The Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International (FGBMFI) is a fellowship of lay businessmen. Its main purpose is to bring interest to the Christian gospel. Theologically, the organization has its roots in Pentecostalism. The headquarters is in Irvine, California.
History FGBMFI was founded in 1952 in Los Angeles by Demos Shakarian, a California rancher.Randall Herbert Balmer, Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism: Revised and expanded edition, Baylor University Press, USA, 2004, p. 274 The expression "Full Gospel" in the name of the association is central to the vision of the organization.J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 1082 Following a difficult start (for a year nothing happened to the original group that met weekly), then a donation of $1,000 was given to start a small publication titled Full Gospel Business Men's VOICE, it grew steadily, the second chapter was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and after a few years chapters were set up throughout the world.The Happiest People on Earth, the story of Demos Shakarian as told to John and Elizabeth Sherrill, Steward Press, Chuppaqua, New York, 10514, 1975 In 1972, the membership was 300,000.Randall Herbert Balmer, Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism, Westminster John Knox Press, USA, 2002, page 274 In 1988, there were 3,000 chapters in 90 countries.Robert H. Krapohl, Charles H. Lippy, The Evangelicals: A Historical, Thematic, and Biographical Guide, Greenwood Publishing Group, USA, 1999, page 74
After Demos Shakarian died in 1993, his son Richard Shakarian assumed the organization's leadership.Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2013, page 160
In 2023, Francis Owusu was elected president of the organization.FGBMFI, Our International President , fgbmfi.org, USA, retrieved March 7, 2020
The organization was present in 85 countries in 2023.FGBMFI, OUR HISTORY, fgbmfi.org, USA, retrieved February 4, 2023
Controversies In the 1980s, the presence on the board of directors and the financial management of Demos Shakarian were challenged.John Dart, Worldwide Christian Body Divided Over Funds, Power, latimes.com, USA, January 14, 1989
See also
Gideons International
Literature Demos Shakarian, John & Elisabeth Sherrill: The Happiest People on Earth. Old Tappan, N.J.: Chosen Books: distributed by F. H. Revell Co., c1975. . 187 pages. Val Fotherby: The awakening giant. London (UK) (Marshall Pickering), 2000. . 200 pages.
External links
Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International Collection, Southern Folklife Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Bibliography "FGBMFI: Facing Frustrations and the Future", by B. Bird. Charisma (June 1986) "FGBMFI Struggles toward the Future", by D. Shakarian(?). Charisma (March 1988) All Things Are Possible, by D. E. Harrell Jr., 1975 How to live like a King's Kid, by H. Hill. Logos International, 1974. . "Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International" by J. R. Zeigler; pp. 653–54 in The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, revised and expanded edition, ed. Stanley M. Burgess, associate editor Eduard M. Van der Maas. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2002)
References