Pentecostal Movement Celebrates 100th Anniversary Amid Changes

(RNS) One hundred years after the exuberant worship of Pentecostalism started a wave of revival and the creation of new denominations in this country, members of this newest major branch of Christianity are celebrating the enormous growth of their religious movement.

The anniversary is being marked by denominational gatherings, the upcoming Pentecostal World Conference and a new 400-page book chronicling the movement now estimated to include more than 500 million worldwide.

"Beginning with only a handful of people in 1901, the number of Pentecostals increased steadily to become the largest family of Protestants in the world by the beginning of the 21st century," writes the Rev. Vinson Synan, author of "The Century of the Holy Spirit: 100 Years of Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal."

But as their movement has grown, Pentecostals have become harder to identify. They retain their long-standing commitment to evangelism and vibrant worship services, but speaking in unknown tongues -- one of the most dramatic and signature elements of their worship -- is heard less frequently.

"The Pentecostals are getting more mainline and some of them are trying to be respectable," Synan said in a recent interview. "And then a lot of people come in who love the worship and never speak with tongues and they join the churches. You have maybe half or less of Pentecostals speak the tongues. The rest of them believe in it, but they just don't speak it."

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