CRCC Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative

Co-Principal Investigator: Richard Flory
Project Manager: Hebah Farrag

Los Angeles has been home to several milestones in the history of the Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity. For example, in addition to being the birthplace of Pentecostalism in 1906, it is home to Aimee Semple McPherson’s Angelus Temple and the Foursquare Gospel Church, the rise to prominence churches like Calvary Chapel and the Vineyard in the 1970s and 1980s, and the more recent emergence of a distinct orientation toward social action as exemplified in the efforts of the Dream Center, founded by the Assemblies of God.

Today, Los Angeles remains a vibrant, and varied landscape for a variety of Pentecostal and charismatic expressions. Thus, the Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative will include a three-year ethnographic research project to explore the contemporary face of the historic denominations, such as the Assemblies of God and Foursquare Gospel Church, the Black Pentecostal church, and immigrant enclaves of Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity.

Across these three areas, PCRI will locate and map as many Pentecostal and charismatic congregations in Los Angeles. In addition, we will describe each congregation, its activities, networks of relationships, size of membership, and other pertinent demographic information. This information will be made available on this website.

PCRI has also commissioned research projects by four scholars to pursue themes in Pentecostal and charismatic religion in Los Angeles.

• Brad Christerson, Biola University
  The Fourth Wave? New Pentecostal Movements in Los Angeles
  This project seeks to broadly examine the current state of Pentecostal movements in Southern California. In particular, the study will be organized around the following research questions:
  1. What is the current state of the “new paradigm” movements in Southern California (Vineyard, Calvary Chapel, Hope Chapel) that were founded to serve white baby boomers in the 1960s and 1970s? Have their authority and practices become routinized? Are they growing, stagnating, or declining numerically? Are they reaching a new generation of young people, or are they simply serving their original market niche of white middle class baby boomers? Are there new religious innovations occurring within these movements?
  2. Are new Pentecostal movements emerging outside of established Pentecostal congregations and ministries? Are new leaders with charismatic authority drawing new groups of young people into the faith?
  3. Are established historically white Pentecostal congregations and groups moving beyond their original white middle class base into the African American, Latino, Asian, and Middle-Eastern populations of Southern California, or are they growing mostly in their original market niche in white middle-class neighborhoods?
  4. Which Pentecostal groups are growing fastest among the expanding working class and working poor populations of Southern California? Which are growing fastest in wealthy enclaves?
  5. Are there new practices of connecting with the supernatural that are emerging within and outside of established Pentecostal congregations and ministries? If so, how are these new practices related to the social and economic changes that have emerged in the last two decades?
  6. How are Pentecostal groups in Southern California connected to other nodes of the growing global Pentecostal network? Is Southern California playing its previous role as an exporter or religious innovation, or is it now an importer of Pentecostal trends established elsewhere? To what extent are Southern California Pentecostal groups shaped by their global connections? How are Pentecostal groups in Southern California affected by its location as a key hub in the global economy?
• Rebecca Kim, Pepperdine University
  Examining the Global Connections of Korean Congregations
  South Korea houses some of the largest churches in the world and many of its congregations are globally connected. All of the largest Protestant churches in Korea have sister churches in the United States. And although the majority of the Korea-transplanted churches in the U.S. are Presbyterian, they are known for exhibiting Pentecostal characteristics. In response, my research examines the Pentecostal faith practices and the global connections of Korean congregations in the United States, focusing on the Los Angeles area where Korean immigrants are concentrated. Through participant observation and interviews at five large Korean congregations, three questions are answered.
  1. How are the congregations connected globally?
  2. How do they extend beyond the Korean Diaspora in their religious and civic engagement?
  3. In what ways are the different congregations Pentecostal or charismatic?
• Juan Martinez, Fuller Theological Seminary
  Transnational Ministry Models Among Latino Pastors in Los Angeles
  

  The project analyzes how immigrant based Latino Pentecostal churches in southern California develop transnational networks and how such networks are changing these churches’ understanding of their mission. Five southern California Latino Pentecostal pastors will describe the transnational networks in their churches and how these impact their ministry and their understanding of the mission of the church. Using ethnographic research methods, these pastors will be invited to analyze the change that is occurring and to assess its impact on non-Latino churches in the United States.

• Arlene Sanchez Walsh, Azusa Pacific University
  The Influence of the Prosperity Gospel Among the Los Angeles Pentecostal Communities
  This study examines the influence of the prosperity gospel on various Pentecostal communities in the greater Los Angeles area. By examining the historic African American church, the classical Pentecostal tradition, and the traditions of the new immigrant church, this study will develop some initial conclusions about if and how prevalent adoption of the prosperity gospel is in Los Angeles Pentecostalism. If, as some scholars have found, the prosperity gospel has diffused into nearly every sector of Pentecostalism globally, then it will be part of this study's focus to determine whether the same diffusion has occurred in Southern California.
• Daniel Walker, CRCC Research Associate
  The Pentecostalization of Black Los Angeles
  This study examines the growth and development of the cities’ most prominent Pentecostal and Pentecostal-influenced megachurches. Using the City of Refuge, West Angeles, and Faithful Central as the targets, the investigation is contextualized by innovations and theological debates within the global Pentecostal movement, the history of the African American church, and the specific realities of the Black experience in Los Angeles in the Post-Civil Rights era. Each ministry will be assessed in terms of its developmental history, leadership, theology, evangelism, ministry, social activism, and employment of a diverse set of public relations and media strategies that serve as keys to the growth and maintenance of their high profiles in an increasingly complex religious marketplace.

  Hoping to assess whether or not these mega-ministries project or reflect the larger streams of thought and action in the global Pentecostal movement, particular attention will be placed on how each entity balances the very real needs of their congregants in Southern California with the desire to be nationally and internationally relevant. In terms of rhetoric and action, this stream of analysis hopes to situate City of Refuge, West Angeles and Faithful Central within the larger Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement by critically investigating their participation in global evangelism and institution building as means of spreading one of a multiplicity of diverse Pentecostal messages.