Apostolic Information Service

A Pioneer of Pentecost to the Russian People by Stan Wachtstetter

The book, Andrew David Urshan and the Russian Pentecostal Church, written by Pastor Stan Wachtstetter of Arlington, Texas, is the history of one of our premier pioneers of Pentecost, Bro. A.D. Urshan.

“Bro. Urshan was an Apostolic Pentecostal pioneer with great influence in Iran, Europe and America,” explained Bro. Wachtstetter. “I use all of that as a backdrop but emphasize his short but powerful work in Russia. He ministered in Imperial Russia, not the Soviet Union. This book is part of an overall book I am writing about Russia in general and the Apostolic Church there. This is one brief period during the early days of the 20th century Pentecostal revival.”

Born in a rural village in Iran, Andrew Urshan came to the U.S. at age 18 with almost no English skills. He became an American citizen. He came into the Pentecostal experience as a well-respected early missionary of the Assemblies of God. Progressively he received more enlightment as he moved into more Biblically-centered churches and started ministering. Not wanting to reject truth nor divide the body of Christ, he dealt carefully with the doctrinal controversy.

“The book covers his childhood in Iran to his coming to the USA,” said Bro. Wachtstetter. “It details his religious pilgrimage from high church to the Pentecostal movement. The reader will travel with him on trains and ships, see him return to Iran to experience great revival and be present at the Assyrian massacre, as Islam tried to commit genocide on the Armenians and Assyrians, especially Christians. He saw many of his loved ones die and his village wiped out.

“The Russian Army pushed back the Islamists and rescued Urshan and others. They carried this American with an emergency passport up to Russia. He was invited to Northern Russia. It is a thrilling account of his travels as he pioneers the Pentecostal movement in Russia and his return to America.”

While in the north, close to St. Petersburg, Russia, Bro. Urshan began to preach the message of Oneness and baptism in Jesus name. He founded the Apostolic movement in Russia, which dominated for several years.

“In the Petrograd region God really started dealing with him and others about the need to be baptized in Jesus name,” explained Bro. Wachtstetter. “Further, he realized the importance of an organized effort. He set the organization in order and laid hands on Nikolai Smorodin and anointed him head of this new church organization. This is the first organized Pentecostal church society in Russia and later USSR. One year later, the communist revolution took place and immediately this group files papers and was approved by Lenin. No details about the Siberian Seven are in this book; however, I am presently completing a book that includes them. Anyone that is interested in the Apostolic message, in Russian history, the Urshans, and Iran will enjoy this book.”

Bro. Wachtstetter grew up at Calvary Tabernacle in Indianapolis and has been preaching over 50 years. He was privileged to represent the Apostolics to the White House starting with President Ronald Reagan. He has completed over 60 trips into the Old Soviet Union with the most recent being this year. He presently pastors Life Apostolic Church in Arlington, Texas. His book is available on Amazon Press for $19.95 or Kindle $9.90. Free on Kindle Unlimited. For more information, please contact Bro. Wachtstetter by cell phone (601) 826-5072 or e-mail: wachtstetter1@aol.com

Jeff Arnold Releases Pulpit Notes

Jeff Arnold

After thirty years of crisscrossing the country preaching revivals, conferences and camp-meetings Pastor Jeff Arnold has released a set of pulpit notes in an effort to “help somebody before I kick the bucket.”

Bro. Arnold is releasing a series of books entitled Pulpit Notes One, Two, and Three. These three volumes are a collection what he calls the “house rocking” sermons and Bible Studies that have revolutionized the Gainesville United Pentecostal Church where he has pastored for 23 years. The saints of the Gainesville, FL, assembly have subtitled the books, “All the Meat Without the Bones.”

Bro. Jeff Arnold can hardly contain himself when he talks about the power of God and the work of the ministry. He becomes even more excited when he speaks of the believer’s place in affecting it. “We are God’s earthly replacement for Jesus,” he said.

“We as Apostolics must embrace the Scriptures in their entirety so we can manifest Christ in our own lives and affect His power toward others. Apostolics are afraid of healing and deliverance,” Bro. Arnold said.

Because he is at his best when he is in the pulpit, he thought it best to have his messages transcribed rather than to attempt to write a book and risk not capturing the spirit of the moment. “Tapes”, he said, “catch everything.” The 100-plus page laminated books are all spiral bound and cost $9. The church may be contacted by e-mailing them at upgflorida@juno.com. They may also be called at 352-376-6320 or orders may be faxed to 352-376-7105, as long as complete credit card information, name, mailing address and phone number are included. Other products and church information can be found on the website by going to www.gainesvilleupc.net. The mailing address is: Truth Publications, 8105 NW 23rd Avenue, Gainesville, Florida  32606.

Portable Baptistry Expands Outreach Opportunities

Bill Chambers

Jesus said to the disciples, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them…” An important part of baptizing is a place to baptize.

Sister Chambers was shown a vision of a portable, foldable baptistry. Brother Bill Chambers built the prototype, and it is now being mass produced. The portable baptistery that can help home missions churches, foreign missionaries and extension ministries across the globe.

As Christian Prisoner Fellowship (CPF) Chaplains, the Chambers combined vision, carpentry skills and an intense passion for souls to construct a baptistry that can be taken and set up anywhere.

The baptistry, (Called “Port-A-Tub”) which is three feet wide, six feet long and two feet deep when fully set up, folds down to only two feet by three feet by seven inches and fits into the trunk of most cars. The compact thirty-pound package can be easily lifted by most.

“I can set it up by myself in ten minutes,” Bro. Chambers said. Because of the large diameter drain, it drains in a short space of time as well. The tank itself is made of a durable metal that is stain and rust resistant.

“It could last indefinitely if it is handled well.” He added. The tank also comes with a removable vinyl lining. In prison ministry in the California Department of Corrections, the Chambers have baptized two converts so far in the portable pool with no problems at all. “There’s plenty of room to baptize somebody over six feet because you baptize them at an angle and their knees bend,” Bro. Chambers said.

One of the portable baptisteries that they displayed at the general conference last year was purchased to be used by a church in the Philippines.

Bro. and Sis. Chambers recommend the baptistries for use in home mission churches; on the foreign fields; in prison ministry, park services, and tent services; for ministry in convalescent homes or wherever portability is needed. Interest has been shown to export the Port-A-Tub to Israel to be used for a cleansing pool.

For $399, the baptistries come complete with a patch kit. All orders must be submitted to: Home Missions Department, UPCI, 8855 Dunn Rd. Hazelwood, MO 63042-2299 (314) 837-7300. Inquiries should be directed to: CCPF PO Box 293536, Sacramento, CA 95829-3536 (916) 284-6175 or e-mail: chaplainschambers@arilion.com.

How to Effectively Train Leaders

Fred Childs

Tell us about yourself and your background.

I believe I have a unique combination. First of all, I have 25 years of corporate background, managing various engineering departments working with multiple companies in various fields, including nine years of managing a department that trained and developed professional corporate teams and leaders.

Secondly, I have over twenty years of ministry experience, which includes a 13 year pastorate, several daughter works and multiple church and sectional positions. I also have multiple degrees, including Christian Education, Business Administration, as well as a Ph.D. in Leadership Administration.

I am now a full-time evangelist and consultant, working with my wife, Monica in our own company Leadership Strategies International. We are like a performance improvement agency. Our main goal is to help churches accomplish the vision God has given them by equipping and enabling their leaders and the organizational structure.

What is the story behind your getting involved in leadership development?

I professionally trained and developed leaders. I was also involved in ministry. It was as though I put my pastor’s hat on, doing things a certain way and getting less than the best results. Then, I’d go to work, put on my leadership hat and have amazing results. At work, we developed methods of attaining total involvement, servant leadership, continuous improvement, and methods of fusing an organization together to reach a desired corporate vision. This experience revealed to me how far the church had gotten away from the Word of God in our structure and operations and the result is limited growth and involvement. This gave me a hunger to begin applying Biblical principles back into the Body of Christ by teaching people how to work together and to develop leadership skills.

What models of leadership development have you found to be successful?

I really believe the best model is the one espoused by the Bible, servant leadership. Servant leadership uses church leaders to remove the road blocks to enable others to do what God brought them into the kingdom to do.

The combining of secular skills and spiritual gifts is an art endorsed by the Bible. God will provide the people, talents and resources to a leader who understands how to mesh these together so they can be fruitful and multiply. Proper training is a must and requires consistency, quality training material, a proven process, and a commitment to the long-term.

Are there any books that you’d recommend a pastor read on this topic?

The Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker. It is not enough to be busy, managing your calendar — you must be effective. Joel Barker is one of my favorite consultants. He wrote The Business of Paradigms, causing people to think outside the box. My favorite leadership book is still the Bible. I believe it’s the most cutting edge leadership book ever written. Many have called our book, The Upside Down Church, the best leadership book available. And, of course, I recommend Fast Forward, because it is the most effective leadership development program available from any resource.

Could you tell us more about your program Fast Forward, what it is and how it could help?

This is a pastor’s dream, but can be used by anyone who desires to become an effective leader. Each lesson develops the skills required by 21st Century Church leaders and is immediately applicable because it includes tools for implementation and skill development. It is beautifully packaged in a binder that includes the lesson with fill-in-the-blank format, answer key and tools for each lesson, as well as the audio lesson on CD or Cassette. Each volume contains a year’s supply of lessons with each lesson giving the leadership principle, the Biblical basis/application and the step-by-step Action Plan. There are three volumes at present with more in the making. The lesson plans can be duplicated for participants, so there is no limit to how many people can take the courses. Numerous churches are doing it in waves by progressing people from one volume to the next. The beauty of it is that FAST FORWARD does the training for you. Don’t even try to teach it yourself — just let the CD do the teaching. This takes a heavy burden off leadership. The classes are scheduled on the twelve month calendar, a facilitator sets up the class, provides the material and turns-on the CD. Now watch those leaders grow! Numerous churches are selecting all future leaders from the people who have completed these classes.

How much does this program cost?

Training is an investment — not a cost. Each volume sells for only $225, but the cost per person becomes pennies with each person who goes through the system. It is the best investment a leader can make.

I recently observed a pastor as he purchased several hundred dollars in leadership books. That is great, but the concepts from most of those books are already in FAST FORWARD. We have assimilated the information in a Biblically correct format in a way that can be implemented easily. One pastor stated, “I am an avid reader of leadership books, but the hottest selling books available today pale in comparison to FAST FORWARD”.

Do you have any closing comments to add to the topic?

Whether or not leadership development is their specialty, most pastors do not have the time to properly and consistently devote to its implementation. I encourage one and all to utilize our expertise and resources to your fullest benefit. In the beginning God created the original pattern and told it to produce after its kind. If we want leaders to develop today, then we must do the correct things to produce leaders after their kind. We have devoted our ministry to this purpose. This is our passion!

A Passion for the Lost

Andy Carpenter

“I learned a long time ago nothing I did was a waste of time if I did it as unto the Lord,” said Bro. Andy Carpenter, pastor of the Pentecostals of Lone Star in Madisonville, KY.

“Positive energy gets God’s attention. When I was a young pastor, I didn’t know what to do; sometimes I was clueless. So, I painted the Sunday School rooms, and because I painted the walls, God gave us spiritual rewards. You could almost see the connection.”

“Obviously, there’s nothing as effective as hearing the voice of God,” he said. “The only thing that’s a waste of time is if you do an outreach ministry mechanically. If you do it with passion, it’ll be successful. People respond to that passion. They’ll never respond to the mechanics, but they’ll respond to the passion,” Bro. Carpenter said.

A Passion for People

The Pentecostals of Lone Star is not a large church. The sanctuary seats about 350 if the choir loft is included. However, that doesn’t stop Bro. Carpenter from challenging his congregation to make an impact.

“We’re not even the biggest church here. There are several apostolic churches in Madisonville. Bro. Hendricks, who is my district superintendent, pastors about four miles from me. His church is larger than ours.

Obviously, you have to ask yourself, what kind of an impact can we make? We can make an impact,” he said.

Bro. Carpenter has turned the facts into a challenge.

“Not only do we want our church to grow, but I challenged our church. This is the 60th anniversary of our church. In our first 50 years, we produced one preacher. So, I told them in the years to come, we’d produce 50 preachers! Hopefully, it won’t take that long. I believe that’s a greater key to growth, if we raise up people that will carry the Word, and if we can produce an atmosphere that will allow churches to be born out of our church, we can evangelize beyond our immediate ability.”

Thus far, Bro. Carpenter has helped his church do just that. When he first came to pastor this church, they were running about 140 people. Now, ten years later, the church has a Sunday attendance of approximately 250 and has started five daughter churches: four in Kentucky in counties where there are no UPC churches and one 8,000 miles away from home in Johannesburg, South Africa, where God is doing great things.

“This past week our total attendance including our daughter churches was over 640 people!” he said.

Bro. Carpenter believes his focus has to be on the people he’s mentoring. “My priorities are to raise up men that can preach the gospel and to let there be an atmosphere where people can be called of God,” he said. “And those people that are called of God have got to receive a burden for the lost that changes their lives.

“I’m convinced that if you do the right thing with raw material, God will give you more raw material. If this church had to cease to exist and we could take a hundred families and send them in a hundred different directions, all of them to preach the gospel in a hundred different cities, we would do that tomorrow. The result of that would be tens of thousands of people coming to God. To me that’s the most important.”

Putting the Passion into Practice

Practically speaking, growing the church has been mostly through personal one-on-one evangelism. Beyond that, “our goal has always been that we plant a church in every county that we can reach,” he said.

“We really wanted to plant ten churches in the first ten years. We haven’t done that; we’ve only planted five! Investing people in the ministry is never a negative, because God always turns it into a positive.”

One focus of evangelism at the Pentecostals of Lone Star is the home Bible study, but reaching friends and family is the main goal.

“We’ve taught a lot of Bible studies. We’ve taught both short term and extended Bible studies. We’ve had Holy Ghost crusades as well as revivals, and they’ve been effective,” he said.

“But nothing is more effective than building relationships with people that you already know and discipling them. Our goal is not to build our church; it’s to win our city. We always keep the pressure on, always trying to get better, always wanting to bring folks to Jesus. We’ve done a lot of things and none of them have been a waste of time.”

Though Bro. Carpenter said he is “not the world’s most organized guy”, the church does have a specific structure in place.

“We have formed several ‘commissions’. We have an outreach commission based on the Scripture, ‘Go ye therefore into all the world…’”

The first place mentioned is in Jerusalem. “Within that, we have a Jerusalem commission, that’s our immediate city. Then we have a Judea commission, that’s for our home missions efforts. The ‘uttermost parts of the earth’ is our foreign missions. The Samaria commission is our ethnic ministry. We are in the process right now of trying to start a Spanish church.”

Along with their outreach ministries, they also have a Minister’s Training-‘Every Man a Minister’ Commission. “We have a whole commission that trains our leaders. We’re always looking for new training courses. We are offering training sessions throughout the year. We have Bible Schools here. We’ve probably had a dozen graduates just from our local Bible School. We are continually improving our on-the-job training. We have five churches, so our young ministers get the chance to preach.”

Other commissions include the Prayer Commission, Praise and Worship Commission, Pastoral Commission, Sunday School Commission, Maintenance Commission, Community Service Commission (which includes a clothes closet for those in need) along with many others.

“We’re also involved with folks from the court assigned to us that we bring to church,” he said. “If people want to be members of our church, they have to be involved in some kind of ministry.”

Bro. Carpenter said, “I spend a lot of time talking about involvement. I talk about the fact that Jesus’ only prayer request was for laborers. You have to keep it in front of people. I found that if you lay off for about six weeks, so will they. If you lay off for six months, you have to start all over again.”

Personal Passion

In speaking of his childhood, Bro. Carpenter said, “My parents were home missionaries and then foreign missionaries. Dad started the first church in South Dakota when he was 19. When I was 9, we went to South Africa and I stayed until I was 19. We never rented a house that wasn’t big enough to have church in. I preached my first revival at 13. I received the Holy Ghost at 9. Charles Grisham’s mother prayed me through to the Holy Ghost while we were on deputation. She said no one should go to the field without the Holy Ghost.”

His parents’ ministry greatly impacted his outlook on life and the ministry.

“I recognized the value of what my parents were doing. I was not making a sacrifice (being a missionary kid). I was being blessed.

“Then, I went to Jackson College of Ministries. Bro. Tommy Craft had a tremendous passion for the lost, and he transmitted that passion into my life. From Bible school I went to assist Bro. Jerry Ramsey. He blessed my life greatly. In him I witnessed intensity and consistence. These men along with my father have influenced how I operate.”

Bro. Carpenter recognizes “every day how deeply I am in debt to the Lord. I tell people that I’m one of the few people who doesn’t remember ever being called to preach. I just always wanted to preach.

“I do think a call of God is always a call of preparation. Looking back, my motivation was a strong desire; now my motivation is an understanding of the scripture: ‘Woe is me if I preach not the gospel.’

“Even on Mondays, even when I’m weary, even when I might not want to, I find that it is a fire shut up in my bones. I believe that we have an obligation to reach the world. Because we have a good day on Sunday and even if the church is healthy, my job is still not done. There are communities and counties all around me that have no church and no witness. There is no level of success, as people define success, that excuses me from the obligation to those people that still have not heard the Gospel.”

Closing Thoughts

“I love casting vision and helping people see it bigger than they’ve ever seen it before. I like to preach on God’s great mercy and the power of evangelism,” he said.

“I trust I can pour myself into young preachers and into young people. To whom much is given, much is required. It is necessary that I give what has been given to me to others,” Bro. Carpenter said.

“People are hungry. Never has there been an opportunity like right now for revival. If I can raise up young men that preach better than me, then I’ve done something permanent. This is not my church – it’s God’s church. He’s going to do extraordinary things in these last days, and I just want to be a part of it.”

Benevolence…Should We Do More?

Kenny Carpenter, Maryville, TN –

I don’t think as a whole Apostolic churches are involved enough in benevolence. I think what has happened is that so many churches have been scammed by con-jobs they’ve been turned off from it. But that doesn’t release us from the needy people who come to us. The Bible certainly teaches benevolence. The Bible speaks of giving alms, and that was to the poor and needy. It commanded to leave the corners of the field unharvested for the poor to reap there. Benevolence could be a tool for evangelism, but at the present time, I can’t think of many souls we’ve won through just that. It’s a sad day now that people only see the church for that. We have a food pantry, and we do help with food and utilities and such if there is truly a need. We pay utility bills directly to the utility company. Each need has to be examined. The Bible talks about “widows indeed.” We ask them to come to a service and meet with them afterward. I don’t think it’s too much to ask people to come to a service. Our hope is that God will get a hold of that heart during the service.

Scott Marshall, Russellville, KY –

The kind of benevolence my church is involved in depends on whether it involves people within or without the church body. Within the church we try to have activities that focus on the seniors and elders in the church, and we make sure our shut-ins and those in the nursing homes have regular visitation. Without of the church we address it as the situation arises. Sometimes we financially help people or we get them food, depending on the circumstances. If we reach out, God is going to bless us.

Michael Mitchell, Pastor, Brooklyn, NY –

From the standpoint of calling us Christians, which means Christ-like, we are mandated to help our community. We have the example of the multitude that followed Jesus. The disciples came to Him and said, “Master, the people are hungry. Currently we are meeting the needs of our members, such as single parents and widows, through a food pantry every week. For evangelism, we are launching a new plan that involves a housing project near our church. Our state senator is proposing to the federal government that our church be the liaison between the people and the government. We would receive three to four truckloads of food weekly, and anyone could come after our Sunday morning service and receive a $50 bag of groceries. I think the secular world and other denominations are outdoing Apostolic churches when it comes to benevolence. Maybe this is because we’ve been programmed to uphold the separation of church and state and to stay away from secular activities. But I have to ask myself, does my community need to be saved? Will this bring my neighbors to my church rather than the others?

Kent Elliott, Manchester, CT –

The majority of the benevolence is within our congregation, except for the holiday community efforts. We do not use it as a form of evangelism; rather we strive to help meet both the physical and spiritual needs of those in the congregation. It is our belief that we should assist those who are doing everything they can to make it and still come up short. As an example, we have a large population of single mothers and when our director finds one of them struggling to come to church due to lack of gas money, she will provide them with gas cards to help. We give on a case-to-case basis, with our director sensitively determining the legitimacy of the need. If someone calls from outside the congregation, they must fill out an application that is reviewed by the director.

Gary Evensen, Secaucus, NJ –

The need for benevolence ministry depends on who the church is reaching out to and their culture. My church is not in a poor area – it’s more of a middle-class area. I believe we need to teach people to be self-sufficient instead of “here’s food every day, but there’s no hope for you.” Using it as outreach is ok, but it takes a special kind of person to lead a benevolence ministry.

Jason Clark, Oakland City, IN –

We don’t have a set program because our facilities don’t allow for it. We tend to handle it case by case, up to my discretion. I’ve bought groceries for people, paid rent, as the need arises. As our church grows we may set up a benevolence fund. There will always be people with needs, and the church should be there to meet needs. Even with our best intentions, I’m sure our local church and the church as a whole could do more. For example, most churches may have a food or clothing bank, but perhaps we could do more helping in other countries, in catastrophes and natural disasters.

Living the Truth
Paul D. Money

What, after all these years, do I really know about the truth, the spirit, the will of God, and prayer and fasting, and relationship with God? The question troubles me.  I hesitate to even deal with it at all.

How much of what I say I know do I really live out?  Do I live the truth? Do I live out love?  Further, if there are those things to which I mentally assent and do not live out, is it because I do not really believe them?  I’ve heard the old preachers say that belief and obedience are firmly linked together. Jesus taught this, of course, but He also allowed for the possibility that one could hear and understand the truth and not obey. And however foolish this may be, it is nonetheless human. (Matt. 7:24-25)  James recognized this trait, and warned us “not to be hearers only, but doers.”

I tremble at the whole matter of truth. Truth comes with responsibility.  It comes with obligation.  I speak not just of truth about God, but of truth about anything.  Our journey toward God is a journey in truth.  Each step in truth, every acknowledgement of truth and each fraction of understanding about truth demands yet another step. You can’t play with this.  You can’t ignore it.

We study the Bible, and we say we know this or that about truth and about God; but how then do we live?   It is sobering to think that we act only on what we believe, or as certain philosophers have supposed, we only believe what we obey.

Recently, I came across a scripture verse and just stared at it for some time.  It is about walking in the truth or the light:

1John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

This is huge! And Verse 6 should place us on our knees: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”

“Do not the truth.” It is sobering.  Each step requires another. He, Christ, is in the light; and fellowship with Him requires continuance (walking) in the truth and never wavering.  That whole thing, it seems to me, is also about truth in our everyday life.

Walking in darkness is walking against what we know.  If one knows that igniting a stick of dynamite will lead to an explosion, then with that knowledge comes the responsibility to protect oneself.

Sadly, even when we claim to know the truth, we often fail to walk in the truth. I am knocked down by that thought. Further, if I expect to have fellowship with Christ and thereby forgiveness of sin, I must walk in the Light. The light is truth of doctrine, of course, but also truth about who I am and what I am. Having been at this awhile, I will go on record and say that “casting down all imaginations” and bringing every thought into captivity (2 Cor. 10:5) is not easy.  You can lose that struggle pretty quickly, because your flesh is strong and quick to deceive and to dominate at the slightest sign of any weakness in your spiritual resolve.

Christians, I think, must go beyond merely affirming truth and preaching truth. They must boldly walk in the truth. Every day in every way, they must walk in the truth.

Truth is not a ball in an insignificant game of intellectual soccer to be kicked about on the playing field of academics.  Truth is the means to freedom.  But to know truth, one must know Jesus, obey Jesus, walk with Jesus.  To be with Christ, one must deal with the sin question every day; one must be under grace every day.  Relationship with truth is a relationship with Christ.  Only the pure in heart shall be saved.  Purity of the mind or of the intellect requires purity of the soul.  If we would pursue great things of the mind or intellect, then let us pursue holiness of spirit. Since He is Holy, let us be holy. When we embrace this idea, we are humbled. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and then we walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:  That thought weakens my confidence in the flesh.