Many separate the atonement from Pentecost to the degree that the link between them is lost. I wish to explore that link. The link is based on the insight that the cross of Christ is not limited to Israel. Rather, Christ seeks at the cross to open his life to all peoples, redeeming persons “from every tribe, and language, and people, and nation” (Rev. 5:9) and breaking down the wall of hostility between them (Eph. 2:14-16). The Spirit is poured out on all peoples at Pentecost in loyalty to the cross and for the sake of the crucified and risen Christ.
This paper will look at the challenges ahead for the Church in China and provide a general orientation of Xi Jinping’s governance, particularly those elements with direct bearing on the present state of the Church. It will follow by highlighting several issues which would perceive as major challenges facing the Church in China in the coming decade: Ecclesial manifestation and internalization of faith, Christian Unity, Sinicization: Christianity in China or Chinese Christianity, and lastly Missiology, Diasporas and nationalistic sentiment.
The study begins with the challenge of the charismatic leadership model in explaining Pentecostal leadership, and the Spirit-empowered leadership model is proposed as an alternative. As the first step, the study explores four essential characteristics of the Spirit-empowered leaders from the Old Testament. This biblical examination also takes two Pentecostal leadership studies to bring the contemporary issues of Pentecostal leadership.
The problem of violence is nothing new, and it goes back to the beginnings of humanity, when Cain murdered his brother Abel. This is now a universal problem, everywhere and everytime there is violence.
Origin and emergence of the Civil War in El Salvador (1980-1992) and gangs in El Salvador (1992-2023).
What was the role of the Pentecostal church in the midst of violence, and how can the church respond to this problem?
Above all we have been called to preach the gospel. The Pentecostal Gospel that we preach fills all human needs even in the midst of contexts of violence, for every culture, every individual and at all times.
The global ecological crisis is an undeniable fact. Evidence of the existence of this ecological crisis can be found everywhere in the form of the emergence of global warming that triggers climate change with the result of extreme weather (very heavy rain and long drought), the reduction in the volume of glaciers on the earth’s surface and the rise of seawater that
threatens the lives of humans living on the coast.
As part of the Christian tradition, Pentecostals can contribute meaningful thoughts to prevent this destruction of the earth with one of its theological legacies – the Full Gospel Theology. There are four or five aspects of the Full Gospel: Salvation, Divine Healing, Holy Spirit Baptism, and Sanctification. These four or five aspects of the Full Gospel of Pentecost can all be used to build a typical Pentecostal constructive ecotheology. However, in this paper, only one aspect of the Full Gospel, divine healing, will be explored.
The paper opens with contemporary data that illustrates that the ecological crisis is not a myth; the next section highlights the common understanding of divine healing in the minds of modern Pentecostals, which stems from the understanding that salvation includes not only spiritual but material dimensions as well. It will then be explained why this doctrine of divine healing eventually tends to be confined to the individual-physical realm within the community of Pentecostals. Finally, a way out to extend the doctrine of divine healing to the cosmic realm is done primarily by using two concepts: deep Incarnation and a vision of the sacred Earth.
Singapore is emerging as what might be termed “the Antioch of Pentecostalism” in the East. Its geographical advantage, stability and multiculturalism is establishing it as a Pentecostal epicentre. Its thriving Pentecostal community, comprising churches and educational institutions, is a launching pad for Pentecostal missions to neighbouring regions. However, several challenges loom. Singapore’s laws to maintain social harmony necessitates the rethinking of Pentecostal worship and evangelism. Pentecostalism faces resistance and competition from established Asian religious traditions, necessitating interfaith dialogue and cooperation. Maintaining the movement’s authenticity is challenging in the cosmopolitan and commercialised city-state, with its global connectivity and openness to all ideas.
Global Ambassador,
World Evangelical Alliance
(Canada)
Brian Stiller is the global ambassador of the World Evangelical Alliance, an association representing more than 600 million Evangelical Christians. He has a BA in History from the University of Toronto, MRE from Wycliffe College, and DMin from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Dr Brian has also received honorary doctorates from Briercrest College and Trinity Western University.
In the 1960s, Dr Brian worked with youth, first as director of Youth for Christ (YFC) in Montreal, then Toronto YFC (now Youth Unlimited), and finally as president of YFC Canada. He was formerly the president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. Within months of his appointment, he founded and became editor-in-chief of Canada’s first national Christian magazine, Faith Today (1983). His opinions and views on issues of moral concern have often been conveyed through weekly television (including Cross Currents on Vision TV) and other media platforms. He has authored and edited 14 books including, Evangelicals Around the World: A Global Handbook for the 21st Century (2015), An Insider’s Guide to Praying for the World (2016), and From Jerusalem to Timbuktu: A Global Tour of the Spread of Christianity (2018).
Dr Brian was also the former president of Tyndale University College and Seminary after the school had gone through a major restructuring. During his tenure, Tyndale became a university and grew to become Canada’s largest seminary. Upon his retirement from his presidency at Tyndale, Dr Brian was named president of the Tyndale Foundation.
Professor of Christian Theology,
Vanguard University
(USA)
Frank Macchia is the associate director of the Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies at Bangor University in Wales, and he is also a professor of Christian Theology at Vanguard University in California. He holds an MDiv from Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University in New York and DTh from the University of Basel in Switzerland. He received his doctorate with distinction and won the Jacob Burckhardt Prize for his dissertation on the message of the Blumhardts.
Prof Frank was formerly the president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS) and the editor of its Pneuma journal. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the SPS in 2015. He was also awarded an honorary DDiv from the Pentecostal Theological Seminary in Tennessee, which is the leading seminary for the Church of God.
As an ecumenical theologian, Prof Frank engages in broad conversations, serving six years on the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches in America, as well as in other conversations, such as the Reformed and Pentecostal Dialogue. He has participated in numerous ecumenical consultations, including the World Council of Churches/Evangelical Dialogue, and the Consultation on Christian Unity held at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Visiting Research Fellow,
Holy Spirit Center
(HKSAR, China)
Kim-Kwong Chan is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Holy Spirit Center of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong. He earned a BSc in Nutrition from McGill University in Canada, MDiv from China Graduate School of Theology, MA from University of Ottawa, STL from Pontifical St Paul University, PhD from University of Ottawa, and DTh from Pontifical St Paul University. Dr Chan also undertook graduate studies on agricultural economics at the University of London and post graduate Advanced Certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy under China American Psychoanalytic Alliance.
Dr Chan is an ordained minister, and vice-chair of the Christian Nationals’ Evangelism Commission. He had served as the programme director and senior fellow of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C., the chaplain of the Chung Chi College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the executive secretary of the Hong Kong Christian Council, until his retirement in 2016. He has authored and co-authored 12 books, mostly on Christianity in China. He has also published 60+ academic papers in journals and chapters in books in English, Chinese, and French. Dr Chan is the co-editor of an Internet database* on sources of Christianity from more than 2,700 volumes of county gazetteers in China.
Distinguished Professor of Global Christianity,
Oral Roberts University
(South Korea)
Wonsuk Ma is the Distinguished Professor of Global Christianity and PhD program director at Oral Roberts University. His first theological study was at Full Gospel Theological College (now Hansei University), which was disrupted for two years when he had to serve as a soldier in Vietnam. His first ministry was at an Assemblies of God church located at the original place where Dr David Yonggi Cho set up his first tent church. Within this period, Dr Wonsuk ministered among youth, married his wife Julie, and received his ordination.
Dr Wonsuk was formerly a missionary educator in the Philippines, where he launched the Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies in 1998 and the Journal of Asian Mission in 1999. He also served as the executive director and David Yonggi Cho Research Tutor of Global Christianity at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies. During this time, he led the publication of the 35-volume Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series (2010). He has participated in various international mission and ecumenical functions, including the Reformed and Pentecostal Dialogue, Edinburgh 2010, the Lausanne Movement, and various ecumenical conferences including the World Council of Churches and the Global Christian Forum.
His research interests include Old Testament theology, the prophets, the Spirit of God in the Old Testament, contextual theology, Asian Pentecostalism, Pentecostal mission, and global Christianity. Dr Wonsuk has authored and edited 13 books, in addition to numerous scholarly writings. His desire is to bring together the theological richness of the Old Testament, local theologies of Pentecostalism (as experienced in Asia), the bigger global picture of the Spirit’s work in present time, and God’s unchanging mission in human history.
Lead Pastor,
Centro Evangelistico
(El Salvador)
Juan Angel Castro has been the general director and senior pastor of the Assemblies of God in El Salvador since 1996. He holds a BTh from Universidad Cristiana de las Asambleas de Dios (UCAD) and MA in Theological Studies (Leadership Development) from Vanguard University in California. He is also an ontological coach with an MA in Biblical Coaching. Rev Juan is a board member of UCAD and Liceo Cristiano “Reverendo Juan Bueno”.
Rev Juan’s areas of experience include designing a relevant leadership culture to develop the potential of emerging leaders, creating a culture of reconciliation in El Salvador, developing transformation spaces in the community, and generating dialogue between church and culture.
Director,
Pentecostal Research Centre,
Satyabhaki Theological College
(Indonesia)
Gani Wiyono was ordained in 2004 and is the senior pastor of the Assemblies of God church GSJA El-Roi Grogol in Jakarta. He is also a senior lecturer and the director of the Pentecostal Research Centre in Satyabhakti Theological College in Malang, and the director of the department of education for the Assemblies of God in Indonesia.
Dr Gani earned his PhD in chemistry from Brawijaya State University in Malang, and received his MA, MDiv and ThM from Asia Pacific Theological Seminary in the Philippines. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on Pentecostal theology, history of the modern Pentecostal and Charismatic movement, pneumatology, ecclesiology, and eschatology.
Dr Gani has published books and academic journal articles on the history of the Assemblies of God, and on Pentecostalism in Indonesia. He has also presented papers regularly at global conferences since 1997.
Senior Pastor,
City Harvest Church
(Singapore)
Rev Dr Kong Hee is the senior pastor of City Harvest Church (CHC), which he co-founded with his wife Sun in 1989. CHC has an average weekly attendance of 23,868, with a collective membership of approximately 45,000 when including all branch and affiliate churches. In 2012, CHC was one of the 10 global churches larger than America’s largest.*
During his early days, Kong was involved in church-planting work and served at Christ for Asia in the Philippines. In 1994, Kong founded the School of Theology, which has since trained 8,284 individuals, empowering them, and releasing them in the power of the Spirit, into the mission fields of their schools, workplaces, and nations of the world. Together with Sun, they started the “Church Without Walls” (CWW) initiatives and co-founded City Harvest Community Services Association (CHCSA) in 1997, with the shared mission of aiding underprivileged children, youth-at-risk, single parents, unwed mothers, the elderly, the intellectually challenged, the terminally ill, and migrant workers. Annually, CWW assists 9,632 individuals in needs, while CHCSA supports 1,962 members of the community.
Kong earned his BSc in computer science and information systems from the National University of Singapore. He holds an MA in Theology from Vanguard University in California and an honorary doctorate from Hansei University in South Korea. Currently, he is working on his PhD as a doctoral student of Prof Frank Macchia.
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