Pentecostalism
SUSI Scholars visited the Dream City Church in Phoenix. Founded by Rev. Tommy Bartlett in 2006, the church is rooted in the tradition of Pentecostal Christianity. You can read about the congregation's history HERE and the Pentecostal movement below.
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a movement within Christianity that places an emphasis on a direct experience of God through a baptism by the Holy Spirit. While the movement has its origins in California in the early twentieth century, it draws upon the early Christian church as its model and inspiration.
The Day of Pentecost: in the New Testament book Acts of the Apostles (2:1-20), the early followers of Jesus were gathered in Jerusalem just after Jesus's Ascension into Heaven following his death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit of God descended upon the gathered believers and many began to speak in languages they did know.
"1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability." Read the full biblical passage HERE.
Common practices: baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced in glossolalia: speaking in tongues (a form of ecstatic speech), faith healing, prophecy, and prayer. (These may or may not be observed at Dream City Church).
Key early figures:
Charles Fox Parham (1873-1937) was a preacher at Bethel Bible College in Kansas who argued that the presence of the Holy Spirit could be confirmed when people spoke in tongues.
William J. Seymour – an African American holiness preacher at Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California.
The "Azusa Street Revival" broke out in 1906 – for years, white, black, Asian, Mexican all worshiped together in the same churches. Over time, movement later splintered, often along racial lines. The Assemblies of God became a largely white denomination and the Church of God in Christ became an African American denomination.
Women were also among early Pentecostal preachers including the charismatic preacher Amie Simple McPherson. However, as the Pentecostal movement institutionalized, women were increasingly prohibited from taking pastoral leadership.
Resources/Readings:
Sanchez Walsh, Arlene M. Pentecostals in America. Columbia University Press, 2018.
According to Pew Research (2011), there are 279 million Pentecostals in the world and 305 million charismatic Christians (Pentecostal-style movements within other denominations) in the world. Click HERE for more information.
Click HERE for a Pew Research Report on the popularity of Pentecostalism in Latin America. There is also a rapidly-growing movement of Charismatic Christianity within Catholicism.
