Global Pentacostalism Book Review

Having grown up in the Baptist church, I suppose I was always somewhat intrigued by those in what I considered a “Pentecostal” church. I didn’t understand why they raised their hands in worship, laid hands on each other, and sang such modern songs. But having spent some of my formidable Christian years in a Liberal Arts institution, I began to explore the idea of hand-raising Pentecostalism. But I merely touched the edge of the cloak. Now, having spent the last five years of my Christian life fully-emersed in the Vineyard Community Fellowship church, I now consider myself a hand-laying hippie. However, before reading this book, I don’t think I would have considered myself to be a Pentecostal.
The first chapter of this book, as well as the introduction, were written primarily to introduce the reader to the purpose of the book, as well as the way the research was conducted. “We define Progressive Pentecostals as Christians who claim to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and the life of Jesus and seek to holistically address the spiritual, physcial, and social needs of the people in their community.” (Loc 42-43) If you are to use this as a litmus test for churches to define their Pentecostal characteristics, then mine would fall right in the middle.

Chapter two covers the basic ideas of the Pentecostal church concerning their ministries, believes and motivations. It is chock full of stories and examples of churches that are answering the global call to missions, primarily in their own cultural contexts and needs. It is interesting to note that often times, in the examples provided, the Pentecostal church as a whole, is serving in similar settings to their neighbors, no matter the cultural divide that separates them.
The emphasis in Chapter three is clearly placed on how Pentecostal churches are addressing the problem of Children at risk. the authors clearly demonstrate using story telling, the views of the Pentecostal movement, laying the groundwork for many programs designed to help children and youth escape their physical, emotional, and spiritual bondage. The stories told are very moving and encouraging. It’s also nice to see how other churches are tackling the issues that we are facing globally with the next generation.
Chapter four centers on different problems facing the world in general, like poverty, pandemics, and politics. The interesting thing in this chapter is that the authors make a clear distinction that the emergent group of Pentecostals are the ones who are concerned about making a sociopolitical change, where as the Pentecostals of previous generations still maintain their boundaries with the outside world, convinced that Jesus will return before they see a need to be involved.
Chapter five has proven to be the most predictable as far as the “Pentecostal” church is considered. It focuses on the worship and spiritual gifts that hold a place of honor with in the denominations. Overall, being part of a Pentecostal church, the chapter did not present anything new to me, nor anything I had not yet experienced.

I think this book was a great introduction into Church in Mission, as well as my new journey through Fuller. It was very uplifting, knowing I am taking part of some of the fantastic opportunities available to me through my Vineyard church. However, it did provide a lot of realistic ways I can grow my church, through the global example of what is happening world wide.