In Washington, where he was the only senator who was a Pentecostal, he and a handful of others founded the Assemblies of God congregation that he attended. Believers felt that, contrary to mainstream Protestant thought, the ability to be infused with the Holy Spirit did not end in biblical times. The Pentecostal movement slowly spread, then began in earnest in 1906 with the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles. The Assemblies of God church was established at a convention held in April 1914 in Hot Springs, Ark., by groups that aimed to coordinate their preaching and mission efforts. Speaking in tongues is considered crucial to the Pentecostal experience and evidence of true belief.
Pentecostals believe that the end times are near.
The Assemblies of God believe in the Bible as the Word of God, and emphasize the oneness of God over the Trinity. They believe in the fall of man, salvation in Christ and baptism by immersion. Adherents number about 2.5 million in the United States, up more than 10 percent in the past decade. In 1989, there were 11,192 congregations. There are more than 140 Assemblies congregations that have memberships greater than 1,000.