This study explores the religious conversion of young people to Neo-Pentecostalism in Mexico. Neo-Pentecostalism is a new form of belief and worship which emerged in the 1970s, and which is considered the third wave of the Pentecostal movement. The most interesting aspect of this religion lies in its religious proposal, which presents a modern approach to religion. Its popularity seems to reach nonbelievers, Catholics and Protestants, but especially young people. However, to date we still know little about this new religion. Therefore, this study proposes to give a better understanding of Neo-Pentecostalism and to find out why young people find it so appealing. For that reason, conversion stories were collected from young members of a Neo-Pentecostal church in Xalapa, Mexico. This research uses a multifactorial approach to analyse the causes of conversion and to gain a complete overview of the factors infuencing conversions to Neo-Pentecostalism. This thesis argues that young people are becoming Neo-Pentecostal because it offers a new form of religion adapted to their necessities and in conformance with contemporary Mexican society.

This thesis is a modest practical-prophetic ecclesiology of the Pentecostal church. In Part 1， a theological identification of Pentecostals is proposed and is shown to be a useful working definition. Nicholas Healy's practical-prophetic ecclesiology is described and its usefulness, for the examination of Pentecostal ecclesiology, considered. In Part 2， a review of the theology of the priesthood of believers and the prophethood of believers is given in order to determine the practices that these two doctrines represent. Using an eschatological framework enables a Pentecostal definition of the two doctrines as well as partitioning the practices into initiation, the priesthood of believers, the prophethood of believers and being a Spirit-led community. The history and influences that have moulded two contemporary Australian Pentecostal church movements are described, and the beliefs, represented by their statements of faith, are analysed. Part 3 demonstrates the practical-prophetic ecclesiology using an extended discussion of the practice of Pentecostal worship in Hillsong Churches and a briefer discussion concerning the contemporary exercise of the spiritual gift of prophecy in Christian City Churches. Part 4 is the conclusion.

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No description available.

This thesis undertakes the task of developing and articulating an authentically Pentecostal theology of the Lord's Supper, one that is purposively attuned to early Pentecostal spirituality and in harmony with the witness of Scripture and the wider Christian spiritual-theological tradition as well. Having comprehensively reviewed the current state of scholarly Pentecostal treatments of the Lord's Supper, the study provides a detailed examination of the early Pentecostal periodical literature, uncovering the basic contours of the sacramental thought and practice of the movement's earliest days, and engages in a Pentecostal reading of key scriptural texts. Informed by these discoveries, the study produces a robustly Pentecostal constructive account of the Eucharist- event, including exploration of the theological and practical issues and concerns that matter most to Pentecostals. The final chapter draws out some implications of this study and provides a few suggestions for further research.

The Pentecostal Movement was brought to Japan by the group of missionaries led by Martin L. Ryan in 1907. Although their own ministry in Japan was short-lived, they shared the Pentecostal message to William and Mary Taylor, who worked as Pentecostal missionaries in Japan from 1913. Estella Bemauer also worked as a Pentecostal missionary in Japan from 1910. Moreover, the Taylors and Beranuer worked with Makoto Niki and Ichitaro Takigawa, who had become Japanese Pentecostal ministers. However, all of these missionaries and ministers as well as many others have been forgotten and omitted from the official history of the Japan Assemblies of God (JAG), which emphasizes the work of the Carl F. Juergensen family and the Japanese minister who worked closely with them, Kiyoma Yumiyama. An accurate history needs to include all workers and to give an account of their various ministries. In the beginning, the Pentecostal missionaries worked independently and had a loose fellowship, but the forming of the Japan District of the American AG in 1920 resulted in a Japanese Trinitarian Pentecostal denomination, the Japan Pentecostal Church, which is the early forerunner of the Japan Assemblies of God. The Japan Pentecostal Church evolved and became the Japan Bible Church in 1929. Before it needed to dissolve because of new government regulations around the time of World War IT, the Japan Bible Church experienced a series of transformations: the split of the Takinogawa Mission as the Takinogwa Holy 1 r Spirit Church in 1938, the removal of missionaries from Japan in 1940, and the split of the Spirit of Jesus Church in 1941. I Before the war, missionaries and Japanese ministers worked together and formed a "mission," which became the place where they continued to do ministry. The relationship of missionaries and ministers differed with each mission. But ... gradually Japanese ministers gained a higher status, and with the break of WWII, the missionaries had to depart from Japan, leaving the Japanese ministers in charge. After the war, the JAG started as a Japanese led organization under the strong authority and leadership of its superintendent Kiyoma Yumiyama, while nevertheless resting upon the unique cooperation and a certain balance of power between the missionaries and Japanese ministers. The JAG had a lack of funds and was financially dependent on the missionaries, who often took the initiative to start local churches, for which there was a great need. But with the growth of the Japanese economy and development of the JAG, the missionaries gradually came to have a more subordinate role in the JAG. With the retirement of Yumiyama as superintendent in 1973, followed by the transfer of both the ownership of the property of JAG headquarters as well as the authority for Central Bible College from American AG to the JAG in 1975, the post war era of the JAG's history had come to an end. The JAG had become a more autonomous and independent denomination.

Since the emergence of Spirit Christology in the latter part of the twentieth-century, its proponents have reached back to the ancient church to identify Christologies which bear similarities with their christological proposals. Normally, these scholars do not extend the recognition of Christologies bearing these characteristics past the Council of Chalcedon, leaving a considerable historical gap until the rise of the rhodern discussion of Spirit Christology. Whereas Spirit Christology is a modern i theological concept which places its terms and symbols onto ancient Christologies I demonstrating specific pneumatic characteristics, it is reasonable to assume that dther christological forms may exist, in various epochs, which exhibit these distinctives. This thesis, therefore, seeks to fill this lacuna in the fields of historical theology and Spirit Christology by discovering proponents and their writings demonstrating these Spirit christological traits. Moreover, Pentecostals have actively participated in the contemporary discussion of Spirit Christology; thus, this study examines Pentecostalism's early periodical literature to identify the presence of Spirit Christology in these writings and determine how well Spirit Christology Jorrelates with early Pentecostal theology. Furthermore, the thesis' conclusions are assessed for their possible implications for Pentecostal theology.

No Abstract available / Practical Theology / D.Th. (Practical Theology)

No Abstract available / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Practical Theology)

The Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal movements propose a subsequent to salvation Spirit baptism. This baptism is viewed as an experience in which the Spirit either confers or awakens gifts within the life of the believer. The thesis ofthis paper is that Spirit baptism occurs at conversion. Spirit filling on the other hand is one of many metaphors to describe the work of the eschatological Spirit subsequent to salvation. This distinguishing of Spirit baptism and Spirit filling is different to the Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal idea that Spirit baptism and Spirit filling are synonymous experiences that occur at some point subsequent to salvation. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / Th. M. (Systematic Theology)