Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International
Founded | 1951 |
---|---|
Founder | Demos Shakarian |
Type | Christian Interdenominational |
Location | |
Area served | World |
President | Ing. Mario Garcia Olvera. |
Website | fgbmfi.org |
The Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International (FGBMFI) is a fellowship of lay businessmen. Its main purpose is to bring interest to the Christian gospel. Theologically, the organization has its roots in Pentecostalism.[1] The headquarters is in Irvine, California.
History[]
FGBMFI was founded in 1952 in Los Angeles by Demos Shakarian, a California rancher.[1] Following a difficult start (for a year nothing happened to the original group that met weekly), then a donation of $1000 was given to start a small publication titled Full Gospel Business Men's VOICE, it grew steadily, the second chapter was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and after a few years chapters were set up throughout the world.[2] In 1972, the membership was 300,000.[3] In 1988, there were 3,000 chapters in 90 countries.[4]
After Demos Shakarian died in 1993, his son Richard Shakarian assumed the organization's leadership.[5]
In 2018, Mario García Olvera was elected president of the organization.[6]
The organization was present in 85 countries in 2020.[7]
Controversies[]
In the 1980s, the presence on the board of directors and the financial management of Demos Shakarian were challenged.[8]
See also[]
- Gideons International
Literature[]
- Demos Shakarian, John & Elisabeth Sherrill: The Happiest People on Earth. Old Tappan, N.J.: Chosen Books: distributed by F. H. Revell Co., c1975. ISBN 0-912376-14-7. 187 pages.
- Val Fotherby: The awakening giant. London (UK) (Marshall Pickering), 2000. ISBN 0-551-03234-0. 200 pages.
External links[]
- Official website
- Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International Collection, Southern Folklife Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Bibliography[]
- "FGBMFI: Facing Frustrations and the Future", by B. Bird. Charisma (June 1986)
- "FGBMFI Struggles toward the Future", by D. Shakarian(?). Charisma (March 1988)
- All Things Are Possible, by D. E. Harrell Jr., 1975
- How to live like a King's Kid, by H. Hill. Logos International, 1974. ISBN 0-88270-083-9.
- "Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International" by J. R. Zeigler; pp. 653–54 in The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, revised and expanded edition, ed. Stanley M. Burgess, associate editor Eduard M. Van der Maas. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2002)
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Heino, Harri (1997). Mihin Suomi tänään uskoo [What does Finland believe in today] (in Finnish) (2nd ed.). Helsinki: WSOY. pp. 115–116. ISBN 951-0-27265-5.
- ^ The Happiest People on Earth, the story of Demos Shakarian as told to John and Elizabeth Sherrill, Steward Press, Chuppaqua, New York, 10514, 1975
- ^ Randall Herbert Balmer, Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism, Westminster John Knox Press, USA, 2002, page 274
- ^ Robert H. Krapohl, Charles H. Lippy, The Evangelicals: A Historical, Thematic, and Biographical Guide, Greenwood Publishing Group, USA, 1999, page 74
- ^ Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2013, page 160
- ^ FGBMFI, Our International President, fgbmfi.org, USA, retrieved March 7, 2020
- ^ FGBMFI, OUR HISTORY, fgbmfi.org, USA, retrieved April 14, 2020
- ^ John Dart, Worldwide Christian Body Divided Over Funds, Power, latimes.com, USA, January 14, 1989
- Pentecostalism
- 1951 establishments in California
- Christian organizations established in 1951