Not
by might nor by power: Compelling glimpses of each decade of the
Pentecostal Evangel
Editor’s
note: For 90 years, the Pentecostal Evangel
has served the people of the Assemblies of God. Through the
Roaring 20s, Great Depression, World War II, age of rock’n’
roll, the Jesus Movement, and more, the magazine has exalted the
name of Jesus and advocated the Spirit-filled life. Hundreds of
thousands have found Jesus and received the Spirit baptism through
the ministry of this magazine.
In this landmark
issue, we celebrate 90 years of effective ministry by looking
back at some of the articles that have graced the pages of the
Pentecostal
Evangel.
1910s
The early
role of the Pentecostal Evangel
The Assemblies of God was organized in 1914, and from the beginning
the Pentecostal Evangel
(then the Christian Evangel)
became an essential tool to stabilize, inform, inspire and evangelize.
By 1919, the leadership realized that they needed to reach more
of the constituency. Editor E.N. Bell and General Superintendent
J.W. Welch — often with “sanctified” blunt language
— challenged subscribers to enlist others during the fall
of 1919 at a special annual rate of only 50 cents (65 cents outside
the United States).
We need 10,000 new
subscribers
The good done during the past Council year (from September 1,
1918, to September 1, 1919) through the Christian Evangel
has been wonderful and blessed. If you could see all the good
letters we have received telling of hearts strengthened, souls
encouraged, spirits revived and blessed by the God-given messages
which the dear brethren have sent us and which they have read
in the Evangel —
if you could see all this, you would take new courage, shout and
praise God with us.
Then, too, over 200
faithful Pentecostal missionaries have had necessary help brought
to them, help, in the natural, without which they could not have
continued on the field — help brought them through the ministry
of the Evangel in collecting
and sending out to them about $63,500 free of all expense to them.
Every dollar collected for them has gone forward; we do not even
deduct the cost of postage and stationery. Brother Frodsham has
been untiring in his office labors for the missionaries, and the
Evangel has been
the channel through which it was all done.
The work of the General
Council would be a failure without this agency of the Christian
Evangel. Many other things
might be mentioned, but these are enough, to every worker for
new effort in extending the subscription list of the Evangel.
5,000 new names
wanted
We should have 10,000 new subscribers at once. We must have at
least 5,000 in the next month or six weeks. There are easily double
that many Pentecostal homes that have never had the Evangel.
Every one of these should be reached, and can be reached, if the
various missions, assemblies and local workers will halfway do
their duty and stand by this work of God as they ought.
God’s paper
and your paper
This is not owned or run by individuals. If all the persons in
the office backslide or die before the campaign is over, the brethren
who hold the Evangel in trust for God in your behalf
could at once put in other editors, and it would go right on glorifying
God. Not a person running the Evangel or the Publishing House has any financial stock in
it, or any mortgage against it. It belongs to God and the Assemblies
of God. You fail God and yourself if you do not push the Evangel. It belongs to your own religious household, and he
that will not provide for his own, Paul says, is worse than an
infidel. None of us want to be this; so we must, and I believe
will, take hold, do some personal work and help in this great
campaign now on.
— Editor E.N.
Bell, September 20, 1919
“The Gospel Publishing
House, with the Christian Evangel as
the central feature of its work, is a strong factor in promoting
the missionary interests.”
— General Chairman
J.W. Welch, September 20, 1919
