What is Aglow?

Aglow's Mission Statement

• To help restore and mobilize women around the world.
• To promote gender reconciliation in the Body of Christ as God designed.
• To amplify awareness of global concerns from a Biblical perspective.

History

Aglow began in 1967 with four women who expressed a desire to meet together as Christians without denominational boundaries. The first general meeting was held in Seattle, Washington, USA, close to where Aglow’s Worldwide Headquarters exists today.

The meeting drew more than 100 women to the Meany Hotel close to the University of Washington campus. It didn’t take long for women who attended that first meeting to invite their neighbors and friends to gatherings in other communities surrounding Seattle. As the word spread, new groups began springing up around Washington state, and within months, groups formed in other U.S. states.

By 1972, more than 60 local groups held monthly meetings around the U.S. By 1973, Aglow was moving onto the global stage as fellowships began in Canada, and New Zealand. The Netherlands followed in 1974, marking Aglow as an international "network of caring women," in just six short years.

Today, Aglow spans the globe! And it continues to reach out to women of every creed, color, and culture, and, through women, to families worldwide. Over 4,600 Aglow groups meet worldwide, about 68% of them are outside the U.S. (2,849).+

More than 21,000 Aglow leaders worldwide minister in their communities and nations, to an estimated 17 million people each year. Today, 100% of the 171 nations have indigenous women overseeing the work in their nations.

About Jane Hansen,
President/CEO of Aglow International

Jane Hansen serves as president of Aglow International, a worldwide outreach ministry that is impacting the lives of women and their families in over 170 nations.

Hansen has a personal passion to see women restored and rise to claim the godly purposes for which they were created. Under her leadership, the ministry has focused for decades on responding to the needs of women and their families through tangible outreach and prayer.

She speaks at conferences around the world, both in Aglow and throughout the body of Christ. She also has led numerous prayer journeys to other nations, and has been instrumental in building a global prayer network. Today, through the use of e-mail and global communications, the Aglow organization is able to mobilize more than one million praying intercessors.

For the past several years, Hansen has sensed a divine shift for the ministry toward actively supporting Israel by building on-going relationships with various communities within the nation and other organizations around the world.

An ordained minister, Hansen has been recognized by other international Christian organizations as a global leader. She serves on the Charismatic Leadership Council, the International Coalition of Apostles, and the board of the International Reconciliation Coalition. She is a steering committee member of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus Women’s Council, Mission America’s National Facilitation Committee, and Morningstar Publications’ Advisory Committee.

In celebration of Aglow’s 40th year in 2007, Hansen led a journey to Israel (Aglow’s seventh trip since 2000). She also moderated a forum on the abuse of women at the first ever Knesset Christian Allies Caucus Women’s Summit held May 20-21 in Jerusalem. 

Aglow's Mandates

We believe that God has been maturing the women of Aglow to be able to receive His three specific mandates by faith, and live them out for His Kingdom’s sake.

Our mandates are:

1. To promote gender reconciliation between male and female in the Body of Christ as God designed.
   
   
2. To answer God’s call to minister to the Muslim people, while bringing awareness of the basic theological differences between Islam and Christianity.
   
   
3. To stand in loving support for Israel and the Jewish people, while helping to bring awareness to the Body of Christ concerning God’s plans and purposes for those people He calls the apple of His eye.

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Aglow's Belief Statement

The whole Bible is our creed. Although we recognize there may be differences in interpretation among Christians, and we have established Aglow International as a transdenominational, worldwide organization, there are certain basic Biblical beliefs to which all Aglow leaders and members need to commit themselves. The rejection of any of these shall disqualify a woman from membership and/or leadership in Aglow. However, she may still attend Aglow functions.

1. We believe in the one and only triune God. We acknowledge there is one true God consisting of three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
   
   
2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, died, was buried, and resurrected. He ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, and is true God and true man.
   
   
3. We believe the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and is our rule of faith and practice.
   
   
4. We believe that all are born sinners, the Holy Spirit convicts of sin; the Lord Jesus Christ paid the price for sin by shedding His precious blood on the cross as the atonement for sin; those who refuse to accept His sacrifice for their sin are eternally lost; and those who repent of their sin and personally accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior receive the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
   
   
5. We believe in the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues as the Spirit of God gives utterance, that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are valid and operative today, and that the fruit of the Holy Spirit should be increasingly evident in a Christian’s life.
   
   
6. We believe that the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ provides healing for our spirit, soul, and body.
   
   
7. We believe that we should obey Jesus’ command to preach the gospel to all the world.
   
   
8. We believe that the members of the Body of Christ are the Church, and that they should regularly fellowship with one another in a local church setting.
   
   
9. We believe in and look for the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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