Second, water baptisms rose by 12.1% to 168,000. Such baptisms mark a crucial point of discipleship as people take next steps in their faith in Jesus. Third, the AG reports on the number of Spirit baptisms reported by their member churches, showing an annual increase of 3.9%. This statistic reflects both a continued prioritization of the core distinctives of the denomination, and also another provides another marker of spiritual growth in its people.
The Assemblies of God Is Empowering in Its Diversity
One of the most striking details of the report is its growth in ethnic diversity. Today, 46.3% of AG adherents come from ethnic minority backgrounds. This makes the AG perhaps the most diverse among large American denominations. Many immigrants who come to the United States are Christians, and many of these immigrants have found a home in the AG. The AG emphasizes multiethnic church planting, and it also offers a number of language and cultural districts within its internal makeup.
The Assemblies of God is also diverse in the makeup of its leadership. Both ethnic minority persons and women are represented in multiple levels of the denominational polity. These priorities of diverse empowerment are rooted in the AG’s core belief that the Spirit has been poured out on all flesh for the purpose of sharing the gospel (see Joel 2; Acts 2). It would seem that this conviction is showing up in the group’s actual practices.
The Assemblies of God Is Aggressive in Church Planting
Perhaps the AG’s most telling metric of all is the surge in new church charters. In 2024, the AG reported 330 new churches—a 33.6% increase over the previous year. The AG’s Church Multiplication Network (CMN) heavily invests in recruiting, training, and deploying church planters around the country. Church planting has become a key priority in the denomination’s vision for the future.
This emphasis on church planting echoes a broader trend within the World Assemblies of God Fellowship globally. Together, WAGF members have set an audacious goal to plant over 600,000 churches by 2033. This would nearly triple the WAGF’s collective footprint to one million churches worldwide. It’s a staggering number, and a clear statement that Pentecostals prioritize aggressively planting new churches.
The Assemblies of God Mobilizes People and Prioritizes the Spirit
Finally, two other significant convictions drive Pentecostal growth. First, Pentecostals place enormous priority on the personal responsibility of carrying out the Great Commission. Evangelism isn’t just an activity of the church but there is a burden—and an urgency—for all Christian to share the gospel. This emphasis is key part of discipleship for Pentecostals.
The second dynamic might make Pentecostalism especially attractive to people. In a time when many Christians are still subtly trying to downplay the supernatural parts of Scripture and of the faith, many young people are placing significant value on experiential spirituality.
For Pentecostals, the signs and wonders recorded in the gospels and the book of Acts are central to what they believe God wants to do here and now. This conviction taps into a new hunger in our culture for spiritual things. Pentecostals not only place high priority on a personal encounter with the living God, but emphasize that the Spirit of God desires to work through them in miraculous ways for the sake of sharing the gospel with the world. They’re passionate about their spirituality—and such passion is attractive. What Pentecostals are offering American culture is something supernatural, both utterly transcendent yet deeply personal. And it seems that this emphasis is resonating.
4 Implications for the Broader Evangelical Landscape
I believe non-Pentecostal evangelicals can learn a lot from our Pentecostal brothers and sisters.
First, the AG’s story reminds us that mission still matters. Evangelism isn’t just a program—it is the heart of the church. In an age of cynicism and cultural fatigue, the clear, Spirit-empowered proclamation of the gospel is still the most powerful force for transformation.
Second, the AG’s commitment to church planting should encourage us. Planting churches isn’t just for those with big budgets or established networks. It’s the natural outworking of the Great Commission. The AG’s surge in new church charters is a reminder that every healthy church can multiply. And if the WAGF’s global goal of 600,000 new churches by 2033 feels audacious, maybe that’s the point: It calls us back to a faith that places complete reliance on the Lord to carry out his mission while we join him in the work.
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