United Pentecostal Church International
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United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI), Protestant denomination, the largest Jesus Only Pentecostal group. As of 2024 it comprised some 45,000 churches worldwide. Its headquarters are located in Weldon Spring, Missouri.
The United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) was organized in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1945 through the merger of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ and the Pentecostal Church, Inc. The latter formed in 1924 when white members split from the theretofore interracial Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, the first formal Pentecostal denomination. (The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World itself arose during the Jesus Only controversy as a split from the Trinitarian Assemblies of God.)
As a Oneness, or Jesus Only, group, the UPCI baptizes in the name of Jesus only rather than in the name of the Trinity, as is the practice in most other Christian churches. The denomination also emphasizes justification and the baptism of the Holy Spirit (as demonstrated by speaking in tongues), and it practices foot washing, faith healing, and conscientious objection. It has a rigid holiness code of behavior and dress.
The church government is congregational, though it does have a General Conference, made up of all ministers and one layman from each congregation, which meets annually.