Race and the Assemblies of God Church: The Journey from Azusa St ...

The study concludes with an event known as the “Miracle of Memphis,” which occurred in 1994, and its implications for American Pentecostalism. The Pentecostal Fellowship of North America (PFNA) was established in 1948 at Chicago, Illinois. The original membership consisted of eight predominantly white Pentecostal denominations. During the Memphis meeting, the member church groups voted to dissolve the PFNA and replace it with an integrated fellowship known as the Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America (PCCNA). Bishop George McKinney, a Church of God in Christ pastor, currently serves as PCCNA co-chairperson. The primary focus of the group is to foster reconciliation between African American and white Pentecostal church groups. Acceptance of racial diversity, by the leadership at least, represents a major development in the history of American Pentecostalism and the Assemblies of God. It remains to be seen whether the membership of these denominations will genuinely accept and contribute to an effort to recapture the racial unity that was found in the beginning at Azusa Street.