“God’s love drives His commitment to restoring humanity… and [Holy] Spirit-empowered leaders are central to His restoration plan,” said Pentecostal scholar Rev. Dr. Wonsuk Ma, in his opening talk at the Pentecostal Conference 2024.
Rev. Ma delivered his keynote address at the conference last week, which saw over 100 Pentecostal leaders, pastors, ministry workers, students and scholars gather to discuss leadership through a Pentecostal lens.
The Pentecostal Conference is an annual event organised by the Malaysia Pentecostal Research Centre (MPRC) and was held at the Bible College of Malaysia (BCM) on 19 and 20 September.
In order to be a Spirit-empowered leader, the Holy Spirit ought not to be a red button in our lives that we press for a boost or power-up, but rather an indwelling Spirit that transforms and guides our thoughts, words and actions.
Rev. Ma, the Executive Director of Center for Spirit-Empowered Research and distinguished Professor of Global Christianity at Oral Roberts University, reiterated the need for this perspective against a backdrop where notable Christian leaders are falling into sin.
“When we talk about ‘big’ leaders falling, it’s not any worse than if ‘small’ leaders like you and me fall. The more you receive, the more responsible you become,” he cautioned.
Before Azusa Street, revival had broken out in Asia
The third talk was by special speaker Rev. Dr. Vincent Leoh, who unpacked Pentecostal leadership from an Asian perspective.
“Often we know about the global perspective but we don’t have much from an Asian perspective; we don’t know what’s going on in our backyard,” the former General Superintendent of Assemblies of God Malaysia said.
In what may be surprising to many, Asian pentecostalism can be traced back to 1860, more than 40 years before the Azusa Street Revival (synonymous with the genesis of classic pentecostalism).
That year, Indian preacher John Christian Arulappan was instrumental in the first record of the Holy Spirit’s move in the southern region of the nation.
In Asia, there are more than 415 million Christians today compared to just 22 million in 1900.
Today, some of the largest churches by congregation are in Africa and Asia, such as Deeper Life Bible Church, Nigeria (550,000 weekly attendance), Yoido Full Gospel Church, South Korea (480,000 weekly attendance) and Calvary Temple, India (330,000 weekly attendance).
“Pentecostalism is not Americo-centric, it is worldwide. God was and continues to work all over the world. We thank the Lord for that.
At the turn of the century, there were less than a million Pentecostal Christians but today, there are over 683 million all over the world,” he boomed.
Some challenges to look out for for the Asian Pentecostal church are the threat of institutionalisation, the lack of leaders rising up from the next generation and gaps in leadership development from theology to experience.
Asia is in a strategic position to propel Christianity’s growth
On the first night, a special session by Rev. Ma revealed that there has been steady growth of global Christianity, and that Asia is playing an important role.
“The Christian faith is reaching one third of the world’s population. Your generation will take Christianity further than the one-third line of the world’s population.”
The scholar went on to observe that Asia is unique in that all the major world religions were born in Asia and continue to be very active here.
He also pointed out that nones, people who have no religion, make up one of the fastest-growing religions in the world today. Secularism is a huge force that is taking young people from the Church.
However, Christianity continues to grow.
“In the region today, 12% identify as Christian compared to less than 5% in 1970. I’m optimistic that this region will be the next sub-saharan Africa and will show the world how the gospel can penetrate many [people] groups,” he said.
At present, two thirds of the Church are in the global south (Asia, Africa, Latin America).
Looking at the statistics and trends of Christianity in other continents, Dr. Ma is convinced that Asia will be at the forefront of Christianity’s growth in the next season.
In fact, three of the top 10 missionary-sending nations are in Asia (South Korea, Philippines, China).
“It doesn’t take a lot of calculation, my friends. It is our turn to lead,” he said soberly.
“The outpouring of the Spirit” on all flesh includes everyone
Other speakers included Rev. Dr. Julie Ma, who spoke on Pentecostal women in history and their influence on global Christianity, and Rev Dr. Eva Wong Suk Kyun of Malaysia Pentecostal Research Centre and Bible College of Malaysia.
Rev. Wong spoke on biblical equality in Pentecostal leadership in the 21st century, opening with her own experience growing up in a context where girls were not treated equally.
According to Rev. Wong, the early twentieth century saw many women sent out as missionaries in worldwide evangelism.
However, the 1940s brought the influence of evangelicalism with the complementarian view and fundamentalism of men as the head and women as subordinates.
“The powers of societal cultures and traditions on gender roles remain strongly entrenched in most Christian traditions than biblical equality for women leaderships. Pentecostals ought to uphold the egalitarian interpretation… and to be the prophetic voice for biblical equality for women in the 21st century,” she said.
Rev. Julie, a professor of Missiology and Intercultural Studies at Oral Roberts University, echoed this sentiment, encouraging pastors and leaders especially in the Asian context, to call out women in their congregation with spiritual gifts and a calling to leadership (read more about empowering women leadership in ministry here).
The conference drew to a close with a special talk by Rev. Julie, who gave an Asian perspective on witnessing Jesus Christ as the only Saviour.
Learning from others, empowered to press on
The second edition of the Malaysian Pentecostal Journal was also launched in conjunction with the conference. BCM president Rev. Dr. Victor Lee president dedicated the journal, a festschrift in honour of the late Rev. Tan Sri Dr. Prince Guneratnam.
Rev. Steven Kum, ministry pastor of Calvary Church, also presented a special tribute in memory of the well-respected Pentecostal teacher, preacher and leader.
Conference attendees voiced appreciation at the diverse perspectives and keen insights, especially within the Asian context, exchanged over the two days.
Rev. Wong Yin Ming, an executive member of Assemblies of God Malaysia and BCM board member, described the event as an uplifting conference especially in empowering Spirit-led woman leadership in the church.
Rev. Ma also called it a fine conference and recognised the promising contribution of Malaysian Pentecostalism for the future of the Asian and world church.
Rev. Wong, the organising chairperson of the conference, added that many were blessed, refreshed and inspired by the talks and conversations.
“The conference provided a rich understanding of the biblical-theological, historical, and practical dynamics of Pentecostal leadership in the past, present, and future,” she finished by saying.
To learn more about the Malaysia Pentecostal Research Centre, click here.
All photos provided by BCM / Mike Soh.
