The Malayalam District Council of the South India Assemblies of God is a part of the Global
Assemblies of God Church, the largest Pentecostal Church in the world, with 367,398
churches and 53,700,000 members in 212 countries around the world.
The Assemblies of God was formed in 1914 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA. This was the
direct offshoot of the Pentecostal Revival in the early part of the 20th century-the Azuza
street revival (1906) in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Pentecostal revival was the after
effect of the Protestant reformation in 1517 and the further revivals of the Anabaptists,
Wesleyan Revival, and the Holiness movement. Many people received the baptism of the
Holy Spirit in accordance to the book of Acts 2:1-4 with the evidence of speaking in unknown
languages as the Spirit gave them utterance. This revival spread throughout the world and
many in India received this experience in the early decades of the twentieth century.
As a result of this glorious revival experience and the formation of the General Council of the
Assemblies of God in USA, many Ministers went to different parts of the world as
missionaries, including Mrs. Mary Chapman, an Assemblies of God missionary who came to
Kerala in 1916. She found many in Kerala who had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit
and started working with them; this was the beginning of the Assemblies of God work in
Kerala. She finally settled in Mavelikara. In 1925, it was reported that there were 31 workers
with Mrs. Chapman. In 1926, Rev. John Burgess also arrived in Kerala and started working
with Mrs. Chapman (1926-1950). On August 01, 1927, Rev. Burgess started the Bethel Bible
School in Mavelikara to train Pastors and Evangelists for the church; Bethel Bible School
was later moved to Punalur in 1949.
The work of God grew and multiplied and churches were established in many parts of
Kerala. Finally in 1947, the AG work in Kerala was organized as a District Council, known as
the ‘Malayalam District Council of the South India Assemblies of God’. While originally the
Malayalam District territory was all of Kerala, with the growth of churches and bifurcations,
the Malayalam District territory now encompasses from Thiruvananthapuram District to
Thrissur District. The Malayalam District also has churches among Keralites in the Persian
Gulf countries, European countries, and western countries as well. A congregation which
has a minimum of 20 baptized believers is recognized as a church.
The Malayalam District has 750 recognized churches and 300 pioneering churches. There
are also 1,025 Ministers and 200 national Missionaries working in the Northern parts of India
and in the Andamans. The Malayalam District is divided into 3 Regions (mekhala); the
Southern, Central and Northern Regions. The District also has 53 Sections; the Section is a
unit with about 20 recognized churches.
While the Malayalam District was originally under the registration of the South India
Assemblies of God, in 2018 it was registered separately under the Travancore-Cochin
Literary, Scientific & Charitable Societies Registration Act XII, 1955 at the office of the
District Registrar, Kollam with Registration No.KLM/TC/136/2018, dated March 7th, 2018.
The Malayalam District headquarters is situated in the heart of Punalur Town, in Kollam
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