Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa

Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa
ClassificationProtestant
OrientationPentecostal
TheologyEvangelical
PolityMixed presbyterian and episcopal
AssociationsApostolic Faith Mission International,
Pentecostal World Conference,
South African Council of Churches
RegionSouth Africa
FounderJohn G. Lake and Thomas Hezmalhalch[1]
Origin1908
Separations1919 Black Zionists,
1928 Latter Rain Assemblies,
1958 Pentecostal Protestant Church
Members1.2 million[2]
Official websitewww.afm-ags.org

The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM) is a classical Pentecostal Christian denomination in South Africa. With 1.2 million adherents, it is South Africa's largest Pentecostal church and the fifth largest religious grouping in South Africa representing 7.6 percent of the population.[2][3][4] Dr. Isak Burger has led the AFM as president since 1996 when the white and black branches of the church were united. It is a member of the Apostolic Faith Mission International, a fellowship of 23 AFM national churches. It is also a member of the South African Council of Churches.[5] The AFM is one of the oldest Pentecostal movement is South Africa with roots in the Azusa Street Revival, the Holiness Movement teachings of Andrew Murray and the teachings of John Alexander Dowie.[6] The AFM had an interracial character when it started, but, as in American Pentecostalism, this interracial cooperation was short-lived.[7] The decades from the 1950s to the 1980s were marked by the implementation of apartheid. After 1994, the white AFM moved rapidly towards unification with the black churches. By 1996, all the AFM churches were united in a single multi-racial church.[5] The constitution of the AFM blends at the national level the elements of a presbyterian polity with an episcopal polity.[8] Decentralization is a major feature of its constitution, which allows local churches to develop their own policies.[3] The Apostolic Faith Mission displays a variety of identities and ministry philosophies, including seeker-sensitive, Word of Faith, Presbyterian, and classical Pentecostal.[3]

  1. ^ "History of the Church". Lake and Hezmalhalch in South Africa. Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  2. ^ a b Office Bearers of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa Archived 18 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 2 September 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Clark, Matthew (2007). "Contemporary Pentecostal Leadership: The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa as Case Study". Cyberjournal for Pentecostal-Charismatic Research (16). Archived from the original on 13 June 2011.
  4. ^ Public Attitudes in Contemporary South Africa. Cape Town: Human Sciences Research Council. 2002. p. 88. ISBN 0-7969-1994-1.
  5. ^ a b Horn, Nico (2006). "Power and empowerment in the political context of some Afrikaans-speaking Pentecostals in South Africa" (PDF). Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae. XXXI (3): 225–253.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Maxwell was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Clark144 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Clark146 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).