Affirming Pentecostal Church International

Affirming Pentecostal Church International (APCI) is a Oneness Pentecostal denomination. It was founded December 5, 2010 in Indianapolis, Indiana.[1][2] APCI has established congregations in the US, Albania, Kosovo, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Guatemala, and is working toward establishing churches in Montenegro, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Argentina, Peru, South Africa, Taiwan, Tanzania, England, Trinidad, Uganda, and Ghana. APCI also has extensive ministries in Nigeria, through their Chicago church, High Praises International Ministries.[1][2] The church holds General Conference each year, usually in July.[2]

Leadership

Bishop Erik D. Swope-Wise is the Presiding Bishop, and Bishop Donagrant McCluney is Associate Bishop. Temporal authority, however, is vested in the General Board, which includes Rev. Will Horn (Overseer General), Rev. Dante Bowie (Missions Board Chairperson), Vacant (Northern Regional Overseer), Rev. Michael Alford (Southern Region Overseer), Rev. Alfredo Pena Jr. (Western Region Overseer), and Rev. Kelsey Swope-Wise (Treasurer).[1][2]

Beliefs

APCI is a fully affirming church open to all persons. Unlike most Apostolic churches, APCI is LGBT-affirming. Their anti-discrimination policy includes numerous categories, including race, sexual orientation, and gender identity.[1][2]

In matters of doctrine, their beliefs are similar to those of most Apostolic Pentecostal churches: the Oneness of God, water baptism by full immersion in the name of Jesus for forgiveness of sins, the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues, and holiness of life and heart. APCI adheres firmly to these teachings, and does not give ministerial credentials to those holding other beliefs.

Unlike most other Apostolic churches, APCI does not believe that being homosexual, bisexual or transgender is sinful. They base this view on their understanding of the Hebrew and Greek texts of scripture, as do other LGBT Affirming Apostolic organizations.

As of April 8, 2016 APCI has changed its views regarding their stand on Apostolic Faith, Baptism and Salvation and oneness theology. Recently Apostolic Oneness Pastors have been withdrawing from the organization because they have been instructed by the higher ups have been telling them that these matters of no importance and the organization has opened up fellowship with Trinitarian Pastors.

Newsletter

APCI publishes a monthly newsletter in PDF format, The Apostolic Voice, which is distributed free of charge via email and online.

Education

The church operates a Bible college, Apostolic Institute of Ministry. This institution exists for the purpose of providing APCI ministers and student ministers with a quality education, offering classes in theology, history, eschatology, church administration, and more. In addition, the school offers teaching seminars at APCI churches as needed.[1][2][3]

Churches

APCI churches in the US include:

APCI churches outside the US include:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 ">> social sciences >> Apostolic Pentecostals". glbtq. Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 http://www.myapci.org
  3. ↑ http://www.go2aim.org/ Archived July 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.

External links

See also

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