Questions about the Apostolic Faith Movement

[RickardoHolmes]

Greetings

I ran into an old Acquaintance a few days ago, we got to talking, and he brought up one of those "Remember those people...?" scenes

Growing up there was a family next door who belonged to the Apostolic Faithful church. They seemed like decent enough people, and although they were somewhat quiet and kept to themselves, they did seem to be involved in their church community.

Now we were raised to judge and hate everyone who was different, as we knew that only we were the ones going to Heaven. We were also told not to explore other religions, and not to ask people about their faith, since their faith was wrong anyway and they would likely lie to us and attempt to deceive us. We were told that if we had a question about what someone believed, then we were to ask adults in our church who would tell us. So it was not really an option to ask "Well what do you believe ?" But such was life in a Baptist church.

Anyway, what struck me odd is that the people next door did not have a TV and did not discuss it, and I wondered if it was due to financial status or religious edicts, as I heard both from numerous sources. I know the kids who were our age would watch TV at our house with us, so there was not any ban against watching it.

I was never able to find out what they actually believe, and details on the websites are minimal at best. Does anyone here know anyone who was raised in the Apostolic Faith, who could tell me about the views on entertainment, on community relations, ecumenical beliefs.,..etc. Is it more of a Wesleyan movement or more of a Pentecostal movement? ANy info would be appreciated Thanks

 

[prodromos]

We haven't had a TV in over a decade, which has nothing to do with the teaching of our Church. We simply realised how much time we wasted with watching TV, but also discerned that most of what was on the box was frivolous entertainment at best and dangerous propaganda at worst, and the balance has been steadily moving towards the latter. We've never regretted getting rid of the TV and wondered how we ever had the time to watch what we used to.

 

[Silly Uncle Wayne]

Greetings

I ran into an old Acquaintance a few days ago, we got to talking, and he brought up one of those "Remember those people...?" scenes

Growing up there was a family next door who belonged to the Apostolic Faithful church. They seemed like decent enough people, and although they were somewhat quiet and kept to themselves, they did seem to be involved in their church community.

Now we were raised to judge and hate everyone who was different, as we knew that only we were the ones going to Heaven. We were also told not to explore other religions, and not to ask people about their faith, since their faith was wrong anyway and they would likely lie to us and attempt to deceive us. We were told that if we had a question about what someone believed, then we were to ask adults in our church who would tell us. So it was not really an option to ask "Well what do you believe ?" But such was life in a Baptist church.

Anyway, what struck me odd is that the people next door did not have a TV and did not discuss it, and I wondered if it was due to financial status or religious edicts, as I heard both from numerous sources. I know the kids who were our age would watch TV at our house with us, so there was not any ban against watching it.

I was never able to find out what they actually believe, and details on the websites are minimal at best. Does anyone here know anyone who was raised in the Apostolic Faith, who could tell me about the views on entertainment, on community relations, ecumenical beliefs.,..etc. Is it more of a Wesleyan movement or more of a Pentecostal movement? ANy info would be appreciated Thanks

I thought they were a Pentecostal movement/denomination smaller than Assemblies of God and Four Square Gospel/Elim. I'm pretty certain that they were big in South Africa (with David Du Plessis coming from that background).

I found this on the church website here in Dublin:

Apostolic Faith Ministry has a long and distinguished history in the Body of Christ beginning in 1908 when a missionary team, led by John G. Lake, Thomas Hezmalhalch, and Jacob Lehman and their wives, came to South Africa. The first meeting of the Central Tabernacle Assembly in Bree Street, Johannesburg was on May 25, 1908 and is considered the beginning of AFM.

John G. Lake, a pentacostal evangelist, and Thomas Hezmalhach, a holiness preacher with roots in Azusa Street, came out of the Holiness Movement and the Zionist Movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s in America. Lake was particularly influenced by God’s healing power and became co-evangelist with Thomas Hezmalhalch around 1906 through an outreach in Zion City, Illinois. Together, they were inspired by God to launch mission trip to S.A.

Both Lake and Hezmalhach were very influenced by the teachings of Dr. Andrew Murray, who was part of the Holiness Movement birthed from a revival in 1860 in the Dutch Reformed Church. Other influences included the local Zionist Movement, which was preparation for pentacostal growth and in 1908, South Africa was ready for the pentecostal revelation brought by Lake and Hemalhach. The nation and AFM saw powerful church growth accompanied by signs and wonders.

Service at AFM Word And Life Boksburg

In 1913, Lake and Hezmalhach left South Africa and AFM continued under self-government, spreading to Zimbabwe in 1915. It also believed AFM came to Gwanda that year by an AFM S.A. concert, Zacharias Manamela and AFM continues to expand across the African continent, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. In 1987, an international conference began as International Coordinating Council and was re-organized again in 1996 as AFM International.

The Lord opened the door in 2001 for Mrs. J. Chimbganda, widow of Pastor Chimbganda, to move from Zimbabwe to Ireland. Her family soon followed, including son Gerard T. Chimbganda. The Lord let them to plant a missionary AFM church in Ireland and the first meeting of Praise Tabernacle Apostolic Faith Ministries was held in July 2004. This church has experienced tremendous growth–starting with a meeting in a rented hotel basement, they grew to include a partnership with Drop Inn Ministries, opening a thrift store and moving into warehouse building. In 2015, the Lord directed Praise Tabernacle to move to the current location at St. Joseph’s Convent in Dublin.

 

[The Liturgist]

Televisions offend me by their noise, as do radios. I have an iPad and a splendid sound system and home theater setup, but the idea of watching television in this age horrifies me. In my youth, and this sentence I fear dates me to some degree, you had Mr Rogers and a number or very tasteful and serene programs for young people of which I have fond memories, and the television stations stopped broadcasting with the National Anthem rather than switching to informercials.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Televisions offend me by their noise, as do radios. I have an iPad and a splendid sound system and home theater setup, but the idea of watching television in this age horrifies me. In my youth, and this sentence I fear dates me to some degree, you had Mr Rogers and a number or very tasteful and serene programs for young people of which I have fond memories, and the television stations stopped broadcasting with the National Anthem rather than switching to informercials.

The insult to standards and values was shown in a New Zealand soap, "Shortland Street" where it showed two men with no clothes on, in bed together. We already had a marriage between two lesbians treated as a normal and acceptable marriage. I don't know what others think, but two naked men in bed having nooky doesn't turn my crank at all!

 

[Llewelyn Stevenson]

I was Assembly of God and not AFM, but I grew up in Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe] in Southern Africa. My wife's family attended the AFM in Salisbury [Harare].

Yes, the AFM held to the Pentecostal tradition as well as that of holiness. In the era of my early childhood most Pentecostal groups taught that television did not set a godly standard and therefore did not belong in the Christian home. Sobriety and abstinence were also commonly taught. I still hold to many of these traditions today. I keep my hair short because of what the Scripture says; I do not consume alcohol or take drugs or smoke, and abstain from other forms of worldliness.

There were many families that did not have a tv. I don't think we had one until I was 14.

I remember a brother going down town to look at teevees. The advert in the window read, "Bring the world into your home!"

He testified, "I decided I didn't want the world in my home as it belonged to Christ and so I didn't buy one."

Doctrine began to change in about the mid 1970s at the beginning of my teenage years through the influence of the Contemporary Christian music world and the on flow of the Jesus Movement encouraging the explorative mind of the youth to rebel against these traditions. I chose not to follow these worldly standards.

So, yes, there were reasons of faith that were likely possible for your neighbours not having a TV, but most parents are afraid of alienating their children and would take a softer approach.