Pentecostalism

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Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit.^[1] The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, a Greek term describing 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,^[2] and Pentecostals tend to see their movement as reflecting the same kind of spiritual power, worship styles and teachings that were found in the early church. For this reason, some Pentecostals also use the term Apostolic or full gospel to describe their movement.

Pentecostalism is an umbrella term that includes a wide range of different theological and organizational perspectives. As a result, there is no single central organization or church that directs the movement. Furthermore, Pentecostals are theologically diverse with some groups being Trinitarian and others Nontrinitarian.^[3] Many Pentecostal groups are affiliated with the Pentecostal World Conference.

Pentecostalism's emphasis on the charismata places it within Charismatic Christianity, a broad grouping of Christians which have accepted some Pentecostal teachings on Spirit baptism and spiritual gifts. Pentecostalism is theologically and historically close to the charismatic movement as it significantly influenced that movement, and sometimes the terms Pentecostal and charismatic are used interchangeably. Pentecostalism claims more than 250 million adherents worldwide.^[4] When charismatics are included with Pentecostals the number increases to nearly a quarter of the world's two billion Christians.^[1]