The Self Life and the Christ Life

Albert Benjamin Simpson (December 15, 1843 – October 29, 1919), also known as A. B. Simpson, was a Canadian preacher, theologian, author, and founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), an evangelical denomination with an emphasis on global evangelism. During the beginning of the twentieth century, Simpson became closely involved with the growing Pentecostal movement, an offshoot of the Holiness movement. It was common for Pentecostal pastors and missionaries to receive their training at the Missionary Training Institute, now Nyack College, Nyack, New York, that Simpson founded. Because of this, Simpson and the C&MA had a great influence on Pentecostalism, in particular the Assemblies of God and the Church of the Foursquare Gospel. This influence included evangelistic emphasis, C&MA doctrine (especially on healing and his articulation of a Fourfold Gospel), and Simpson's hymns and books. A severe division developed within the C&MA organization over "the initial evidence doctrine" within Pentecostalism. While Simpson and the C&MA wholeheartedly embraced the Filling of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts, including speaking with tongues, they rejected the position that tongues was the only initial evidence for that Baptism experience; instead, they held that the primary evidence is the Fruit of the Holy Spirit and that "fruitful ministry" is another strong proof. A number of C&MA churches bear Simpson's name, as does Simpson University in Redding, California, the Albert B. Simpson school in Lima, Peru, the A. B. Simpson Alliance School in Zamboanga City, Philippines, and the Simpson Memorial Church (established in 1923) in Jamalpur, Ahmedabad, India. A. B.