Once the outcasts of religious society, Pentecostals now represent the fastest-growing form of Christianity in the entire world. And based on recent statistics, a renewed emphasis on church planting among many of the largest charismatic denominations may explain why.
According to the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Life, Pentecostals make up more than 25 percent of all Christians. This group also accounts for more than 8 percent of the world’s total population. And the numbers continue to grow as charismatic church planters forge into new territory.
“The healing crusades with Oral Roberts and Reinhard Bonnke have been a major part of the growth of Pentecostalism,” explains Vinson Synan, dean of the School of Divinity at Regent University. “And the Pentecostals have strong leadership, planting churches everywhere in the world.”...