The German Pentecostal movement arose out of revival meetings held yearly by the Gnadauer Verband in the Ruhr area around the turn of the twentieth century.
Many of the evangelical leaders visited and experienced Pentecostal charismata at the Thomas Barratt mission in Oslo from 1906-1907.
During the revival held in Mülheim in 1907 reportedly 3,000 conversions occurred over a six-week period, under the guidance of Emil Humburg.
Sixty evangelic leaders reacted to the Pentecostal manifestation and issued a condemnation, the Berlin Declaration in 1909.
The Mülheimer Association is organized into local communities, with equality among members, presided by an ordained or lay leader acting as primus inter pares.