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

people saved.’ 172 As seen in chapters three and five the story of Pentecostals in
Rajasthan shows the spiritual dimension of the conversion of individuals, and also
the paramount importance of spirituality for Pentecostals. While discussing the
problem of conversion in the Indian context, S. Kim observes that ‘Christians both
serve this transforming mission of God and are also transformed by it. The
testimonies of individuals and communities who have experienced this
transformation cannot just be dismissed as socio-political movements or the
results of missionary “campaigns.”’ 173
There is a common assumption that until recently, Pentecostals have shown no
interest in the socio-political aspects of life. It is argued that they gave little
attention to ‘this-worldly aspects’ of life as they claim to be an ‘other-worldly
movement.’ The expectation of the imminent return of Jesus was a major reason
for such an attitude. 174 The tension between evangelism and social mission is
apparent throughout the history of the movement as there was an ‘eschatological
restriction’ on socio-political issues. Miller and Yamamori observe that although
Pentecostals practice ‘informal expressions of charity,’ like helping out fellow
believers in need or even people of other faiths, ‘their focus on the imminent
return of Christ typically restricts them from engaging in more programmatic and
long-term expressions of Christian social involvement.’ 175 However, in reality this
is not the focus of most Pentecostals globally today and so more of them have
172 McClung, ‘Try to Get People,’ 35.
173 S. Kim, In Search of Identity, 198.
174 For more details of this discussion, see Miller and Yamamori, Global Pentecostalism, 20-22;
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Toward a Pneumatological Theology: Pentecostal and Ecumenical
Perspectives on Ecclesiology, Soteriology and Theology of Mission, ed. Amos Yong
(Lanham/New York/Oxford: University Press of America. 2002), 179-81.
175 Miller and Yamamori, Global Pentecostalism, 31.
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