CONTEMPORARY SERPENT HANDLING SECTS OF APPALACHIA SERPENT HANDLING SECTS TIMELINE c. 1880: George Went Hensley was born in Hawkins County, Tennessee. 1886: The Church of God ( Cleveland, Tennessee) originated in a small group meeting of former members of a local Baptist church. 1915: Hensley became a minister in the Church of God ( Cleveland, Tennessee). 1940: The first law prohibiting serpent handling was passed in Kentucky. 1941: Georgia passed a law making serpent handling illegal and classified the offense as a felony. 1945: Hensley and Raymond Hayes founded the "Dolly Pond Church of God with Signs Following" in Ooltewah, Tennessee. 1947 (April): A law prohibiting serpent handling was passed in Tennessee and was later upheld by the Tennessee Supreme Court. 1949–1950: North Carolina (1949) and Alabama (1950) passed laws…
Silva Method Name: Silva Mind Control (SMC), now, the Silva Method Founder: Jose Silva Date of Birth: August 11, 1914 February 7, 1999 1 Birth Place: Laredo, Texas Year Founded: Began in 1944; went public in 1966 Sacred Text: The Silva Mind Control Method , by Jose Silva and Philp Miele, is considered the movement's most important document and outlines the self-help philosophy of the Silva Basic Lecture Series. Several texts published later expand upon the ideas set forth in early mission-like statements and explain in greater detail the intricacies and objectives of the Silva Method. Among these, Jose Silva and Burt Goldman joined to author The Silva Mind Control of Mental Dynamics, containing a wealth of practical and finer tuned problem solving techniques for work, health, love and money.…
Name: The Family (also The Family of Love); founded as The Children of God Founder: David Brandt Berg; Berg was affectionately known as "Moses David," "Mo," "Father David," and "Dad" to Family members. Date of Birth and Death: 1919-1994 Birth Place: Oakland, California Year Founded: 1968 FOUNDER/GROUP HISTORY David Brandt Berg was a third-generation evangelist. His grandfather, John Lincoln Brandt, was first a Methodist preacher and then a leader of the Campbellite movement of the Disciples of Christ. Brandt preached that Christians "have an urgent duty to win souls for Christ (217).": "Haste is essential, because men are under the sentence of death. Haste is essential, because our children are forming habits that are determining their character and destiny. Haste is essential because the devil is never idle. Haste is…
THE TORONTO BLESSING (Catch the Fire) TORONTO BLESSING TIMELINE: 1977: John Wimber established a Calvary Chapel in Yorba Linda, California. 1980: Lonnie Frisbee shared testimony in a turning point for Wimber's church. 1981: John and Carol Arnott entered full-time ministry and established Jubilee Christian Fellowship in Stratford, Ontario. 1982: Wimber affiliated with Ken Gullikson's The Vineyard in Southern California ; Gullikson ceded leadership to Wimber. 1984: Wimber established the Association of Vineyard Churches, a network that grew to include some 500 congregations within the next ten years. 1985: John Arnott attended a Wimber “Signs and Wonders” Conference in Vancouver, Canada. 1987: Arnott joined the Association of Vineyard Churches. 1988: Arnott established a “kinship group” in Toronto that would become the Toronto Airport Vineyard (TAV), growing to 350 people by 1994.…
TRUCKER CHURCH TIMELINE Late 1800s: The trucking industry began to emerge in the United States. Mid-1900s: There was a surge in the size of the trucking industry. 1950s: Construction of the interstate highway system began. 1950s: The first trucker churches were founded. 1951: Transport for Christ was founded by trucker Jim Keyes. 1975: Bunny and Blonnie Gregory began traveling throughout the United States, holding church services in their mobile chapel. 1981 (March): Former trucker Joe Hunter began holding Bible study groups in an Atlanta truck stop; these study groups later organized and became Truckstop Ministries, Inc. 1986: Transport for Christ began establishing stationary chapels. 2001 (July): West-Plex Community Church began holding services at a Missouri truck stop. 2010: Transport for Christ began partnering with Truckers Against Trafficking. FOUNDER/GROUP HISTORY The…
TWELVE TRIBES TIMELINE 1937: Elbert Eugene Spriggs (later known as “Yoneq”) was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 1971: Spriggs joined the Jesus People Movement. 1972: Spriggs met and married Marsha Ann Duvall . 1973: The Spriggs co-founded the Vine Christian Community Church, a bi-weekly Bible study group for youth, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 1974: The Spriggs's community, associated with the “Vine Church,” bought and renovated Victorian houses and opened the Yellow Deli restaurant. 1975: The Vine Church broke away from the First Presbyterian Church and began both holding outdoors services, called “Critical Mass,” and performing their own baptisms. 1975-1978: Six additional Yellow Delis opened in Chattanooga, along with the Areopagus Café, a center for Christian dialogue. 1975-1978: The Vine Church became a focus of “anticult” media articles, influenced by FREECOG (Free the …
TWO BY TWOS HISTORY Name: While the church itself claims no official name, they are referred to by a variety of aliases. Some of these include: Two by Twos, The Truth, The Way, The black stockings, Tramp preachers, Cooneyites (following a break off from the original movement), Go preachers, or simply the No name church. Ministers have officially registered the church under the names Christian Conventions (USA), United Christian Conventions of Australia ( Australia), The Testimony of Jesus ( United Kingdom), and various others. 1 Founder: William Irvine Date of Birth: 1863 Birth Place: Kilsyth, Scotland Year Founded: Founded 1897, First convention 1903 Sacred or Revered Texts: King James Bible; Hymns Old and New Size of Group: There are no accurate records of the actual size of the movement, but…
UNIAO DO VEGETAL (UDV) TIMELINE 1922: Jose Gabriel da Costa was born. 1961: Jose Gabriel founded Uniao do Vegetal and shortly thereafter began distributing Vegetal (ayahuasca) to his followers. 1968: The first UDV temple was built in Porto Velho. 1971 (September 24): Mestre Gabriel passed away, 1982 (October 30): The church changed its name to Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal. 1987: Brazil legalized the use of ayahusaca. 1990s: American ecologist Jeffrey Bronfman traveled to the Amazon rainforest and encountered UDV and ayahuasca. 1993: Bronfman and a group of others founded the American branch of UDV in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 1999: U.S. Customs and DEA Agents confiscated thirty gallons of ayahuasca tea from the UDV's offices; in response, Bronfman sued the U.S. Department of Justice. 2006 (February): The U.S.…
Philadelphia Church of God Founder: The Philadelphia Church of God is a sectarian splinter group from the Worldwide Church founded by Gerald Flurry and John Amos. Birth Place of Movement: Edmond , Oklahoma Year Founded: The Philadelphia Church of God broke away from the Worldwide Church of God in 1989. The United States based Philadelphia Church of God was incorporated on December 20, 1989. Since that time additional churches have been established internationally. The Worldwide Church of God was established in 1933. Sacred or Revered Texts: The Philadelphia Church of God looks to the Bible for all guidance and believes that it is the full word of God. Although the doctrinal founder, Herbert W. Armstrong, did not claim any extra revealed texts, he did publish a great number of works…
PHOEBE PALMER TIMELINE 1807 (December 18): Phoebe Worrall was born in New York City to Dorothea Wade Worrall and Henry Worrall. 1827 (September 28): Phoebe Worrall married Walter Palmer. 1836 (February 9): The first Tuesday Meeting for the Promotion of Holiness met at the Palmer home. 1837 (July 26): Phoebe Palmer experienced holiness. 1838: Phoebe Palmer began speaking at camp meetings. 1839: Phoebe Palmer became the first woman to lead a Methodist class composed of both men and women in New York City. 1840: Phoebe Palmer assumed the leadership of the Tuesday Meeting for the Promotion of Holiness. 1840: Phoebe Palmer began traveling to surrounding states to preach at revivals and camp meetings. 1843: Phoebe Palmer published The Way of Holiness with Notes by the Way: Being a Narrative…