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101-513: American missiologist , theologian, and "church growth guru" C. Peter Wagner was the founder of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and is often said to be the coiner of the term itself. The name New Apostolic Reformation and whether it constitutes a distinct movement is the subject of some controversy. Some scholars also use the terms Independent Network Charismatic (INC) or Apostolic-Prophetic Movement to refer to

202-411: A megachurch with 10,000 people. McPherson was a flamboyant celebrity in her day, participating in publicity events, such as weekly Sunday parades through the streets of Los Angeles, along with the mayor and movie stars, directly to Angelus Temple. She built the temple, as well as what is now known as Life Pacific University adjacent to it, on the northwest corner of land that she owned in the middle of

303-487: A "demon." The event was hosted by Lance Wallnau, who had previously characterized Harris as representing the " spirit of Jezebel " and employing "witchcraft" during her debate with Trump weeks earlier. In 2022, the Victory Channel, owned by prosperity gospel televangelist Kenneth Copeland , launched the program FlashPoint , hosted by Gene Bailey, a pastor at Copeland's Texas church . The NAR-aligned program has

404-574: A Christian nationalist, concluding, "You are highly favored, you will not fail, in Jesus' name, Amen!" House Speaker Mike Johnson said in November 2023 that the "separation of church and state is a misnomer" because the Founders "did not want the government to encroach upon the church—not that they didn't want principles of faith to have influence on our public life. It's exactly the opposite." Speaking at

505-404: A church board. Rather, the movement's shared authority among the apostles and prophets is what he terms a "spiritual oligarchy ". This leadership sees itself as having the divine authority and spiritual power – used in spiritual warfare – to "advance God's earthly kingdom so that Christ can return ." Made up of networks of apostles and prophets and networks of churches, Wagner saw the movement as

606-406: A deep engagement in the social sciences, in disciplines such as anthropology, history, geography, communication theory, comparative religious studies, social studies, education, psychology, and inter-religious relations. Missiology has thus included topics like inculturation , contextualization , interfaith relations , and reverse mission . Missiology as an academic discipline appeared only in

707-658: A discipline. He founded the first scientific missionary periodical in 1874, Allgemeine Missions-Zeitschrift , and was appointed the chair of missionary science at the University of Halle in Germany in 1897. His three-volume work on Protestant mission theory Evangelische Missionlehre and his survey of the history of Protestant missionary work were extremely important for the young discipline. Influenced by Warneck's work, Catholic church historian Joseph Schmidlin  [ de ] began lecturing in missiology in 1910 at

808-456: A form of prayer called spiritual warfare. As many churches and individuals in the movement do not follow the three ecumenical creeds , they are seen as having moved away from mainstream Christianity. Baptist theologian Dr. Roger Olson writes, ...the closer I looked at the NARM [New Apostolic Reformation movement] the less convinced I was that it is a cohesive movement at all. It seems more like

909-618: A future final judgment where the righteous will receive everlasting life and the wicked everlasting punishment. The Foursquare Church observes believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion , as ordinances . Open communion is practiced. Anointing of the sick and tithing are practiced as well. The denomination's church government has an " episcopal character" that dates back to its founder. McPherson had veto power over church decisions, appointed all officers, and hired all employees. The Foursquare Convention

1010-417: A key part in heading the newly founded Michael Flynn ReAwaken America Tour , which was initially a protest against COVID-19 restrictions . The events have become what has been described as "a rolling Chautauqua -style celebration of the spiritual side of Trumpism ." NPR likewise characterizes it as "part conservative Christian revival, part QAnon expo and part political rally." Anthea Butler , chair of

1111-614: A kind of umbrella term for a loose collection of independent ministries that have a few common interests... I have examined the web sites of several independent evangelists who claim to represent that affinity... So far none of them seem blatantly heretical. Eccentric, non-mainline, a bit fanatical, maybe. In 2020, Canadian magazine The Walrus covered the NAR, particularly the NAR's focus on and impact on indigenous communities by identifying native lands – through spiritual mapping – as spiritual warfare targets. In 2022, Matthew D. Taylor,

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1212-745: A lion, an ox and an eagle. It also represents the four aspects of Christ : "Savior, Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, Healer and Soon and Coming King." This was the vision and name she gave at Foursquare Church, founded in January 1923 in Los Angeles , during the dedication of the Angelus Temple in Echo Park , seating 5,300 people. Despite some affinities with Pentecostals , her beliefs are interdenominational . The attendance has become

1313-411: A loose movement which primarily operates through informal or semi-formal channels," continuing on to say that the movement is spread in bits and pieces: religion scholar Matthew D. Taylor terms this "prophetic memes ". Holmås states that "this explains the slightly odd fact that that people who are associated with the NAR do not necessarily identify with the movement. Some of them will not even have heard

1414-436: A new paradigm that does not employ such imperialistic approaches which lead to language and cultural imposition. Foursquare Church Christianity • Protestantism The Foursquare Church is an international Evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1923 by evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson . Its headquarters are in Los Angeles , California , United States . The church has its origins in

1515-456: A power higher than the British king. NAR leaders such as apostle Dutch Sheets popularized the flag to symbolize Christian nationalism , and many participants in the January 6 attack were seen carrying it. André Gagné asserts the NAR symbolism of the flag "has completely turned" from the original meaning, to now "support the idea that Trump should be president, that he's chosen by God." The flag

1616-468: A rally is held, and strategic-level spiritual warfare, prayer journeys in which spiritual warriors travel to "powerful 'spiritual strongholds'" to confront demons. The first two forms have also been defined as "ground-level" and "occult-level", in which demons are exorcised from individuals, and perceived demonic concepts such as the New Age , Freemasonry , and Buddhism are targeted, respectively. Those in

1717-466: A religious service in summer 2022, congresswoman Lauren Boebert said: The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church. That is not how our Founding Fathers intended it. I'm tired of this separation of church and state junk that's not in the Constitution. It was in a stinking letter, and it means nothing like what they say it does. Brian Simmons

1818-543: A request for protection from witchcraft – "alien to contemporary American culture" – the event was covered in the media. One scholar noted the video "seemed to reveal a well-kept secret: a prominent politician running for vice-president of the United States secretly fighting a hidden war against the Evil One in the here and now of American civilization." Wagner expressed concern that negative coverage of Palin's ties to

1919-637: A scholar of Protestantism at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies, released an audio documentary on the movement's connection to the January 6 United States Capitol attack , entitled Charismatic Revival Fury . Taylor asserts that NAR is "the backbone ... of Christian Trumpism ." He argues it was "seen as fringy, was seen as the realm of hucksters, seen as kind of low-brow and populist and extremist" before Trump recruited it in 2016 to rally evangelical support for his campaign. Taylor asserts NAR

2020-586: A shorter, more concise creedal statement. The church believes in the verbal inspiration of the Bible , the doctrine of the Trinity , and the deity of Jesus Christ . It believes that human beings were created in the image of God but, because of the Fall , are naturally depraved and sinful . The church believes in the substitutionary atonement , accomplished by the death of Christ , and teaches that salvation

2121-569: A statement denouncing the spiritual warfare trip of C. Peter Wagner and Global Harvest Ministries to engage the "Queen of Heaven" territorial spirit in battle, stating that while they encouraged prayer, the movement's methods were "unbiblical". The NAR first drew national attention in the United States in the midst of Alaskan governor Sarah Palin 's 2008 vice presidential campaign, when a 2005 video surfaced of her being prayed for at Wasilla Assemblies of God church by Kenyan NAR apostle Thomas Muthee . Anthea Butler notes that "by praying for favor and for

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2222-412: A theology of regions being controlled by specific demons termed territorial spirits . Wagner helped popularize the concept. Though spiritual warfare had not been of significant importance in evangelical theology, his Spiritual Warfare Network of the 1980s and 1990s profoundly and quickly impacted broader evangelical belief on the matter. In 1996, Wagner organized a convention with 500 evangelical leaders,

2323-572: A vision of "Foursquare Gospel" (or " Full Gospel ") during a sermon in October 1922 in Oakland, California , by the evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson who was originally an ordained evangelist of the Assemblies of God where she once exerted a large influence until the split. According to chapter 1 of Book of Ezekiel , Ezekiel had a vision of God as revealed to be four different aspects: a man,

2424-572: Is a NAR apostle and the author of The Passion Translation , which he asserts Jesus Christ personally commissioned him to translate from the New Testament and the Hebrew Bible into new scripture in 2009. He added that he had been transported to meet Jesus in an immense library in heaven. The translation has been endorsed by several NAR leaders such as Lou Engle , Chuck Pierce , and Ché Ahn . Holly Pivec, who has co-authored three books on

2525-417: Is a continual process of spiritual growth. Spiritual growth is believed to be promoted by Bible study and prayer. The Foursquare Church believes in the baptism with the Holy Spirit as an event separate from conversion that empowers the individual and the wider church to fulfill the church's mission of evangelization . The Foursquare Church believes Spirit baptism is received in the same manner as recorded in

2626-408: Is based upon a non-traditional interpretation of Ephesians 4:11, the apostles and prophets, evangelists, pastors (also referred to as the shepherds), and teachers. Wagner considered 2000–2001 to be the beginning of the second apostolic age and that the lost offices of prophet and apostle were restored around that time. The concept of the revived offices of apostle and prophet, however, is not unique to

2727-491: Is by grace through faith , not by good works . Believers are justified by faith and born again upon repentance and acceptance of Christ as Lord and king. Consistent with its belief in human free will , the Foursquare Church also teaches that it is possible for a believer to backslide or commit apostasy . The Foursquare Church, a Finished Work Pentecostal denomination, teaches that sanctification

2828-495: Is cited as a sign of the influence of NAR beliefs on Rick Perry's political viewpoints. It was covered by National Public Radio and other media outlets. Forrest Wilder, senior editor for the Texas Observer , describes the New Apostolic Reformation as having "taken Pentecostalism , with its emphasis on ecstatic worship and the supernatural, and given it an adrenaline shot." Wilder adds that beliefs of people associated with

2929-484: Is difficult to track due to its intentional anti-institutional, decentralized "mesh network" of influencers on the internet. Taylor says radicalized NAR spiritual warfare adherents believe entire cities and institutions are possessed by demonic spirits ( territorial spirits ) that can be defeated only by the presence of large numbers of Christians. In the weeks preceding the January 6 attack, self-proclaimed NAR apostles such as Dutch Sheets told followers they needed to be at

3030-587: Is displayed outside Speaker Mike Johnson 's Capitol Hill office, and has flown at the New Jersey vacation home of United States Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito . Dutch Sheets has long advocated the end of separation of church and state , co-authoring a 2022 "Watchman Decree" that states "we, the Church, are God's governing Body on the earth." During a summer 2022 livestreamed service, Sheets prayed over congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene , who identifies as

3131-625: Is influenced by NAR. Sharlet contends that the Project's first mandate to 'restore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children' "is Q -coded—it's 'protect the blood,' it's the 14 words , it's all this stuff." Writing in The Atlantic , Stephanie McCrummen reported in March 2024 that Frederick Clarkson , who has studied the Christian right for decades, "considers

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3232-469: Is influential in the NAR. The title New Apostolic Reformation is descriptive of a theological movement and is not an organization and therefore does not have formal membership, though some of the organizations belonging to the movement have a system of membership, and, at times, overlapping leadership. Religion scholar Geir Otto Holmås states that the "NAR is not a denomination or an organization with membership lists and an unambiguous doctrinal foundation, but

3333-453: Is the chief decision making body of the Foursquare Church. Meeting regularly every year, the convention's voting membership includes international officers and licensed ministers. Each Foursquare church located in the United States has the right to send one voting delegate per every 50 church members. National Foursquare Churches outside of the United States may send one official delegate to the convention. A board of 12 to 24 directors manages

3434-429: The 2010 Haiti earthquake through transnational missionary networks. Additionally, tenets typical of the NAR have spread into the broader Pentecostal and Charismatic worlds. NAR beliefs have a global reach through Trinity Broadcasting Network , an international Christian television network, which "regularly promotes the teachings of the NAR" in its programming. The Elijah List , a prophecy-focused website founded in 1997,

3535-471: The Book of Acts : the believer will speak in tongues . The church believes that spiritual gifts continue in operation for the edification of the church. The Foursquare Church believes that divine healing is a part of Christ's atonement and teaches that the sick can be healed in response to prayer. The Foursquare Church anticipates a premillennial return of Christ to earth. It believes that there will be

3636-795: The Church of God in Christ . In 1968, the Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa congregation of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (under pastor Chuck Smith ) broke from the denomination and later formed an association of autonomous Charismatic Evangelical churches, today making up the Charismatic but non-Pentecostal denomination, Calvary Chapel . On May 31, 1988, John R. Holland became

3737-539: The Democratic Party , are viewed as being subject to demonic forces. The dominionist Seven Mountain Mandate (7M) – argued to hold " revelation status" in the NAR – is another aspect of NAR belief, which states that Christians should take over multiple aspects ("mountains") of society: family, religion, education, media, arts and entertainment, business, and government. Apostle Lance Wallnau has been one of

3838-655: The Freedom From Religion Foundation on the role of Christian nationalism in the Capitol attack argues that Wallnau's "warfare rhetoric" is linked to stochastic terrorism . Politico reported in February 2024 that Russell Vought , a leader of Project 2025 —a group closely aligned with Trump that created an expansive blueprint for the next Republican presidency—was spearheading plans to instill Christian nationalism into that presidency. One of

3939-706: The International Association for Mission Studies (IAMS). In European academia, especially in German-speaking contexts, there is the growing dominance of the term "intercultural theology." The close interaction between missiology, social sciences and culture made scholars to shape the discipline within the framework of history and sociology and remind about the "colonial past of missions" when Christians often attempted to use their political and economic power in evangelism. Many missiologists are now disavowing these methods and attempt to construct

4040-549: The Trump administration , called for "every demonic network that is aligned itself against the purpose, against the calling of President Trump, let it be broken, let it be torn down in the name of Jesus." Gagné, author of the 2024 book American Evangelicals for Trump: Dominion, Spiritual Warfare, and the End Times , asserts White's high-profile platform contributed to the "mainstreaming of spiritual warfare" against "demonic forces in

4141-481: The University of Munster and was appointed to the first chair of Catholic missiology at the same university in 1914. Since the 1950s, missiology has generally been discussed within the theological framework of the missio Dei , the "Mission of God." This has shifted the discussion away from "missions" in the plural, an exclusive focus on the evangelizing of the non-Christian in overseas contexts, to "mission" in

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4242-545: The University of Pennsylvania religious studies department, asserts the prophecies and charismatic preaching at ReAwaken events can be traced to NAR. Themes of spiritual warfare and accompanying territorial spirits are prominent. "Darkly messianic religious speakers" speak at the events, with one warning, "Do not be surprised if the Angel of Death shows up in Washington", and others referring to " demonic territory that's over

4343-530: The "most radical change in how churches operate since the Protestant Reformation ." These " relational networks ", as opposed to a church bureaucratic system, were part of the previous Latter Rain movement. Biola University theology professor R. Douglas Geivett and writer Holly Pivec, who have written three books on the movement, described the movement's promises in God's Super-Apostles: Encountering

4444-615: The 'New Apostolic Reformation.' These are groups that you should get very, very schooled on because they have a lot of power in Trump's circle. Vought and several others criticized Przybyla on X for her televised remarks, which she said they had misunderstood. Dartmouth College professor Jeff Sharlet is the author of the 2023 The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War . After years traveling to meet with Trump supporters, he writes that his initial "objections to describing militant Trumpism as fascist have fallen away." He asserts Project 2025

4545-408: The 19th century. Broadly speaking, missiology is "an interdisciplinary field of inquiry into Christian mission or missions that utilizes theological, historical, and various social scientific methods." It has historically focused on the missionary and evangelistic work of Protestant and Catholic denominations from Europe and North America into other continents. But the decline in Christian numbers in

4646-516: The 19th century. It was the Scottish missionary Alexander Duff who first developed a systematic theory of mission and was appointed in 1867 to the first chair in missiology in the world, the new chair of Evangelistic Theology in New College, Edinburgh . The chair was short-lived and closed after Duff's departure. Gustav Warneck is often recognized as the founder of Protestant missiology as

4747-462: The 2013 book Invading Babylon: The 7 Mountain Mandate . When Rick Joyner of MorningStar Ministries was listed, he announced that "there will likewise be a horde of false apostles released", continuing: "Our team received two very specific dreams warning about false 'apostolic movements' that were built more on organization than relationship. The dreams indicated that these were trying to bring forth apostles that were really more like corporate CEOs, and

4848-541: The Capitol to ensure Trump would remain president. Sheets met with Trump administration officials at the White House days before the Capitol attack. In addition, four of the six protest permits that day were issued to "NAR-affiliated charismatic church groups." Similarly, André Gagné states, "a lot of NAR people just embrace the Big Lie " based on messages from the movement's prophets. Over 60 Charismatic figures signed

4949-619: The Church's third president and held the position until July 1997. Harold Helms served as interim president from July 1997 to July 1998 and was followed by Paul C. Risser, who became the president on April 16, 1998, at the church's 75th annual convention. In October 2003, under Risser's tenure, the church sold the Los Angeles radio station KFSG-FM to the Spanish Broadcasting System for $ 250 million. Risser's leadership led to another high-profile controversy for

5050-922: The Foursquare Church but choose not to transfer their real property to the international church. Non-member churches may choose to affiliate with the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel without becoming a full member of the international church. These "community member churches" retain their separate legal identities and autonomy. Three colleges are affiliated with the Foursquare Church: Life Pacific University , formerly "L. I. F. E. Bible College," in San Dimas, California , Life Pacific College Virginia in Christiansburg, Virginia , and Pacific Life Bible College in Surrey, British Columbia . In 2006, membership in

5151-737: The Foursquare Church from 2004 to 2009. Hayford, along with Pastors Roy Hicks Jr. in Eugene, Oregon , Jerry Cook in Gresham, Oregon , Ronald D. Mehl of the Beaverton Foursquare Church in Beaverton, Oregon , and John Holland in Vancouver , British Columbia , have been credited by the church with setting a plan for the denomination's continued survival despite its staggering financial losses estimated at $ 15 million under

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5252-416: The Foursquare Church. In addition to overseeing the Church's activities, the board of directors appoints officers and is responsible for licensing and ordaining ministers. Members of the board include the president, vice presidents, and at least nine ministers representing geographic regions. Church members in good standing may also be appointed to the board. Local Foursquare churches are subordinate parts of

5353-645: The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and are operated according to the bylaws of the international church. There are two categories of Foursquare churches. A "charter member church" is a member church that has no legal existence apart from the international church and whose property is owned by the international church. The second category is "covenant member church", which include "pioneer churches" and previously non-member churches. Pioneer churches are recently-established church plants that have not been upgraded to charter member status. Covenant member churches might also be previously non-member churches that join

5454-543: The Latter Rain movement – thought to lead to a new Christian influence on the world – and the authoritarian nature of the Shepherding movement, described as "a kind of pyramid of power and accountability whereby authority (usually male) would flow down from a leading national (or global) figure to local pastors, and even through a chain of pastoral command between congregants". Described as a "born networker", Wagner

5555-502: The NAR and Christian Nationalism Statement in October 2022, denouncing Christian nationalism, racial and ethnic supremacy, the conflation of spirituality and patriotism, and other issues. Lance Wallnau's prophetic rhetoric has been described as having "nationalist", " anti-democratic ", and " fascist " traits by scholar Arne Helge Teigen and a 2022 joint report from the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and

5656-585: The NAR is rooted in the Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity movements: namely, the first-wave Pentecostalism of the 1900s, the Latter Rain movement of the 1940s, the second-wave Charismatic Christianity of the 1960s through 1980s, and the Shepherding movement of the 1970s and 1980s. The NAR has been described as taking the restorationism , dominionism , and " end-times revival " focus of

5757-456: The NAR may have led to the campaign's loss. In 2011, discussion about the political influence of the NAR was again brought to a national audience. Lou Engle and Don Finto , who are considered to be leaders within the NAR, participated in a prayer event held by Engle's TheCall called "TheResponse", hosted by former Texas governor Rick Perry , on August 6, 2011, in Houston, Texas. This event

5858-537: The NAR to be one of the most important shifts in Christianity in modern times." Clarkson said "Christian nationalism is a handy term, but it is a box into which NAR does not quite fit” because the movement is "so much bigger than that." McCrummen wrote: Missiologist Missiology is the academic study of the Christian mission history and methodology. It began to be developed as an academic discipline in

5959-468: The NAR's spiritual warfare rhetoric: "The way some of the leaders talk, you'd think they were an army planning to take over the world...It sounds to me like radical Islam." In 2013, Paul Rosenberg called the NAR "America's Own Taliban" in an article highlighting the NAR's dominionism as bearing resemblance to Islamic extremism as seen in groups such as the Taliban because of the NAR's language concerning

6060-415: The NAR, and critics believing that Bethel Church was instrumental in leading some Christians to embrace tenets of NAR, Pastor Bill Johnson of Bethel became regularly listed as an NAR leader. Johnson confirmed that he does believe in the apostolic and prophetic ministries; he denied, however, in an official statement that his church had any official ties to the NAR. Johnson and NAR apostle Lance Wallnau co-wrote

6161-523: The NAR, writes that many in the movement use it as their primary Bible. She adds that Simmons is the sole author of the translation and he has not disclosed the editors and scholars he says have reviewed his work. Pivec and her co-author, Geivett, assert the translation contains "completely reworded verses, making it appear that the Bible supports NAR teachings." Bible scholars say the Simmons book does not meet

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6262-491: The NAR. The eschatology of broader Pentecostalism is typically premillennialist – believing that biblical end-times prophecies have not yet been fulfilled and that the world will go through "a period of decay, tribulation and persecution under the reign of the Antichrist ", leading to Jesus Christ's return to earth to reign for one thousand years. In contrast, the NAR holds that most such prophecies have been fulfilled in

6363-453: The NAR. Sociologists Brad Christerson and Richard Flory argue that the NAR is part of the INC, but there is enough difference that not all INC groups would fall under the NAR. Religion scholar Matthew D. Taylor uses NAR to refer to only those specifically connected to Wagner's networks, referring to others part of the broader movement as Independent Charismatics. Elizabeth A. McAlister notes that

6464-576: The National Symposium on the Postdenominational Church, including the organization of the church and evangelism, at Fuller Seminary. It addressed the changing organizational forms Wagner saw in churches, which he considered a radical paradigm shift. Other, more traditionally denominational Pentecostals such as Wagner's Foursquare friend Jack Hayford disagreed with the term postdenominational , however . Shortly before

6565-1005: The New Testament Church Experienced the Power of Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare and Engaging the Enemy , in which he discussed spiritual warfare on multiple levels. Starting in the late 1990s and through the mid-2000s, the NAR began to absorb the spiritual mapping movement, which had started in 1989 at the Evangelical Second International Congress on World Evangelization , and which focused on on-site prayer campaigns to battle demons in specific areas. Wagner's movement quickly took on an increasingly apostolic–prophetic tone and his organizational acumen helped it expand through networks of apostles and prophets and their organizations, while their ideas, such as dominionism, also spread back into

6666-513: The Seven Mountain Mandate is more of a strategic marketing tool to mobilize NAR adherents than a theology. Sociologists Christerson and Flory outline three steps in spiritual warfare: research, prophecy, and intercession . Wagner defined three kinds of strategic spiritual warfare to defeat territorial spirits controlling people or areas: prayer walking in groups through demon-controlled areas, large prayer marches to an area where

6767-513: The United States was 353,995 in 1,875 churches. In 2023, the number of churches in the U.S. was reported at 2,021. While congregations are concentrated along the West Coast, the denomination is well distributed across the United States. The states with the highest membership rates are Oregon, Hawaii, Montana, Washington, and California. The Foursquare Church arrived in Ecuador in 1956 with

6868-465: The United States", though this number is disputed. The movement is global, growing in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, with it constituting a significant part of church growth in the southern hemisphere. American missionaries introduced New Apostolic thought and spiritual warfare practices to Haitian pastors and seminarians during the first presidency of Jean-Bertrand Aristide and again following

6969-580: The Watchman Decree with a live audience, declaring that "we have been given legal power and authority from Heaven" and "delegated by Him to destroy every attempted advance of the enemy." The show launched a seven-stop FlashPoint Live roadshow in support of Trump in February 2024. Christian writers and organizations have commented on the movement over the past several decades. In 2001, the German Evangelical Alliance released

7070-424: The West has been met by the rise of Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians in the Majority World "for which mission and evangelism are their raison d'être." Through missionary work in new contexts and the gradual shift in the World Christian population from the West to the non-Western world, Christians have had to grapple with new questions. While biblical and theologically rooted, missiology has therefore sought

7171-426: The Worldwide Prophets and Apostles Movement : If you submit to their leadership, then you too will work mighty miracles. You'll become part of a great end-time army that will bring about a world revival and cleanse the earth of evil by calling down hailstones, fire and the other judgments of God described in the New Testament book of Revelation. Those in opposition, seen to include much of the US federal government and

7272-426: The appearance of a cable news show, though reporting is delivered by prophets. The program reaches approximately 11,000 households through cable television. Bailey's website asserts the show's programming is delivered "under the anointing," meaning that its hosts and guests speak for God. Pentecostal preachers constitute its primary guests, notably Lance Wallnau and Omaha pastor Hank Kunneman. Donald Trump has appeared on

7373-567: The arrival of a couple by the name of Gadberry. Acting as missionaries under the auspices of the Los Angeles congregation, they began by founding churches in Guayaquil. They remained in Ecuador until 1960, but returned a year later to found the first Foursquare church in Quito. As of 2012, there were 200 Foursquare churches in Ecuador, with 32 in Guayaquil alone. In 2004, the denomination's president and treasurer resigned after losing $ 14 million of

7474-979: The church, a position he held for 44 years. The Foursquare Church formed the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America in 1948 in Des Moines, Iowa , in an alliance with the Assemblies of God , the Church of God , the Open Bible Standard Churches , the Pentecostal Holiness Church , and others. In 1994, 46 years after the founding of the Pentecostal Fellowship, it was reorganized as the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America after combining with African-American organizations, most significantly

7575-463: The church, when, without the involvement of the denomination's board of directors and finance council, church funds were invested in firms that targeted the "close-knit evangelical community" but turned out to be Ponzi schemes . Risser resigned his leadership position under fire in March 2004. Jack W. Hayford , the founder of The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, California served as the president of

7676-521: The city. McPherson's celebrity status continued after her death, with biopics such as the 1976 Hallmark Hall of Fame drama The Disappearance of Aimee depicting her life, as well as the 2006 independent film Aimee Semple McPherson , which particularly focused on her month-long disappearance in May–June 1926 and the legal controversy that followed. After Aimee Semple McPherson's death in 1944, her son Rolf K. McPherson became president and leader of

7777-484: The concept's foremost promoters, and has promoted 7M combined with spiritual warfare against perceived demonic spirits. Wallnau told followers in 2011: If you're talking to a secular audience you don't talk about having dominion over them. This whole idea of taking over and that language of takeover, it doesn't actually help. It's good for preaching to the choir and it's shorthand if we interpret it right, but it's very bad for media." Theology professor Andre Gagné asserts

7878-651: The days for you to control the governments of this earth. God said he can take this country back in unconventional ways. He doesn't need an election to do it." In late September 2024, senator JD Vance , the Republican nominee for vice president on the Donald Trump 2024 United States presidential election ticket, spoke at a western Pennsylvania town hall event organized by top Christian nationalist leaders who promote election denialism . The organizers characterize Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris as

7979-663: The early church, with prophecies from the movement's prophets gaining importance in its understanding of the end times. It believes that the end times will be an "optimistic" period of the Kingdom of God being established on earth through the actions of obedient Christians, leading to the Second Coming . Religion scholar Matthew D. Taylor describes the NAR's leadership in contrast with other forms of local church governance , in which churches are run by either an episcopal hierarchy, authoritarian pastor, or democratic system such as

8080-575: The failed leadership of Paul Risser. In 2020, Randy Remington became the President of The Foursquare Church. According to a census published by the association in 2022, it had 67,500 churches, with 8.8 million members in 150 countries. According to the 2010 US Religion Census, there are over 320,000 members in the United States and 1,823 churches. The beliefs of the Foursquare Church are expressed in its Declaration of Faith, compiled by its founder, Aimee Semple McPherson . McPherson also authored

8181-407: The gospel . NAR believers claim there is demonic control of a number of other areas, including Utah (due to its high population of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints members), and Detroit, Michigan (due to the city's large Muslim population), as well as sites such as abortion clinics and masonic temples. In US politics, televangelist Paula White , chair of the evangelical advisory board in

8282-520: The growth of independent Charismatic churches in the 1980s – including in Latin America and Africa and combining elements of indigenous cosmologies ; Wagner termed the new neo-charismatic movement the "Third Wave". As the movement developed and Wagner's views were changed through his connection with Wimber, Wagner's focus would later shift to spiritual warfare and exorcism . The neo-charismatic movement – as opposed to traditional Pentecostal belief, which focused on individual demonic oppression – developed

8383-584: The land". Flynn, a former Army lieutenant general and Trump national security advisor, said at a November 2021 event that "If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion. One nation under God and one religion under God, right?" At one event, Trump confidant Roger Stone asserted there is a visible "satanic portal" over the Biden White House that must be closed by prayer. At another event, self-declared prophet Julie Green claimed God had spoken to her that "These are

8484-475: The most consequential" evangelical endorsements of Trump that year. As the fastest growing group "within or on the periphery of American Christianity" since the 1980s, the New Apostolic Reformation has rapidly gained religious and political influence in the United States. In 2015, it was estimated that churches openly part of the NAR were attended by 3 million Americans; some estimates as of 2020 claim an "[influence on] approximately thirty-three million adherents in

8585-406: The movement "can tend toward the bizarre" and that it has "taken biblical literalism to an extreme." Later TheCall events that year, including a Detroit rally, were covered in the media. NAR "calls to 'take back the land' of Muslim Americans" by engaging in spiritual warfare prayer over mosques, described as "like sending our special forces into Afghanistan", drew concern. An apostle stated the event

8686-507: The movement that they led had the potential to do great damage to the church. The enemy's intent with this false apostolic movement was to have the church develop a deep revulsion to anything that was called apostolic." Though the NAR movement is loosely constituted of networks of congregations, apostles, and prophets, there are a number of NAR apostle and prophet-related organizations – started by Wagner and later taken over by others – with varying degrees of overlap. In 2021, NAR leaders played

8787-542: The movement, including Wagner himself, have undertaken journeys to spiritual stronghold areas, such as climbing Mount Everest in 1997 ("Operation Ice Castle") to pray against the "Queen of Heaven" or "Mother of the Universe", believed to be the demon underlying Catholicism's concept of Mary, mother of Jesus . Strategic spiritual warfare also often aims at opening the 10/40 Window , a region defined in Christian missiology as having low socioeconomic status and little access to

8888-599: The movement. After his retirement in 2010 and death in 2016, these organizations have been led by apostles and prophets. Wagner's 2008 book Dominion! How Kingdom Action Can Change the World , with its language of spiritual violence, set the NAR on a trajectory away from simple reformation of the church's organizational structure towards gaining political influence through spiritual warfare in order to transform society. His 2016 endorsement of Donald Trump's candidacy for US president shortly before Wagner's death has been called "one of

8989-489: The names Spiritual Mapping movement, Transformation or Revival movement, and Third Wave Evangelical movement are also used. The term NAR has been described as "relatively well established in the academic community". Some groups within the broader Apostolic-Prophetic movement have distanced themselves from the NAR due to various criticism and controversies such as January 6 Capitol attack and election denialism . Primarily "influenced and driven by North American evangelicals,"

9090-550: The other theological and social sciences differ to a great extent. While it continues to be considered a Christian theological discipline, some have contested whether missiology is a strictly church discipline or academic one. There are several academic societies for missiology, such as the North American organizations the American Society of Missiology (ASM) and Evangelical Missiological Society (EMS), and

9191-418: The performance of miracles such as healing . This movement has also been given the descriptive title " Third Wave of the Holy Spirit ". Although the movement regards the church as the true body of saved believers, as does most of evangelical Protestantism, it differs from the broader Protestant tradition in its view on the nature of church leadership, specifically the doctrine of five-fold ministry , which

9292-530: The program six times; other guests have included Michael Flynn, Charlie Kirk, Jeanine Pirro , Steve Bannon, Glenn Beck and Chaya Raichik . FlashPoint told viewers that criminal indictments against Trump were "against the purposes of God" and represented a "battle between good versus evil." Bailey has said, "We do have an agenda, and that is I am a Christo-fascist , Christian nationalist." Media Matters reported that at an August 2022 FlashPoint Live event, Dutch Sheets led Bailey, Wallnau and Kunneman in reciting

9393-431: The rigorous standards of a translation but rather functions as a paraphrase . BibleGateway , an evangelical Christian website providing access to 232 versions of the Bible in 74 languages, removed The Passion Translation from its site in February 2022. Few, if any, organizations publicly espouse connection to the NAR, though there are numerous public individuals associated with it, including: After being named as part of

9494-451: The singular, a broader topic including a multiplicity of God's activities in the world. Hence, " Mission is the participation of the people of God in God's action in the world. The theological and critical reflection about mission is called missiology ." [emphasis in original] Today missiology is taught at many Christian theological schools and its scope of study and relations with

9595-412: The story authors, Heidi Przybyla, later said in a television interview, in part: Remember when Trump ran in 2016, a lot of the mainline Evangelicals wanted nothing to do with the divorced real estate mogul who had cheated on his wife with a porn star and all of that, right? So what happened was he was surrounded by this more extremist element. You're going [to] hear words like 'Christian nationalism,' like

9696-474: The symposium, the term New Apostolic Reformation was adopted to refer to the new movement instead. Wagner himself has traditionally been known as the coiner of the term, though symposium organizer Kay Hiramine states Wagner himself did not create it. Over time, the term New Apostolic Reformation gained prominence over the previous Third Wave . The same year, Wagner published Confronting the Powers: How

9797-519: The term 'New Apostolic Reformation'". Holmås summarizes the NAR as follows: Among those in the movement that inspired the title NAR, there is a wide range of variance on specific beliefs. Those within the movement hold to their denominational interpretations of the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit within each believer. Unlike some parts of Protestant Christianity, these include the direct revelation of Christ to each believer, prophecy , and

9898-509: The use of her to turn the nation around, Muthee, like many in Wagner's leadership, understood that she was trying to get to a mountain of power. The prayer format asking for righteousness in the state and nation means that Palin is the person who can bring it, who has been anointed by God for that task. Muthee's prayer is an interesting artifact in understanding how Palin considered her 'destiny'; that she has been set apart, called by God." Including

9999-601: The world that have sometimes taken over their political enemies." NAR prophet Lance Wallnau has referred to Trump's presidency as a "spiritual warfare presidency". Media Matters reported in January 2024 that former Trump strategic advisor Steve Bannon often spoke of a "spiritual war" that characterized Democrats as "demons." Many NAR adherents have adopted the Appeal to Heaven Flag from the American Revolutionary War that symbolized seeking authority from

10100-863: Was "not divisive at all" and that they were "praying for God to move in Detroit ... so that we can all be one"; the event's goal was to get African Americans to convert local Muslims, who would then convert others in the Middle East. Baptist, Methodist, and Catholic clergy protested the event. During Newt Gingrich's 2012 presidential campaign , his connections to NAR apostles were covered in the media. This included Pray & ACT events sponsored by his organization Renewing American Leadership, which featured NAR apostles Lance Wallnau and Lou Engle and which included Seven Mountains exhortations. Dutch Sheets served as co-chair of Gingrich's Faith Leaders Coalition that year. The same year, sociologist Margaret Poloma described

10201-797: Was involved in a number of missions and church growth organizations and a charter member of the Evangelical Lausanne movement focused on evangelism . Starting in the early 1980s, Wagner was a professor in Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California , where his influence grew. A "key disciple" of Vineyard Church founder John Wimber , who focused on exercising spiritual gifts such as prophecy and miracles , Wagner initially emphasized spiritual gifts as well, holding " Signs, Wonders and Church Growth" courses at Fuller Seminary along with Wimber. Wagner saw

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