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"Demonstrating Unity in the Power of the Spirit" 
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PCCNA Celebrates 25 th Anniversary of the 'Memphis Miracle'PCCNA25
COGIC Bishop Challenges PCCNA to Reaffirm Commitment to Founding Principles
The Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America (PCCNA) celebrated the 25 th Anniversary of the 'Memphis Miracle' at a 'Celebration of Reconciliation' service in early March at the historic Mason Temple, the worldwide headquarters for the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) in Memphis, Tennessee. COGIC's Presiding Bishop Charles Blake was at the original gathering in 1994 during the 'Memphis Miracle.' At that conference, he washed the feet of the former white General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Thomas Trask. During this 25 th Anniversary service, Bishop Blake said this can be the greatest hour of the PCCNA and challenged PCCNA to reaffirm its commitment to its founding principles.

" I believe that we are here this week to go further," Bishop Blake said at the service. "Now 25 years after the Memphis Miracle, there is an undeniable resurgence of racial animosity. The shootings at Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, the shootings at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the happenings in Charlottesville, and so many other demonic acts herald a new and disturbing era in North America, and indeed around the world.  The rise of White Nationalism has ushered us into perilous times."

Bishop Blake continued, "As people of faith, it is imperative that we renew our commitment to reconciliation; and that we aggressively shout the message of love and reconciliation in every venue from the local church pulpit to the places of power in the seat of our national government. As the leader of the largest predominantly black Pentecostal denomination in the world, I call on the PCCNA to make a strong and unequivocal statement decrying all words and actions that are in opposition to the racial reconciliation that we were established to promote."

He added, "This is another God moment. Let's not let it pass. I implore you to take the initiative to pour the healing balm of love into the mortal spiritual wounds that endanger the nation that we all cherish."

The 'Memphis Miracle' took place October, 18, 1994, when a white Assemblies of God pastor washed the feet of an African-American bishop and asked for forgiveness for the sins committed by his white brothers and sisters. Pastor Don Evans washed the feet of Bishop Ithiel Clemmons at the "Pentecostal Partners: A Reconciliation Strategy for 21st Century Ministry" conference.

"Then, Bishop Blake approached Thomas Trask, General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, and tearfully washed his feet as a sign of repentance for any animosity blacks had harbored against their white brothers and sisters," Dr. Vinson Synan wrote in 'Memphis 1994: Miracle and Mandate.' After this session, the all-white Pentecostal Fellowship of North America disbanded and PCCNA was born.

P. Doug Small, chairman of the PCCNA Prayer Commission and Pastor Aaron Campbell, chairman of PCCNA's Race Relations Commission, organized the service with the assistance of the PCCNA Memphis Chapter. Campbell said his goal was to eliminate the need for a racial reconciliation commission. "Our biggest problem isn't the race problem, but there is still a need for affirmative action. There were a lot of promises made 25 years ago. Do we keep those promises when we leave here?"

PCCNA President Jeff Farmer said 700 million people have been impacted worldwide by the Pentecostal Charismatic movement since the Azusa Street revival which was started by an African American, William Seymour. Farmer led the attendees in a reading of the Racial Reconciliation Manifesto. The manifesto was written by Bishop Clemmons, Leonard Lovett, Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., Harold D. Hunter, and released during the conference in 1994.

Small gave a stirring message about the need for the power of the Holy Spirit and prayer to bring about lasting reconciliation. Communion was served by Doug Clay, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Bishop Blake, and Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

The service kicked off the two-day "Celebrating 25 Years of Breakthrough" conference. During the conference, PCCNA launched the Next Gen Cohort commission of emerging leaders in their 20s and 30s from 18 different denominations and three countries. The following PCCNA commissions met: Acts 2 Church Health, Communications and Media, Discipleship, Prayer, Christian Unity, Next Gen, Race Relations, and Women in Ministry. - Leilani Haywood
Next Leaders Cohorts Discuss Church Culture Barriers for MillennialsNextGenCohort
PCCNA hosted 20 next gen leaders from 18 different denominations and three nations in Memphis. The group read  'The Holy Spirit is Not for Sale' by Lee Grady. They met to discuss issues about church culture and shared three primary areas of concerns with senior church leaders.

PCCNA President Jeff Farmer was passionate about gathering this group. "Every major revival has been led by someone in their 20s and 30s," Farmer said. "Martin Luther was in his 30s when he nailed the 95 theses. John Wesley was 22 when he started his ministry. George Whitfield began his preaching tour at 25. Charles Spurgeon was 19 when he was called to the ministry. Is the church calibrated for a world that doesn't exist?"

The session was a question and answer format with an open mike for leaders to comment or respond. Next gen leaders gave advice to senior leaders how to build a relationship with emerging leaders that creates a talent pipeline. "We want to do ministry with you," said Shalane Wellard, a worship leader with the Independent Assemblies of God Canada International. "Everyone is asking 'where am I' but not asking 'who am I.' Ask, 'how am I you doing.' Create a pipeline of leaders from relationships."

Eli Bonilla, National Millenial Director for the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference said, "We want to have coffee with you and not just relate to you in conferences or summits. We're getting burned out by the business of the church." United Holy Church of America Pastor Wayne Bullock said barriers are when we focus on the external such as how someone dresses. "We shouldn't judge by externals because we become experts at being hypocrites," he said. "Don't major on minors." 

The next gen leaders often expressed respect to senior leaders, honoring them for investing in their lives and ministries.  Each participant in the group was hand-picked by his or her denominational leader.  Together they have committed to a three-year journey of building unity across denominational lines, while praying and strategically yielding to the Holy Spirit, that they might discern direction for church culture in North America. -  Leilani Haywood
PCCNA Welcomes New MembersNewMembers
PCCNA welcomed four new members at the Memphis conference: Bishop Ken Celestin of Leglise de Dieu la Grande Commission; President Christopher Reeves of Shiloh University; Drs. Kerry and Chiqui Wood of the Table of Friends Church; and Presiding Elder Rev. Thomas Barclay and Pastor Lydia Thomas of the United Pentecostal of the Assemblies of God.
Condolences Extended to Family of 
Dr. Leonard LovettLovett
Dr. Leonard Lovett
PCCNA extends condolences to the family of Dr. Leonard Lovett of Church of God in Christ. Dr. Lovett was an internationally recognized activist theologian-ethicist, ecumenist, cultural critic and bi-vocational servant of the church. An author and one of the past presidents of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, Dr. Lovett was one of the authors of the Racial Reconciliation Manifesto released during the "Pentecostal Partners: A Reconciliation Strategy for 21st Century Ministry" in October 1994. The manifesto was a foundational document for the creation of the PCCNA.

Dr. Lovett is a native of Pompano Beach Florida.. He received a B.A. in History from Morehouse College, an M.Div. from Crozer Theological Seminary with the Doctor of Philosophy Degree from Emory University in Theological Ethics and Society. He received a Certificate in Africana Studies from the University of Ghana (Legon) in 1994. He is the pioneer Dean Emeritus of CH Mason Seminary,[the first fully accredited Pentecostal seminary in North America] an affiliate of the Interdenominational Theological center, Atlanta, Georgia. For nine years he has represented the Church of God in Christ throughout the global village as its first Ecumenical Officer.

Dr. Leonard Lovett's Memorial Service will be held on April 25th at Antioch Baptist Church in Fairfax Station, VA. The church is located at Little Ox Rd. Fairfax Station, Virginia 22039. The wake will be from 9 am to 11 am and service will be at 11 am.

Jeff & Ramona Farmer
" But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth."   Acts 1:8 (NIV) 
 
Jeff Farmer, President
Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America 
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PCCNA Plants Tree at Historic Mason Temple MasonTree
In honor of the 25 th Anniversary of the Memphis Miracle, the Azusa Street Revival in 1906, and the 500 th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, a tree was planted at a service on March 19 at the Church of God in Christ headquarters with Rev. David Wells, General Superintendent of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada officiating. Rev. Wells had traveled to LutherGarten in LutherCounty in Germany last October to plant a tree as on behalf of Pentecostals worldwide as part of the 500 th anniversary of the Reformation.

The tree plantings symbolized the impact of the Reformation as a foundation for revival and PCCNA's mission of racial reconciliation. Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was profoundly impacted by the reformer, Martin Luther. His father, Michael King, traveled to Germany in 1934 with a group of 10 Baptist ministers. He was profoundly impacted by the legacy of the reformer, Martin Luther, and changed his name to Martin Luther King. His son, Michael King, Jr. did the same. - Leilani Haywood
Members Aggressively Recruit Next Gen LeadersNextGen2
Pentecostal Church of God Bishop Wayman Ming, Jr. has started a task force and online platform to equip next gen leaders.

Members are revamping their executive boards, corporate structures, and creating talent pipelines offering opportunities for developing Next Gen leaders. Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada General Superintendent David Wells cautioned that recruiting Next Gen leaders shouldn't be an effort to serve our structures but to fulfill their calling.

"They are not just filling pulpits," Wells said. "It's more important to raise up a generation to fill a call on their life where they are not just servicing our structures. We added (Next Gen) members to our executive board and created more flexible structures."

Apostolic Church of Pentecost in Canada's General Superintendent Wes Mills said, "We added young leaders to our executive board. We added a young woman who can speak the language of the next generation who is an attorney to our trustees' board."

Pentecostal Church of God Bishop Wayman Wing said, "On a practical level, we created a task force of young leaders and developed an on-ramp to equip young leaders to fulfill their calling. We've called it the Forerunner experience. We did a soft launch with young leaders going through a collaborative process that ends in 12 weeks. The leader applies for the first level of credentialing."

Bishop Ming added that several hundred leaders have discovered their calling through the Forerunner program. Fiona Parker, vice president of student development at Messenger College, was one of those leaders who went through the program. "I'm a first-generation Asian, first-generation college graduate, and first-generation minister in my family," she said. - Leilani Haywood
Back to the Future: A Call to Pentecostal Prayer BacktotheFuture
Rev. P. Doug Small, Chairman of the PCCNA Prayer Commission
A message delivered by P. Douglas Small at the 25th Anniversary Gathering of the PCCNA in Memphis, 2019.

Preface: I believe the church of the future will be, and must be, a glorious intertwining of Messianic roots, liturgical rhythms, evangelical expediency, and Pentecostal empowerment.
  • Messianic roots reach back to the richness of the Old Testament, to our Jewish forebears and their story, encoded in the festivals.
  • Liturgical rhythms, along with the Jewish redemptive calendar, guide us to retell our story annually and to systematically revisit basic theological truths.
  • Evangelicalism urges us to be missional out of core theology.
  • Pentecostalism endues us with the power to accomplish the task. 
We are a long way from this synthesis. Now, we are a decidedly divided Church. It has been my privilege, over the last two decades plus, to move across many tribal lines in my involvement in the exploding prayer and city-impact movement. I have been greatly enriched by the friendships and exposure to so many traditions. 

I have been privileged to participate in many multi-denominational gatherings, large and small. I have also been in meetings with groups that were feverishly denominational. In such a context, I did not take offense that the group represented itself as God's preferred best or as His cutting-edge people.  Read more.
Easter Movie
Release: Breakthrough Breakthrough
Breakthrough - Official Movie Trailer
Breakthrough - Official Movie Trailer

Breakthrough is based on the inspirational true story of one mother's unfaltering love in the face of impossible odds. When Joyce Smith's adopted son John falls through an icy Missouri lake, all hope seems lost. But as John lies lifeless, Joyce refuses to give up. Her steadfast belief inspires those around her to continue to pray for John's recovery, even in the face of every case history and scientific prediction. 

From producer DeVon Franklin ( Miracles from Heaven) and adapted for the screen by Grant Nieporte ( Seven Pounds) from Joyce Smith's own book, Breakthrough is an enthralling reminder that faith and love can create a mountain of hope, and sometimes even a miracle. Click here to book a private showing for your church.
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