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Denominations - Protestant

Short profiles of selected Christian denominations in the U.S.

United Pentecostal Church International

Pentecostal, Evangelical

Date Founded:  1945

Membership: 250,000 Number of Congregations:  4,300 churches in the U.S. & Canada as of 2016.

Headquarters:  8855 Dunn Road, Hazelwood, MO 63042

Schools & Seminaries:  Urshan College, Urshan Graduate School of Theology

Publications: Pentecostal Life, Pentecostal Publishing House

Website:  https://www.upci.org/

Social Media:  Facebook, Twitter

Core Beliefs:

  • Oneness Pentecostalism. Although it has become much more common in recent years, its roots go back to an ancient Jewish feast and, more recently, to the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the earliest Christian believers. Because this initial outpouring of the Spirit took place on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), those who experience a similar infilling of the Spirit are known as Pentecostals. UPCI is the largest Oneness congregation in the world.

  • Baptism: The UPCI baptizes in Jesus' name, which differs from most other Pentecostal belief systems.

  • About the Bible: The Bible is the infallible Word of God and the authority for salvation and Christian living.

  • About God: There is one God, who has revealed Himself as Father; through His Son, in redemption; and as the Holy Spirit, by emanation. Jesus Christ is God manifested in flesh. He is both God and man.

  • About Sin and Salvation: Everyone has sinned and needs salvation. Salvation comes by grace through faith based on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

  • About the Gospel: The saving gospel is the good news that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. We obey the gospel (II Thessalonians 1:8; I Peter 4:17) by repentance (death to sin), water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ (burial), and the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the initial sign of speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance (resurrection).
  • About Christian Living: As Christians, we are to love God and others. We should live a holy life inwardly and outwardly and worship God joyfully. The supernatural gifts of the Spirit, including healing, are for the church today.
  • About the Future: Jesus Christ is coming again to catch away His church. In the end will be the final resurrection and the final judgment. The righteous will inherit eternal life, and the unrighteous eternal death.

Short History:  The UPCI emerged out of the Pentecostal movement that began with a Bible school in Topeka, Kansas, in 1901 and with the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, California, in 1906. It traces its organizational roots to 1916, when a large group of Pentecostal ministers began to unite around the teaching of the oneness of God and water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.

The UPCI has been among the fastest-growing church organizations since it was formed in 1945 by the merger of the Pentecostal Church Incorporated and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ. From 521 churches in 1945, the UPCI has grown to more than 43,000 churches (including preaching points), 43,000 credentialed ministers, and 5.6 million constituents worldwide.

For more information regarding the UPCI history, go to https://upci.org/about-the-upci/

Local Churches closest to the LPTS campus: 

Greater Life Apostolic Church, 114 N Beckley Station Rd, Louisville, KY, 40245-4560

H.O.P.E. Ministries, 408 S 24th St, Louisville, KY, 40212

Church Locator: https://upci.org/#findachurch