The Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church (PFWBC) is best thought of as Pentecostal rather than Baptist. But the PFWBC is historically and theologically a combination of both, having broken away from the Free Will Baptist Church due to acceptance of certain Pentecostal doctrines. The Baptist connection is through the Free Will Baptists of North Carolina. Paul Palmer ministered in the Carolinas in the first half of the 18th century. He established a church in 1727 in Chowan, North Carolina. The southern branch of Free Will Baptists are largely the fruit of his labor. Many of these "Palmer" churches cooperated to form the National Association of Free Will Baptists in 1935. Reverend G. W. Cashwell (1826-1916) was responsible for introducing the Pentecostal fire into the Free Will Baptists of North Carolina, through a series of meetings he held, beginning in 1906. Through Cashwell's meetings, many Free Will Baptists accepted points of Pentecostal faith and practice. Cashwell's own group was the Pentecostal Holiness Church (now known as the International Pentecostal Holiness Church). The Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church was formed when four North Carolina Free Will Baptist Conferences merged in 1959.
The doctrine is a mixture of Baptist and Pentecostal beliefs. Santification as a second work of grace, Baptism of the Holy Ghost, tongues, and divine healing are important aspects of the Pentecostal renewal. A General Meeting is held bienially. Headquarters are in Dunn, North Carolina, where Heritage Bible College was started in 1971.
In 1998, the PFWBC had an estimated 28,000 members in 150 churches. In addition to the majority of churches in eastern North Carolina, there are also churches in Virginia, South Carolina and Florida, as well as overseas missions.
Though the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church recognizes its Baptist heritage, it's advance and choice of fellowship has been Pentecostal, shown, for example, by its membership in the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America (formerly the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America).
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