Largest Pentecostal denomination in the U.S. It was formed in 1914 in Hot Springs, Ark.
, by the union of several small Pentecostal groups. The Assemblies of God emphasize the centrality of the Bible in Christian faith and worship. Instead of baptism by total immersion and the Lord's Supper. Personal sanctification is believed to happen gradually rather than instantaneously, and millennial doctrines dealing with Christ's Second Coming and the establishment of the Kingdom of God are of great importance. The Assemblies of God have been very active in mission work in the U.S. and overseas. See also millennialism , Pentecostalism .