Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, an event that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles.
Charles Edward Blake Sr. is an American minister and retired pastor who served as the Presiding Bishop and leader of the Church of God in Christ, a 6 million-member Holiness Pentecostal denomination, that has now grown to become one of the largest predominantly African American Pentecostal denominations in the United States, from 2007 to 2021. On March 21, 2007, he became the Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, Inc., as a result of Presiding Bishop Gilbert E. Patterson's death. In a November 2007 special election, he was elected to complete the unexpired term of his predecessor as Presiding Bishop. In November 2008, Bishop Blake was re-elected to serve a four-year term as Presiding Bishop. In November 2012, Bishop Blake was re-elected again to serve a four-year term as the Presiding Bishop. He was reelected to a third term as Presiding Bishop on November 15, 2016. On October 23, 2020, Bishop Blake announced that he would not seek a re-election as Presiding Bishop nor as a member of the General Board and that he would retire from the Office of Presiding Bishop and from the General Board in 2021. He officially retired on March 19, 2021, and was succeeded by Bishop J. Drew Sheard, Sr. as Presiding Bishop on March 20, 2021.
Elim Fellowship is a Finished Work Pentecostal denomination of Christianity. It was founded in 1933 in Lima, New York, United States. It is named for a biblical location named in Exodus 15:27, wherein Elim is described as an oasis in the wilderness.
The Independent Assemblies of God International (IAOGI) is a pentecostal Christian association with roots in a revival of the 1890s among the Scandinavian Baptist and Pietist communities in the United States. Independent Assemblies of God International is a member of the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America. International offices are located in Laguna Hills, California.
The Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America (PCCNA) is an interdenominational fellowship of Pentecostal and charismatic churches and denominations in North America, existing for the purpose of promoting cooperation and understanding. It is a successor to the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America (PFNA). PCCNA headquarters are in Los Angeles, California.
The International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies (IFCA), formerly known as the Christian Church of North America (CCNA), is a North American Pentecostal denomination with roots in the Italian-American community, but is now a multicultural denomination. Central offices are located in Transfer, Pennsylvania. Ministries of the church include Benevolence, Home Missions, FOCUS, Foreign Missions, Education, Lay Ministries, and Public Relations. A convention is held annually, and their official publication is Vista, a quarterly magazine.
The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) is a Finished Work Pentecostal denomination of Christianity and the largest evangelical church in Canada. Its headquarters is located in Mississauga, Ontario.
The Neo-charismaticmovement is a movement within evangelical Protestant Christianity that is composed of a diverse range of independent churches and organizations that emphasize the current availability of gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and faith healing. The Neo-charismatic movement is considered to be the "third wave" of the Charismatic Christian tradition which began with Pentecostalism, and was furthered by the Charismatic movement. As a result of the growth of postdenominational and independent charismatic groups, Neo-charismatics are now believed to be more numerous than the first and second wave categories. As of 2002, some 19,000 denominations or groups, with approximately 295 million individual adherents, were identified as Neo-charismatic.
Renewal is the collective term for Charismatic, Pentecostal and Neo-charismatic churches.
Gilbert Earl Patterson was an American Holiness Pentecostal leader and pastor who served as the founding pastor of the Temple of Deliverance COGIC Cathedral of Bountiful Blessings, one of the largest COGIC Churches in the Eastern United States, from 1975 to 2007. He also served as the Presiding Bishop the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), Incorporated, a 6 million-member Holiness Pentecostal denomination, that has now grown to become one of the largest predominantly African American Pentecostal denominations in the United States, from 2000 to 2007. Bishop Patterson was the second youngest person to ever be elected Presiding Bishop of COGIC at the age of 60 in 2000, second to his predeceased uncle Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr., who was 56 when he was elected Presiding Bishop in 1968. Patterson was famously known across many Christian denominations for being an educated Pentecostal-Charismatic preacher and theologian, and known for his eloquent and musically charismatic preaching style, which was often featured on his church's television broadcasts through BET and the Word Network.
Louis Francescon was a missionary and pioneer of the Italian Pentecostal Movement. Several Pentecostal denominations and fellowships acknowledge him as their founder, including the Christian Church of North America, the Christian Assembly in Argentina, the Assemblies of God in Italy, the Christian Congregation in the United States, and the Christian Congregation of Brazil.
The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially The General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States and the U.S. branch of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal body. The AG reported 2.9 million adherents in 2022. In 2011, it was the ninth largest Christian denomination and the second largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. The Assemblies of God is a Finished Work denomination, and it holds to a conservative, evangelical and classical Arminian theology as expressed in the Statement of Fundamental Truths and position papers, which emphasize such core Pentecostal doctrines as the baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, divine healing and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Finished Work Pentecostalism is a major branch of Pentecostalism that holds that after conversion, the converted Christian progressively grows in grace. On the other hand, the other branch of Pentecostalism—Holiness Pentecostalism teaches the Wesleyan doctrine of entire sanctification as an instantaneous, definite second work of grace, which is a necessary prerequisite to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Finished Work Pentecostals are generally known to have retained the doctrine of progressive sanctification from their earlier Reformed roots, while Holiness Pentecostals retained their doctrine of entire sanctification from their earlier Wesleyan roots. William Howard Durham is considered to be the founder of Finished Work Pentecostalism.
Ozro Thurston Jones Sr. was a Holiness Pentecostal denomination leader and minister, who was the second Senior Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, Inc. (1962–1968), succeeding Bishop Charles Harrison Mason, who was the founder. The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is the fourth largest denomination in the United States, being in the Holiness Pentecostal tradition.
William Howard Durham was an early Pentecostal preacher and theologian, best known for advocating the Finished Work doctrine.
James Oglethorpe Patterson Jr. was a Holiness Pentecostal minister in the Church of God in Christ and a former mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, the first African-American to hold the office.
The Pentecostal Assemblies of Newfoundland and Labrador (PAONL) is a Finished Work Pentecostal denomination in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is one of four Canadian branches of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world. The denomination claims approximately 117 affiliated churches. The PAONL has a close relationship to the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, its sister denomination within the World AG Fellowship, and is a member of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
Charismatic Christianity is a form of Christianity that emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts as an everyday part of a believer's life. It has a global presence in the Christian community. Practitioners are often called charismatic Christians or renewalists. Although there is considerable overlap, charismatic Christianity is often categorized into three separate groups: Pentecostalism, the Charismatic movement, and the neo-charismatic movement.
