The United Pentecostal Church is a fairly newer organization, established in the mid 1900s. In the forward of their manual, a little background is given which I will quote in part.

"During the last 21 days of the 19th century, a band of earnest, hungry-hearted ministers and Christian workers in Bethel Bible College, Topeka, Kansas, called a fast, praying earnestly for a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which, to their joyful surprise, came upon them in the early hours of the morning on January 1, 1901. The people were heard speaking in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance, just as it had happened on the day of Pentecost in the year 30 A.D. A great revival immediately broke forth, which soon reached to the State of Texas, and thence west to Los Angeles, where in the year 1906 it centered in an old building on Azusa Street......

"With the coming of the Holy Spirit, the word of the Lord became a new book. Truths which had been hidden for many years were made clear. In the year 1914 came the revelation on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The pivotal doctrines of the absolute deity of Jesus Christ and the baptism in his name became tenants of faith....

"The number of those who believed the full Pentecostal message grew rapidly, and soon it was realized that in order to properly reach the world with the great Gospel message, ...it was necessary to have a proper basis of cooperation and fellowship.

"During the early half of this century various groups were organized. Among them two of the major bodies known as The Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ, Inc., and the Pentecostal Church, Inc., became so closely associated in doctrine and fellowship that in 1944 steps were taken to unite the two bodies into one organization known as the United Pentecostal Church."

Below are links which give the history of different aspects of the Pentecostal or Apostolic movements. It is interesting to learn that not all early Apostolics held to the same strict ideas over issues of salvation as currently expressed by the UPC, Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowship & some others.

Above, Loren Yadon (nephew of C.H. Yadon) delivers his "The Tragedy of War" sermon at the Landmark Conference in Stockton, California on January 25, 1993. He was a faculty member of Christian Life College at the time and lost the position after this message. Hear him share how things were when the two groups came together to form the UPC in 1945 and how some of the history isn't all shared now. He mentions books on Andrew Urshan being edited to remove certain information and shares that one minister, I assume L.E. Westberg, said that with the affirmation resolution he wanted to clean the heretics out of the movement. Yadon stated that intolerance had grown in the UPC. He was about to discover just how intolerant some had become. His words about the affirmation resolution start at around the 22 minute mark.

According to C.H. Yadon: and the Vanishing Theological Past in Oneness Pentecostalism by Thomas Fudge, Kenneth Haney, the college President and then UPCI Assistant General Superintendent, and Dan Segraves, the Academic Vice President, both approved of Yadon's sermon. However, certain ministers in California were outraged. Larry Alred, a UPC minister there, appeared to lead a campaign against Yadon by sending letters to 24 ministers in the state. Yadon was accused of "disseminating false doctrine, sowing discord, and taking a theological and historical perspective which was at odds with UPC doctrine."

You may want to check out The Apostolic Archives International, the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center of the Assemblies of God and the Society for Pentecostal Studies. Some may want to take advantage of this Kindle book that is only .99. This collection features the newsletters from William Seymour, The Azusa Papers, that were published during the Asuza Street revival from September 1906 through May of 1908.

1952 UPCI Manual

I acquired a copy of the 1952 Manual/Directory and share much of it on this site. View the list of ministers from 1952 here and a complete listing of United Pentecostal Churches here. A list of districts from 1952 are here and the Articles of Faith are here.

You may view a PDF version of the Pentecostal Church Incorporated Manual here.

Thomas Fudge & Daniel Lewis

Thomas Fudge, former UPC member whose father still holds license in the UPC, has written a scholarly book about the history of the United Pentecostal Church which is sure to cause some shaking within the organization. Mr. Fudge interviewed over 200 people and thoroughly documents information concerning their history. One thing you rarely see mentioned is the fact that one of the two groups which formed the UPC was not as hard line in beliefs as the UPC is today. Some believed a person was saved when they came to God in repentance. This can be seen in the very first edition of their official publication, The Pentecostal Herald, where they invite differing articles on the "new birth." (See the UPC Beliefs page for an exact quote.)

Click here to order Mr. Fudge's book from Amazon.com. To view the first 25 pages of his book at no charge, click here. To view much more of his book on Google at no charge, click here.

Click here to read an article from a Canadian newspaper which describes the then forthcoming book. Click here to read an article written by Thomas Fudge concerning why he wrote the book. This page contains links to reviews and an interview.

Thomas Fudge released a second UPC related book in March 2014, Heretics and Politics: Theology, Power, and Perception in the Last Days of CBC (Conquerors Bible College). CBC closed abruptly in 1983. The UPC attributed the failure to financial causes. Fudge "argues that the financial crisis was rooted in theological controversy, church politics, conflicting models of education, and sustained suspicions of heresy." Former UPC minister Don Fisher is featured in the book as he was one of the presidents of the college.

You may read thoughts and opinions about the book from Joseph Howell, Dan Lewis, Tim Landry (all former UPC ministers) and others. Ronna Russell, one of Don Fisher's daughters, has shared her personal reflections in this blog.

Thomas Fudge released a third UPC related book in November 2017, C.H. Yadon: and the Vanishing Theological Past in Oneness Pentecostalism. "Drawing upon his numerous sermons, published work, unpublished papers, and the testimony of those who knew him best, Thomas A. Fudge has produced a major theological biography of an unusual man. Buttressed by 32 rich appendices mostly from the pen of Yadon and featuring 157 photographs illuminating aspects of his long life, this book challenges the revisionist history and sanitized theologizing which has characterized the religious movement Yadon devoted most of his life to."

You may read Daniel Lewis' book, The Journey Out of the United Pentecostal Church, referenced several times in Heretics & Politics, in PDF or Word formats. Much thanks to Dan Lewis for his permission to freely distribute the book on this website.

Thomas Fudge has a short talk on Jan Hus, plus a lecture titled The Prophetic Voice of Jan Hus as well as another talk on Hus here. There is also a series on the history of Christianity from the Roman Empire until the Reformation found on YouTube:

Below are links, favorable and unfavorable to UPC, Apostolic, Oneness, and general Pentecostal history.

Apostolic/Oneness History	General Pentecostal History
Spirit-Filled Women: Louisiana's United Pentecostal Church International And Modern American Culture - Dissertation by Glenda Bridges Mitchell	The Consortium of Pentecostal Archives - The UPC participates.
Oneness Pentecostalism (PDF file)- Interfaith Evangelism	Assessing the Roots of Pentecostalism- Randall J. Stephens
Oneness Pentecostalism- Watchman Expositor	Pentecostalism- Gary E. Gilley
Dividing Over Oneness- Christianity Today	The Restoration Vision in Pentecostalism (AOG)- D. William Faupel
History of Oneness Pentecostals- Ernie Sanchez	A Gallery of Visionaries (Early Pentecostals)- Christianity Today
Oneness Pentecostalism- The Bereans	The Silent Pentecostals (Latin History)- Christianity Today
Oneness History- The Apostolic Truth Ministries	All Shook Up (Early Pentecostals)- Christianity Today
United Pentecostal Church International- Religious Movements	Part VI- The Modern Age: Lesson #45- Pentecostalism- The Interactive Bible
A Brief History of the United Pentecostal Church- Mark Bassett	Hell Hatched Free Lovism' (Evangelical reaction to Pentecostal movement)- Christianity Today
The Origin of Denominations (UPC)- Jack Thompson	The Pentecostal Family (Has some UPC)- Religious Tolerance
P.A.W. History- Bishop Charles A. Sims	Welcome to the History of the Pentecostal Church- Apostolic Truth Ministries
Rev. Albert Dewey Gurley and Mid-Southern Oneness Pentecostals- has many links to further info	Azusa Street Timeline- Robert Longman, Jr.
The Merger- Stanley W. Chambers	The Origins of the Pentecostal Movement- Vinson Synan, Ph.D.
Road to the Merger- J.L. Hall	Brief History (Parham & Seymour)- E. Myron Noble
UPCI First General Board Picture	The Revival Legacy of Charles F. Parham (PDF file)- Gary B. McGee
Early Pentecostals in St. Louis, Missouri- Part One- J.L. Hall	Pentecostal Pioneers- Pentecostalpioneers.org
Early Pentecostals in St. Louis, Missouri- Part Two- J.L. Hall	William J. Seymour and the Azusa Street Revival- Gary B. McGee
PDF File- Early Oneness Pentecostalism, Garfield Thomas Haywood, And The Interracial Pentecostal Assemblies Of The World (1906-1931) by Talmadge Leon French (thesis)	Pentecostalism- New Religious Movements
PDF Files- A number of old UPC/Apostolic official publications	Slain By The Music by Larry Eskridge mentions that "Howard Goss recognized that Pentecostals were doing something very different with their music and that this fact was key to the movement's growth."
1970 Apostolic Bible Institute Yearbook	The Holiness and Pentecostal Churches: Emerging from Cultural Isolation by Donald W. Dayton
1971 Apostolic Bible Institute Yearbook	Charismatic And Mainline by John Dart shares some Charismatic history.
1975 Apostolic Bible Institute Yearbook	The Holiness Churches: A Significant Ethical Traditionby Donald W. Dayton
1987 50 Year Apostolic Bible Institute Yearbook	Azusa Street Revival by Edith Blumhofer shares that "adherents generally embrace a particular version of the revival's story and often engage parts of its legacy rather the whole."
Former UPC Minister Loren Yadon addresses Landmark Conference January 25, 1993	Pentecostalism's Dark Side by Roger R. Olson discusses some problems that have plagued Pentecostlism.
2022 ALJC Church & Ministers Directory	"The miracle lady": Kathryn Kuhlman and the gentrification of charismatic Christianity in twentieth-century America by Amy Collier Artman
Modern Modesty: The Renegotiation of Female Pious Dress In Modern Pentecostal Assemblies by Amanda Beth Phillips (Based on a Northwest Arkansas UPCI Church)	The Dubious Legacy of Charles Fox Parham: Racism and Cultural Insensitivities among Pentecostals by Allan Anderson
The New Prime Minister's Faith: A Look at Oneness Pentecostalism in Ethiopia by Jorg Haustein (contains much history)	How Pentecost Came to Los Angeles by Frank Bartleman
Videos from a Jackson College of Ministries Reunion	Cracked or Broken: Pentecostal Unity by Keith Warrington
Blog that covers old UPCI record albums	Reflections of a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM by Harold Hunter
Part of Joseph H. Howell's dissertation, People Of The Name: Oneness Pentecostalism in the United States	Pentecostalism & Witchcraft (mentions the UPCI)
The Winds of God by Ethel Goss (original unedited version)	Thesis- Encountering the Spirit: Pentecostal mediated experience of God in theological context by Peter Neumann (mentions Oneness a little)
SPIRIT AND SCHISM: A HISTORY OF ONENESS PENTECOSTALISM IN THE PHILIPPINES by Johnny Loye King
WHAT ARE UNITED PENTECOSTAL CHURCH INTERNATIONAL WOMEN PASTORS EXPERIENCING: A QUALITATIVE INQUIRY by Cynthia A. Miller
A Study of Attitudes Toward Women Serving in Any Office if Elected by the Ministerial Constituency of the United Pentecostal Church International by Lucille Janet Trout
The Evolving World of Foreign Missions by Daniel Scott
Women of the Oneness Pentecostal Movement in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Century by Carolyn Simoneaux
A Comparative Analysis of Worldview Development and Religious Commitment Between Apostolic College Students Attending Apostolic Christian and Secular Colleges by Carolyn Simoneaux
Multi-Site Campus Model in the 21st Century For Apostolic Pentecostal Churches by Don Martin
Our Historical Stepping Stones Of The West Virginia District (United Pentecostal) by Daniel Scott
What is The Name or The Mystery of God Revealed by William Phillips Hall 1913
Heels, Hair, And Holiness Dress: Modesty And Fashion Among the Women of the United Pentecostal Church Thesis by Megan A. Geiger

Below is a video from Michael Burgos on some of the history and origins of Oneness Pentecostalism. (We used to have two videos from UPC minister Talmadge French on this, but the YouTube channel hosting those has removed them.)

Posted March 22, 2003 & Updated January 14, 2024 with all links checked March 29, 2023

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