Continuationism is a
Christian theological belief that the
gifts of the Holy Spirit have continued to this present age, specifically those sometimes called "sign gifts" such as
tongues and
prophecy. Continuationism is the opposite of
Cessationism.
Continuationists believe that the miraculous gifts of the
Holy Spirit are still distributed today, are still in use, and are still needed in the church. The same Holy Spirit that the
Apostle Paul wrote of, claiming that it gave him supernatural abilities, was also written about in the
Old Testament, which claims that it also endowed such abilities upon those God specifically chose to accomplish His works, as in the
New Testament .
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The
Charismatic Movement is the international trend of historically mainstream congregations adopting beliefs and practices similar to
Pentecostals. Fundamental to the movement is the use of
spiritual gifts. Among
Protestants, the movement began around 1960. Among
Roman Catholics, it originated around 1967.
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Pentecostalism or
Classical Pentecostalism is a renewal movement
[1] within
Protestant[2] Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of
God through the
baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term
Pentecostal is derived from
Pentecost, the
Greek name for the Jewish
Feast of Weeks. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the
Holy Spirit upon the followers of
Jesus Christ, as described in the second chapter of the
Book of Acts.
Like other forms of
evangelical Protestantism, Pentecostalism adheres to the
inerrancy of scripture and the necessity of accepting Christ as personal Lord and Savior. It is distinguished by belief in the baptism with the Holy Spirit as an experience separate from
conversion that enables a Christian to live a Holy Spirit–filled and empowered life. This empowerment includes the use of
spiritual gifts such as
speaking in tongues and
divine healing—two other defining characteristics of Pentecostalism. Because of their commitment to biblical authority, spiritual gifts, and the miraculous, Pentecostals tend to see their movement as reflecting the same kind of spiritual power and teachings that were found in the
Apostolic Age of the
early church. For this reason, some Pentecostals also use the term
Apostolic or
Full Gospel to describe their movement.
Pentecostalism emerged in the early 20th century among radical adherents of the
Holiness movement who were energized by
revivalism and expectation for the imminent
Second Coming of Christ. Believing that they were living in the
end times, they expected God to spiritually renew the
Christian Church thereby bringing to pass the
restoration of spiritual gifts and the
evangelization of the world. In 1900,
Charles Parham, an American evangelist and
faith healer, began teaching that speaking in tongues was the Bible evidence of Spirit baptism. The three-year-long
Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, California, resulted in the spread of Pentecostalism throughout the United States and the rest of the world as visitors carried the Pentecostal experience back to their home churches or felt called to the
mission field. While virtually all Pentecostal denominations trace their origins to Azusa Street, the movement has experienced a variety of divisions and controversies. An early dispute centered on challenges to the doctrine of the
Trinity. As a result, the Pentecostal Movement is divided between trinitarian and
non-trinitarian branches.
Comprising over 700 denominations and a large number of independent churches, there is no central authority governing Pentecostalism; however, many denominations are affiliated with the
Pentecostal World Fellowship. There are over 279 million Pentecostals worldwide, and the movement is growing in many parts of the world, especially the
global South. Since the 1960s, Pentecostalism has increasingly gained acceptance from other Christian traditions, and Pentecostal beliefs concerning Spirit baptism and spiritual gifts have been embraced by non-Pentecostal Christians in
Protestant and
Catholic churches through the
Charismatic Movement. Together,
Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity numbers over 500 million adherents.
[3]
