Roundtable

Abstract

This article revisits central questions arising from Pentecostal actors' development practices. These were raised during the final panel discussion of the 2014 GloPent conference on "Pentecostalism and Development". The four panel participants, all development actors from various organisational and religious backgrounds, considered whether Pentecostal approaches to development work are distinctive, as well as identifying various benefits that can be gained from the engagement of Pentecostal churches in development and some challenges that arise during collaboration between development actors and Pentecostal churches. The discussion was conducted through two rounds of statements by the panel participants, complemented by editorial comments and reflections. It concludes that neither the Pentecostal approach to development nor Pentecostal churches' links with development actors are necessarily distinctive. However, more exchanges are needed between Pentecostal organisations and their members, development practitioners working with Pentecostal churches and scholars of the Pentecostal movement to improve development work among Pentecostals, links between Pentecostals and other development actors and scholarly awareness of the most salient issues.

Lusophony Pentecostal Churches in Berlin: Religious Identities Between Integration and Transatlantic Boundaries

“…As researchers from the new expanding field of Pentecostal studies have pointed out, Pentecostalism contains a huge diversity. Its ideas and practices are only held together by loose threads, and churches differ greatly regarding their organizational structures and socio-economic backgrounds (Haustein et al 2015 ). The Lusophony Pentecostal landscape in Berlin made this diversity very visible.…”

Ndadhinhiwa (I am fed up): A Missiological Framing of the Gendered Notions of African Pentecostalism in Zimbabwe

“…Scholars studying Pentecostalism in general and African Pentecostalism in particular, generally agreed that this form of Christianity has grown and continues to grow tremendously across continents (Anderson, 2005;2013a, 2013bHackett, 2017; Asamoah-Gyadu, 2007). A number of works have traced the origins of Pentecostalism and its movement from the centre of origin to other parts of the world (Anderson, 2005a;Chua, Mirafuentea & Etcuban, 2017;Togarasei, 2018); others have focused on how Pentecostalism interacted with local cultures to the extent that it has become a contextual religion through the process of adaptation (Mayrargue, 2008;Biri, 2020;Kaunda & Sokfa, 2020); yet some works placed emphasis on the contribution of Pentecostalism to contemporary topical issues such as development, sexuality, politics, gender, among others (Haustein et al, 2015;Burgess, 2015;Kaunda, 2020). While some of these works have focused on the intersections of African Pentecostalism and gender (Mapuranga, 2013;Masenya, 2014;Dube, 2014;Soothill, 2015), it is apparent that those focusing on Zimbabwe have rarely paid attention to gender issues in African Pentecostal missiology.…”