Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! {{Infobox organization | name = Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International (FGBMFI) | logo = | type = Christian Interdenominational | founded_date = 1951 | founder = [[Demos Shakarian]] | location = [[Irvine, California]], US | origins = | area_served = 85 countries | focus = | method = | revenue = | leader_title = President | leader_name = Mr. Francis Owusu | endowment = | num_volunteers = | num_employees = | num_members = | owner = | Non-profit_slogan = | homepage = [http://www.fgbmfi.org/ fgbmfi.org] | dissolved = | footnotes = }} The '''Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International''' (FGBMFI) is a fellowship of lay businessmen. Its main purpose is to bring interest to the Christian gospel. Theologically, the organization has its roots in [[Pentecostalism]].<ref name="Heino1997"/> The headquarters is in [[Irvine, California]]. ==History== FGBMFI was founded in 1952 in Los Angeles by [[Demos Shakarian]], a California rancher.<ref>Randall Herbert Balmer, ''Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism: Revised and expanded edition'', Baylor University Press, USA, 2004, p. 274</ref><ref name="Heino1997">{{cite book|last=Heino|first=Harri|title=Mihin Suomi tΓ€nÀÀn uskoo|trans-title=What does Finland believe in today|edition=2nd|year=1997|publisher=WSOY|location=Helsinki|language=fi|isbn=951-0-27265-5|pages=115β116}}</ref> The expression "[[Full Gospel]]" in the name of the association is central to the vision of the organization.<ref>J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, ''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 1082</ref> Following a difficult start (for a year nothing happened to the original group that met weekly), then a donation of $1000 was given to start a small publication titled Full Gospel Business Men's VOICE, it grew steadily, the second chapter was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and after a few years chapters were set up throughout the world.<ref>The Happiest People on Earth, the story of Demos Shakarian as told to John and Elizabeth Sherrill, Steward Press, Chuppaqua, New York, 10514, 1975</ref> In 1972, the membership was 300,000.<ref>Randall Herbert Balmer, ''Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism'', Westminster John Knox Press, USA, 2002, page 274</ref> In 1988, there were 3,000 chapters in 90 countries.<ref>Robert H. Krapohl, Charles H. Lippy, '' The Evangelicals: A Historical, Thematic, and Biographical Guide'', Greenwood Publishing Group, USA, 1999, page 74</ref> After Demos Shakarian died in 1993, his son Richard Shakarian assumed the organization's leadership.<ref>Allan Anderson, ''An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity'', Cambridge University Press, UK, 2013, page 160</ref> In 2023, Francis Owusu was elected president of the organization.<ref>FGBMFI, [https://www.fgbmfi.org/about-us Our International President], fgbmfi.org, USA, retrieved March 7, 2020</ref> The organization was present in 85 countries in 2023.<ref>FGBMFI, [https://www.fgbmfi.org/our-history OUR HISTORY], fgbmfi.org, USA, retrieved February 4, 2023</ref> == Controversies == In the 1980s, the presence on the board of directors and the financial management of Demos Shakarian were challenged.<ref>John Dart, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-14-me-301-story.html Worldwide Christian Body Divided Over Funds, Power], latimes.com, USA, January 14, 1989</ref> ==See also== {{Portal|Evangelical Christianity|}} *[[Gideons International]] ==Literature== * Demos Shakarian, John & Elisabeth Sherrill: ''The Happiest People on Earth''. Old Tappan, N.J.: Chosen Books: distributed by F. H. Revell Co., c1975. {{ISBN|0-912376-14-7}}. 187 pages. * Val Fotherby: ''The awakening giant''. London (UK) (Marshall Pickering), 2000. {{ISBN|0-551-03234-0}}. 200 pages. ==External links== * {{Official website|http://www.fgbmfi.org/}} * [http://www2.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/f/Full_Gospel_Business_Men's_Fellowship_International.html Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International Collection, Southern Folklife Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill] ==Bibliography== * "FGBMFI: Facing Frustrations and the Future", by B. Bird. ''Charisma'' (June 1986) * "FGBMFI Struggles toward the Future", by D. Shakarian(?). ''Charisma'' (March 1988) * ''All Things Are Possible'', by D. E. Harrell Jr., 1975 * ''How to live like a King's Kid'', by H. Hill. Logos International, 1974. {{ISBN|0-88270-083-9}}. * "Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International" by J. R. Zeigler; pp. 653β54 in ''[[The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements]]'', revised and expanded edition, ed. Stanley M. Burgess, associate editor Eduard M. Van der Maas. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2002) ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Pentecostalism]] [[Category:1951 establishments in California]] [[Category:Christian organizations established in 1951]] Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! 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