THE STORY BEHIND FGBMFI
Demos Shakarian was born in Armenia, and escaped the holocaust due to a warning from a Pentecostal prophet whom God had raised up to warn the nation of disaster that would come upon them. The Shakarian family heeded the words of the prophet and fled to America where Demos grew up in the Pentecostal Church. He gave his heart to God as a young man and experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1926 at the age of thirteen.
God prospered Shakarian and his family in their dairy farm, one of the largest private dairies in the world. Over the years, Shakarian supported the work of traveling revivalist preachers. In 1951, after helping set up Oral Roberts’ Los Angeles crusade, Demos told Roberts of his belief that God was leading him to start a group called the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (FGBMFI). Roberts agreed to attend the first meeting of the group, and he prayed an anointed prayer that called for this group to be a mighty force for the spread of the gospel.
Shakarian experienced a year of frustration until, in a night of prayer, God gave him a vision of the work God would do in the world through this group. As he led the meeting, God would direct him to the individuals he should call upon to give testimony. As businessmen told the story of how God was working in their lives and businesses, many of their friends were converted and the goal of sharing Christ in an organization of businessmen was realized.