Prosperity Gospel and African American Prophetic Preaching

Abstract

Prophetic preaching has been part of the African American preaching legacy since Africans were brought to North America during the West African-North American slave trade. Prosperity preaching is a relatively new preaching genre that emerged in the United States in the late 1970s. In this article, Debra Mumford briefly surveys the origins and central tenants of both prosperity and African American prophetic preaching in her efforts to determine which form of preaching can best meet the social and spiritual challenges facing African Americans in the twenty-first century.