Pentecostal Worship, Preaching, and Ministry — Unit 2: The Shape of the Service: Testimony, Altar, Spontaneity and Order

Key Verse

"How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification." (1 Corinthians 14:26, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Describe the usual parts of a Pentecostal service and the purpose of each.

2. Explain how 1 Corinthians 14 teaches both freedom and order in the assembly.

3. Explain the place of testimony and the altar in Pentecostal worship, and give biblical support.

4. State the objections of liturgical and Reformed churches to spontaneity, and give the Pentecostal answer.

5. List practical guidelines that protect a service from confusion without quenching the Spirit.

The Voice of This Course

This course is written from inside the classical Pentecostal tradition, for students who belong to it. It is conservative and Trinitarian. Unit 1 spoke of the theology of worship. This unit asks how that theology takes shape in an actual meeting. We describe what many Pentecostal churches do, we test it by Scripture, and we are honest about the dangers. Churches differ from country to country and from denomination to denomination. A rural church in Jalisco, a city church in Lagos and a congregation in Seoul will not look the same, and they need not. What matters is that the service is faithful to Scripture and serves the people.

No Single Pattern in the New Testament

The New Testament does not give one fixed order of service. It gives us glimpses. After Pentecost the believers "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2:42). Paul describes the Corinthian meeting in 1 Corinthians 14:26, our key verse: each person may bring a psalm, a teaching, a tongue, a revelation or an interpretation. In Troas the believers came together on the first day of the week to break bread, and Paul preached to them (Acts 20:7). We also read of reading Scripture, giving and prayer in other places.

From these glimpses we learn principles rather than a program. The meeting involves many people, not only the leader. It includes the Word, prayer, praise and the Lord's Supper. It is open to the Spirit's gifts. And Paul gives one test for everything: "Let all things be done for edification." Edification means building up. A service that builds up the church is a good service.

The Shape of a Pentecostal Service

Many Pentecostal churches follow a pattern something like the one below. The names and the order vary, and no church is required to copy it. We describe it to help pastors think about the purpose of each part.

Gathering and welcome. The people arrive, greet one another and settle into prayer. A good welcome matters, especially for visitors. Some churches begin with a time of open prayer, when many pray aloud at once.

Praise and worship in song. The congregation sings. Unit 3 treats music in detail. Here we note only that the singing prepares hearts, and that Pentecostals often sing for a longer, unbroken time than other churches, moving from praise to quiet worship.

Testimony. Believers tell what God has done. We treat this below and again in Unit 5.

Prayer and the gifts. The church prays, and at times the Spirit gives a message in tongues with interpretation, or a prophetic word. Course 3 explained these gifts in detail. This unit is concerned with how they fit into the service.

The Word. The reading of Scripture and the sermon stand at the center. Unit 4 is devoted to preaching.

Response at the altar. After the Word, people are invited to respond: to repent, to be saved, to seek healing, to seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit, to rededicate their lives, or simply to pray. This is a distinctive mark of Pentecostal practice.

Offering, announcements, benediction. The church gives, shares news, and is sent out with a blessing.

A service that has all these parts is not necessarily better than one that has few. The question is whether the Word is honored, Christ is lifted up, and the people are built up.

Testimony

The word "testimony" means a witness to what one has seen and experienced. The Bible gives testimony a high place. "Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul" (Psalm 66:16). "Let the redeemed of the LORD say so" (Psalm 107:2). In Revelation 12:11 believers overcome "by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." Jesus told the healed man of Mark 5: "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you" (Mark 5:19).

In the early Pentecostal movement testimony was central. People told how they were saved, healed or filled with the Spirit, and the periodical The Apostolic Faith, published by the Azusa Street Mission, printed such reports. Testimony in the service strengthens faith, because the congregation hears that God acts today. It gives ordinary members a voice, and it teaches visitors what the church believes.

Testimony also needs guidance. Without it, a testimony can become long, wander from the point, boast about the speaker, or make claims that cannot be checked. We suggest these guidelines:

• Keep it short, often about three minutes.

• Center it on what God did, not on the speaker.

• Be truthful. Do not exaggerate or claim what has not happened.

• Do not use testimony to correct or attack others.

• Ask people to speak with a leader beforehand when the matter is sensitive.

Unit 5 returns to testimony as a form of theology and examines how pastors can test it.

The Altar

In many Pentecostal churches the front of the sanctuary is called the altar, though it is not a place of sacrifice. Christ's sacrifice was finished once for all. The altar is a place of response. People come forward to meet God, to pray, to be prayed for, and to commit themselves again.

Why is this practice so important to us? Because we believe that the Word calls for a response, and that God acts when people respond. After Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost, the listeners were "cut to the heart" and asked, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). Peter told them what to do, and about three thousand were added (Acts 2:41). The jailer at Philippi asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30). The pattern is: the Word is preached, hearts are stirred, and people are told how to respond.

A historians' note

Historians sometimes link the modern altar call with nineteenth-century American revivalism, especially the revivals of Charles Finney, who used what was called the "anxious bench." Critics add that the practice is not found as such in the New Testament, and that it can pressure people into a decision they have not understood. These points deserve a fair hearing.

Our answer is this. The exact method may be recent, but the biblical principle is old: the gospel demands a response, and the Lord invites people to come to Him. Jesus Himself said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). The practice of coming forward is a way of obeying such an invitation. But the critics are right about one danger. We must never pressure people, never promise that a walk to the front is the same as new birth, and never count altar responses as if they were proof of conversion. A good altar invitation is clear, calm and honest, and it is followed by real care and discipleship.

The altar as a place of ministry

At the altar, trained members and leaders pray with people. Good practice includes:

• Two or more ministers, not one alone, especially when a man prays with a woman or an adult with a child.

• Asking what the person needs before praying, rather than assuming.

• Praying simple, Christ-centered prayers, without shouting at the person or pushing them to the floor.

• Respecting privacy. Do not make a person's needs public without permission.

• Recording the names of new believers so that someone follows up.

Unit 6 will treat altar ministry, prayer for the sick and the laying on of hands in more detail.

Spontaneity and Order

This is the central tension in the Pentecostal service. We believe the Holy Spirit may interrupt a plan with a word, a song or a prayer. We also believe Scripture requires order. Paul holds both.

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul does not forbid the gifts. He says, "Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues" (14:39). He also sets limits. Tongues in the assembly are to be limited to two or three, one at a time, and with interpretation; if there is no interpreter, the speaker is to keep silent in church (14:27-28). Prophets are to speak two or three at a time, "and let the others judge" (14:29). He gives the reason: "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints" (14:33). He closes the chapter: "Let all things be done decently and in order" (14:40).

Order is therefore not the enemy of the Spirit. The same Spirit who gives the gifts also gives self-control, and 1 Corinthians 14:32 teaches that the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. A person who says that the Spirit made him disrupt the meeting has misunderstood the Spirit. Paul also writes: "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21). The first two commands guard against a church that is too rigid. The third guards against a church that is too loose. We need all three.

What spontaneity does not mean

Spontaneity does not mean having no preparation. A pastor and worship team should plan the service, pray over it, and be ready to change it. A plan is a servant, not a master. Nor does spontaneity mean that every impulse is from God. A leader who is sure of what the Spirit is saying will be willing to submit it to the judgment of others.

Objections and Answers

Objection 1: A fixed liturgy is more faithful and safer.

Anglican, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Orthodox and some other churches use set forms of prayer and worship, passed down over centuries. They argue that a fixed order protects the congregation from the whims of one leader and joins the church to the worship of the past. These are serious arguments.

Our answer. We respect these traditions and can learn from them. Written prayers and creeds are rich, and many Pentecostal churches use them at times. But the New Testament shows a meeting in which members contribute freely (1 Corinthians 14:26), and it shows the Spirit giving direction in a gathered church (Acts 13:2). Set forms can become empty if the heart is absent. Free forms can become disorderly if the leader is careless. Neither form is a guarantee. The safeguard is not the style but Scripture, mature leaders and a heart for the Lord.

Objection 2: Spontaneity in the gifts is no longer biblical.

Cessationists teach that tongues and prophecy have ceased, so the free exercise of these gifts in a service has no place.

Our answer. Course 3 has addressed this at length, and Unit 1 of Course 1 gave a short answer from Acts 2:39 and 1 Corinthians 14:39. We add here only that Paul wrote his instructions on order for a church that was using the gifts, not to teach them to stop.

Objection 3: The altar call pressures people.

We have stated this above. Our answer is to keep the biblical call and correct the abuses.

Practical Guidelines for Order

1. Plan and pray. The leader knows the general shape of the service and prays for the Spirit's leading.

2. One presiding leader. One person, usually the pastor, has the responsibility to guide the meeting and to speak up when something is out of order.

3. Judge every public word. After a prophecy or a message in tongues with interpretation, leaders weigh it by Scripture, as 1 Corinthians 14:29 teaches.

4. Teach the church the rules. Members need to know when and how a public gift may be exercised. Private prayer in tongues is a different matter and does not need the same limits.

5. Think of the visitor. Paul says that an unbeliever who enters an assembly where everyone speaks in tongues may say that the church is mad, but an unbeliever who hears prophecy may fall on his face and "worship God and report that God is truly among you" (see 1 Corinthians 14:23-25).

6. Watch the clock and the mood. A long service is not holier than a short one. People who are weary, hungry or caring for children should not be punished for the leader's lack of planning.

7. Correct privately and gently. When a member brings a disorderly or false word, the pastor speaks with that person after the service, with love.

Pastoral Application

A pastor leads a rural church whose services last nearly three hours. Several members speak out in tongues during the sermon without any interpretation, and visitors have stopped returning. One elder says, "We must not quench the Spirit." A younger member says, "This is confusing."

The pastor first prays and then meets with the elders. He opens 1 Corinthians 14 with them and shows that Paul wanted both gifts and order. They agree on a few simple guidelines: public messages in tongues will be given during times of prayer, not during the sermon; each will be interpreted or the speaker will pray quietly; and the pastor will guide the meeting. He teaches these points to the congregation over several Sundays, taking care to say that the church is not stopping the gifts. He also asks the worship leader to shorten the first part of the service by fifteen minutes and to make room for an unhurried altar time. Within a few months, visitors return, and the elder who feared quenching the Spirit says that he sees the church more at peace and more fruitful.

Summary

The New Testament gives principles for the assembly, not one fixed program. A Pentecostal service usually includes gathering, praise in song, testimony, prayer and the gifts, the Word, response at the altar, and offering and blessing. Testimony is biblical and strengthens faith, but it needs guidance. The altar is a place of response, not sacrifice. Historians link the modern altar call to nineteenth-century revivalism, and critics warn of pressure, but the principle of responding to the Word is found in Acts. Paul in 1 Corinthians 14 teaches both freedom and order, ending with "Let all things be done decently and in order." We answer the objections of liturgical and cessationist churches respectfully and from Scripture. Practical guidelines keep the service orderly without quenching the Spirit.

Further Reading

• Steven J. Land, Pentecostal Spirituality (1993).

• Gordon D. Fee, God's Empowering Presence (1994).

• Wolfgang Vondey, Pentecostal Theology (2017).

• Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts (1996).

• Jonathan Edwards, The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God (1741), a primary source.

• The Apostolic Faith (Los Angeles, 1906-1908), a primary source.

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