Fire-Baptized Holiness Church

The Fire-Baptized Holiness Church was a holiness Christian denomination that was based in North America. It was unique in that it taught three works of grace prior to the advent of Holiness Pentecostalism, though with a different doctrinal formulation; it continues today in the following denominations: International Pentecostal Holiness Church, Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas, Pentecostal Fire-Baptized Holiness Church, Bible Holiness Church and Wesleyan Holiness Alliance.[1][2][3]

The Fire-Baptized Holiness Church was founded in 1896, mainly from a Methodist background, with Benjamin Wesley Young and Benjamin Hardin Irwin serving as leaders, though some of the denomination's members had a Quaker or River Brethren background as well. Irwin, a Wesleyan Methodist elder taught belief in a third blessing, the baptism by fire (known in short as "the fire").[3] The Constitution and General Rules of the Fire Baptized Holiness Association taught three definite works of grace: (1) the New Birth, (2) entire sanctification (baptism with the Holy Ghost), and (3) baptism of fire.[4]

The Southeastern Kansas Fire Baptized Holiness Association dissolved its relationship with the rest of the denomination in 1898 after Irwin began to preach the necessity of maintaining Jewish dietary laws; the Southeastern Kansas Fire Baptized Holiness Association renamed itself as the Fire Baptized Holiness Association of Southeastern Kansas in 1904 and then the Fire Baptized Holiness Church (Wesleyan) in 1945 and then the present-day name of Bible Holiness Church in 1995.[3][5] This group dropped its belief in a third work of grace in 1948; its annual camp meeting is held in Independence, Kansas, which has been the location of it since 1933.[3] In 1979, a schism regarding holiness standards occurred in the Fire Baptized Holiness Church (Wesleyan), resulting in the formation of the Wesleyan Holiness Alliance.[2] Both the Bible Holiness Church and the Wesleyan Holiness Alliance are considered to be a part of the conservative holiness movement and teach two works of grace: (1) the New Birth and (2) entire sanctification (baptism with the Holy Ghost).[3][2]

The bulk of the original Fire-Baptized Holiness Church went on to embrace Holiness Pentecostal doctrine. In 1908, most of the African-American requested autonomy and amicably formed the Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas, which teaches three works of grace in accordance with Holiness Pentecostal doctrine: New Birth, (2) entire sanctification, and (3) baptism of the Holy Ghost and Fire evidenced by speaking in tongues.[6] Most of the original Fire-Baptized Holiness Church merged with the Pentecostal Holiness Church in 1911, forming a new denomination known as the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. Before the merger, the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church was an interracial body. The Pentecostal Fire-Baptized Holiness Church emerged from this body in order to continue uphold the holiness standards of the original denomination.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kostlevy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Jones, Charles Edwin (1974). A Guide to the Study of the Holiness Movement. Scarecrow Press. p. 781. ISBN 978-0-8108-0703-7.
  3. ^ a b c d e Kurian, George Thomas; Lamport, Mark A. (November 19, 2016). Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 244. ISBN 978-1-4422-4432-0.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference FBA1900 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Jones, Charles Edwin (1 January 1974). Perfectionist Persuasion: The Holiness Movement and American Methodism, 1867-1936. Scarecrow Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-4616-7039-1. Whatever its corrolaries, "fire baptism" seems to be the only belief that survived in the Southeast Kansas Association. In 1945 the group changed its name to the Fire Baptized Holiness Church (Wesleyan).
  6. ^ "What We Believe". Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference USCB1941 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).