Figure 1.--Here we a Pentecostal sunday school group. The congregation led by a naturalized American pastor born in Poland. The mission was among a community of about 2,000 Slavic homesteading families that had been given land by the Paraguayan governement during the 1930s. The children are attending Sunday school. Put your cursor on the image to see the rest of the Sunday School class.

Pentecostalism is a conservative Protestant movement that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism and contact with the Holy Spirit. In most Christian churches while the Trinity is seen as three coequal manifestations of God, the Father and Jesus are usually given the greatest attention. Pentecoastals foucs on the Holy Spirit, sometimes referred to as the Holy Chost. The name Pentecostal comes from the term Pentecost, a Greek word for the Jewish Feast of Weeks. Christians celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ suring this ame period. It is described in the New Testament. [Second chapter of Acts] Pentecostals view their Church and practices as returning to those of the early Church. Thus Pentescostals sometimes use the terms Apostolic or full gospel to describe their Church. There is not one single Pentecostal Church. Rather it is a generic term to describe many relatively small churches with a diversity of beliefs and practices. There are both Trinitarian and Nontrinitarians within the movement. The Pentecostal movement is especially developed in the United States. Pentecostal churches often subscribe to Glossolalia -- speaking in tongues. There is also a degree of freedom and spontaneity expressed during religious services. Other beliefs are widely held among conservastive Protestant denominations, including opposition to abortion, equality for variant sexual practices, and same-sex marriage. Many Pentecosatal churches belong to the Pentecostal World Conference. There are several small Pentelcoastal churches in Paraguay (Chutrch of God, Church of God of Prophecy, Dios is Amor, and Pentecostal). Paraguay was closed to Protestants until the Wars of Liberation (ealy-19th century). Protestants were subsquently tolerated to a degree, but full freedom of worship was not guaranteed until the 20th century (1911). We note a Pentecostal community in Paraguay of about 2,000 Slavic homesteading families that were given land by the Paraguayan governement during the 1930s. The group set up a community school in the 1930s where the children wear white smocks. We think this was because at the time Paraguayan school children wore white smocks like children in Argentina and Uruguay. We do not yet have details on just why the Paraguayan Government supported this group. Even so, Protestant missionaries were not permitted until the 1961 constitution was approved. Chile has the oldest and strongest Pentecostal movement in Latin America. The Pentecostal movement in Paraguay and many other Latin American countries is much smaller, although the movement has appeared to have affected other Christian denominations. The most important Pentecostal Church is the Assembleas de Dios. It was founded by a related Brazilian Chuurch (1916). After World War II is gradually grew in importance. It now has about 70 percent of the country's Pentecostals. A pentecostal Church, the Igelsia Universal del Reino de Dios with an appeal to the poor has become controversial.[Fahlbusch] Some have called it a cult.

Sources

Fahlbusch, Erwin, The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 5.

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Created: 7:54 PM 2/22/2011
Last edited: 9:31 PM 2/23/2011