Christianity – A Type of Charismatic Spirituality

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Christianity – A Type of Charismatic Spirituality

Christianity is a religion based on the life of Jesus of Nazareth. It is Abrahamic monotheistic and has over 2.38 billion followers worldwide.

Christianity has a long apostolic tradition. Its core activity is evangelism. Evangelism involves a redemptive praxis that focuses on persisting in faith while being converted and baptized into the faith.

Pentecostal Christianity is a type of charismatic Christianity, and it is also considered a form of evangelism. This movement grew out of the indigenous Christian prophetic movements in colonial Africa. In the early years of the missionary movement, evangelicals were influenced by the success of Pentecostal Christians.

One of the major features of Pentecostal Christianity is the “gift of tongues,” in which the Holy Spirit descends and the believers speak in foreign languages. However, in Scripture, miracles only occur in the presence of the Lord.

Healings were a special gift given to the apostles. They had power over demons and over disease. But healings were rarely performed by believers. Rather, the gifts were a sign that the apostles were the messengers of God.

A new type of charismatic spirituality, originating from a group of evangelicals, called “The Third Wave” crossed denominational boundaries and became widely practiced. Among those pioneering the movement were John Wimber, Ted Haggard, Charles Kraft, and George Otis.

The Third Wave developed from an approach to evangelism gleaned from the Church Growth movement. Church Growth encouraged missionaries to acquire deep cultural knowledge of “unreached people’s groups” to better “sow the Word” and reap a harvest.