Keene Assembly of God's History
Video History of Keene Assembly of God (large file - not recommended for dial-up)
Searching for more of God, a Keene businessman named Oscar H. Thayer heard of the revival at Azusa Street in 1906. He began searching the Scriptures and praying for the fullness of the Spirit.
In 1907 he organized a mission to serve those who were not members of a formal religion. The Full Gospel Mission met in private homes and even in the Cheshire County Jail on upper Washington Street. (from Upper Ashuelot: A History of Keene, New Hampshire).
After meeting in the homes of interested persons for Sunday gospel services, the small group began meeting in Thayer’s office building on Cypress Street. Later the group moved to larger quarters in the Buffum Block.
Upon the death of Thayer in 1931, Mrs. Elizabeth H. Britton assumed leadership of the mission and continued in that capacity until Rev. Howard B. Hawkes came to Keene as pastor in 1935. At this time Sunday School services were introduced under his direction. About 1940 the need for larger quarters necessitated moving to the old Eagle Hall on Roxbury Street.
Rev. Hawkes was succeeded in May, 1944, by Rev. Paul Demetrus who served until April 1, 1945. He was followed by Rev. John McShane, Rev. Maxon Watrous, and in 1947 by Rev. Edith Nancy Long.
In August 1949, Rev. Almon M. Bartholomew was called to be the pastor of the church then known as Full Gospel Assembly. During his pastorate the local assembly joined the national organization of the Assemblies of God, which had been formed in 1914.
In the same year (1950) the present location of the church on Park Avenue was purchased, and the basement of the present building was built and used for church services. The building was completed and dedicated in June 1958. A parsonage next to the church was completed in 1962.
Renovations in 1987 included an addition to the building and remodeling of the basement to create a fellowship hall. A ramp was added to make the sanctuary handicap-accessible.
Keene Assembly of God supports more than twenty missionaries around the world and in the United States. The Sunday School sponsors a child with Latin America Child Care, and the Women’s Ministries supports the local Pregnancy Resource Center (CareNet) on a monthly basis.
Within the local community, Keene Assembly offers prayer for all, fellowship and counseling, honors civil servants with special services, and assists in obtaining food and other necessities of life. Throughout the year we hold concerts, Vacation Bible School and other ministries for children and adults. The facilities are made available for certain community events, such as the crop walk, census, and others.
Sunday morning worship services begin at 10:15 a.m. These services are designed for those who desire a full worship experience featuring inspiring music and congregational singing, insightful Bible teaching and a strong presence of God. A full children’s program is offered in the fellowship hall downstairs.
An informal evening service on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. adds time for individuals to share what God has done for them. These testimonies are inspiring to all who hear them. Ministry from the Bible is an integral part of each service.
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.
