My earliest understanding of the people group known as Pentecostals, were that of the Pentecost Church of Malaysia or CPM. All I knew about them was that they wore White all the time and didn’t wear any jewelry. After joining the Assemblies of God of Malaysia, I thought I had a more accurate understanding of what it means to be a Pentecostal. I know that we are ‘Spirit Filled’ people and speak in tongues. Funnily enough I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in a Methodist Youth Camp. That was a fundamentally Pentecostal experience in a non Pentecostal surrounding.
But it’s interesting to note how many people are misinformed of what Pentecostalism is truly about. The definition of Pentecostalism goes like this : “Pentecostalism along with Neo Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement, are labels for a large section of the conservative Christians world which believes in the experienced presence of the 3rd person of the Trinity the Holy Spirit. This segment of Christianity affirms to active involvement of the Holy Spirit in everyday life, including divine healing, prophecy, speaking in tongues (Gossalia or an unkown language) and other manifestations of the Spirit’s presence.”
As someone attending an AG church for almost ten years. I am only now beginning to understand the real meaning of Pentecostalism.
