The Apostolic Faith Church in Portland, Oregon, is the international headquarters of the organization. Our origins are rooted in the Pentecostal revival that took place on Azusa Street in Los Angeles just after the turn of the century. There, our founder, Florence Crawford, who had previously been converted, received the experiences of sanctification and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. A dynamic woman, she soon was very involved in the Azusa Street ministry. On Christmas Day in 1906, she came to Portland on an outreach trip and held her first meeting in a converted blacksmith shop on the corner of Second and Main Streets. In 1908, she moved to Portland and established this as the headquarters of the Apostolic Faith work. Since then, our organization has grown and has established branch churches in the United States and around the world. More information on our history is available here.

Our church location

For many years, church members met in the downtown area of Portland. The first location was at Front and Burnside in a building known as “the Lighthouse by the Bridge.” The church was moved to Sixth and Burnside in 1922, where an electric sign, with the words “Jesus the Light of the World,” was displayed on top of the building. The message was proclaimed from that spot for about 60 years where its position at the heart of downtown Portland made it a well-known landmark. In the late 1970s, regular services were transferred to the campground in southeast Portland. In 1984, construction of the current church building was completed. Except for the annual camp meeting, which is still held across the street at the Apostolic Faith campground, all services are held at this location.

Doctrinal position

This church was founded for the purpose of maintaining and teaching all the doctrines taught by Christ and His Apostles and to make the Gospel available to the people of all lands. That is still our purpose today. As a Trinitarian and fundamental church, we believe in a born-again spiritual experience. We support the Wesleyan teaching of holiness, and we stress the need for sanctified believers to receive the Pentecostal experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We hold to the Armenian teaching of salvation (man’s free will) rather than the Calvinistic belief of predestination and eternal security. A list of what we believe is available here.