The Pentecostal Herald

The Pentecostal Herald
Title	The Pentecostal Herald
Frequency	Weekly
Founded	19XX
Country	United States
Language	English
Circulation	00,000

The Pentecostal Herald is a denominational periodical associated with Pentecostalism that has provided news, commentary, devotional material, and denominational reporting for clergy and laity. The magazine has operated alongside other religious publications connected to movements such as the Azusa Street Revival, the Assemblies of God, the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), and the International Pentecostal Holiness Church while engaging with broader Christian and ecumenical developments involving the World Council of Churches and the Vatican. Its pages have reflected debates involving figures and institutions from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to the Lausanne Movement, and from the National Association of Evangelicals to the World Pentecostal Fellowship.

History

The periodical emerged in a milieu shaped by events such as the Azusa Street Revival, the Welsh Revival, the Azusa Street Mission, and revivals linked to names like William J. Seymour and Aimee Semple McPherson, positioning itself amid denominational formations including the Assemblies of God, the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. Throughout the 20th century it intersected with movements and moments associated with the Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy, the rise of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, the Charismatic Renewal, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and conferences like the Urbana Student Missions Conference and the Lausanne Congress. Editorial decisions reflected responses to global events such as World War II, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, and decolonization in Africa and Asia, with attention to leaders and institutions like Martin Luther King Jr., Desmond Tutu, Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, Kathryn Kuhlman, and C. Peter Wagner. The magazine documented missionary initiatives tied to organizations such as Youth With A Mission, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Methodist Church, and the Salvation Army, and reported on legal and cultural matters involving the Supreme Court of the United States, the United Nations, NATO, and the European Union.

Editorial Leadership

Editors and editorial boards drew on clergy and laity who were connected to seminaries and colleges including Oral Roberts University, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Fuller Theological Seminary, Regent University, and Lee University, and denominational headquarters such as Springfield (Missouri), Nashville (Tennessee), Cleveland (Tennessee), and Los Angeles (California). Prominent contributors and editors had networks overlapping with personalities and institutions like A. A. Allen, Gordon Lindsay, Jack Hayford, J. Philip Hogan, John Wimber, Keith Green, and Kenneth Hagin, as well as with publishers and presses including Zondervan, Thomas Nelson, Baker Publishing Group, InterVarsity Press, and Tyndale House. Editorial leadership negotiated relationships with ecumenical actors such as the World Council of Churches, the Vatican Secretariat for Christian Unity, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and regional bodies like the National Association of Evangelicals and the Pentecostal World Fellowship.

Content and Theological Orientation

Content ranged from reporting on revival events and missionary endeavors to theological essays engaging Wesleyan-Holiness traditions, classical Pentecostal theology, and Charismatic theology debated at gatherings like the National Religious Broadcasters Conference and the Global Day of Prayer. Articles interacted with theological voices such as Aimee Semple McPherson, William Branham, Smith Wigglesworth, F. F. Bosworth, and Donald Gee, while engaging contemporary debates influenced by scholars at Oxford, Harvard Divinity School, Yale Divinity School, and the University of Chicago Divinity School. Theological orientation often reflected continuities with sanctification teaching associated with Phoebe Palmer and Charles Finney, and pneumatalogical emphases discussed alongside movements linked to John Stott, J. I. Packer, Philip Yancey, and N. T. Wright. Liturgical and worship coverage intersected with ministries and festivals involving Hillsong Church, Bethel Church, Vineyard Movement, New Life Church, and the Catholic charismatic communities.

Distribution and Readership

Distribution networks extended through denominational channels tied to the Assemblies of God, the Church of God, the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, and independent networks including Calvary Chapel and Vineyard churches, as well as campus ministries such as InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Cru, and Navigators. Readership included clergy, seminary students, missionaries affiliated with the World Evangelical Alliance, relief workers with World Vision International and Samaritan's Purse, and congregants connected to local churches in regions spanning North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Subscription partnerships and sales appeared at conferences such as Urbana, the National Religious Broadcasters Convention, and regional convocations like the Pentecostal World Conference, and through vendors linked with Christian bookstores such as Lifeway Christian Resources and Mardel.

Influence and Notable Coverage

The magazine covered major Pentecostal and evangelical events including the Azusa Street centenary commemorations, the Charismatic Movement's expansion into mainline denominations, the rise of megachurches like Lakewood Church and Willow Creek Community Church, and influential figures including Billy Graham, Reinhard Bonnke, Luis Palau, Benny Hinn, and Joyce Meyer. Investigative and feature pieces addressed mission crises in contexts like Nigeria, India, and Brazil, spotlighted humanitarian efforts by organizations such as World Vision, the International Red Cross, and UNICEF, and tracked theological shifts tied to the Toronto Blessing, the Brownsville Revival, and the Kansas City Fellowship. Its influence extended to debates over religious broadcasting on networks such as Trinity Broadcasting Network, the Christian Broadcasting Network, and secular platforms like the BBC and CNN.

Controversies and Criticism

The publication faced criticism over its coverage of healing ministries linked to names like Benny Hinn and Kathryn Kuhlman, its editorial stance during scandals involving televangelists such as Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart, and questions about accountability raised by watchdogs like the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Critics from academic and ecclesial arenas including scholars at Yale, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Oxford, and commentators from The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Guardian challenged its handling of theological disputes, ecumenical engagements with the Vatican, and responses to sociopolitical issues involving Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court. Debates also arose concerning commercial ties to publishers such as HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, digital transitions affecting platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and editorial independence in relation to denominational boards and parachurch organizations.

Category:Pentecostal publications