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

that this achievement is ‘arguably the most significant global expansion of a
Christian movement in the entire history of Christianity.’ ‘The primary
motivation’ for this growth was the Pentecostals’ belief that ‘they had received the
Missionary Spirit, who had empowered them to go to the nations.’ 56
Pneumatocentricism is the core of Pentecostal missiology. From the inception of
the movement, the Holy Spirit has been understood as a missionary Spirit by
Pentecostals. This emphasis on the Spirit in Pentecostal mission theology and
practice inspired Pentecostal missiologists like Pomerville 57 and McClung 58 to
refer to Pentecostals as ‘People of the Spirit.’ McClung further explains this
Spirit-centred missiology as ‘a “theology on the move.” Its character has been
more experiential than cognitive, more activist than reflective. Pentecostals have
often acted now and theologized later.’ Although there have been attempts by
Pentecostals to articulate their teachings and practices, ‘only recently have
Pentecostal missiologists begun to solidify a more formalized “pentecostal
missions theology.”’ 59
History shows a tension within Pentecostalism over maintaining a
pneumatocentric missiology. Even in ecumenical initiatives in which Pentecostals
have participated, this tension has been evident. The discussion in the 1989
Lausanne II world mission conference illustrates this tension. Although there was
56 Anderson, Spreading Fires, 68. Also see Faupel, Everlasting Gospel, 212-221; Gary B. McGee,
‘Early Pentecostal Missionaries: They went Everywhere Preaching the Gospel,’ in Azusa Street
and Beyond, 35-40. In this article he provides a picture of the spread of Pentecostalism in its initial
period.
57 For more details, see Pomerville, Third Force, 124-27.
58 For further discussion, see Grant McClung, ‘Truth on Fire: Pentecostals and an Urgent
Missiology,’ in Azusa Street and Beyond, 80-83.
59 For further discussion, see McClung, ‘Truth on Fire,’ 78.
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