Assemblies of God USA

==== Apostolic Faith Movement reorganized ====
[[File:E.N. Bell.JPG|thumb|right|E.N. Bell, first General Superintendent of the AG]]

Parham's former associates reorganized the Apostolic Faith Movement. Prominent leaders of the new movement were Howard A. Goss, L. C. Hall, D. C. O. Opperman, and A. G. Canada. They were later joined by [[Eudorus N. Bell]], previously a [[Southern Baptist]] minister. They began to identify themselves as Pentecostals.{{Sfn|Blumhofer|1993|p=82}} The Apostolic Faith Movement played a leading role in organizing and institutionalizing Pentecostalism in the Midwest and Southwest and from 1909 to 1912 absorbed smaller Pentecostal groups.{{Sfn|Creech|1996|p=413}} The Apostolic Faith Movement was a mostly-white organization, but it had some black and Hispanic ministers and missionaries.{{Sfn|Rodgers|2008|pp=54–55}}

The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) was a predominantly African American Holiness church headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1907, its founder, [[Charles Harrison Mason]], visited Azusa Street and adopted the Pentecostal message. Mason's group was the first Pentecostal denomination to incorporate, which gave its clergy privileges such as railroad discounts.{{Sfn|Robeck|2005|loc=II.A. The Church of God in Christ and the Assemblies of God: Siblings or Offspring?}} Mason led the church until his death in 1961. He was highly respected by both black and white Pentecostals. COGIC was interracial with many white members, and many white Pentecostal ministers sought ordination from Mason.{{Sfn|Blumhofer|1993|p=74}}{{Sfn|Synan|1997|p=126}}

Early Pentecostal groups were loosely organized. Historian Cecil M. Robeck, Jr. notes, "While a person might hold primary allegiance to one organization, she or he could hold credentials with a second organization as well."{{Sfn|Robeck|2005|loc=II.A. The Church of God in Christ and the Assemblies of God: Siblings or Offspring?}} In 1907, Goss had received a license to preach from Mason's group, and he claimed that Mason had given him permission to issue ministerial credentials under the Churches of God in Christ name for the "white work".{{Sfn|Blumhofer|1993|pp=43, 81–84}} In 1910, the Apostolic Faith Movement was renamed “Church of God in Christ and in Unity with the Apostolic Faith.” This change was part of a movement within Pentecostalism at that time to adopt church names that appeared in the Bible, such as Church of God, Church of God in Christ, and Assembly of God.{{Sfn|Rodgers|2008|pp=54–55}}

In the Church of God in Christ, white ministers were supervised by the African-American leaders of the denomination.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burgess |first=Katherine |title=Bishop Mason built COGIC out of revival, the faith of former slaves |url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2019/09/10/church-god-christ-bishop-mason-built-cogic/2220079001/ |access-date=2022-09-03 |website=The Commercial Appeal |language=en-US |quote="You have this very interesting phenomena that at the beginning of racial segregation, the Church of God in Christ as a larger body is interracial," Daniels said. "This interracial impulse will continue to shape the Church of God in Christ in various ways all the way up until you get to the 1950s. … It's this interesting situation where African Americans are supervising white clergy, white pastors during this time of segregation."}}</ref> Though in some instances, the relations between Mason's church and white ministers were more informal.<ref>{{harvtxt|Robeck|2005|loc=II.A.}} writes: "On paper, at least, there were over 350 such ministers which made it appear that these white ministers composed roughly half of all Church of God in Christ leadership. What now seems quite apparent is that while these white ministers received ordination from the Church of God in Christ, they continued to function along segregated lines. For them, it was a marriage of convenience, not an integrated fellowship. Howard Goss who negotiated with Mason for the ability to sign these credentials would later label it 'an association...mainly for purposes of business.' But was it only a business proposition for Mason?"</ref>{{Sfn|Rodgers|2008|p=54}} Beginning in 1911, many white ministers affiliated with COGIC expressed dissatisfaction with African American leadership.<ref> Cecil M. Robeck, Jr, Amos Yong, ''The Cambridge Companion to Pentecostalism'', Cambridge University Press, UK, 2014, p. 78</ref> In 1913, 353 white ministers formed a new church, which gave its own credentials, although still using the same name as Mason's organization.{{Sfn|Synan|1997|pp=153–155}}