a contextual missiology of the spirit - eTheses Repository ...

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Pentecostalism has become a leading force in global Christianity today. 1 Allan
Anderson observes that the global Charismatic Christianity is ‘the fastest
expanding religious movement in the world today.’ 2 Analyzing the phenomenal
growth of Pentecostalism, Philip Jenkins comments that it is ‘perhaps the most
successful social movement of the past century.’ 3 According to Anderson, if the
statistics of David Barrett are taken into account, Pentecostalism is the second
largest segment of Christianity after Roman Catholicism, and it ‘represents a
quarter of all Christians.’ 4
Pentecostal Christianity is growing rapidly in India as in many parts of the world.
Stanley Burgess observes that Indian Pentecostalism is the fifth largest sector of
Global Charismatic Christianity. 5 Pentecostals are present in almost every part of
India, including north-west India, where the Christian population is comparatively
low. In Rajasthan, the largest state in India, the Christian message has had little
impact. According to the 2001 Government census of India, Rajasthan has a
1 In the present study the terms ‘Pentecostal’ and ‘Charismatic’ are used interchangeably with the
same meaning unless otherwise stated. A short discussion on the definition of the term is given in
a later part of this chapter.
2 Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity
(Cambridge: CUP, 2004), 14.
3 Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (Oxford: OUP, 2002),
8.
4 Anderson, Introduction to Pentecostalism, 1. He considered David B. Barrett and Todd M.
Johnson, ‘Annual Statistical Table on Global Mission 2003,’ IBMR 27, no.1 (2003): 25.
5 Stanley M. Burgess, ‘Pentecostalism in India: An Overview,’ AJPS 4, no.1 (2001): 85.
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