Long sung worship, prayer out loud and unscripted, the gifts of the Spirit expected, and hands laid on the sick.
A twentieth-century renewal that took the day of Pentecost as a description of normal Christian life rather than a one-off. It has become the fastest-growing stream of Christianity worldwide.
Read the storyA service
Twenty to forty minutes of sung worship, often unhurried, with space to stand, sing or be quiet.
Open prayer, sometimes praying in tongues, sometimes a prophetic word tested by the leaders.
Preaching that expects a response today, not just agreement.
An invitation to come forward for prayer, with people laying hands on those who come.
The room
Raised hands, clapping, sometimes dancing, sometimes tears — bodies involved in worship.
The reasoning is simple: you'd do this at a concert or a wedding, so why not here. Feeling is not treated as the enemy of truth.
Seen in · Every gathering
An open stage with a worship band, screens for the words, and a simple lectern rather than a pulpit.
There is no altar because the room is shaped for singing and preaching. Nothing is fixed, so the shape of a meeting can change.
Seen in · Most Pentecostal churches
People gathered around someone, hands on their shoulders, praying aloud together for healing or guidance.
It's how prayer is done in Acts. Touch says the church is standing with you, not just thinking about you.
Seen in · After services and in small groups
Words
Come, Holy Spirit. Fill this room, fill me. I've no words good enough — pray in me what I can't say. Amen.
Lord Jesus, you healed people who asked, and you never turned anyone away. I bring this body, this mind, this situation to you now, and I trust you with the answer. Amen.
Holy Spirit, have your way. Where I'm holding on, loosen my grip. Where I'm afraid, give me boldness. Send me where you like. Amen.
Language
A distinct filling with the Spirit, often after conversion.
Praying in a language you haven't learned — usually private, sometimes public with interpretation.
A sense that God is saying something now, offered humbly and weighed by others.
An invitation to come forward and respond, though there's no altar to come to.
The unhurried praying-for-people part at the end.
The midweek small group where most of the pastoring happens.
The year
Almost no liturgical calendar. Christmas and Easter are kept warmly; otherwise the year runs on preaching series, conferences, and seasons of prayer and fasting set by the church.
Illustrations are artist's impressions, drawn to show the usual pattern. Every church varies.