African Pentecostalism in Diaspora

Abstract

This article is an attempt to survey the field of African immigrant Christianity so as to put the specifically Pentecostal factor in proper perspective. It points to where scholars have been, are and should be going, and who are the chief conversation partners. It examines the various discourses, arguing that reverse flow is broader than a description of Africans doing mission in the northern globe; it is better grasped from a global missiological perspective. African immigrant Christianity is beyond the religious performances of suffering communities in Europe; the discourses on modernity and globalization are useful but harbour internal contradictions; and the profiles of mega churches are not adequate representations. We are confronted with complex matters about religious experiences and expressions catalyzed by the complex patterns of African migration and the changing character of the destinations. The question to be raised is: what is the Pentecostal dimension?