In February 2025, The William Seymour Project, the Pentecostal arm of CTC, will publish a video report titled “People of Power, Walking in the Spirit—Community Organising and Pentecostalism.” This report tells the story of a growing number of churches that have harnessed the power of faith-filled community organising to reconnect to Pentecostalism’s justice roots and the impact they have seen in terms of depth, growth, and impact.
This report centres around three churches at the heart of our pilot project: Developing ‘Unlikely Leaders’: Harnessing the Potential of Community Organising within Black Christian and Pentecostal Space. These churches are based in some of the most diverse areas of East London.
This has helped three churches to develop “growth pathways” that have resulted in deeper relationships within the church and outside, more porous walls between church and community, and directly addressing and working their community on justice issues.
1. Justice is not only at the heart of our faith but also at the roots of Pentecostal theology.
Pentecostalism’s appeal was in the equality of the holy spirit and in a context where segregation and racism were rife, the unity between genders and races because of the spirit. This spiritual unity had social and political implications. Therefore, and a very, really tangible impact on the world around them.
2. Community organising helps us to live out our theology practically.
The tools of community organising enable us to get beneath the surface of someone’s life and know their story. It is through stories that we unearth vocation and calls to action. Stories have always been about how God communicates with God’s people, reveals Godself and helps them understand themselves as a result, and how we should then act in accordance with God’s revelations.
3. Community organising empowers us through the spirit
- Our churches have seen that community organising empowers them to not only address issues of injustice within the community but also empower us through his spirit to engage with the world as it is and move towards the world as it should be. Just as in John 10v10
4. The Results
- As a result of these three points, we have seen leadership development within the church and the community. The community has begun to transform through harnessing the power of faith-filled community organising, walking in the spirit and praying with power.
