Supporters of the movement cite as an obstacle to participation a distrust or diffidence towards the [[Holy Spirit]]'s ability to achieve today what was accomplished in the first century A.D. Like [[Methodism|Methodists]], Pentecostals emphasize the necessity of a revival in the church. Their theology is strongly influenced by [[Arminianism]].
==Denominations==
From a worldwide perspective, the Assemblies of God is the largest Pentecostal denomination. However, the vast majority of its membership is outside of the United States. It has 2.5 million members in the U.S. and 25 million overall.
Second in size is The Church of God in Christ, a predominantly African American denomination. Other of Pentecostal denominations include the Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee; the International Pentecostal Holiness Church; the International Church of the Four Square Gospel; and the nontrinitarian United Pentecostal Church International. There are scores of smaller Pentecostal bodies.<ref> For a listing of the websites of these and other Pentecostal churches, go to http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~kbanner/pentec.html </ref>
The main Pentecostal denomination is the [[Assemblies of God]]. Others include the Full Gospel church.
Women played a major role in the Pentecostal revival movement from the 1900s to the 1940s, founding denominations, preaching, and occasionally acting as pastors. As Pentecostalism aligned itself with mainstream evangelicalism after World War II, women's leadership declined.
==Further reading==
* Baer, Jonathan R. "Redeemed Bodies: The Functions Of Divine Healing In Incipient Pentecostalism." ''Church History'' 2001 70(4): 735-771. in JSTOR
* Blumhofer, Edith L. ''Restoring the Faith: The Assemblies of God, Pentecostalism, and American Culture.'' U. of Illinois Press, 1993. 281 pp. A major schiolarly study.
* Brouwer, Steve, Paul Gifford, and Susan D. Rose. ''Exporting the American Gospel: Global Christian Fundamentalism (1996), examines the spread of Pentecostalism and the market revolution, as well as the connection between these phenomena, in Guatemala, the Philippines, South Korea, and Liberia. It reads these trends as examples of "Americanization"
* Cox, Harvey. ''Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century'' (1995) [http://www.questia.com/read/100789148?title=Fire%20from%20Heaven%3a%20The%20Rise%20of%20Pentecostal%20Spirituality%20and%20the%20Reshaping%20of%20Religion%20in%20the%20Twenty-First%20Century online edition]
* Crowe, Terrence Robert. ''Pentecostal Unity: Recurring Frustration and Enduring Hopes.'' Chicago: Loyola U. Press, 1993. 282 pp.
* DuPree, Sherry Sherrod. ''African-American Holiness Pentecostal Movements: An Annotated Bibliography.'' New York: Garland, 1996. 650 pp.
* McGeeHarrell, Gary BDavid Edwin. '''This Gospel . . . Shall Be Preached'Oral Roberts: A History and Theology of Assemblies of God Foreign Missions since 1959.An American Life'' Springfield, Mo.(1985) [http: Gospel, 1990//www. 358 ppquestia.com/read/84332901?title=Oral%20Roberts%3a%20An%20American%20Life online edition]
* Poloma, Margaret M. ''The Assemblies of God at the Crossroads: Charisma and Institutional Dilemmas.'' U. of Tennessee Pr., 1989. 309 pp. scholarly study
* Stephens, Randall J. "The Convergence of Populism, Religion, and the Holiness-Pentecostal Movements: A Review of the Historical Literature." ''Fides Et Historia'' 2000 32(1): 51-64.
* Synan, Vinson, ed. ''The Century of the Holy Spirit: 100 Years of Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal, 1901-2001,'' (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001)
===Specialized topics===
* Baer, Jonathan R. "Redeemed Bodies: The Functions Of Divine Healing In Incipient Pentecostalism." ''Church History'' 2001 70(4): 735-771. in JSTOR
* Goff, Jr. James R. ''Fields White unto Harvest: Charles F. Parham and the Missionary Origins of Pentecostalism'' (University of Arkansas Press, 1988)
* Medhurst, Martin J. ''Filled with the Spirit: Rhetorical Invention and the Pentecostal Tradition," ''Rhetoric & Public Affairs'' v7 #4 (2004) 555-572 in Project MUSE
===Missions and International===
* Cleary, Edward L. and Hannah W. Stewart-Gambino, eds. ''Power, Politics, and Pentecostals in Latin America,'' (1997) [http://www.questia.com/read/59437994?title=Power%2c%20Politics%2c%20and%20Pentecostals%20in%20Latin%20America online edition]
* McGee, Gary B. '''This Gospel . . . Shall Be Preached': A History and Theology of Assemblies of God Foreign Missions since 1959.'' Springfield, Mo.: Gospel, 1990. 358 pp.
* Westmeier, Karl-Wilhelm. ''Protestant Pentecostalism in Latin America: A Study in the Dynamics of Missions'' (1999) [http://www.questia.com/read/113915674?title=Protestant%20Pentecostalism%20in%20Latin%20America%3a%20%20A%20Study%20in%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Missions online edition]
====Glossolalia====
* John Sherrill, ''They Speak with Other Tongues'' (Old Tappan, N.J.: Chosen Books, 2004)
* Gary B. McGee, ''Initial Evidence: Historical and Biblical Perspectives on the Pentecostal Doctrine of Spirit Baptism'' (Peabody, Mass.: Henrickson, 1991)
* Wade H. Horton, ''Glossolalia Phenomenon'' (Cleveland, Tenn.: Pathway Press, 1996)
* Watson E. Mills, ''Glossolalia: A Bibliography'' (New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1985)
* ''Speaking in Tongues: A Guide to Research on Glossolalia'' (Eerdmans, 1986).
==External links==
* [http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~kbanner/pentec.html major websites]
====notes====
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