Our History

The Beginning

The Modern Pentecostal movement had its beginning in The United States of America during the early decades of the 20th century in the city of Topeka, and the Holiness movement was born. Later a few leaders met in Hotspring, Arkansas in April 1914 and formed a Pentecostal congregation and they named it “The Assemblies of God”. The primary aims of this congregation are evangelizing and planting of churches.

The Pentecostal movement had begun in India during the second decade of the 20th century. In 1918 the first AG Congregation was formed under the leadership of Christian Shonmaker at Saharanpur.

The first missionary lady who laboured for the glory of the Lord in Kerala was Mrs. Mary Chapman. She was in Tamil Nadu since 1915, and later shifted her missionary activities to the central Travancore regions of modern Kerala especially in Mavelikara. The name of John Burgess is very remarkable; who was instrumental for the establishment of the first Bible School outside American continent at Mavelikara in the year 1925, the Bethel Bible School is now functioning at Punalur as Bethel Bible College and successfully completed 86 academic sessions.

In the southern parts of erstwhile Travancore early leaders like Pr.Manasse, Pr.A.C.Samuel, Dr.C.Kunjummen and Dr.Jayaraj were dedicated servants of God in the planting of churches in the different parts of the region for the Assemblies of God.


Assemblies of God Evangelistic Centre photo from the archives.

Rev.Quintin Edwards, a visiting AG Evangelist while concluding his mass evangelistic campaign at Trivandrum in 1960 asked the people who assembled in thousands in the Palayam Police Stadium, whether they would wish and like to have an AG Church in the capital city. The responses of the masses were prolonged applause. That was the SEED, The SEED of faith of the Plammoodu Assemblies of God church.

Rev. Earnest A.Sorbo, the then Assemblies of God missionary, and Rev.P.D.Johnson, the then General Secretary of the South India Assemblies of God were the two remarkable men of God, who exerted their all efforts for establishing the present Plammoodu AG Church in August 1 971. The church building was dedicated for the Glory of God on 9th March 1975 by Rev. Charles E.Greenaway, the then Eurasia Director of the Assemblies of God.

Rev. P.D.Johnson served as the Pastor of the church during the early years since its beginning, followed by other men of God namely Pastors R.Thankachan, C.K.George, D.C.Samuel, J.John, P.S.Philip, P.K.Mathew, Robert Kingston and Thomas Philip. Now Pr. E. Yahdethmony is giving spiritual leadership to the Plammoodu AG Church.