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Spiritual warfare is the Christian concept of fighting against the work of preternatural evil forces. It is based on the belief in evil spirits, or demons, that are said to intervene in human affairs in various ways. Although spiritual warfare is a prominent feature of neo-charismatic churches, various other Christian denominations and groups have also adopted practices rooted in the concepts of spiritual warfare, with Christian demonology often playing a key role in these practices and beliefs, or had older traditions of such a concept unrelated to the neo-charismatic movement, such as the exorcistic prayers of the Catholic Church and the various Eastern Orthodox churches. The term spiritual warfare is used broadly by different Christian movements and in different contexts: "by charismatics, evangelicals, and Calvinists, and applied to missiology, counseling, and women."
World Vision International is an ecumenical Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization. It was founded in 1950 by Robert Pierce as a service organization to provide care for children in Korea. In 1975, emergency and advocacy work was added to World Vision's objectives. It is active in over 100 countries with a total revenue including grants, product and foreign donations of USD $3.14 billion.
A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as educational or hospital work, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and are called missionaries, and historically may have been based in mission stations. When groups are sent, they are often called mission teams and they undertake mission trips. There are a few different kinds of mission trips: short-term, long-term, relational and those that simply help people in need. Some people choose to dedicate their whole lives to mission.
Territorial spirits are national angels, or demons who rule over certain geographical areas in the world, a concept accepted within the Charismatic movement, Pentecostalism, and Dominionist Kingdom Now theology. This belief has been popularized by the novel This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti as well as by the ministry of C. Peter Wagner and the related New Apostolic Reformation. The existence of territorial spirits is viewed as significant in spiritual warfare within these Christian groups. Related is the belief in spiritual mapping in order to locate these demonically controlled regions.
Youth With A Mission is an interdenominational Christian mission organization with a focus on missionary work and training for Christian missions.
Prosperity theology is a religious belief among some Charismatic Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive scriptural confession, and giving to charitable and religious causes will increase one's material wealth. Material and especially financial success is seen as an evidence of divine grace or favor and blessings.
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.
The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a theological belief and controversial movement that combines elements of Pentecostalism, evangelicalism and the Seven Mountain Mandate to advocate for spiritual warfare to bring about Christian dominion over all aspects of society, and end or weaken the separation of church and state. NAR leaders often call themselves apostles and prophets. The movement was founded by and heavily associated with C. Peter Wagner. Long a fringe movement of the American Christian right, it has been characterized as "one of the most important shifts in Christianity in modern times." The NAR's prominence and power have increased since the 2016 election of Donald Trump as US president. Theology professor André Gagné, author of a 2024 book on the movement, has characterized it as "inherently political" and said it threatens to "subvert democracy." American Republican politicians such as Mike Johnson, Doug Mastriano, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert and activists such as Charlie Kirk have aligned with it. Some groups within the broader Apostolic-Prophetic movement have distanced themselves from the NAR due to various criticism and controversies.
The Apostolic-Prophetic movement is a US-based Christian movement founded in the early 2000s. It is a network of non-denominational alliances of independent churches and ministries.
Luis Bush is an Argentina-born Christian missionary and the president of the Transform World Connections.
James W. Goll, formerly known as Jim Goll, is a Christian evangelist in the US.
Spiritual mapping refers to the belief among some Christians that specific demons, known as territorial spirits, are associated with specific locations and can be conquered through strategic spiritual warfare by plotting out geographical areas and their perceived problems in order to pray on-site. Spiritual mapping is part of the first of three steps in spiritual warfare, defined by sociologists Brad Christerson and Richard Flory as research, prophecy, and intercession. Religious studies scholar Sean McCloud has referred to spiritual mapping as a "Third Wave [Charismatic] version of geomancy that discerns where and why demons control spaces and places, ranging from houses and neighborhoods to entire countries."
Charles Peter Wagner was an American missionary, writer, teacher and founder of several Christian organizations. In his earlier years, Wagner was known as a key leader of the Church Growth Movement and later for his writings on spiritual warfare.
Ed Silvoso is an Argentine New Apostolic Reformation evangelist, author, and documentarian. He founded Harvest Evangelism and the Transform Our World Network, the objective of which is to end worldwide systemic poverty in its four expressions. He was a leader in the Argentine Revival during the 1990s, a pioneer in the spiritual mapping movement, and is a formative figure in the modern transformation movement. Silvoso has hosted conferences, participated in symposiums, provided leadership training, and appeared in the media. He has published six books and produced a documentary library of over forty titles.
Ché Ahn is an American evangelical pastor. Ahn is pastor of Harvest Rock Church located on the Ambassador Auditorium grounds in Pasadena, California. He leads Harvest International Ministry and is part of the New Apostolic Reformation movement. In 2000, Ahn was a leader in the evangelical youth movement TheCall. He is also the International Chancellor of Wagner University, an unaccredited institution in Rancho Cucamonga.
Poale Zion was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire at about the turn of the 20th century after the Bund rejected Zionism in 1901.
Independent Network Charismatic (INC) Christianity is a movement within evangelical charismatic Christianity which is focused on the authority of charismatic apostles and seeks the wholesale transformation of society. The term was first used in 2017 by sociologists Brad Christerson and Richard Flory in their book The Rise of Network Christianity: How Independent Leaders are Changing the Religious Landscape to describe the rapid growth of a form of Protestant Christianity from 1970 to 2010, and has since been adopted by other commentators. The movement is distinguished from other forms of Christianity by its use of network governance, based on networks of charismatic apostles, rather than more traditional church structures and hierarchies. These networks are sustained by the use of new communications technologies such as social media, which both facilitates communication between leaders in the network and enables leaders to build a following which is not tied to a geographical area. It is characterised by belief in and encouragement of the use of the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, along with a focus on the transformation of society according to Christian values through prayer and by Christians reaching positions of leadership in the areas of business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, family, and religion. INC Christianity tends to be politically conservative and, in the US, associated with support for Republican politicians.
The 40/70 Window is a term used in Christian missions to refer to Europe and Russia. Named in analogy with the 10/40 window, it takes in countries between 40 and 70 degrees north of the equator. These are historically Christian, but for a long time have experienced an increase in secularism and nominal Christianity. According to the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, it is the "largest region outside the Arab Muslim block where missions work progresses most slowly."
Charles D. Pierce is the founder and current president of Glory of Zion International Ministries. He is most known for his prophecies, including a successful prophecy that Donald Trump would be elected to the US presidency and a failed prophecy that Donald Trump would be reelected in 2020.
References
- ↑ Alves, Elizabeth; Femrite, Tommy; Kaufman, Karen (2010). Intercessors. Baker Books. p. 136. ISBN 9781441268129 . Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ↑ Holvast, René (2009). Spiritual Mapping in the United States and Argentina: 1989 - 2005: a Geography of Fear. Brill. p. 159. ISBN 978-9004170469 . Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ↑ Clarkson, Frederick; Gagné, André (7 September 2022). "Christian Right Denialism is More Dangerous Than Ever: A Reporter's Guide to the New Apostolic Reformation". Religion Dispatches . Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ↑ Global Spheres.org web page announcing absorption into Glory of Zion International Ministries
