From the "History of the United Missionary Church" by Everek Richard Storms

            “As the Church expanded, it carried the doctrine of a second work of grace into scores of the pioneer sections of the nation.  In community after community throughout many of the western states, hundreds of people received their first teaching on entire sanctification from one of the pioneer ministers of the denomination.”

            “The former Pennsylvania District was actually the first to have holiness conventions, two of them being held during November 1893, each of three days’ duration.  Early in its history, however, the conference became somewhat divided over the question of holiness.  As described in chapter ten, many of the ministers began to show a definite trend away from the Wesleyan position.  In deference to this group, the article in the discipline on sanctification was revised and considerably weakened by the General Conference of 1904.

            In spite of opposition from other conferences, the article remained lengthy and somewhat ambiguous until after the withdrawal of the Pennsylvania District in 1952.  At the 1955 General Conference a new constitution was adopted in which the section on sanctification was shortened and stated in clear and concise terms. (see below)

            Past history has shown that there is always the danger of a holiness church losing its initial emphasis as it develops into an established denomination.” Pgs. 225-226

 c.  Sanctification and Reception of the Holy Spirit.  We believe that sanctification is the work of God in making men holy.  It is the will of God.  It is provided in the atonement, and is experienced through faith by the operation of the Holy Spirit through the Word and the blood.  While the divine work of making men holy begins in repentance and regeneration, yet through a subsequent crisis experience the believer is to die to self, to be cleansed from all sin, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that he may be separated wholly unto God to serve Him in righteousness and holiness.  After the crisis experience, the believer is to be perfected in holiness in the fear of God and to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  (This doctrinal statement if from the copy of the Doctrine and Disciplines of the United Missionary Church which is in the Missionary Church archives at Bethel College and contains the following inscription inside the front cover: “To my good friend and brother, Rev. Tillman Habegger.  Rev. Kenneth Geiger, Gen. Supt. United Missionary Church.