Longtown Pentecostal Holiness Church is a member of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church denomination.
While we rejoice at the work of the Holy Spirit through church history, the IPHC was birthed in the theological heritage of the Protestant Reformation and the emphasis of Martin Luther on justification by faith alone, the supremacy of Scripture, and the priesthood of all believers.
We are also influenced by the holiness emphasis of the Anglican priest John Wesley. Our theological framework reflects Wesleyan holiness and Wesley’s understanding of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England.
Following the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles, California, in 1906, the message spread around the world of the Pentecostal baptism with the Holy Spirit. This dynamic understanding of Acts 2 and all the gifts of the Spirit being available for the church today was received by the church and has characterized our life of worship of God, mission to the world, service to others, and fellowship with Christ’s church.
Many of us who were reared in the church grew up knowing the “Five Cardinal Doctrines” of the IPHC: 1) Justified by faith in Jesus Christ; 2) Sanctification as a second, definite work of grace through Christ; 3) The Pentecostal baptism with the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues; 4) Divine healing as provided in the atonement of Jesus Christ; and 5) the pre-millennial second coming of Jesus Christ.
Because of our Wesleyan and Methodist roots, local congregations are part of larger entities that are usually called “conferences.” Local congregations are led by pastors, and the conferences are led by a bishop. In a nation with several conferences, there is usually a presiding bishop over the entire national movement.
Because the denomination began in the United States, every four years there is a General Conference where people are chosen to lead the USA IPHC and the Presiding Bishop of the global IPHC.