Pentecostalism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A glance at the past, present and future through the lens of three fundamental dimensions

Abstract

This article is a prospective analysis of the past, present and future of the Pentecostal movement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Central to the doctrinal identity of this movement is the belief in baptism in the Holy Spirit, together with the ensuing gifts understood to flow from this experience. The study contends (argues) that spiritual formulations have never served to safeguard the doctrine from decline; indeed, the reverse appears to be the case. Situated within a systematic reconstruction framework, the research advances the view that the abandonment of the core dimensions, often under the guise of progressiveness, would lead to the rise of a new expression of Pentecostalism in the DRC. Given the study’s transformative orientation, an analytical method was employed to achieve the stated objectives. Both diachronic and synchronic perspectives were integrated, with particular attention to three Pentecostal dimensions (Christocentric and biblical, prophetic and pneumatological, and eschatological).
Contribution: The present article undertakes an examination of three fundamental dimensions of Pentecostalism. It issues a call to Pentecostal Christians to exercise vigilance in safeguarding the movement’s core tenets to counter the proliferation of divergent forms of Pentecostalism. Such forms of Pentecostalism are characterised by practices, such as personality cults, which stand in tension with fundamental biblical teachings.