Our Story
From its inception in 1936 First Assembly of God has been providing Pentecostal worship to Buckeye.
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Coke and Odie Elms
Hard-working, farming families felt the need for an Assemblies of God Church. First Assembly was located on the main street of Buckeye for decades.
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Minutes from the original meeting
The congregation thrived in the early years of its existence.
Above: a newspaper clipping from 1936; Below: a picture of the young congregation.
Throughout the 80s and early 90s William Kirkpatrick, pictured below, pastored the church. He was the pastor when the congregation moved to its current location on Highway 85.
William Kirkpatrick and a newspaper clipping announcing end of an era
We are now more than seventy years removed from our beginnings. Styles and methods have changed; but the message remains the same. Jesus Christ is the answer all humanity seeks.
We are committed to offering a worship experience that is exciting, relevant, and fresh. First Assembly is currently a congregation of approximately 100 sold-out servants of Jesus. We are excited about the future; and enjoying right now. Consider joining us for worship this Sunday.
The Assemblies of God grew out of the Pentecostal revival, which began in the early 1900s in places such as Topeka, Kansas, and the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles. During times of prayer and Bible study, believers received spiritual experiences like those described in the book of Acts. Accompanied by “speaking in tongues,” their religious experiences were associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Jewish feast of Pentecost (Acts 2), and participants in the movement were dubbed “Pentecostals.” The Pentecostal movement has grown from a handful of Bible school students in Topeka, Kansas, to an estimated 600 million in the world today.
Many participants who were baptized in the Holy Spirit during revivals and camp meetings in the early 1900s were not welcomed back to their former churches. These believers started many small churches throughout the country and communicated through publications that reported on the revivals. In 1913, a Pentecostal publication, the Word and Witness, called for the independent churches to band together for the purpose of fellowship and doctrinal unity. Other concerns for facilitating missionaries, chartering churches and forming a Bible training school were also on the agenda.
Some 300 Pentecostals met at an opera house in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1914, and agreed to form a new fellowship of loosely knit independent churches. These churches were left with the needed autonomy to develop and govern their own local ministries, yet they were united in their message and efforts to reach the world for Christ. So began the General Council of the Assemblies of God.
Assemblies of God churches form a cooperative fellowship. As a result, the organization operates from the grass roots, allowing the local church to choose and develop ministries and facilities best suited for its local needs.
