2.1 How Did the Pentecostal Movement Come to Canada?

[Shenay]

Very interesting

[Brandon]

The unorganized spread of Pentecostalism does not surprise me, because of the hinderances and control that many of the church organizations placed over individuals in relation to the hunger people had, it was inevitable for the old wineskins to burst.

I think for a time it helped the growth but also hindered. With the feeling of being alienated from traditional church organizations, I feel people would distance themselves from those that were still loyal to traditional churches, creating barriers to reaching loyalists. As well, focusing so much on what God was doing in their own circle would hinder further sharpening, accountability and greater blessing.

In the end I believe Pentecostals recognized that having a larger united voice caries a greater ability to have an authoritative voice and be taken more seriously by other organizations as well as many other benefits.

[Nicole]

As I’ve known much already about the unorganized origins of the pentecostal movement in Canada, it didn’t surprise me. I imagine that it helped the spread of pentecostalism as there was a little less “red tape” involved as well as more people being activated as ministers. I imagine that they became organized eventually for the same reasons that most movements do. A movement that gets bigger and bigger without any organization will come to a point where it can’t sustain itself–issues come up that need oversight and order. For instance, accountability among ministers is very difficult when there’s no level of organization or oversight. My guess is that as the movement became bigger and bigger, issues requiring order would become harder to ignore and more in need of structure.

[Chris]

I’m not really surprised by the unorganized spread of Pentecostalism in its early days in Canada, as the people involved had legitimate concerns about how organizing could actually stifle the work of the Holy Spirit that they were trying to spread. I would imagine that the resistance hindered the spread of Pentecostalism in Canada, but at the same time, it likely provided more freedom and depth in the things of the Spirit. My guess is that Pentecostals eventually began to organize themselves out of a “strength in numbers” concept. Perhaps they felt they could achieve greater impact by becoming united.