Collected materials regarding Word of God Community
The paper files (Collected materials regarding Word of God Community) have been arranged alphabetically by topic and include papers generated by the community itself or its members. Some of the files warrant special mention. As the Word of God community (at least during the period covered by these records) was governed by Coordinators, the Coordinator's notebooks are a valuable source of information regarding the workings of the community. These notebooks include meeting materials, decisions of the coordinators, and outlines and current policies adopted by the coordinators.
Another excellent source is the "Word of God Archives Documents Book." This volume of documents, now in file folders and numbered, was probably used by Roberta Keene in her thesis "Formal Organization and Charisma in a Catholic Pentecostal Community" (1974). Documents in these files include summary of meetings, planning documents, reports, various statements, and memoranda.
The Fall Conference files relate to the annual weekend gathering of the entire community. Its purpose is to allow the members to express their collective will. General Community Gatherings referred to in the files are prayer meetings held for the entire community. District Gatherings are prayer meetings of Word of God members living in a specific geographic area. Prophecies were generally given by Word of God members at prayer meetings. Within the community they were usually regarded as being divinely inspired. In recording these prophecies, Yoder relied upon the notes of others, his own notes, and audio tape recordings to reconstitute the prophecies.
Other files include the Word of God newsletter, Community Bulletin, files relating to the Community's relationship with churches and with associated groups, such as Catholic Charismatic Renewal and the Sword of the Spirit.