‘Take Over Asia for God!’: e Public Face of African Pentecostal Churches in China

2016 ◽  
pp. 115-134
Keyword(s):  
Pentecostal Churches

Faith Tabernacle Congregation, the 1918–19 Influenza Pandemic and Classical Pentecostalism in Colonial West Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-238
Author(s):  
Adam Mohr
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Assemblies Of God ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Orthodox Medicine ◽  
Massive Growth ◽  
Small Branch ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Apostolic Church

The 1918–19 influenza pandemic killed between 30 and 50 million people worldwide. In Sub-Saharan Africa, as Terence Ranger points out, the pandemic left an indelible mark, including the unforeseen emergence of anti-medical religious movements. None were as significant as Faith Tabernacle Congregation, the Philadelphia-based divine-healing church that spurred a massive revival in West Africa – and a network stretching from Ivory Coast to Nigeria – without ever sending missionaries. They evangelised through personal letters exchanged across the Atlantic, and Faith Tabernacle literature sent from Philadelphia to various leaders in West Africa. The 1918–19 influenza pandemic was the spark that led to the church's massive growth, from one small branch before the pandemic began in 1918 to 10,500 members and nearly 250 branches of Faith Tabernacle in West Africa at its zenith in 1926. After the church's rapid demise between 1926 and 1929, leaders of Faith Tabernacle established most of the oldest Pentecostal Churches in the Gold Coast and Nigeria – such as the Apostolic Faith, the Apostolic Church, the Christ Apostolic Church and the Assemblies of God (Nigeria). Classical Pentecostalism, therefore, is Faith Tabernacle's legacy in West Africa, while abstinence from orthodox medicine continued to be debated within these Pentecostal circles.

scholarly journals A missional study of Ghanaian Pentecostal churches’ leadership and leadership formation

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter White
Keyword(s):  
Theological Education ◽  
Church Leadership ◽  
System Structure ◽  
Missio Dei ◽  
Leadership Formation ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
Missional Communities ◽  
Ultimate Purpose

Church leadership plays an important and irreplaceable role in the planting and the configuration of the missional congregation. The key to the formation of missional communities is their leadership. In that regard, this article explores Classical Ghanaian Pentecostal Churches’ leadership and leadership formation from a missiological perspective. This was done through an exposition on their leadership system (structure). It was argued that Classical Ghanaian Pentecostal Churches’ leadership is based on the Fivefold Ministry (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). These leadership functions were therefore discussed in the light of their missiological implication. The conclusion arrived at is that it is not enough to discover one’s spiritual gift or calling; these gifts should be developed and nurtured through mentoring and proper theological education, with the ultimate purpose being to participate in the Missio Dei.

scholarly journals White Pop, Shiny Armour and a Sling and Stone: Indigenous Expressions of Contemporary Congregational Song Exploring Christian-Māori Identity

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Shannon Said
Keyword(s):  
Hip Hop ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Congregational Song ◽  
Christian Worship ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Sydney Australia

It has taken many years for different styles of music to be utilised within Pentecostal churches as acceptable forms of worship. These shifts in musical sensibilities, which draw upon elements of pop, rock and hip hop, have allowed for a contemporisation of music that functions as worship within these settings, and although still debated within and across some denominations, there is a growing acceptance amongst Western churches of these styles. Whilst these developments have taken place over the past few decades, there is an ongoing resistance by Pentecostal churches to embrace Indigenous musical expressions of worship, which are usually treated as token recognitions of minority groups, and at worst, demonised as irredeemable musical forms. This article draws upon interview data with Christian-Māori leaders from New Zealand and focus group participants of a diaspora Māori church in southwest Sydney, Australia, who considered their views as Christian musicians and ministers. These perspectives seek to challenge the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations within a church setting and create a more inclusive philosophy and practice towards being ‘one in Christ’ with the role of music as worship acting as a case study throughout. It also considers how Indigenous forms of worship impact cultural identity, where Christian worship drawing upon Māori language and music forms has led to deeper connections to congregants’ cultural backgrounds.

PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES AND NICARAGUAN POLITICS - AN AWAKENING LOVE

Exchange ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-43
Author(s):  
Rommie Nauta/Hans Snoek
Keyword(s):  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
Nicaraguan Politics

CHRISTIAN INDEPENDENCY AND GLOBAL MEMBERSHIP: PENTECOSTAL EXTRAVERSIONS IN MALAWI

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harri Englund
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Global Community ◽  
Contrasting Cases ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Pentecostal Churches

AbstractRecent scholarship on Pentecostalism in Africa has debated issues of transnationalism, globalisation and localisation. Building on Bayart's notion of extraversion, this scholarship has highlighted Pentecostals' far-flung networks as resources in the growth and consolidation of particular movements and leaders. This article examines strategies of extraversion among independent Pentecostal churches. The aim is less to assess the historical validity of claims to independency than to account for its appeal as a popular idiom. The findings from fieldwork in a Malawian township show that half of the Pentecostal churches there regard themselves as 'independent'. Although claims to independency arise from betrayals of the Pentecostal promise of radical equality in the Holy Spirit, independency does sustain Pentecostals' desire for membership in a global community of believers. Pentecostal independency thus provides a perspective on African engagements with the apparent marginalisation of the sub-continent in the contemporary world. Two contrasting cases of Pentecostal independency reveal similar aspirations and point out the need to appreciate the religious forms of extraversion. Crucial to Pentecostal extraversions are believers' attempts to subject themselves to a spiritually justified hierarchy.

Narratives of Change: Healing and Pentecostal Belonging in Zanzibar

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-244
Author(s):  
Hans Olsson
Keyword(s):  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Divine Healing ◽  
Labor Migrants ◽  
Social Actions ◽  
Pain And Suffering ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
Muslim Majority ◽  
The City

AbstractIn the predominantly Muslim context of Zanzibar, Pentecostal Christianity is slowly on the rise as a result of an influx of labor migrants from mainland Tanzania. A paramount feature in these churches is the provision of divine healing and deliverance from spiritual affliction. This article analyses how narratives of healing in one of Zanzibar’s major Pentecostal churches, the City Christian Center, influence how religious belonging is negotiated and manifested. Focusing on Zanzibar-born Pentecostals with Roman Catholic backgrounds, the analysis suggests that healing and practices conducted to deliver individuals from pain and suffering are connected to a wider revaluation of moral and social actions characterizing Zanzibar society. It stresses that Pentecostal belonging builds on Zanzibar-born members’ previous experiences of Zanzibar in a process of both affirmation and rejection, in which adherence to Christianity is intensified by an increased knowledge of God’s power to heal, and opposition to the Muslim majority is strengthened by connecting it to sickness.

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