Modern pentecostalism as an urban phenomenon: the case of the family of God church in Zimbabwe.

Abstract

The past twenty to thirty years in the history of Zimbabwean Christianity have witnessed the emergence of a new breed of Pentecostalism that tends to attract the middle and upper classes urban residents. This paper presents findings from a case study of one such movement, the Family of God church. It describes and analyses the origins, growth and development of this church as an urban modern Pentecostal movement. The first section of the paper discusses the origins and development of the church focusing on the life of the founder. The second section focuses on the teaching and practices of the church. The church’s doctrines and practices are here analysed to find out the extent to which these have been influenced by the socio-political and economic challenges in the urban areas. The paper concludes that the modern Pentecostal movement is meant to address urban needs.