It was early Sunday morning, and we were driving down the highway just outside the city to an “Apostolic” church that is part of the largest Oneness denomination in the world—the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI). This was about to be my first experience in a Oneness worship service.
First Impressions
As we turned into the church driveway, I thought that this could be just about any well-to-do evangelical Church in America. There was a large steeple in the middle of the sloped roof, the driveway was paved, and the brick building looked relatively new.
But when we walked up to the door, I knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.
I was greeted at the door with a handshake and a “Praise the Lord!” rather than the normal “good morning” that I was used to at my home church.
We found our way into the dimly lit sanctuary. It looked like a typical Pentecostal sanctuary, except that they hadn’t replaced the large wooden pulpit with a Plexiglas lectern or a flat, round, black table that one might find in a more “contemporary” church.
Though the service wasn’t going to officially begin for 5 or 10 more minutes, the room was already fairly full of people, and a full-on prayer meeting was in progress. The leader on the stage prayed into a microphone as most people in the room were also standing with their hands raised, praying fervently.
Sunday Dress
Once the lights came up, and the worship service started, I noticed that I was the only one in the room wearing jeans. There was not a hipster in sight. And every adult male had a tie on. I figured I was okay though, since they might think I was a heathen who had come in off the streets to get saved.
I was not surprised to see that every white woman—and little girl—I saw had a long skirt or dress on and had their hair pulled up in a bun—traditionally, they don’t cut their hair. I was surprised to see, however, that many of the black women (about 80% of the congregation was black) didn’t have their hair up. Perhaps this is a difference in Oneness subcultures.
Given the high emphasis on holiness in the Oneness tradition (some would argue, legalism), I was also very surprised to see that one of the worship leaders had a tattoo on her arm. After the service I learned that she came to faith later in life and that her tattoo was a reminder of her salvation out of the sins of California.
Praise Jesus!
When the music started, the place was alive!
As one would expect at a Oneness church, the songs were very Jesus-focused. This is, in part, because Oneness Pentecostals deny the historic doctrine of the Trinity—that God exists eternally as three distinct persons. Technically, they affirm the doctrine of the economic Trinity, but deny the immanent Trinity. Or, to use their own words, the Oneness emphasize that “there is One God, and Jesus is his name.”
Personally, I appreciated the focus on Jesus. At least then I knew who I was singing to or singing about. By contrast, some worship songs I’m used to singing are so vague that I can’t be sure if I’m singing about God or my dog when I sing, “You have been so, so, good to me . . . . . . yeah.”
The second song spoke of “the name of Jesus Christ my King.” I immediately recognized it as “What a Beautiful Name,” by Hillsong.” I didn’t recognize the first song, but the lyrics proclaimed, “In the name of Jesus, enemy is defeated.” I looked it up later and learned that this was another song by Hillsong called “In Jesus’ Name.”
I bet you didn’t even know that Hillsong Church is Oneness Pentecostal.
Active Worship
During the first song, one man walked back and forth at the altar as he danced. And he pushed his arms out in front of him as we sang of how “God is…pushing back the darkness.”
Another slightly older lady, danced alongside him, with her one hand raised and the other holding someone else’s baby. She smiled as she told us she was teaching the baby how to praise the Lord. And pretty much everyone else in the congregation was dancing and clapping or jumping up and down.
The congregation remained boisterous throughout the service. They were even shouting “Amen” and “Praise the Lord!” during the announcement that parents needed to look after their children during and after the service.
Tongues, Tongues, Tongues
Throughout the morning I heard a lot more speaking in tongues than I am used to hearing in a worship service. Some people would say that this should not happen because they think that no one should hear you speaking in tongues, unless it is followed by an interpretation. But I disagree.
Yes, if a person is giving a message in tongues loudly with the intent that the whole congregation hears them, it should be followed by an interpretation (1 Corinthians 14:27). But if a person is speaking in tongues simply as a way of personally praying to God or praising God (verse 28), then I think it is actually good discipleship to let others hear you…at least a bit.
The problem is, if people never hear others speaking in tongues in church, they will likely think that no one in the church speaks in tongues, and this might lead them to conclude that they shouldn’t speak in tongues either. The first-century believers obviously heard each other speak in tongues at times or we wouldn’t find reports of hearing speaking in tongues in the book of Acts—and without any interpretation at that.
Baptized in Jesus Name
The sermon was about an hour long, but they did have a guest preacher that morning. I didn’t notice anything unusual, except for a reference to one key Oneness biblical text—Acts 2:38, where Peter proclaims the need to repent, be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ,” and the reception of the Holy Spirit.
During the sermon I did notice a few little waves in the baptismal tank. It was full and ready to be used in case a heathen in jeans walked in that morning and decided he was ready to convert.
Baptism is very important in the Oneness tradition. While I’m not sure of the theology of everyone in that church, it would not be unusual to find a Oneness Pentecostal Christian who would say that you are not born again if you have not been baptized in water “in Jesus name only” . . . and if you have not spoken in tongues (John 3:5).
I also noticed that there was no American flag on display in the sanctuary. I wondered if the UPCI is less patriotic than most American churches I have visited—perhaps because they were an officially pacifist denomination until 2012. But I asked a pastor after the service and learned that they had moved the flag out when they recently replaced the carpet and that it just hadn’t been brought back in yet.
More Spiritual?
We had such a rockin’ (no ‘g’ needed) good time that morning, that I was tempted to think that this Oneness Pentecostal Church is more spiritual than the Trinitarian Pentecostal churches I often find myself in.
But I had to remind myself of what I wrote in Simply Spirit-Filled—“Although the Spirit inspires worship, our spirituality isn’t dependent on how we worship—whether we prefer to be quiet and still, or loud and animated. …Being Spirit-filled ultimately means we become like Jesus by showing love toward God and others.”
P.S. Hillsong Church isn’t really Oneness.
Question: What have your experiences been like at Oneness Pentecostal Churches? Leave a comment below by clicking here.
You might also be interested in these posts:
- Spirit Baptism in Current Pentecostal Theology: Part 2 – Amos Yong
- 10 Bible Verses You Can Legitimately Declare Over Your Life
- Pentecostal Women in Ministry: Ambiguity and Affirmation in the PAOC
Andrew K. Gabriel, Ph.D., is the author of Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit as well as three academic books, including The Lord is the Spirit. He is a theology professor and VP of Academics at Horizon College and Seminary and serves on the Theological Study Commission for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. You can follow him on Facebook or on Twitter.
Thanks Andrew that was very interesting. I had not attended a service of theirs before, but I had stopped in to pick up a friend and stayed long enough to chat.
The concern I had expressed as I got to know them was of their belief that you must be baptized before you are saved. I asked how this could be when the man on the cross beside Jesus, who didn’t have time to be baptized, was told “I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise?” The responce I recieved was that Jesus can make special exceptions. To which I replied that I don’t think that’s how it works.
At this point I warned them of Galations 5:4:
You have been severed from Christ, if you seek to be justified [that is, declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty, and placed in right standing with God] through the Law; you have fallen from grace [for you have lost your grasp on God’s unmerited favor and blessing]. – Galatians 5:4 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians5:4&version=AMP
Obedience is a neccessary as the fruit of salvation. If you don’t have it your tree is dead. But you cannot earn your salvation through your obedience. And according to Gal5:4 it is vital not to get confused about this.
To keep this passage in context, Paul is speaking in this chapter to the Gentile Church who had come to recieve by faith, Salvation through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. Now legalistic Jews were convincing them that they needed to adhere to the rule of circumcision before they could actually be considered saved. Paul corrected them very sternly, warning them that’s if Jesus is not enough for their salvation anymore then they have lost their salvation. Trying to earn your salvation is the theological deception that makes Christ’s sacrifice no longer enough.
He then later circumcised is Timothy in order to give Tim a better opportunity to minister to the Jews. In fact in one place he says there is physical benefit to being circumcised. He told the people that if they were not circumcised to remain that way and if they were circumcised do not try to become uncircumcised. The point of everything he was saying was not that it was bad to be circumcised, but rather that it was bad to trust in anything that you do to save you. In the same way I conclude that there is nothing wrong with getting baptized. In fact getting baptized out of obedience is a good thing as long as we do not get confused and start to think that’s that water baptism has anything to do with how we recieved or earned our salvation. The last thing we want to do is to start to think we may have earned our salvation by obeying the law. Obedience must come out of our love for him because we have been saved.
This is the single most effective point I have found to differentiate between religiosity and true faith in Jesus. Why do we obey Jesus, is it so that we’ll be accepted by God, or because he has made the way for us and accepts us? We love him because he first loved us.
What’s a fine line there is when trusting in our obedience for salvation will have us lose it, yet to be unrepentant, having no fruit of obedience AKA good works, means our faith is dead or non- existent.
Of the thief could have been baptized he would have been. If you confess Christ you should be baptized.
In Mark 16:15-17 Jesus is very clear about baptism and salvation. As far as the thief on the cross situation, God is not only merciful, God is just. There was no way for the thief to have been baptized that day and, as we know, baptism is by immersion so tossing water upon him would not have sufficed. Follow the instructions given by Jesus and let God handle the rest. If water is available or be arranged for in the future then what’s the delay? See Acts 8:36
Baptism is necessary for the salvation of your soul whilst still here on earth. Bible says its for a clean conscience before God 1 pet 3.21. We are buried with Him in Baptism so that we can raise up to newness of life. Colossians 2:12 and Rom 6.4.
The mistake we make is that we think its talking about going to heaven which is just the eventual outcome of faith in God.
Pray to the Father in my name … Jesus is our “entry point.” Then He says: “I will do it.”
“Hear oh Israel, the LORD, our God, the Lord is ONE.” So God has His Word… which became Jesus, His Spirit, which speaks to us & through us. etc. But God, Who is a Spiritual being remains one. The Roman Catholics turned this into three beings represented through 3 images. An old man, his young son and a dove. This is what makes it difficult to reach Muslims.
My only visit to a Oneness church was for a funeral. A lady I worked with had belonged to that church. At her funeral, I was invited to share a few words. It was a nice service. I have gotten to know quite few Oneness Pentecostals. There is diversity among them as much as any tradition.
I had to stop reading this in the middle to go to dinner and told my wife I just read Hillsong is Oneness, then I came back to finish the article only to find out you were not serious.
I stopped when I read that to look it up online. Believe it or not, the answer is vague. Thanks for the laugh.
I am a member of the Church of God in Northern Ireland. It is a Oneness Pentecostal denomination. It is very different from the UPC. Our women cut their hair, wear make up and trousers. We baptise in Jesus name but don’t believe it is necessary for salvation. The UPC is the most visible form of Oneness Pentecostalism, but lots of countries in Europe have their own national Oneness churches. We are a very diverse bunch.
Very true, Walter. Thanks for mentioning that.
I visited a upci church. They preached Acts 2:38, along with Acts 8:12, 19:5, 22:16 Roman’s 6:3-5, Galatians 3:27 and other bible verses that show that God requires Jesus name baptism. In fact, I agree with them on that point as it agrees with the scriptures. Even Jesus our example in all was baptized and received the holy spirit in dove fashion, he said if you believe you’ll get baptized in his name. However, tongues should follow interpretation for sure or it’s useless to the onlookers
Prophecy is better as it reveals the hearts secrets. However I love the atmosphere of worship. John 4:24 says God seeks that. Well, that’s my experience what’s yours?
I appreciate your article. Too many times people mock the Pentecostal worship and the people. I grew up in that denomination. Although I no longer attend a UPCI congregation, I am so grateful for my upbringing in the particular congregation of which I was part (too bad all congregations aren’t like that one). I was taught to love people. I was taught to love the Lord w/all of my heart and surrender all to him on a consistent and daily basis and to study the Word for myself using the Strong’s Hebrew/Greek Lexicon and concordance. I participated in home prayer meetings for years where many people of the neighborhoods where we held them were filled with the Holy Ghost, healed physically and delivered from addictions and sins. Along w/hearing my Mom pray, I learned to pray and to worship w/complete abandonment of heart because of those dear people. They genuinely cared for each other regardless of the individual’s social/economic standing, race, etc. Many were well-to-do economically and others were not. I love them.
Thanks for sharing your story, Glenn.
Amen. I am Oneness. I understand the Trinity. I listen to and use studies from both Pentecostal and Reformed platforms. I am not always SO charismatic. I seem to be a reserved Apostolic…maybe the 1st? I believe that there is room for unity between Oneness & Trinity proponents.. if we agree that Jesus IS the only way, the only begotten of the FATHER, His full expression, The Word made flesh: then we start at the most important unifying factor.
Persons, Godhead, Manifestations…. There is a Godhead. Let’s reason, fellowship and spread the Gospel. We may disagree on Baptism, Legalism (which I do not subscribe to) or even eschatology…but can we agree Jesus is Lord, in His full biblical reality? I wish more people would branch out like you and VISIT other churches, denominations etc. I have. Jesus is still Lord in many of them.
Hello Andrew, I certainly enjoyed your little scoop on your experience with visiting a United Pentecostal Church. And while I basically agree with you on most of your points, I must say that you were misinformed about at least one thing. I have been a United Pentecostal Christian all of my life. I was called into the pastoral office and have a small following on social media. And I have myself worn jeans many times to church on Wednesday evenings as have many of the other men with whom I have shared a home church. I have even seen some members wear them on Sunday nights. In terms of Sunday mornings, I will say that very few will be that casual at that service. But if anyone does, and they do, especially new-comers, and if and when he does he will not be treated any differently than anyone else. Now shorts are a different story. We do not condone men wearing shorts any day of the week. And it would be adamantly frowned upon in a church service!! But this is all due to respecting our Lord Jesus in the House of the Lord!! You understand…(???)
I have recently been wondering whether the Holy Spirit in Oneness churches’ services is God’s Spirit. Are Jesus and the Holy Spirit present in their worship? They definitely communicate with some “Spirit” and “Jesus” in their worship, and there is some type of “power” or “energy” that caused them to be extremely “hyper.” The first church I attended and where I learned about God and the Bible was “Assembly of God” church in Thailand that was sponsored by “Assembly of God of Canada.” I was 20 years old back then. Fast forward, I sat in a “Jesus Only” church many times in their Sunday services in 1989 as a quest. For some reasons, it didn’t work out for me. I am still asking God whether He is in that church. Strangely, today in my quiet time I opened the Bible and landed on John 10:1-8. (Verse 4 …. and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. Verse 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice). Oneness church’s voice sounds very strange to me. I am still trying to find out whether Jesus and the Holy Spirit are with them in their services. Honestly, I don’t have the answer at this point. I hope God is with them.
I was a catholic before being converted in Oneness (UPC – Philippines) . At first, I was very skeptical of their speaking tongues, I thought they were just intentionally babbling words. Lol . But came the time, I experienced it myself. While worshipping and glorifying the name of Jesus, I suddenly felt a sudden surge of little electricity from my hand to my feet (I was raising my hand to Jesus) and then, my throat suddenly stiffened and can’t control my tongue anymore, my mind was praising, worshipping and glorifying Jesus Christ but my mouth is speaking something else I can’t understand and I have no control over it.
That was the moment I knew that their speaking tongues are really true and came from the Holy Spirit.
This is the only church where I felt the Holy Spirit is around. The fire of Holy Spirit is so immense here than the other churches I have been.
Therefore, I can say to you that the Holy Spirit is with them.
Thank you Andrew for an open unbiased report. Hard to find these days.
I’ve been a Oneness believer for over 43 years. A retired missionary for over 20 years to Indonesia and East Timor, home missionary to Darwin Australia. Have pioneered a number of churches and experienced the unbelievable power of a living Saviour during my life, miracles and deliverances.
Am an ordained minister and retired board member of the United Pentecostal Church of Australia, still ministering and serving the Lord.
Cannot imagine life without His Presence and guidance.
I thank Him daily for the life’s experiences He has given me. The blessings and the trials, but above all for the unfailing Truth of His Word that I have studied for 43yrs.
I am blessed.
Margaret, Thank you for sharing this condensed testimony of God’s goodness in your life. May you continue to experience the blessing of the Lord in your life!
Luke 23:42-43 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
This was in a different dispensation. Jesus was not yet crucified. His Spirit had not yet been released. This was before the birth of the Church in Acts 2:38.
The Apostle Peter preached the very first sermon of the new church and salvation after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In a nutshell, the reason Oneness Pentecostals dress up for church is that when we attend church and enter the presence of God we are on holy ground. All people should respect the house of God and wear their best clothing. If a person is a guest and their best is jeans God honors that. Why would a person who knew better wear work clothing to a funeral (which is not Holy Ground)? It is called respect. You have to have the Holy Ghost to understand God and His principles.