Lausanne World Pulse – The Spirit and Mission: Two Ripples of Pentecostal Mission
By Wonsuk Ma
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Pentecostals are often identified by their dynamic and |
In its short history (slightly more than one hundred years) Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity has not only grown, but has made a significant contribution to Christian mission. At the time of the 1910 Edinburgh Missionary Conference, which presented a master roadmap to world evangelization “in our [their] generation,” the movement was only four years old (if we count from the 1906 Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles, California, USA).
It is not surprising that no mention was made in Edinburgh to this deeply controversial group. Nor is it surprising that there was no delegate at the conference to represent this new form of Christianity. A century later, Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity claims about half a billion adherents worldwide. And it does not show any signs of slowing. The movement is here to stay—or more accurately, “to travel”—for quite some time.
Our task in this study is to highlight the two spheres and stages of Pentecostal mission development. As each is related to others, an analogy of two ripples, or two concentric circles, is used. In my companion article we will explore a third area on deeper and wider mission engagement.
Here, “Pentecostal” (or “Pentecostalism”) is used in a generic way to encompass the growing branch of modern Christianity that stresses the work of the Holy Spirit in their belief and experience. Such conviction includes supernatural manifestations, such as healings and miracles, of God’s presence and power. Pentecostals are often identified by their dynamic and participatory worship and mission commitment. This form of Christianity is often subdivided into three groups:
- Classical (often denominational) Pentecostals,
- Charismatics or Neo-Pentecostals (often found in established churches or independent congregations), and
- Neo-Charismatics, which include many forms of indigenous churches, post-denominational churches, and many other expressions of Charismatic Christianity.
Pentecostal mission has demonstrated its genius in two specific areas of mission engagement and they roughly correspond with the development of the Pentecostal movement itself.
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Dr. Wonsuk Ma is a Korean Pentecostal who served in the Philippines from 1979 to 2006 as a theological educator and church planter among tribal areas of the northern Philippines. He is executive director of the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies in Oxford, UK. |