Pentecostals between Keeping their Identity and Adapting to Change: A Study of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Switzerland 1907–2015

Abstract

The article looks at the multi-cultural beginnings of Swiss Pentecostalism and argues for a certain tolerance of diversity. The question of identity in the light of historical change is considered as each successive generation brought forth new leaders. A basic challenge resides in the question of how Swiss Pentecostals attempted to establish their identity and how they worked towards an understanding of unity within their movement. A case is made that a Pentecostal identity did not benefit from emphasizing difference and distinctives but by sharing experiences of grace.