A Short History of the Pentecostal Church in America

Glossolalia is often used as a means of prayer, worship, an union with the the Holy Spirit, but not as a proof of speaking a particular dialect. In this paper we hope to show that by hoping to show that speaking in tongues is proof of speaking in a particular language there is cause for concern about the misinterpretation of the gift as intended by God. There is much evidence that the gift of tongues as used today in the Pentecostal movement is spiritually healthy as far as it is being used for private use in witnessing to the efficacy of God’s love in a persons life, but caution should be given to those who lay too much emphasis on the gift so as to assume that a person must offer credentials to speaking another language if they are given the gift of tongues. We hope to show that the initial emphasis of the gift of tongues as those who began to use them in the Pentecostal Movement was at first for worship of God and building up the community thru means that would enhance the holiness of the person and strengthening the faith of the members of a particular community, while at the same time caution was given to those who claimed to have been given these gifts for any purpose other than what the Holy Spirit intended for each person.