.
La Iglesia de Dios en sus inicios utilizó diversos medios y métodos para cosechar la mies, tales como enramadas y tiendas de campaña en propiedades arrendadas. Muchos evangelistas pioneros y fundadores de iglesias trabajaron con gran sacrificio por cumplir la Gran Comisión, a menudo enfrentaron una feroz oposición. Entre ellos estaban J.W. Buckalew, Fred Chambers y Sallie Shepherd.
Heritage Resources
- Buckalew, J.W. Incidents in the Life of J.W. Buckalew. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
- Conn, Charles W. Cradle of Pentecost. Cleveland, TN: Pathway Press, 1981.
David G. Roebuck, Ph.D. is director at the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center, assistant professor of the history of Christianity at Lee University, and church historian for the Church of God (Cleveland, TN).