Open Bible Standard Churches
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Open Bible Standard Churches are an association of Pentecostal Protestant churches, with an office in Des Moines, Iowa. The organization is affiliated with the National Association of Evangelicals, the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America, and the Pentecostal World Conference. Open Bible is similar in doctrine and practice to the Assemblies of God.
Like the Assemblies of God, Open Bible adherents believe in the modern-day gifts of the Spirit, with speaking in tongues as one of the evidences of the gifts being manifested in the believer. Generally, each congregation owns its own property and calls its own pastor.
According to the Open Bible web site, the organization "originated from two revival movements: Bible Standard Conference, founded in Eugene, Oregon, in 1919, and Open Bible Evangelistic Association, founded in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1932. Similar in doctrine and structure, the two groups amalgamated in 1935." The history of the movement is recorded in R. Bryant Mitchell's volume Heritage and Horizons.
The history of Open Bible's involvement in international missions is recorded in R. Bryant Mitchell's book, Heritage and Harvests. The memoirs of Grant H. Moore and Wilma M. Moore, Open Bible missionaries to Guinea, West Africa, beginning in 1952, were published in 2006 under the title, On the Wings of a Dove: An African Missionary Saga. Open Bible publishes the Message of the Open Bible.
Affiliated with Open Bible Churches is Eugene Bible College, an accredited Bible college.
There are more than 150,000 Open Bible members worldwide.