Integration in the early black Pentecostal community: a basis for social action in a post-1994 South Africa

Abstract

Early Pentecostalism in South Africa followed the pattern of the 1906 Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, United States of America in uniting people in their diversity. In its early development, the South African Pentecostal movement united people who came from different cultural backgrounds, skin colour, races, ethnicity, language groups, economic backgrounds, and so forth. However, a few years after its establishment, the movement followed the pattern of racial segregation in the country and became disintegrated along racial lines. This article argues that the black Pentecostal community, including mixed-race, and Indians, remained integrated regardless of their diversity. This was achieved through the theory of integration in the Christian tradition, particularly in Pentecostalism. The black Pentecostal community is defined and unpacked in a South African context with the aim of demonstrating integration in this community. The aim of the article is to demonstrate that integration in the black Pentecostal community can serve as a starting point to address the remnants of racial segregation in South Africa. The force behind the unity in dealing with racial segregation in South Africa should be the same force that has to deal with the post-1994 challenges. Therefore, black people should unite to deal with the injustices of the past, socio-economic challenges, crime, and corruption in South Africa.