The Baptists and Assemblies of God are both different denominations of the christian church.
The baptists are historically much older. In England the Baptists as a denomination date from the reformation. In Europe (including England) they may have derived in some shape or form from a group of people known as the "Anabaptists", who were regarded as serious heretics in the universally Catholic Europe of the Middle Ages. The Baptist church I attended occasionally in the village of Over, Cambridge, is over 200 years old and dated from before the time when being a Baptist was legally allowed in England.
The Assemblies of God are a Pentecostal church and are around 100 years old as a denomination now. The other Pentecostal denomination is the Elim Church. Both denominations were founded by the Jeffries brothers who were well-known evangelists at the time. The Elim church differs mainly from the Assemblies of God in the degree to which "speaking in tongues" is allowed in their public services and this reflects a difference of opinion between the Jeffries brothers themselves. The Elim church only allows people to pray publicly "in tongues" during meetings if there is someone there who can interpret the prayer prayed in "a tongue" into English, so that all may understand what has been prayed. The Assemblies of God allowed "speaking in tongues" as people were led by the Holy Spirit, regardless as to whether or not what was said could be interpreted into English. Praying in tongues refers to one of the "gifts of the Holy Spirit" as described in the New Testament, where christians, inspired by the Holy Spirit, would speak or pray in a language they did not understand. There have been remarkable examples documented of people giving a message from God specifically for one person visiting the congregation at the time in a language which only that one person understood. I have described the rules as they were at the outset. Things may have changed in the modern day.
The main difference between Baptists and the Assemblies of God is a difference in emphasis rather than content on the subject of the Holy Spirit. Both believe in the Trinity, the Divinity of Jesus Christ, the Resurrection and salvation by faith alone. Both practice water baptism by complete immersion as a statement of faith by adults, rather than baptizing babies by christening. Both also believe in being "baptized in the Spirit". However, the Baptists would say that the primary result of being filled with the Holy Spirit must be a holy life, while the Assemblies of God would emphasize the gifts of the Spirit such as "speaking in tongues", prophecy, healing etc. That is not to say that the Assemblies of God do not believe holiness to be important; they do: Or that the Baptists disparage the gifts of the Holy Spirit; they don't.
Generally speaking, the mainstream evangelical christian denominations are far more unified than their fragmented set-up makes them appear. I was brought up half Methodist and half Baptist, joined a Baptist church for about twenty years, then joined an Elim church and finally ended up in the Salvation Army for about twenty years. I am still a salvationist, but currently attend a christian church in Kansas, as my husband preaches there. My church attendance has always been dictated by the nearness of my home to the church, not disagreements with the churches I have had to leave because I moved away from the area. Despite my denominational migrations, I have not changed my core beliefs at all, nor have I needed to. Everywhere I have gone, I have also found the evangelical churches of the area all cooperating and doing things together. Generally the differences between all evangelical denominations are pretty minor and not fought over between them in any way.
The baptists are historically much older. In England the Baptists as a denomination date from the reformation. In Europe (including England) they may have derived in some shape or form from a group of people known as the "Anabaptists", who were regarded as serious heretics in the universally Catholic Europe of the Middle Ages. The Baptist church I attended occasionally in the village of Over, Cambridge, is over 200 years old and dated from before the time when being a Baptist was legally allowed in England.
The Assemblies of God are a Pentecostal church and are around 100 years old as a denomination now. The other Pentecostal denomination is the Elim Church. Both denominations were founded by the Jeffries brothers who were well-known evangelists at the time. The Elim church differs mainly from the Assemblies of God in the degree to which "speaking in tongues" is allowed in their public services and this reflects a difference of opinion between the Jeffries brothers themselves. The Elim church only allows people to pray publicly "in tongues" during meetings if there is someone there who can interpret the prayer prayed in "a tongue" into English, so that all may understand what has been prayed. The Assemblies of God allowed "speaking in tongues" as people were led by the Holy Spirit, regardless as to whether or not what was said could be interpreted into English. Praying in tongues refers to one of the "gifts of the Holy Spirit" as described in the New Testament, where christians, inspired by the Holy Spirit, would speak or pray in a language they did not understand. There have been remarkable examples documented of people giving a message from God specifically for one person visiting the congregation at the time in a language which only that one person understood. I have described the rules as they were at the outset. Things may have changed in the modern day.
The main difference between Baptists and the Assemblies of God is a difference in emphasis rather than content on the subject of the Holy Spirit. Both believe in the Trinity, the Divinity of Jesus Christ, the Resurrection and salvation by faith alone. Both practice water baptism by complete immersion as a statement of faith by adults, rather than baptizing babies by christening. Both also believe in being "baptized in the Spirit". However, the Baptists would say that the primary result of being filled with the Holy Spirit must be a holy life, while the Assemblies of God would emphasize the gifts of the Spirit such as "speaking in tongues", prophecy, healing etc. That is not to say that the Assemblies of God do not believe holiness to be important; they do: Or that the Baptists disparage the gifts of the Holy Spirit; they don't.
Generally speaking, the mainstream evangelical christian denominations are far more unified than their fragmented set-up makes them appear. I was brought up half Methodist and half Baptist, joined a Baptist church for about twenty years, then joined an Elim church and finally ended up in the Salvation Army for about twenty years. I am still a salvationist, but currently attend a christian church in Kansas, as my husband preaches there. My church attendance has always been dictated by the nearness of my home to the church, not disagreements with the churches I have had to leave because I moved away from the area. Despite my denominational migrations, I have not changed my core beliefs at all, nor have I needed to. Everywhere I have gone, I have also found the evangelical churches of the area all cooperating and doing things together. Generally the differences between all evangelical denominations are pretty minor and not fought over between them in any way.
