Early history: 1908–1912 While the Apostolic Faith Mission was founded in 1908 and Pentecostalism brought to South Africa by American missionaries, several factors helped create a favorable climate for the Pentecostal movement to spread in the country. First, revivals in the
Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (DRC) in 1860, 1874 and 1884 were characterized by deep conviction of sin followed by conversion, fervent prayer and some ecstatic phenomenon. Thus in 1908, some older DRC members were familiar and open to Pentecostalism. Second, the Dutch Reformed minister
Andrew Murray was a prominent
holiness teacher and helped create a climate for revival. A third factor was the
Zionist churches, led by
John Alexander Dowie from
Zion City, Illinois, United States. In May 1908, five American missionaries—
John G. Lake and
Thomas Hezmalhalch, along with their wives, and A. Lehman—arrived in South Africa from Indianapolis. Lake and Hezmalhalch had links to Dowie's Zion City and had been
baptized in the Holy Spirit at the
Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles. Despite these influences, however, the missionaries had no organizational affiliation. Arriving in
Pretoria, Lake felt that the
Holy Spirit was leading him to
Johannesburg because they found no doors open in Pretoria. In Johannesburg, a Mrs Goodenough met them and invited them to stay in her house. She witnessed that the Holy Spirit had sent her to the train station to meet the American missionaries. They first began ministry at a rental hall in
Doornfontein, a Johannesburg suburb, on 25 May 1908. The services consisted of a mixed racial group, and many who attended the first services were Zionists. The missionaries moved to the Central Tabernacle, Bree Street, Johannesburg as the young Pentecostal movement grew. It was there that the Apostolic Faith Mission developed, initially as a committee first meeting in September 1908. It was not registered as a legal entity until 1913, however. By 1909, it had spread to the
Orange River Colony. In South Africa, as at Azusa Street, the movement was initially multi-racial, appealing to both
Boers and blacks. It expanded rapidly among African farm workers in the Orange River Colony and
Wakkerstroom, where Pentecostal beliefs in
divine healing through prayer would have made it an attractive alternative to traditional or medical treatment. Lake made contact with the Wakkerstroom Zionists led by
Pieter Louis Le Roux, and many Zionists joined the Apostolic Faith Mission. Their influence can be seen in the AFM's practice of baptism by triple immersion, once each in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There was also interaction with other churches, such as the
Plymouth Brethren and International Holiness movement, which often resulted in individuals or whole congregations joining the AFM. Most AFM converts, however, came from the Dutch Reformed churches. The AFM was a self-propagating movement early on due to the successful evangelism of Boer and African converts. In 1909, Lake wrote to
The Upper Room, an American Pentecostal journal, that missionaries were not needed as the AFM had men "far superior to any that can come from America . . . who can speak English, Dutch, Zulu, and Basuto". Towns and mining compounds were prime areas for missionary activity, reflected by the fact that 69 percent of AFM members lived in urban areas in 1928. In July 1909, it was decided that baptisms of whites, blacks, and
coloureds would be separate. Lake even addressed the
South African Parliament, which he advised to adopt a policy of racial segregation similar to the policy for
Native Americans in the United States. An all white executive council controlled the movement, and a separate committee, also white controlled, was responsible for coordinating the "black work". This situation would lead to many black secessions from the AFM resulting in the formation of
African Initiated Churches, but the church would continue to have a large black constituency, who continued to exercise considerable autonomy in their local churches. As the AFM adopted the "daughter churches" approach to missions from the Dutch Reformed churches, eventually the AFM was divided into four main groupings: the white parent church, a large black daughter church, a coloured daughter church and an
Indian daughter church. According to Barry Morton, "An analysis of the missionary career of John G. Lake shows that the initial spread of Pentecostalism and Zionism in southern Africa was facilitated by the systematic use of fraud and deception". Morton cites examples of misappropriation of AFM funds and the staging of miraculous healings.
1913–1969: Divisions, institutionalization, accommodation The return of Lake and Hezmalhalch to America was an important turning point for the AFM. Le Roux was elected its president in 1913, a role he filled until 1943. During his leadership, the AFM distanced itself from the black Zionist movement with its distinctive taboos and dress and began looking to the Dutch Reformed heritage and respectability.
Recent history Since 1919, the black, coloured, and Indian sections of the AFM had developed as separate "daughter churches" or "mission churches". These were, however, dependent on the white church; the AFM's missions superintendent was the
ex officio chairman of the daughter churches' Workers and Executive councils. ==Beliefs==