A Brief History of the Church of God...

It was 1886, in a crude meeting house on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, where the Church of God traces its roots. There, a group of eight sincere Christians had a deep desire for a closer relationship and life with Christ. Realizing the futility of reforming their own churches, they established a new church whose objective would be to restore sound scriptural doctrines of the Bible, encourage deeper consecration and promote evangelism and Christian service. Twenty-one years after the formation of the Christian Union that evening at the Barney Creek Meeting House, the growing movement would establish themselves permanently as the Church of God.

From this seemingly insignificant origin has grown one of the most influential worldwide Pentecostal denominations. For nearly 120 years the Church of God has been a distinctive movement focused upon communicating the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. Presently, the Church of God has a world-wide membership of almost 7 million with a presence in nearly 160 countries. Leaders of the Church of God are recognized as some of the most respected Pentecostal leaders of today.

The call of the Church of God today beckons back to those early days at Barney Creek. Church of God congregations around the globe are experiencing the fire of the Holy Spirit today more than ever. Reports of revivals where hundreds are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit are frequent and on-going. The call of the Church of God is for world evangelization. It is a call to discipleship and prayer. It is a call of commitment. It is a call for the Church of God to be a channel for Pentecostal revival well into the new millennium.

THE CHURCH OF GOD CAME TO ALASKA IN 1944

The Church of God has been a part of Alaska/BC ministry for almost 70 years. George and Olga Savchencko came here in 1944, when Alaska was a part of Russia. They planted what was to become the Palmer Highway Church of God. They spent their first winter in a chicken house they rented for $15 a month. Since their arrival here with the Pentecostal message, a long line of dedicated and sacrificial servants of the Lord have followed them to bring this ministry to where it is today—a total of 23 churches with over 4,400 members. Our churches are making huge impacts on their communities and are excelling in ministries.

Although Alaska became a part of the United States in 1959, it is still a mission field. Geographically it is more than twice the size of any other state, and poses tremendous challenges for evangelizing because of size and extreme weather conditions. Economically, the cost of living probably exceeds any other state in the nation. Culturally, the people of Alaska are diverse, independent, and love the land where they live. Spiritually, about 90% of the people in this region are still unchurched. The Church of God in Alaska/BC has a great work to do under very stringent conditions with limited financial resources. Pray for us as we minister on the last frontier.