What Is a Pentecostal?
Pentecostals are Christians who believe the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit — including speaking in tongues, prophecy, and divine healing — are still active today. Rooted in the 1906 Azusa Street Revival, Pentecostalism is now the fastest-growing Christian movement in the world with over 600 million adherents.
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.”
— Acts 2:1-4, Acts 1:8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Joel 2:28-29 (NIV)
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Understanding Acts 2:1-4, Acts 1:8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Joel 2:28-29
Pentecostalism is the fastest-growing Christian movement in history. From a small revival in Los Angeles in 1906, it has grown to over 600 million adherents worldwide — roughly one in four Christians.
What Pentecostals believe
Pentecostals share core Christian beliefs — the Trinity, the authority of Scripture, salvation through faith in Christ. What distinguishes them is their emphasis on the ongoing, experiential work of the Holy Spirit:
Baptism in the Holy Spirit: The central distinctive. Pentecostals teach that after conversion, believers should seek a separate experience called the 'baptism in the Holy Spirit,' which empowers them for Christian life and service. Classical Pentecostals teach that the initial physical evidence is speaking in tongues (glossolalia).
Spiritual gifts (charismata): Pentecostals believe all the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 are active today — tongues, prophecy, healing, words of knowledge, discernment of spirits. This is 'continuationism,' contrasting with 'cessationism.'
Divine healing: God still heals supernaturally today. Many services include prayer for the sick, anointing with oil, and laying on of hands.
Spiritual warfare: Pentecostals take seriously biblical teaching about spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12). Practices like deliverance ministry and aggressive intercessory prayer are common.
Historical origins
Azusa Street Revival (1906-1915): The defining event. William J. Seymour, an African American Holiness preacher, led a revival at 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles. Services ran three times daily for years. The revival was remarkable for its racial integration in the Jim Crow era. Visitors from around the world carried the Pentecostal message home.
Major Pentecostal denominations
- Assemblies of God: ~70 million adherents worldwide, the largest Pentecostal denomination
- Church of God in Christ (COGIC): ~6.5 million in the US
- Church of God (Cleveland, TN): ~7 million worldwide
- International Church of the Foursquare Gospel: ~8 million worldwide
Pentecostal worship
Pentecostal worship is experiential, participatory, and emotionally expressive — extended praise, congregational prayer, altar calls, laying on of hands, and space for spiritual gifts. Physical expression is encouraged: raised hands, dancing, clapping, kneeling.
Why Pentecostalism matters
Pentecostalism has shifted the center of Christian gravity to the Global South. It has challenged Western theological rationalism by insisting that Christianity is an encounter with the living God. It has given voice to marginalized communities. Whether one agrees with all Pentecostal theology or not, the movement asks a question every tradition must answer: do we believe the God of Acts 2 is still at work today?
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