Ministry Toolbox
Below you will find a collection of resources for use by local churches and other ministries, as well as teachers and preachers. They include links, finding aids, bibliographies, indexes, as well as tools for preserving a local congregations legacy. Some of them are resources housed and developed by the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center and others are links to partner scholars and institutions.
Tools for Local Church Heritage Ministries
Guidance on Donating Items
The Society of American Archivists has outlined a helpful set of principles and ideas (web version or pdf version) concerning depositing items from your family (or organization) to a repository, such as the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center. Please consult this site as you are in the process of reflecting on your story considering what you may have that would be important to preserve.
One important issue to be resolved after concluding that something needs to be preserved is where it should be preserved. For local church records and items regarding the local church history, the most common answer will be at that local congregation. Check out the tools below which can be a help to you in that journey.
The Society of American Archivists has outlined a helpful set of principles and ideas (web version or pdf version) concerning depositing items from your family (or organization) to a repository, such as the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center. Please consult this site as you are in the process of reflecting on your story considering what you may have that would be important to preserve.
One important issue to be resolved after concluding that something needs to be preserved is where it should be preserved. For local church records and items regarding the local church history, the most common answer will be at that local congregation. Check out the tools below which can be a help to you in that journey.
Tools for developing your local church history — How to preserve and tell your story
Your story is important! It is the testimony of God working in your congregation through miraculous successes, troubling times, and daily walks. The items below can help guide you in writing your local church history to share and in developing a better archive for preserving your local church records and materials.
Your story is important! It is the testimony of God working in your congregation through miraculous successes, troubling times, and daily walks. The items below can help guide you in writing your local church history to share and in developing a better archive for preserving your local church records and materials.
- Louis F. Morgan’s Continuing in the Faith: A Local Church Heritage Study is the study of the history of the Morgantown Church of God in Morgantown, Mississippi. It is an excellent example of how your church can tell its own story. The manual is accompanied by a PowerPoint Presentation.
- Louis F. Morgan also wrote an award-winning history of the Church of God in Mississippi, Streams of Living Water: 100 Years of the Church of God in Mississippi, 1909–2009.
- Plant City Church of God: Rooted for 100 Years (high resolution or low resolution), by David G. Roebuck is another example of a high-quality, local church history.
- Julian Robinson and David G. Roebuck prepared Guidelines for Recordkeeping in the Local Church
- What Records Should be Sent to the Archives?
- The Episcopal Church Archives has a number of resources which may be helpful as you set up a local archive, including:
- The United Church of Canada produced an excellent guide, Archives and Recordkeeping: A How-to Guide for Congregations and Conferences, a few years ago.
- The Special Collections at the University of Illinois—Chicago has also produced a very good booklet for organizations, Don't Throw It Away!
- The Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives has several articles relevant to archiving and recordkeeping.
- The General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church does, as well.
- The Northeast Document Conservation Center provides wonderful, free resources for archives.
- Heat, humidity, light (especially UV), dust, insects, mold, and contact/friction damage are the main things that will destroy and degrade your materials. Over time, chemical processes, such as off-gassing in certain kinds of plastics and acidic advancement in most papers, will degrade them, as well. Archivists do everything we can to slow that process as much as possible. Sources for archiving and storage supplies:
- Best: Gaylord Archival or Hollinger Metal Edge or University Products
- Better: boxes, folders, etc. labelled as "archival" at Hobby Lobby or Michaels or other arts & crafts stores
- Good: office and storage supplies that provide protection from contact damage, dust, and light from Staples or Walmart or others
Ideas for Celebrating Church Anniversaries
Your church can take advantage of many activities to celebrate your special anniversaries. Whether it be the 10th, 25th, 50th or 100th, anniversaries are great occasions to celebrate what God has done, to show appreciation for the faithfulness of your congregation, and to look forward to the future. Here are some of the activities you can use to highlight your anniversary:
Your church can take advantage of many activities to celebrate your special anniversaries. Whether it be the 10th, 25th, 50th or 100th, anniversaries are great occasions to celebrate what God has done, to show appreciation for the faithfulness of your congregation, and to look forward to the future. Here are some of the activities you can use to highlight your anniversary:
- Write a history of your congregation. It is never too early to gather records, photographs, and testimonies of the history or your congregation. However extensive or brief, whether a booklet or hardbound volume, a written history will assure the preservation of your congregation’s heritage. The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center can help enhance your local story with information about the Church of God at the time your congregation was founded. We can also provide you with tips on how to write a local church history.
- Create a display of photographs. Ask members and their families to gather photos of founding families, pastors, and special events. Use them to create photographic displays for your special day. The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center can provide photos of the founders of the Church of God to complement your display. Scanning the photos at 600 dpi will allow you to preserve them for the next special anniversary.
- Have a special service. Former pastors, testimonies of senior members, a PowerPoint presentation of photographs, and special guests will accent your anniversary. Contact the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center for suggestions of special speakers regarding the history of the Church of God.
- Feast together. Whether it is a homecoming with dinner on the grounds or a formal banquet, a special meal provides opportunities to gather with family and friends, celebrate God’s blessings, and give honor to whom honor is due.
- All of the above. On June 3, 2005 the Williamsburg Church of God in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, did all of the above for their 75th Anniversary. Bishop Dennis Pruitt and Anniversary Committee Chair Shirley Kurtz-Flaugh put together a program that included a written history available for sell to members and friends, a photographic display, a special Sunday morning service, anniversary dinner, and afternoon singing. Speakers for the event were Pennsylvania Administrative Bishop Rodney Jeffords and Dixon Pentecostal Research Center Director David G. Roebuck. Former pastor Charles Matthews and his wife, Eloise, were also on hand for the occasion.
Tools for Teachers and Preachers
Pentecostal Heritage Week Resources
The Church of God has designated the week following Pentecost Sunday as Pentecostal Heritage Week. Local churches are encouraged to celebrate and emphasize the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Sunday and continue during the week with a special focus on the blessings of God throughout the history of the Church of God. The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center and the Church of God Historical Commission have prepared these resources that can be used in any service or classroom situation.
The Church of God has designated the week following Pentecost Sunday as Pentecostal Heritage Week. Local churches are encouraged to celebrate and emphasize the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Sunday and continue during the week with a special focus on the blessings of God throughout the history of the Church of God. The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center and the Church of God Historical Commission have prepared these resources that can be used in any service or classroom situation.
- David G. Roebuck’s PowerPoint presentation, “The Church of God: An Introduction” can be used to teach the early history of the Church of God in any church setting. Additional historical details to accompany the presentation may be found in Charles W. Conn’s Like A Mighty Army (available from Pathway Press), A.J. Tomlinson’s “A Brief History of the Church That is Recognized as the Church of God,” and David Roebuck’s “Restorationism and a Vision for World Harvest: A Brief History of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee).”
- In his sermon, “Personalizing the Holy Spirit,” Raymond F. Culpepper, first assistant general overseer of the Church of God, points to the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the New Testament church and calls today’s believers to personalize the Holy Spirit in their own lives.
- An increasing number of historic, digital images and documents are available at Dixon Pentecostal Research Center—especially the "Church of God Historical Images" and "Church of God Primary Documents and Artifacts" folders—and at Church of God Heritage Ministries.
Histories of the Church of God
This page includes several different types of histories of the Church of God you can use as resources.
This page includes several different types of histories of the Church of God you can use as resources.
Consortium of Pentecostal Archives
The Consortium of Pentecostal Archives has partnered with the Church of God, as well as other Pentecostal denominations and libraries, to make heritage resources available around the world via the web. The Church of God periodicals provided through this partnership are:
The Consortium of Pentecostal Archives has partnered with the Church of God, as well as other Pentecostal denominations and libraries, to make heritage resources available around the world via the web. The Church of God periodicals provided through this partnership are:
- The Church of God Evangel (1910–1967, 2005–2021),
- Minutes of the International General Assemblies (1906–2016),
- Church of God (Colored Work) Minutes (1927–1965),
- The Pentecostal Minister (1981–1989),
- Evangile (4 issues from 1952–1975),
- O Evangelho da Igreja de Deus (8 issues 1953–1955),
- El Evangelio de la Iglesia de Dios (1945–1946),
- Church of God Evangel (上帝福音的教會) (May 1980),
- Samson's Foxes (1902–1903),
- The Way (1904-1905), and
- The Faithful Standard (1922).
The Apostolic Faith Scripture Index
The Apostolic Faith (available here) was published at the Azusa Street Gospel Mission from 1906–1908 under the leadership of William J. Seymour. An index of the usage of scriptures in the periodical was compiled in 1999.
The Apostolic Faith (available here) was published at the Azusa Street Gospel Mission from 1906–1908 under the leadership of William J. Seymour. An index of the usage of scriptures in the periodical was compiled in 1999.
