Visual Representation SummaryThe first Pentecostals in the modern sense appeared on the scene in 1901 in the city of Topeka, Kansas. This first Pentecostal church held a Bible school conducted by Charles Fox Parham, a holiness teacher and former Methodist pastor. The first person to be baptized in the Holy Spirit accompanied by speaking in tongues was Agnes Ozman, one of Parham's Bible School students, who spoke in tongues on the very first day of the new century January 1, 1901.In 1906 Pentecostalism achieved worldwide attention through the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles led by the African-American preacher William J. Seymour. Seymour opened the historic meeting in April, 1906 i ...view middle of the document...
Call to worship is when the initiation of the worshipping starts. The initiation can be a simple signal to tell fellow worshippers to quiet down and pay attention. The singing is a very important part of worship and there is a combination of songs, hymns, and choruses. Prayer is done individually or collectively. In the Pentecostal churches, prayers are sometimes chanted. Offerings are either proceeding or follow a special prayer. Tithes are enforced in the Pentecostal church. Scripture reading is done before the sermon is preached. Preaching is the climax of the worshipping session and it is the time the message is given to the congregation.The message is amplified through chants, moans, dancing, and other ecstatic behaviors. Alter call is a formal ritual of response to the preached word. Pentecostal churches sometimes have two calls. One is for the sinners to repent and the other is the ritual for hands to be laid on the sick or distressed. This ritual normally includes using anointing oil. Benediction is a prayer at the end of the worshipping service. The minister and sometimes the worshippers raise their hands during the benediction (Sanders, 2003).The Pentecostal Religion has three symbols that represent different meanings for every Religion, but for them as what they will believe and what their religion has been taught to believe. One of the main symbols for the Pentecostal is the Dove with the olive branch and that will mean peace for them. The olive branch represents when the water is receding from the flood, the dove brought the olive branch and it was the sign that it was safe to return out of the ark. The fire is the meaning of God because of this many people received Jesus Christ as their Savior. Fire is the Holy Spirit and is the purification of humanity and the flame led Israel through the wilderness by night.Pentecostal religion and beliefs represent the fastest-growing segment of worldwide Christianity today. Topics such as Holy Spirit revival, spiritual gifts, faith healing, and spirituality, end times prophecy and the true essence of Pentecostal religion and beliefs (Wikipedia, 2006).Glossolalia is the most commonly accepted term for speaking in tongues. It comes from the Greek words meaning tongues or languages and to speak. Speaking in tongues is primarily practiced by Pentecostal Christians. Glossolalia is the prayer language of Pentecostal churches. Some Christians who speak in tongues believe they are speaking in an existing language. Most believe they are uttering a heavenly tongue. Some Pentecostal denominations teach that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Although confusing even for some believers who practice speaking in tongues, many Pentecostal denominations teach three distinctions or types of speaking in tongues (Wikipedia, 2006).Speaking in tongues are some of the ecstatic expression of worship that occurs occasionally in some contexts of worship in the Pentecostal...
