The spreading appeal of Pentecostalism was evident this week as about 7,000 members of one of the oldest Pentecostal denominations in the United States gathered at the Washington Convention Center for their annual convention.
The eight-day conference, which concludes today, drew members of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World for fellowship and worship. The denomination's leaders also decided at the convention to accept women in the highest position below that of bishop.
"There is great discussion on women going to all phases of ministry," PAW's presiding prelate, Bishop Norman L. Wagner, said in an interview. "Now, as of this conference, they are to be admitted to be district supervisors."
Based in Indianapolis, the denomination has its roots in the 1906 Azuza Revival in Los Angeles, which is regarded as the first major expression of modern Pentecostalism. PAW formally became a denomination in 1919 and now has 1.5 million members, most of them in the United States. The denomination has a presence in 38 other countries, Wagner said.
Pentecostalism is a form of Christianity marked by an emotional, spontaneous worship style in which faith healing and speaking in tongues are regarded as evidence of having received the Holy Spirit. Most Pentecostals also believe in baptism by immersion. Pentecostalism is widely recognized by religious scholars as the fastest-growing Christian movement in the world, reaching into many different denominations.
"I was born and raised" in PAW, said Eva Taylor of Bel Air, Md., a 39-year-old administrative assistant who was hospitality coordinator for the conference. Taylor attends Zion Temple in Havre de Grace, Md., one of about 30 PAW churches in the District, Maryland and Delaware with a total membership of about 2,500.
"We live and breathe the doctrine of the Scripture," said Cynthia Patton, 47, of Largo, who was assisting Taylor on the hospitality committee. Patton, who works on Capitol Hill, attends the PAW-affiliated Greater Morning Star Pentecostal Church in Northeast Washington, pastored by Bishop Charles E. Johnson.
Virginia has 48 PAW churches.
One highlight of the convention, whose theme was "The Power to Become," was a communion service Wednesday morning that drew more than 2,000 to hear the preaching of Bishop Earl Parchia. Many women wore white dresses and suits, with matching hats and shoes. Men dandled children on their knees or had open Bibles on their laps.
From the stage, Wagner led the congregation in praise worship, filling the hall with shouts of "Glory to God!" and "Hallelujah!" After communion, many waved their hands and prayed aloud in unintelligible phrases, the practice known as speaking in tongues.
Outreach activity at the convention -- the denomination's first in Washington since 1989 -- was organized by LaVelton J. Daniel of Cincinnati, who said that during the week, small groups visited different neighborhoods to evangelize on the street through music, prayer and pamphlet distribution.
"Overall, it was very, very positive," Daniel said of the response they received. "You always have people like this," he said, putting his fingers in his ears and grimacing. "But at every location, someone also came up and thanked us."
Presiding Bishop Wagner, 60, who lives in Youngstown, Ohio, said that "morale is higher than I've ever seen it" among members, and he pointed to the success of a recent fundraising effort that brought in $1 million.
The money, raised since March, will be used to pay off the mortgage on the denomination's head office and its Aenon Bible College in Indianapolis, Wagner said.
Wagner acknowledged that his denomination has not been open to women in its top hierarchy because its view of bishops is based on Scripture, which defines a bishop as someone who is a husband.
But "under my administrative term, that has all changed," added Wagner, who was first elected four years ago. He pointed to a new openness in the denomination that has already allowed two women to sit on its governing board, and to this week's decision to let women become district supervisors.
As district supervisors, women will have the same role as the all-male district elders now have.
Asked if the denomination might someday have female bishops, Wagner replied, "From all indications, it appears to be moving that way."