From Norway to Nepal: Agnes Beckdahl, Pioneer Pentecostal Missionary

This Week in AG History — April 9, 1967

By Glenn W. Gohr
Originally published on AG-News, April 7, 2022

Agnes Nikola (Thelle) Beckdahl (1876-1968) was one of the first Pentecostal evangelists to Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and England, and for over 50 years she served as an Assemblies of God missionary in Northern India near the border of Nepal.

Beckdahl was born at Andoen, an island near Kristiansand off the coast of Norway. She made a commitment to serve God in her teen years and later renewed her dedication at age 20. At that time, she felt a strong conviction that she was called to the mission field.

In December 1906, soon after the aftershocks from the Azusa revival had reached the European continent, Beckdahl ventured to Christiania (now Oslo), the capital of Norway, to help in mission and jail service at the Christiania Bymission (City Mission), founded by T. B. Barratt. While attending Barratt’s mission and Bible school, she opened her heart to more of God. Soon she received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Beginning in May 1907, Agnes, and a Norwegian coworker, Dagmar Gregersen, traveled as missionary evangelists in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, and several other places. Many years later she reported on these travels: “We were the first to bring the Pentecostal testimony to Germany in spring time 1907. Went through seven countries in Europe including the Eastern United States from Boston, Massachusetts and Connecticut and New York State. I think more than 2,000 were saved and filled with the Spirit on that tour. It was a wonderful revival with an outpouring of the Holy Ghost in convicting power upon the whole world during that time!”

After traveling in evangelistic work in Europe and the United States, Beckdahl attended the Missionary Institute at Nyack, New York, in preparation to go as a missionary to India. Stopping in Norway and in England first, she arrived in India on May 10, 1910. She visited Pandita Ramabai’s Mukti Mission in Poona, India. While at Poona, she met a Salvation Army officer from Denmark named Christian Beckdahl. They kept in touch. Agnes ended up going to the Mission House at Fyzabad, India, and Christian began missionary work near the border of Nepal with the American Pentecostal Mission. Later Agnes and two coworkers were at a mission station in Nepalganj, also on the border of Nepal. Christian and Agnes decided to get married. The marriage took place in the Scandinavian Evangelical Mission in Brooklyn, New York, on Aug. 14, 1915. Two days later, they both were ordained as missionaries with the Assemblies of God at Wells Memorial Gospel Assembly in Tottenville, New York.

After some deputational work, the Beckdahls sailed for India in December 1915. They established a work in Nanpara on the border of Nepal, where Agnes had previously lived. The Beckdahls traveled throughout Northern India and in Nepal, evangelizing everywhere they went. They served as missionaries together in India for over 50 years until Christian’s death in November 1950. They raised one son, Samuel Beckdahl, who also served as an AG missionary in India and who married Ruth Merian, daughter of AG missionaries Fred and Lillian Merian.

After her husband’s death, Agnes Beckdahl returned to the United States where she lived in retirement in Pinellas Park Home and later in Bethany Retirement Home in Lakeland, Florida. She passed away on Jan. 17, 1968, at the age of 91.

During the 1960s, the Pentecostal Evangel published a series of profiles of early Assemblies of God ministers and missionaries. One of these profiles featured Agnes Beckdahl and her missionary work at Nanpara, India.

Read Agnes Beckdahl’s article, “Along the Nepal Border,” on page 22 of the April 9, 1967, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “The Old Farmer” by Bruce S. Williams

• “Tend Your Garden,” by Joyce Wells Booze

And many more!

Click here to read these issues now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

Large Norwegian Pentecostal Collection Deposited at Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center

A few of the Norwegian Pentecostal and charismatic books deposited at the FPHC

By Darrin J. Rodgers

Norwegians have played an outsized role in the development of Pentecostalism, first in Europe, and then around the world. Thomas Ball Barratt, a British-born Methodist pastor in Oslo, brought the Pentecostal message from America to Norway in December 1906. The movement then spread to England, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. Barratt is widely regarded as the father of European Pentecostalism.

A distinct ecclesiology and missiology emerged among Pentecostals from Norway, Sweden and Finland. Scandinavian Pentecostals sent over a thousand missionaries who planted and nurtured the Pentecostal movement in many regions of the world. Today, global Pentecostalism cannot be understood apart from the influences of these Scandinavian missionaries.

Encyclopedia of Norwegian Pentecostal and charismatic movements, by Geir Lie

Despite the significance of Norwegian Pentecostals, their stories have often been neglected by scholars, in part because sources have been inaccessible. In an attempt to remedy this, over the past 25 years Norwegian historian Geir Lie has engaged in the backbreaking, groundbreaking work of documenting the varied Pentecostal and charismatic groups in Norway. Lie interviewed leaders, assembled an archival collection, and published several books, including an encyclopedia of the Norwegian Pentecostal and charismatic movements.

As Lie began to near retirement, he decided to place his personal collection of publications and research materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC), located in the national office of the Assemblies of God USA. The FPHC is the largest Pentecostal archives in the world, with materials in over 145 languages.

Lie also encouraged other Norwegian church leaders and scholars to place materials at the FPHC. Darrin Rodgers, director of the FPHC, traveled to Norway in November 2018, met with church leaders, gathered materials, and shipped two pallets back to America. Donors continue to deposit additional Norwegian materials at the FPHC.

The FPHC is grateful to three churches from Norwegian-American immigrant communities that helped to underwrite of cost of shipping the materials:
Freedom Church (Grand Forks, ND), Pastor Nathan Johnson
River of Life Church (Stanley, ND), Pastor Byron Lindbo
Assembly of God (Tioga, ND), Pastor Daryn Pederson

The FPHC catalog now includes about 1,200 records of Norwegian Pentecostal books, pamphlets, and periodical runs.  The FPHC also holds sizeable collections of Pentecostal publications in Swedish (786) and Finnish (724). The FPHC likely holds the largest collection of Scandinavian Pentecostal and charismatic materials outside of Europe. These resources are essential for scholars of global Pentecostalism.

The majority of the Norwegian collection at the FPHC consists of publications associated with Pinsebevegelsen, the largest segment of the Pentecostal movement in Norway. Leaders in several smaller but historically important groups also deposited significant collections at the FPHC: Brunstad Christian Church; the Faith movement; Kristent Nettverk; Maran Ata; and Nardusmenighetene.

Norwegian Collections Deposited at FPHC

Pinsebevegelsen (Pentecostal Movement)

T.B. Barratt

Pinsebevegelsen claims about 40,000 baptized members in 340 churches. Pinsebevegelsen does not consider itself a denomination, but a movement of independent churches. For this reason, Pinsebevegelsen does not have a national headquarters. The Filadelfia Church in Oslo, founded by T. B. Barratt, has been the most prominent congregation in Pinsebevegelsen. The Filadelfia Church helped launch several joint ministry endeavors, including the Filadelfiaforlaget (the primary Norwegian Pentecostal publishing house) and De Norske Pinsemenigheters Ytremisjon (the Norwegian Pentecostal missions agency, also known as PYM). The weekly Pentecostal newspaper, Korsets Seier, also began as a ministry of the Filadelfia Church.  In 2011, Pinsebevegelsen affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship.

Two Pinsebevegelsen organizations, Korsets Seier and PYM, deposited approximately 600 books, pamphlets, and periodical runs at the FPHC. This includes large runs of Korsets Seier (1930-2009) and several other periodicals, as well as numerous books about Norwegian Pentecostal theology, history, and missions.

Brunstad Christian Church

Skjulte Skatter, 1912

Brunstad Christian Church (originally called Smith’s Friends) has over 8,000 members in Norway and an additional 12,000 members in other nations. Founded by Johan Oscar Smith in the late 1890s, the group identified with Pentecostalism in 1906-1907. Smith’s younger brother, Aksel, initially cooperated with T. B. Barratt. After several years, Barratt and Smith’s Friends went their separate ways.

Brunstad Christian Church deposited at the FPHC a run of its monthly magazine, Skjulte Skatter (1912-2011), in addition to a collection of books.

Faith Movement

Magazinet, a Faith movement periodical, 1990

The Faith movement emerged in Norway in the 1970s and 1980s, influenced by American teachers such as Kenneth Hagin. The Faith movement also drew from aspects of the Norwegian Pentecostal and charismatic movements. Oslo Kristne Senter, founded in 1985 by Åge Åleskjær, grew to become the largest and most influential Faith church in Norway. In recent years, many leaders in the Norwegian Faith movement have distanced themselves from American prosperity gospel teachers and are more closely aligned with mainstream Pentecostals and charismatics.

Thomas Åleskjær, pastor of Oslo Kristne Senter, deposited about 120 Norwegian language books and periodicals, mostly relating to the Faith movement, at the FPHC.

Kristent Nettverk

Kristent Nettverk, a network of Restorationist charismatic churches in relationship with British New Church leaders Bryn and Keri Jones, was established in 1980s. Erling Thu, one of the founders of Kristent Nettverk, is a prolific author. Thu deposited at the FPHC over 20 books he authored, in addition to a run of Folk (1988-2007), a periodical he founded.

Maran Ata

Maran Ata magazine 1960

Norwegian Pentecostal healing evangelist and musician Åge Samuelsen (1915-1987) founded the Maran Ata movement in 1958/1959. Samuelsen was closely aligned with American evangelists associated with Voice of Healing magazine, such as Gordon Lindsay. Some Pentecostals left Pinsebevegelsen and formed Maran Ata churches. Samuelsen was removed from leadership of Maran Ata in 1965/1966 and formed a new organization, Vekkeropet Maran Ata.

Maran Ata and Vekkeropet Maran Ata each deposited runs of their periodicals at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center: Maran Ata Bladet (1960-2018) and Vekkeropet Maran Ata (1968-1987).

Nardusmenighetene

Nardus magazine, 1985

Nardusmenighetene, an indigenous Norwegian Oneness Pentecostal denomination, was formed in the early 1980s by Torkild Terkelsen. Terkelsen deposited at the FPHC a run of the periodical, Nardus (1984-2006) and 17 books published by Nardusmenighetene.

_________________

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archives and research center in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: http://www.iFPHC.org

Hans Nielsen Hauge: The Persecuted Lay Preacher Who Revived Christianity in Norway

This Week in AG History — June 14, 1947

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 13 June 2019

Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771-1824), a lay preacher who spent decades promoting revival in Norway, helped to transform the religious and social landscape of his homeland. Hauge’s story was featured in the June 14, 1947, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel. Hauge’s testimony demonstrated that Pentecostals’ emphasis on reform and spiritual renewal had firm roots in the broader Christian tradition.

In 1796, Hauge experienced a spiritual awakening (which he termed “spirit baptism”) while he was ploughing his father’s farm. This experience with God transformed Hauge’s life. He began studying the Bible and shared the gospel and his testimony wherever he found an audience. He preached with great power and insisted that each person should have “living faith.”

According to Hauge, church membership alone did not make a person a Christian. At the time, exceedingly few people attended State churches. In the capital city of Christiania, which had a population of about 10,000, evidence shows that only about 20 people attended regular services in the State church.

Hauge inspired a large movement which revived Christianity in Norway. It is estimated that half of Norwegians experienced salvation under the ministry of Hauge and his fellow evangelists. Hauge not only promoted lay ministry, he also encouraged women to share the gospel. The first female preacher in the Haugean movement, Sara Oust, began preaching in 1799. For the next 100 years, Norway became known as “a land of revivals.”

Hauge not only brought a spiritual rebirth to Norway, but also an economic revival. He established numerous factories and mills and is credited with bringing the industrial revolution to his nation.

The informal network of Christians developed by Hauge challenged the authority of the Lutheran State church. Norway did not have freedom of religious assembly, and it was illegal to hold a religious meeting without a licensed minister present. Although he never departed from Lutheran theology, Hauge was arrested at least 14 times and endured great suffering in jail. His health failed in prison, resulting in Hauge’s premature death.

Hauge’s legacy, in many ways, lives on in the Pentecostal movement. Just as the Haugean movement began to die down, Pentecostalism emerged at the turn of the 20th century. In Norway, early Pentecostals identified themselves in the revival tradition of Hauge.

Hauge’s influence also extended to America. Followers of Hauge who had settled in Minnesota and the Dakotas experienced a revival in the 1890s and early 1900s that included healings and speaking in tongues. When various revival movements coalesced in the early 1900s to form what is now known as the Pentecostal movement, many of these Scandinavian immigrants became leaders within the Pentecostal movement. G. Raymond Carlson (1918-1999), for instance, came from a Norwegian Haugean background in North Dakota and ultimately served as general superintendent of the Assemblies of God (1986-1993).

The Pentecostal Evangel article lauded Hauge as “God’s firebrand” and a “martyr at the early age of 53.” But Hauge’s death did not signal the end to the revival movement he started. Rather, the article noted, “It was the beginning of a new day, a new church, and a new Christianity throughout the land.”

Read the entire article, “Beginnings in Norway,” by Armin Gesswein, on page 12 of the June 14, 1947, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “An Old-Time Methodist Sermon,” by J. Narver Gortner

• “Neglected Duty,” by Arvid Ohrnell

• “Delivering the Demon-Bound,” by Ernest S. Williams

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: http://www.iFPHC.org

T. B. Barratt: Norwegian Pentecostal Pioneer

T. B. Barratt with his wife, Laura; circa 1928.

This Week in AG History — October 20, 1957

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on PE-News, 19 October 2017

Thomas Ball Barratt (1862-1940), born to a Methodist family in England, became the most prominent Pentecostal pioneer in Norway. Barratt was recognized at a young age for being a gifted writer, artist, and composer of music. He could have succeeded in numerous professions. But following a life-changing encounter with God, the young Barratt dedicated his life to sharing the gospel.

When Barratt was four years old, his parents immigrated to Norway, where his father worked as a miner. At age 11, Barratt’s parents sent him back to England to attend a Methodist school, where he committed his life to God during a revival. After he moved back to Norway at age 16, he became a member of Stavanger Temperance Society and became a joyful advocate of heartfelt faith and godly living.

When Barratt returned to Norway, he initially began working as his father’s assistant. However, Barratt’s artistic abilities opened other doors. He studied under Norway’s greatest composer, Edvard Grieg, and under noted artist Olaf Dahl. By age 17, he began preaching in Methodist churches. He became an ordained Methodist deacon (1889) and elder (1891) and pastored several churches.

With a deep interest in spiritual things, Barratt became a prominent proponent of revival in Norway. Through the Oslo City Mission, which he founded in 1902, and its periodical, Byposten, Barratt encouraged people to draw close to God.

In 1906, Barratt traveled to America to raise funds for the Oslo City Mission. Although he failed to raise much money, he returned to Norway with something else that would change the trajectory of his ministry. Barratt had heard testimonies about the emerging Pentecostal revival at the interracial Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles, and his heart grew hungry for a deeper experience of God. Just before going back to Norway, he stopped at the Holiness Mission in New York City, where some of the gospel workers had been baptized in the Holy Spirit. These newly-baptized Pentecostals, Robert A. Brown and Marie Burgess, prayed with Barratt. He spent an extended period of time seeking God at the altar. After he “emptied” his soul of self, he received the Pentecostal experience with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

Upon his return to Norway, Barratt began promoting the Pentecostal message. He endured criticism by those who mocked the reported emotionalism of the Azusa Street Mission. The Methodist Church revoked his ministerial credentials, and his mission and newspaper were given to his assistant. Barratt had to start over, building up his ministry from scratch. Despite these impediments, Barratt kept his focus on the gospel and not on his critics. Crowds thronged to hear Barratt wherever he went. He founded the Filadelfia Church in Oslo, which grew to about 2,000 members. Pentecostal churches were soon organized across the nation. Under the leadership of Barratt, the Pentecostal movement in Norway became the second largest Protestant church in Norway, second only to the Lutheran church. Barratt’s influence also spread to North America, where he traveled on occasion and preached in English to American and Canadian audiences.

The story of T. B. Barratt is a reminder of the global scope of the Pentecostal movement. Barratt, an Englishman raised in Norway, identified with the Pentecostal revival during a visit to the United States. Barratt’s testimony also demonstrates that early Pentecostals prioritized the spiritual life. Barratt modeled heartful, joyful faith, which he lived out in a godly lifestyle. From his earliest days of ministry as a Methodist to his latter years as a Pentecostal statesman, he consistently emphasized the importance of deep faith. Barratt was willing to take risks to follow God’s will. And because he did, the religious landscape in Norway has never been the same.

The Pentecostal Evangel featured the story of Thomas Ball Barratt in 1957, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Pentecostalism in Norway. Read the article, “Norway’s Pentecostal Jubilee,” on page 20 of the Oct. 20, 1957, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

* “A Thirst for God,” by A. M. Alber

* “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” by James A. Stewart

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

Hans Nielsen Hauge: The Persecuted Lay Preacher Who Saved Christianity in Norway

This Week in AG History–June 14, 1947
By Darrin Rodgers

Also published in PE News, 11 June 2015

Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771-1824), a lay preacher who spent decades promoting revival in Norway, helped to transform the religious and social landscape of his homeland. Hauge’s story was featured in the June 14, 1947, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel. Hauge’s testimony demonstrated that Pentecostals’ emphasis on reform and spiritual renewal had firm roots in the broader Christian tradition.

In 1796, Hauge experienced a spiritual awakening (which he termed “spirit baptism”) while he was ploughing his father’s farm. This experience with God transformed Hauge’s life. He began studying the Bible and shared the gospel and his testimony wherever he found an audience. He preached with great power and insisted that each person should have “living faith.”

According to Hauge, church membership alone did not make a person a Christian. At the time, exceedingly few people attended State churches. In the capital city of Christiania, which had a population of about 10,000, evidence shows that only about 20 people attended regular services in the State church.

Hauge inspired a large movement which revived Christianity in Norway. It is estimated that half of Norwegians experienced salvation under the ministry of Hauge and his fellow evangelists. Hauge not only promoted lay ministry, he also encouraged women to share the gospel. The first female preacher in the Haugean movement, Sara Oust, began preaching in 1799. For the next 100 years, Norway became known as “a land of revivals.”

Hauge not only brought a spiritual rebirth to Norway, but also an economic revival. He established numerous factories and mills and is credited with bringing the industrial revolution to his nation.

The informal network of Christians developed by Hauge challenged the authority of the Lutheran State church. Norway did not have freedom of religious assembly, and it was illegal to hold a religious meeting without a licensed minister present. Although he never departed from Lutheran theology, Hauge was arrested at least fourteen times and endured great suffering in jail. His health failed in prison, resulting in Hauge’s premature death.

Hauge’s legacy, in many ways, lives on in the Pentecostal movement. Just as the Haugean movement began to die down, Pentecostalism emerged at the turn of the twentieth century. In Norway, early Pentecostals identified themselves in the revival tradition of Hauge.

Hauge’s influence also extended to America. Followers of Hauge who had settled in Minnesota and the Dakotas experienced a revival in the 1890s and early 1900s that included healings and speaking in tongues. When various revival movements coalesced in the early 1900s to form what is now known as the Pentecostal movement, many of these Scandinavian immigrants became leaders within the Pentecostal movement. G. Raymond Carlson (1918-1999), for instance, came from a Norwegian Haugean background in North Dakota and ultimately served as general superintendent of the Assemblies of God (1986-1993).

The Pentecostal Evangel article lauded Hauge as “God’s firebrand” and a “martyr at the early age of 53.” But Hauge’s death did not signal the end to the revival movement he started. Rather, the article noted, “It was the beginning of a new day, a new church and a new Christianity throughout the land.”

Read the entire article, “Beginnings in Norway,” by Armin Gesswein, on page 12 of the June 14, 1947, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “An Old-Time Methodist Sermon,” by J. Narver Gortner
• “Neglected Duty,” by Arvid Ohrnell
• “Delivering the Demon-Bound,” by Ernest S. Williams
And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org

Norway’s Pentecostal Jubilee

This Week in AG History–October 20, 1957
By Darrin Rodgers

Also published in AG-News, Mon, 20 Oct 2014 – 5:04 PM CST

Thomas Ball Barratt (1862-1940), born to a Methodist family in England, became the most prominent Pentecostal pioneer in Norway. Barratt was recognized at a young age for being a gifted writer, artist, and composer of music. He could have succeeded in numerous professions. But following a life-changing encounter with God, the young Barratt dedicated his life to sharing the gospel.

When Barratt was four years old, his parents immigrated to Norway, where his father worked as a miner. At age 11, Barratt’s parents sent him back to England to attend a Methodist school, where he committed his life to God during a revival. After he moved back to Norway at age 16, he became a member of Stavanger Temperance Society and became a joyful advocate of heartfelt faith and godly living.

When Barratt returned to Norway, he initially began working as his father’s assistant. However, Barratt’s artistic abilities opened other doors. He studied under Norway’s greatest composer, Edvard Grieg, and under noted artist Olaf Dahl. By age 17, he began preaching in Methodist churches. He became an ordained Methodist deacon (1889) and elder (1891) and pastored several churches.

With a deep interest in spiritual things, Barratt became a prominent proponent of revival in Norway. Through the Oslo City Mission, which he founded in 1902, and its periodical, Byposten, Barratt encouraged people to draw close to God.

In 1906, Barratt traveled to America to raise funds for the Oslo City Mission. Although he failed to raise much money, he returned to Norway with something else that would change the trajectory of his ministry. Barratt had heard testimonies about the emerging Pentecostal revival at the interracial Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles, and he traveled there to see it for himself. His heart grew hungry for a deeper experience of God. Just before going back to Norway, he stopped at the Holiness Mission in New York City, where some of the gospel workers had been baptized in the Holy Spirit. These newly-baptized Pentecostals, Robert A. Brown and Marie Burgess, prayed with Barratt. He spent an extended period of time seeking God at the altar. After he “emptied” his soul of self, he received the Pentecostal experience with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

Upon his return to Norway, Barratt began promoting the Pentecostal message. He endured criticism by those who mocked the reported emotionalism of the Azusa Street Mission. The Methodist Church revoked his ministerial credentials, and his mission and newspaper were given to his assistant. Barratt had to start over, building up his ministry from scratch. Despite these impediments, Barratt kept his focus on the gospel and not on his critics. Crowds thronged to hear Barratt wherever he went. He founded the Filadelfia Church in Oslo, which grew to about 2,000 members. Under the leadership of Barratt, the Pentecostal movement in Norway became the second largest Protestant church in Norway, second only to the Lutheran church.

The Pentecostal Evangel featured the story of Thomas Ball Barratt in 1957, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Pentecostalism in Norway.

Read the article, “Norway’s Pentecostal Jubilee,” on page 20 of the October 20, 1957, issue of thePentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

* “A Thirst for God,” by A. M. Alber

* “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” by James A. Stewart

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center. For current editions of the Evangel, click here.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: Archives@ag.org

Review: Prosperity Gospel in Norway

Det guddommeliggjorte menneske og den menneskeliggjorte Gud (The Deification of Humanity and the Humanization of Deity), by Kjell Olav Sannes. Oslo, Norway: REFLEKS-Publishing, 2005.

Den nye reformasjonen (The New Reformation), by Lars Olav Gjøra. Oslo, Norway: REFLEKS-Publishing, 2006.

While positive confession theology (also known by the monikers “prosperity gospel” or “word-faith”) originated in America, it has made significant inroads into many segments of the worldwide Christian church. Numerous American authors have attempted theological and historical assessments of this phenomenon. Now, two new books by Norwegian scholars offer critiques of the theologies and personalities involved in the prosperity gospel movement in their own context.

Kjell Olav Sannes, a professor at the Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology in Oslo, Norway, presents and discusses the views of Kenneth E. Hagin in his book, Det guddommeliggjorte menneske og den menneskeliggjorte Gud. Sannes offers a critical theological analysis of the interrelationship between humanity and God in the writings of Kenneth E. Hagin. The title, which in English translates as “The Deification of Humanity and the Humanization of Deity,” reflects the theological issue at hand. The volume’s central thesis is that Hagin “deifies” humanity and “humanizes” God. This confusion of identities, the author avers, leads to two errors: (1) humanity, in particular the “born again believer,” is given status, authority and possibilities which, according to scripture, are reserved for God; and (2) God is viewed as limited in His power and authority in a way that reflects humanity’s own limitations. Hagin’s God looks a lot like Hagin. Ironically, something similar happened when the Jesus Seminar, a group of liberal scholars, determined that Jesus was essentially a twentieth-century western liberal.