# Pentecostalism The Protestant denominational family — and broader spiritual-renewal movement — distinguished by belief in the present-day operation of the Holy Spirit's supernatural gifts (speaking in tongues / *glossolalia*, prophecy, divine healing, miraculous works), the experiential "baptism in the Holy Spirit" as distinct subsequent work from conversion, emphatic biblicism, and dramatic experiential worship. Pentecostalism emerged in the early 20th century — conventionally dated from the 1906 Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles — and has grown explosively to become the world's fastest-growing Christian family, with ~280 million strictly-Pentecostal adherents and up to 600+ million charismatic-influenced Christians across denominations. In US politics, Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity is the deepest religious tributary to the most rapidly-radicalizing wing of contemporary Christian Nationalism — the [[New Apostolic Reformation]], the [[Seven Mountain Mandate]], the [[Apostolic-Prophetic Movement]], the broader charismatic-spiritual-warfare political theology that has organized the Trump-era religious-right's most aggressive Christian-Nationalist projects (the [[ReAwaken America Tour]], the [[Generals International]] / [[Cindy Jacobs]] prayer-warfare networks, [[Lance Wallnau]]'s prophetic-political organizing, [[Sean Feucht]]'s worship-revival political tours, and many others). ## Founding and origins The Pentecostal movement emerged from the late-19th-century Holiness Movement within Methodism and broader evangelical Protestantism. Several precursor revivals (in Kansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Wales) anticipated the breakthrough: **Charles Fox Parham and Topeka (1900–1901).** Parham, a Methodist-Holiness preacher, opened a Bible school in Topeka, Kansas in 1900. On January 1, 1901, student Agnes Ozman is recorded as the first person in modern Pentecostalism to speak in tongues after a specific prayer for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Parham articulated the foundational Pentecostal doctrine: speaking in tongues as initial physical evidence of Holy Spirit baptism. **William J. Seymour and Azusa Street (1906–1909).** Seymour — an African American Holiness preacher who studied briefly under Parham in Houston (though required to attend lectures from the hall outside the classroom due to segregation) — moved to Los Angeles in 1906. The revival that broke out at 312 Azusa Street in April 1906 (initially in the home of Edward Lee, then at the Apostolic Faith Mission on Azusa Street) became the foundational moment of global Pentecostalism. The Azusa revival was racially integrated to a degree unusual for its time — "the color line is washed away in the blood" was a frequent claim — and gathered visitors from across the United States and the world who carried the Pentecostal experience back to their home contexts. The revival's worship was experiential and dramatic: speaking in tongues, prophecy, healing, "holy laughter," "slain in the Spirit" experiences. The press treated it sensationally; the Los Angeles Times ran the famous "Weird Babel of Tongues" headline (April 18, 1906). Despite (or because of) press derision, the revival drew thousands and produced a rapid global Pentecostal expansion. **Early Pentecostal denominational formation.** From Azusa Street, distinct Pentecostal denominations emerged within the first two decades: - **Church of God (Cleveland, TN)** — founded 1886 from Holiness roots; Pentecostal from 1906 - **Church of God in Christ (COGIC)** — founded by Charles Harrison Mason; the largest historically-Black Pentecostal denomination - **Assemblies of God** — founded 1914 as the largest white-led Pentecostal denomination; became the largest Pentecostal body globally - **Pentecostal Holiness Church / International Pentecostal Holiness Church** — Wesleyan-Holiness Pentecostal - **Foursquare Church** — founded by Aimee Semple McPherson (1923) - **Open Bible Standard Churches** — founded 1932 - **United Pentecostal Church International** — Oneness Pentecostal (anti-Trinitarian; rejects traditional Trinitarian doctrine for Jesus-name-only baptism and a modalistic understanding of God) **Doctrinal divisions early.** Within a few years of Azusa Street, Pentecostalism divided over: - **Trinitarian vs Oneness** — Oneness Pentecostalism (United Pentecostal Church International, Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, others) rejects classical Trinitarian doctrine; remains a distinct doctrinal tradition controversial within broader Pentecostalism - **Finished work vs Second blessing** — disputes over the Holiness-tradition doctrine of entire sanctification as second work of grace; "Finished work" Pentecostals (Assemblies of God) hold sanctification as progressive rather than crisis-event - **Tongues as initial physical evidence** — most Pentecostal denominations hold tongues as evidence of Spirit baptism; some charismatic communities reject this strict requirement **Charismatic Movement (1960s onward).** Beginning in the 1960s, Pentecostal-style spiritual experiences spread into mainline Protestant denominations and Roman Catholicism — producing the "Charismatic Movement" or "Charismatic Renewal." Catholic Charismatic Renewal (from 1967, Duquesne weekend), Episcopal Charismatic, Lutheran Charismatic, Reformed Charismatic, and Methodist Charismatic communities developed. Charismatic Catholic communities have become substantial globally. **[[Third Wave]] (1980s onward).** The "Third Wave" — associated with John Wimber and the Vineyard movement — emphasized the supernatural gifts in evangelical contexts without classical Pentecostal denominational identity. The Vineyard movement, [[C. Peter Wagner]]'s writings, and the broader "signs and wonders" theology shaped a third generation of charismatic Christianity. **Neo-Charismatic / Independent Charismatic (1990s onward).** Independent charismatic networks — Bethel Church ([[Bill Johnson]]), International House of Prayer ([[Mike Bickle]]), HRock Church, Cindy Jacobs's networks, the broader [[New Apostolic Reformation]] — emerged as a fourth wave of charismatic Christianity that bypasses traditional denominational structures. ## Core beliefs and distinctives **Pentecostal theological distinctives.** Within the broader Protestant framework, Pentecostalism distinctively holds: - **Continuationism** — the supernatural gifts of the Spirit (tongues, prophecy, healing, miracles) continue in operation today; opposes cessationism (the doctrine that these gifts ceased after the apostolic age, held by traditional Reformed, traditional Baptist, and traditional Anglican-Lutheran traditions) - **Baptism in the Holy Spirit** as distinct subsequent work to conversion — classical Pentecostal position; charismatic and Third Wave positions modify this in various ways - **Speaking in tongues** (*glossolalia*) — either as initial physical evidence of Spirit baptism (classical Pentecostal) or as one of many possible spiritual gifts (charismatic Third Wave) - **Prophetic gifts** — present-day prophecy, words of knowledge, visions - **Divine healing** — physical healing through prayer and the Spirit's work - **Spiritual warfare** — emphasis on demonic powers, deliverance ministry, prayer warfare; varies dramatically in intensity across Pentecostal traditions - **Experiential worship** — worship characterized by physical expressiveness (raised hands, dancing, kneeling, lying prostrate), spontaneous prayer, extended musical worship, manifestation phenomena - **Premillennial eschatology** — most classical Pentecostal denominations hold premillennial (often dispensational) eschatology; the contemporary NAR / postmillennial wing represents a recent development. See [[Christian Eschatology]]. - **Aggressive evangelism and global mission** — Pentecostalism is the most missionary Christian tradition globally; its rapid growth is substantially the result of intensive global evangelistic mission **Variation across waves:** - **Classical Pentecostal** — denominational, tongues-as-initial-evidence, Trinitarian (mostly), often Wesleyan-Holiness rooted - **Catholic Charismatic** — within Catholic ecclesial structures; sacramental theology preserved; spiritual gifts in Catholic context - **Mainline Charismatic** — within Lutheran, Episcopal, Reformed, Methodist contexts - **Third Wave / Vineyard** — evangelical, post-denominational, emphasizes "kingdom now" - **Neo-Charismatic / NAR** — independent, often apostolic-prophetic governance, frequently postmillennial-dominionist - **Word of Faith / Prosperity Gospel** — distinct theological tradition (Kenneth Hagin, [[Kenneth Copeland]]) holding faith confessions produce material and physical results; substantial overlap with broader Pentecostal world ## Major internal divisions The Pentecostal-Charismatic world is vast and complex. Major US denominational bodies: - **Assemblies of God** — ~3.0 million US members, ~85 million globally; the largest white-led Pentecostal denomination - **Church of God in Christ (COGIC)** — ~5–6 million US members; the largest Black Pentecostal denomination - **Church of God (Cleveland, TN)** — ~1.0 million US, ~7 million globally - **United Pentecostal Church International** — ~700K US, ~5 million globally; Oneness Pentecostal - **International Church of the Foursquare Gospel** — ~250K US, ~9 million globally - **Open Bible Standard Churches** — ~50K US - **Pentecostal Holiness Church / International Pentecostal Holiness Church** — ~250K US - **Apostolic Faith Mission** — smaller body in direct lineage from Azusa Street **Independent / Neo-Charismatic networks** — the largest growing Pentecostal-Charismatic segment, including: [[IHOP-KC]] (International House of Prayer Kansas City — Mike Bickle), [[Bethel Church]] (Redding, CA — Bill Johnson), HRock Church (Pasadena, CA — Ché Ahn), [[Generals International]] (Cindy Jacobs), [[Global Spheres Inc]] ([[Chuck Pierce]]), [[Lakewood Church]] (Joel Osteen — Word of Faith / nondenominational charismatic), Hillsong Church (now in significant institutional crisis but historically global charismatic-Pentecostal megachurch network), Vineyard USA, Calvary Chapel (charismatic-adjacent), Christ for the Nations Institute. **Catholic Charismatic Renewal** — ~120 million globally; vast Latin American, African, and US Catholic populations are charismatic-influenced ## Demographic footprint **Global:** ~280 million classical Pentecostals; up to ~600+ million charismatic-influenced Christians across denominations (depending on counting methodology). The world's fastest-growing Christian family. Largest Pentecostal-Charismatic populations: Brazil (~50+ million; the world's largest Pentecostal population), the United States (~60 million counting all charismatic-influenced Christians), Nigeria, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea, China (in the unregistered house-church movement), Indonesia, Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, Kenya, Ethiopia. Pentecostalism is now the second-largest Christian tradition globally after Catholicism (some estimates put it as having overtaken Catholicism in active practice, though formal-membership statistics still favor Catholicism). It is the dominant Christianity of much of the Global South. **United States:** ~10% of US adults are Pentecostal or Charismatic — roughly 30+ million Americans. The community is internally differentiated: white Pentecostals (substantial), Black Pentecostals (COGIC and independent), Hispanic Pentecostals (rapidly growing — major component of the broader Hispanic Protestant rightward drift), Asian Pentecostals (Korean, Chinese, Filipino). Pentecostal-charismatic religion is the second-largest evangelical category in the US after Baptist. ## Right-wing politics tributaries Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity is the deepest single religious tributary to the most aggressive wing of contemporary US Christian Nationalism. The major channels: **New Apostolic Reformation.** [[New Apostolic Reformation]] — the apostolic-prophetic-charismatic movement articulated theologically by C. Peter Wagner (1930–2016) — has become the dominant theological framework for charismatic political organizing in the Trump era. NAR theology integrates: apostolic-prophetic governance (modern-day apostles and prophets as authoritative office), spiritual warfare against territorial demonic powers, the [[Seven Mountain Mandate]] (Christianizing seven cultural-political-economic domains), kingdom-now / dominionist political theology. The movement's leading figures — Cindy Jacobs ([[Generals International]]), Chuck Pierce ([[Global Spheres Inc]]), [[Dutch Sheets]], Lance Wallnau, [[Lou Engle]], Ché Ahn, Bill Johnson ([[Bethel Church]]), Mike Bickle ([[IHOP-KC]] until his 2023 abuse-scandal removal), and many others — constitute the most aggressive religious-political organizing infrastructure of the contemporary right. **Seven Mountain Mandate.** [[Seven Mountain Mandate]] — the strategy for Christian capture of seven cultural domains (Religion, Family, Education, Government, Media, Arts & Entertainment, Business) — articulated by Loren Cunningham, [[Bill Bright]], and Lance Wallnau in different forms. The framework has become foundational for charismatic political organizing and has substantially shaped the broader Christian-Nationalist movement. **Apostolic-Prophetic Movement.** [[Apostolic-Prophetic Movement]] — the broader charismatic claim that modern-day apostles and prophets are authoritative offices in the church — produces governance structures that bypass traditional denominational accountability and that produce highly authoritarian religious-political organizing patterns. The 2023 IHOP-KC scandal involving Mike Bickle is one of multiple recent abuse / accountability crises within the apostolic-prophetic network. **MAGA-charismatic religious-political infrastructure.** The most aggressive charismatic political organizing of the Trump era: [[ReAwaken America Tour]] (Clay Clark and General [[Michael Flynn]] — touring multi-day events combining MAGA political content with charismatic worship and prophetic ministry), [[Lance Wallnau]]'s prophetic-political organizing, [[Sean Feucht]]'s worship-tour political organizing (Let Us Worship, the more recent political mobilizations), Greg Locke's independent-Pentecostal MAGA pulpit at Global Vision Bible Church, the network of Trump-prophets (Mark Taylor, [[Hank Kunneman]], Kris Vallotton, Dutch Sheets, and many others who prophesied Trump's continued presidency through 2020–2024 with significant accuracy crisis after January 2021). **Paula White and the Pentecostal evangelical-Trump alignment.** [[Paula White]] (Trump's spiritual advisor since at least 2002; chair of the Trump 45 [[Evangelical Advisory Board]]) is a major figure in the Pentecostal-Prosperity Gospel evangelical-Trump alignment. White's network of Pentecostal pastors has been central to Trump-era evangelical political organizing. **Prosperity Gospel and US right-wing economic-religious framing.** [[Prosperity Gospel]] — the doctrine that material wealth and physical health are God's intended blessings for believers exercising faith — is largely Pentecostal-Charismatic in denominational origin (Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, [[Creflo Dollar]], Joel Osteen, Paula White, [[T.D. Jakes]] — Word of Faith / charismatic megachurch leaders). The doctrine substantially shapes Trump-era evangelical attitudes toward wealth, prosperity, and political-economic policy. **Pat Robertson and the institutional religious right.** [[Pat Robertson]] (1930–2023) — founder of [[Christian Broadcasting Network]], [[Regent University]], the 700 Club, the American Center for Law and Justice — was a foundational figure of the institutional religious right whose Pentecostal-charismatic theological commitments shaped much of the late-20th-century religious-right infrastructure. Robertson's 1988 presidential campaign and his subsequent media-political empire produced significant Pentecostal-charismatic visibility in mainstream Republican politics. **Hispanic Pentecostalism and the rightward drift.** Hispanic Pentecostal Christianity has been a major driver of the 2020–2024 Hispanic-Protestant rightward political drift. Hispanic Pentecostal churches across Florida, Texas, the Southwest, and the broader US Hispanic community have been institutional homes of the Hispanic-Trump political alignment. **Charismatic Catholic engagement with US right-wing politics.** Catholic Charismatic Renewal communities (mostly politically moderate-progressive in their classical post-Vatican-II form) have produced an unexpected recent right-wing trajectory through some networks (particularly Marian-apparition-focused communities, the Father Frank Pavone / Priests for Life network, certain charismatic Catholic televangelism). Smaller than the Protestant charismatic political movement but increasingly visible. **Worship-revival as political organizing.** [[Sean Feucht]]'s "Let Us Worship" tours (initially anti-COVID-shutdown religious-liberty protests, then broader political organizing), Hold the Line, Burn 24-7, and similar charismatic-worship-revival events have functioned substantially as MAGA political organizing infrastructure since 2020. **January 6 charismatic-religious framing.** The January 6, 2021 Capitol attack featured substantial charismatic-religious framing — Jericho Marches preceding the attack, shofar-blowing and prophetic-prayer presence at the events, the prosperity / authority / spiritual-warfare vocabulary visible in the attack's religious-language texture. Subsequent academic and journalistic analysis (Matthew Taylor's *The Violent Take It By Force* — 2024, others) has documented the charismatic-religious infrastructure of January 6 substantially. **Decline-of-prophecy crisis (2021–2022).** The widespread charismatic prophetic predictions of Trump's continued presidency through 2020–2024 produced a significant accountability crisis within the prophetic-charismatic community when those prophecies did not come to pass. Various leading prophets issued apologies, recantations, or reframings; others doubled down with continued predictions of Trump's eventual restoration. The crisis is ongoing and represents a major fissure within charismatic religious-political organizing. ## Connections - [[Christianity]] — parent religious tradition - [[Protestantism]] — broader denominational umbrella - [[New Apostolic Reformation]] — the dominant contemporary theological framework for charismatic political organizing - [[Seven Mountain Mandate]] — the strategy for Christian cultural-political capture, foundational to charismatic political theology - [[Apostolic-Prophetic Movement]] — the broader charismatic claim of present-day apostles and prophets as authoritative offices - [[Prosperity Gospel]] — substantially Pentecostal-Charismatic in denominational origin - [[Christian Nationalism]] — the most aggressive contemporary Christian Nationalist organizing is largely charismatic in religious infrastructure - [[Dominionism]] — the theological framework that the charismatic / NAR / Seven Mountain Mandate operationalize ## See also - [[Protestantism]] — the umbrella tradition - [[Reformed Christianity]] · [[Lutheranism]] · [[Anglicanism]] · [[Baptist Christianity]] · [[Methodism]] · [[Anabaptism]] — sibling Protestant traditions - [[Methodism]] — historic Wesleyan-Holiness roots of early Pentecostalism - [[IHOP-KC]] · [[Bethel Church]] · [[Generals International]] · [[Global Spheres Inc]] · [[ReAwaken America Tour]] — major institutional centers of charismatic political-religious organizing