The Swiss Pentecostal Mission (german: Schweizerische Pfingstmission, abbreviated SPM) is the largest
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...
in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. Officially known in English as the Pentecostal Assemblies of Switzerland, it is the Swiss branch of the
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...
, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world.
[: "The ''Swiss Pentecostal Mission''—or the ''Pentecostal Assemblies of Switzerland'', as they now call themselves in English..."][World Assemblies of God Fellowship]
Switzerland
Accessed December 14, 2010. In 2013, the denomination had 10,000 adherents in 66 churches, and it operated a conference center in
Emmetten
Emmetten is a municipality in the canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland.
History
Emmetten is first mentioned about 1160 as ''Empnoten''.
Geography
Emmetten has an area, , of . Of this area, 37.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 45.8% i ...
.
History
Pentecostalism was brought to Switzerland in 1907 by two women missionaries from Norway, A. Telle and D. Gregersen. They came into contact with a small group, the Zion Fellowship of
Zurich, which became the first Pentecostal congregation in the country. Its first pastor, former Anglican clergyman C.E.D. de Labilliere, became a pioneer of the movement. In 1909, he started publishing the periodical ''Die Verheissung des Vaters'', which would become the official publication of the SPM. During this time period, prominent Pentecostal leaders visited Switzerland, including
Thomas Ball Barratt
Thomas Ball Barratt, also known as T. B. Barratt, (22 July 1862 – 29 January 1940) was a British-born Norwegian pastor and one of the founding figures of the Pentecostal movement in Europe, bringing the movement, or baptism in the Holy Spirit, ...
,
Alexander Boddy
Alexander Alfred Boddy (15 November 1854 – 10 September 1930) was an Anglican vicar and one of the founders of Pentecostalism in Britain.
Early life
Boddy was born into an ecclesiastical family: his father was a vicar, and his mother was a desce ...
,
Jonathan Paul Jonathan Anton Alexander Paul (1853–1931) was a German Pentecostal minister, writer, theologian, and Bible scholar and translator.
Paul graduated from the Studium der Theologie in the University of Greifswald and pastored in Pomerania. He was mem ...
, and Geritt Polman, the Pentecostal pastor from Amsterdam who had been a member of the
Salvation Army
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
. In 1920,
Smith Wigglesworth
Smith Wigglesworth (10 June 1859 – 12 March 1947) was a British evangelist who was influential in the early history of Pentecostalism.
Early life
Smith Wigglesworth was born on 10 June 1859 in Menston, Yorkshire, England, to an impoverished ...
held meetings in Switzerland in which "remarkable healings" were reported.
The
Berlin Declaration, issued by German
evangelicals
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
in 1909, caused hardships for the Swiss Pentecostals as it contributed to a rift between them and the
Swiss Evangelical Alliance. Nevertheless, Pentecostalism continued to spread. In 1921, the Swiss Pentecostal Mission Society (''Schweizerische Pfingstmissionsgesellschaft'') was organized to provide training and support for
mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
work. The first missionary was sent to
Lesotho
Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...
. In 1935, the churches in partnership with the mission society decided to establish a formal denomination, the Swiss Pentecostal Mission.
The leader of the SPM, Leonhard Steiner, in 1947 initiated the
Pentecostal World Conference
The Pentecostal World Fellowship is a fellowship of Evangelical Pentecostal churches and denominations from across the world. The headquarters is in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its leader is William Wilson (Tulsa, OK).
History
The Pentecostal World Fello ...
in Zürich. Another Pentecostal denomination, ''Freie Christengemeinden der Schweiz'' (FCGS), went bankrupt in 1993, and many of its congregations joined the SPM.
Notes
References
* .
*
*
*
Further reading
*Burgess, Stanley M. und McGee, Gary B. (ed.): ''Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements'', Grand Rapids, 7th ed., 1995
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Evangelicalism in Switzerland
Pentecostalism in Europe
Assemblies of God National Fellowships