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The Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, International is a fellowship of churches and individuals representing various denominations or organizations (primarily from an African-American Baptist background) that accepts the operation of spiritual gifts (the charismata) in the church today, in contrast to the teachings of many Baptist bodies.
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History
Difference from Mainstream Baptists
A spiritual gifts movement beginning around 1992, led by National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Presiding Bishop, Bishop Paul S. Morton, grew among all the National Baptist Conventions and resulted in the formation of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. The first Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship Conference was held in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1994. Fellowship headquarters remain in New Orleans.
The church is built on a Baptist foundation and embraces a wide scope of Charismatic influences. Such influences include that of speaking in tongues, prophecy, the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire, the "five-fold" ministry (apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists), the acceptance of women in ministry in all ranks and heavy emphasis placed on worshiping God in corporate gatherings in a "Full Gospel" Church. The term "Full Gospel" means that they believe in the entire bible, though some religions only believe in certain parts of the bible (which is easy to understand, and causes no controversy) Bishop Paul S. Morton began with twelve men,Bishop Odis A. Floyd, Bishop Larry D. Trotter, Bishop Carlos L. Malone, Bishop J.D. Wiley, Bishop K.D. Johnson, Bishop Larry D. Leonard, Bishop Kenneth Robinson, Bishop Kenneth Ulmer, Bishop Fred Caldwell, Bishop Robert Blake, Bishop Eddie Long, and Bishop A.R. Williams, all of whom were from traditional Baptist Church backgrounds and continued with him at least until around 1998. The organization's governmental structure is based on an episcopal hierarchy. Leadership extends from the Executive Council, Bishops Council, Auxiliary Bishops, Regional Bishops, State Bishops, State Overseers, General Overseers, District Overseers, Fellowship Assistance, Senior Pastors, State and District Directors.
Transglobal Chapters
Intra-United States Regions
- Northeast Central Region (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut)
- Mid-Atlantic Region (Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey)
- Southern Atlantic Region (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida)
- Central Region (Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota,
- South Western Region (Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Montana, Idaho)
- Western Pacific Region (Washington, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, Wyoming, California,)
- Southern Region (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama,)
- Mid Western Region (Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin)
Trans-global Regions
- Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship- Bahamas
- Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship- Africa, Italy, India (Foreign Ministries)
- Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship- Japan
- Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship- Germany
See also
External links
- Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship - official Web Site
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
