From the book, “What People Ask About The Church,” by Dale A. Robbins — 45 — A Pentecostal church takes its name from the Spirit's outpouring
which occurred on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4. The primary distinction of a
Pentecostal church is the belief that Christians can receive the same experience as the
120 did, of being baptized with the Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking in other tongues.
In this same vein, the Pentecostal believes in the present day operation of spiritual
gifts such as miracles, healing, prophecy, and other supernatural manifestations described
in 1 Corinthians 12. They generally follow a similar form of liturgy to that found in most
evangelical churches, and they place high value on praise and worship. A Pentecostal church generally identifies with the long standing
history, traditions and theological views of the Pentecostal movement which began to
emerge throughout the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century. The origins of the movement
are usually associated with a band of believers led by minister, Charles F. Parham. In a
Bible school in Topeka, Kansas, students and teachers, along with Parham, researched the
book of Acts, searching for the source of the Apostle's great power and success. They all
concluded that it was because of the events that began with the Day of Pentecost. After a
thorough review of Acts 2,8,9,10, and 19, they concluded that the same experience was
available to them. On New Year's eve 1900, the first student was filled with the spirit
and spoke in tongues. Then on January 3rd, others including Parham received, igniting a
rapid growing movement. The famed 1906 revival of the Azusa Street mission in Los Angeles
was a derivative of the events in Topeka. From there, it spread through the U.S., Canada
and abroad. The Pentecostals have long been known and respected for their great
emphasis on evangelism and foreign missions. Some of the more well known Pentecostal
fellowships are: The Assemblies of God (of Springfield, MO) with 11,689 U.S. churches, The
Church of God in Christ with 15,300, The Church of God (of Cleveland, TN) with 5,776, and
The Foursquare Church with 1,558. In all, there are 43,727 U.S. churches affiliated with
Pentecostal denominations, with hundreds more of independent status.¹ Within the ranks of those who identify themselves as Pentecostals,
there are small sects which are known for more extreme or even bizarre views. Some
practice handling of snakes, or others of a Unitarian theology insist that only those who
speak with tongues can be saved. These unorthodox beliefs are not
embraced by the large body of Pentecostal churches or denominations, however the
fanaticism of this small group of radicals has sometimes generated an inaccurate
stereotype of all Pentecostals which has been exploited by tabloid TV news shows and so
forth. ¹ The World Almanac, 1995 This article is copyrighted © by Dale A. Robbins, 1995, and is a publication of Victorious Publications, Grass Valley, CA 95949. Unless otherwise stated, all scripture references were taken from The New King James Bible, © Thomas Nelson Inc., 1982.You may download for personal use as long as you retain credit to the author. Obtain permission before reproducing copies for any reason, by filling out our simple permission form. For media reproduction rights, or to obtain published quantities of this title, email us. |
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