Pentecostalism…Pentecol Christianity, just over 100 years old, is the largest Christian denomination in the world.…In Christianity, a dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit

What is Pentecostal Christianity?

How is it the same and different as traditional Christianity?

What is speaking in tongues?

These are a few of the common questions people have about Pentecostalism.

The largest and fastest-growing segment of Christianity today is Pentecostalism. It’s estimated that the movement has 500 million adherents worldwide. While the modern-expression of Pentecostal Christianity began in America in the early 20th century, by the beginning of the 21st century, the movement gained significant strength in Africa, Asia, and South America as well.

To understand the movement one must become familiar with its history and the individuals that comprise it. Like other expressions of Christianity, the movement has successes and failures, unification and division, heroes and villains. Yet what has united all Pentecostals is the testimony of having experienced a unique gifting of the Holy Spirit similar to the one that the early church experienced on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2 in the New Testament.