Pennies from Heaven Part I: Assemblies of God brings billions through Springfield

Springfield has its share of big-time headquarters operations.

O’Reilly Automotive generated about $2 billion in revenues from its 1,500 stores in 2005.

Ditto for Bass Pro Shops and its 32 stores, based on Forbes’ estimates.

John Q. Hammons Hotels took in $600 million from its 63 hotels.

And then there’s Assemblies of God USA, not a typical business but certainly in the same league as Springfield’s largest home-grown companies.

Assemblies of God’s 12,298 domestic churches generated $2.5 billion through tithes and offerings in 2005, according to Treasury Administrator Clyde Hawkins.

That figure doesn’t include any money generated from the more than 200,000 autonomous Assemblies of God churches in 191 other countries.

Nor does it include the $64 million operating budget for the denomination’s 433,000-square-foot headquarters building at 1445 Boonville Ave.

Nor does it include the $2.2 billion under management at Springfield-based Assemblies of God Financial Services Group, which bought 11.2 acres on the southeast corner of Battlefield Road and Kansas Expressway a year ago.

Assemblies of God’s headquarters, known as the General Council, generated $528 million in 2005 revenues from its 16 Springfield properties. That doesn’t include the Southern Missouri District office and 30 member churches in town and about 75 Assemblies of God churches within an hour’s drive.

“We typically think in terms of spiritual impact and not economic impact, but we do have an economic impact on Springfield,” said the Rev. George Wood, general secretary for Assemblies of God.

From an employment standpoint, Assemblies of God employs about 3,000 people in Springfield, not counting churches. The main complex alone, which includes Gospel Publishing House and administrative offices, employs 1,043, enough to make it Springfield’s 13th largest employer, according to the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Rev. Thomas Trask has been general superintendent of Assemblies of God since 1993 and is CEO.

He said his organization prides itself on having a mutually beneficial relationship with the community.

“We want to be viewed as a good organization, adding value to Springfield, Missouri,” Trask said.

The big picture

Church business is big business, and as massive as Assemblies of God may seem, it’s really just a piece of the puzzle.

In 2000, eight denominations had more than 10,000 congregations nationally, according to The Association of Religion Data Archives at Pennsylvania State University.

The Nashville, Tenn.-based Southern Baptist Convention topped the list with about 41,500 congregations, followed by The United Methodist Church with 36,000 congregations, Catholics with 22,000 congregations, Church of Christ with 13,000 congregations and Assemblies of God with 12,000 congregations.

Researcher Chris Scheitle said there are about 150 major denominations and 350,000 congregations in the United States. Collectively, they generate $31 billion annually.

Assemblies of God alone has about 16 times more churches internationally than it does domestically, so how big is church business worldwide?

Scheitle didn’t know.

“In the world, I don’t think anybody knows,” he said.

Beyond Sunday services

Assemblies of God also owns 19 colleges and universities. General Council owns four in Springfield – Evangel University, Central Bible College, Global University and Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. Evangel, the largest, generates $26 million annually.

The remaining colleges are owned by districts, which divide the denomination’s authority across the nation.

Assemblies of God comprises 58 districts, each with its own superintendent. Each district contains independent, self-funded churches.

Headquarters in Springfield handles minister credentialing for a fee. Other than that, churches and districts have no financial obligation to headquarters.

Still, church members willingly give to World Missions or other General Council programs. Special offerings in 2005 were $386.7 million. Much of that money went to district offices and not to General Council.

The Southern Missouri District office is located in Springfield and has 25 employees. It operates on $1.3 million annually that it collects through a 50 percent tithing of its 1,350 member ministers.

Churches with fewer than 20 members fall under the supervision of district offices. Churches with more than 20 members are self-governing. All churches can receive assistance from their respective district office for endeavors in youth, women’s and men’s ministries.

“Our role primarily is as a facilitator,” said the Rev. Bill Baker, superintendent of the Southern Missouri District.

General Council holds biannual meetings in large cities that are attended by 35,000 ministers and church representatives. About 4,000 attendees have voting privileges. The 2005 meeting was in Denver; the 2007 meeting will be in Indianapolis at the RCA Dome.

Annually, Springfield plays host to 10 smaller conferences with nearly 20,000 visitors coming to town.

History of Assemblies of God

Assemblies of God held its first General Council in 1914 in Hot Springs, Ark. It established its headquarters in Springfield in 1918 after spending time in Ohio and St. Louis.

Springfield was a welcoming place with affordable land. The first Springfield headquarters was at 434 W. Pacific St. in an old meat market that the church purchased for $3,000. The building was chosen because it had strong concrete floors that could support a printing press.

That building received five additions before headquarters operations moved to its Boonville location in 1961. The current building was built in three phases, the last being 1972.

Assemblies of God still has its printing press. In fact, Gospel Publishing House currently occupies 95,000 square feet and produces 12 tons of literature daily. It generates annual revenues of $34 million, with 95 percent of its business coming from within.

Assemblies of God ran the first international flights from Springfield from 1949 to 1951. It owned two surplus World War II planes that it used for mission work. Today, General Council has two corporate jets at its disposal.

National radio show “Revivaltime,” hosted by C. M. Ward and others, was broadcast from Springfield for nearly 50 years. It aired on ABC Radio and on more than 550 stations at its peak.[[In-content Ad]]