In 1886 two of the world’s largest Pentecostal denominations were born: the Church of God and the Church of God of Prophecy.
It all started with one man. Richard Spurling, an ordained elder who rejected his Baptist background and banded with eight other believers in search of the truth at the Barney Creek Meeting House in Tennessee.
That meeting paved the way for millions of believers around the world to embrace a move of the Holy Spirit. Today the Church of God has nearly 7 million members in 178 countries, and the Church of God of Prophecy has more than 1.5 million members in 130 countries.
“The Church of God and the Church of God of Prophecy are close friends,” says Bishop Randall Howard, general overseer of the Church of God of Prophecy. “We are brothers and sisters. We have the same baby pictures. We have the same foundations, the same founder and the same calling out of the holiness revival. Doctrinally it would be hard to find the small differences between us.”
