At CHC, the people pray in tongues and believe for healing and miracles. Pentecostalism is part of the church’s theology, and City News takes a look at what that means.
City Harvest Church is a Protestant, evangelical, Pentecostal church. In the Coffee With Kong session in March 2021, the senior pastor of CHC, Kong Hee, explained the importance of understanding the doctrines that the church is founded upon.
A doctrine is a body of truth regarding a theological theme. It is essential that the members of a church know what the church believes in and why, as its doctrine informs all it is and does.
CHC is a Protestant church. In all of Christendom in the world, there are 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, 1 billion Protestants, and 200 million Eastern Orthodox Christians. Out of all the Christians in the world, 600 million or one in every four Christian is a Pentecostal or Charismatic (as they are referred to in the Catholic church).
CHC is also a Classical Pentecostal church. Most Classical Pentecostals are Protestants, and they are broadly evangelicals. Protestants are Christians that are separate from the Roman Catholic Church, in accordance with the principles of the Reformation led by Martin Luther in 1517 when he sought reform in the Catholic Church. Evangelicals believe in four main things: conversionism (one must be born again), biblicism (the Bible is the inerrant Word of God), crucicentrism (focused on the atoning work of Jesus on the cross) and activism (one must win others to Jesus).
Classical Pentecostals possess two main characteristics: one, they are highly committed to Scripture, holding the Bible to the highest authority as the true Word of God. Two, they are committed to spiritual gifts and the miraculous, as it is taught in the Bible.
A QUICK HISTORY OF PENTECOSTALISM
The 20th century is widely regarded as the Century of the Holy Spirit by theologians. Most Pentecostals trace their roots back to the Azusa Street Revival of 1906 in Los Angeles, USA. Even before that outpouring of the Holy Spirit, there were revivals with charismatic occurrences breaking out all over the world, from Korea to India to Wales.
John Wesley (1703-1791) sparked off the Wesleyan-Holiness and Higher Life movements, which became the foundation of Pentecostalism. The Holiness Cradle gave rise to terms like “second blessing”, “entire sanctification”, “being filled with the Holy Spirit” and “baptism by the Holy Spirit”. The Holiness Christians insisted that the miraculous gifts in the New Testament continue beyond the apostolic age into the present-day church.
In Topeka, Kansas, Charles Fox Parham started Bethel Bible College, focusing on the Holy Spirit. The college held an overnight prayer meeting on 31 Dec 1900 that went on into 1 Jan 1901, during which the students of the college broke out in tongues. The students agreed on two things: outward manifestations always accompany the Holy Spirit’s activity, and speaking in tongues is the outward sign, the proof of baptism in the Holy Spirit. This led to theologians accepting that speaking in tongues is evidence of baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is the spiritual birthright of every Christian.
In 1906 the Azusa Street Revival took place, led by African American pastor William J Seymour. On 9 April, Seymour and a group of seven men were waiting on God on Bonnie Brae Street when they were knocked to the ground from their chairs and burst out in tongues, praising God. The news of this spread fast and crowds came from everywhere, falling under the power of the Holy Spirit and the sick were healed. They moved to a two- storey building that used to be a Methodist church, and revival continued there for three years. The Azusa Street Revival saw great growth to 1,300 in regular attendance (a very big gathering in the day), with spontaneous services held three times a day. There was an emphasis on humility and Seymour’s central message was on the love of God, unity and equality. There was a drop in racial and social discrimination, women were raised up as leaders, and there was effective publication and communication of all that was happening.
THREE WAVES OF PENTECOSTALISM
The Azusa Street Revival marked the first wave: Classical Pentecostalism. There were three types of Classical Pentecostals: the Wesleyan-Holiness Pentecostals, the Reformed/Baptistic Pentecostals and the “Oneness” Pentecostals.
The Second Wave happened in the 1960s and was known as neo-Pentacostalism or the Charismatic Movement. It marked the penetration of the Pentecostal experience into mainline denominational churches. In the 1950s, David DuPlessis, who was widely known as “Mr Pentecostal” began promoting unity in different denominations and shared the Pentecostal experience with Christian in the traditional churches, in particular the Roman Catholics. Revival took place in the Catholic Church in the 1960s, with the Second Vatican Council creating an atmosphere of openness to the charismatic work of the Holy Spirit. There was also revival in the Anglican church: in 1960, Dennis Bennett, the rector of St Mark’s Episcopal Church in California announced to his congregation that he had spoken in tongues.
The Third Wave, known as the Neo-Charismatic Movement, took place in the 1980s. This wave was marked by the growing numbers of conservative evangelicals who now embraced the full range of spiritual gifts, notably the Vineyard Churches founded by John Wimber which separated from Calvary Chapel when he began preaching about healing and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Anthony van Dyck’s Descent of the Holy Spirit (1618-1620)
But unlike classical Pentecostals, neo-Pentecostals do not believe that baptism in the Holy Spirit is separate from conversion. These also do not believe that God intends for every Christian to receive the gift of tongues, or that tongues is the first physical evidence of baptism in the Spirit.
IMPORTANT LESSONS FROM PENTECOSTAL HISTORY
Since the 120 in the Upper Room received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, Christians have the privilege of fully embracing their inheritance: all the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The first lesson gleaned from the history of the Pentecostalism is that every revival is a sovereign act of God, followed by a corresponding response from God’s people. True revivals cannot be manufactured—only God Himself can bring about revival. When believers encounter God and say “Yes” to Him, humble themselves to fast and pray, that is when revivals come about.
Secondly, there is a need to recognise the Holy Spirit as the only Source and to depend wholly on Him for guidance. Putting one’s faith in the Word of God is crucial, but knowing the obeying the Author of that word is equally important. It should be normal for every Christian to move in the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus did, and heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out evil spirits.
Thirdly, every revival is sustained by genuine encounters of the power of the Holy Spirit. Every revival and reformation is the realisation and fulfilment of Acts 1:8—believers will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they will be witness to Jesus to the ends of the earth. Without signs and wonders, Christians have not fully preached the gospel of Christ.
Asbury University experienced a revival in February this year with continuous repentance and worship happening over a two week period
As a Pentecostal church, CHC has experienced six waves of revival by the power of the Holy Spirit, and it awaits its seventh. It is clear that the Holy Spirit continues to move and bring about revival, most recently evidenced by the Asbury Revival in Asbury University in Kentucky which happened from 8 to 24 February this year.
Source of this article is Introduction To Pentecostalism Lesson 1, taught by the School of Theology in 2022.
