Intra-African Pentecostalism and the Dynamics of Power

""Nigerian Pentecostal churches and their diasporic communities in Europe and the USA have received much attention. Amos Chewachong provides an insightful perspective on robust evangelistic practices in other African countries. By examining Winner's Chapel in Cameroon, Chewachong illuminates the intersection of missionary activity and Nigerian control and examines strategies of cultural homogenization. This book ably addresses the implications of Nigeria's religious influence, the strategies of Pentecostal growth, and issues of mission, power, and empowerment."" --Emma Wild-Wood, professor of African religions and world Christianity, University of Edinburgh ""Scholarship on the vibrant phenomenon of African Pentecostalism has been fascinated with the complex dynamics between religious, economic, and political power, especially in relation to the continuing hegemony wielded by the Global North in the Global South. By examining the expansion of the Nigerian Pentecostal church, Winners' Chapel, into neighboring Cameroon, this book breaks exciting new ground by showing how these dynamics also play out in an intra-African context."" --Brian Stanley, professor emeritus of world Christianity, University of Edinburgh ""Chewachong's provocative study offers a refreshingly disruptive perspective on the politics of indigeneity within continental African Pentecostalism. Through a nuanced examination of the missional strategies of Winners' Chapel--a leading Nigerian Pentecostal movement--and its expansion into the Republic of Cameroon, Chewachong illumines the complex interplay of power dynamics, religious leadership, and identity politics within African Pentecostalism. An essential reading, Chewachong's text provides a rich understanding of the dynamic interplay between spiritual and temporal powers within contemporary African Christianity."" --Eric Lewis Williams, director, Office of Black Church Studies, assistant professor of theology and Black church studies, The Divinity School, Duke University ""This book is a much-needed corrective to scholarship on Christian migration, which is largely focused on ""reverse mission"" and the reshaping of Christianity in the West. Its focus on a Nigerian-originated Pentecostal denomination in Cameroon reminds us that migration and mission are not just from the West to the Rest--or the reverse, but from Everywhere to Everywhere. Amos Chewachong highlights the complexity of intra-African transnational dynamics and unearths the intertwined nature of mission and power within African neo-Pentecostalism."" --Dr Alexander Chow, co-director, Centre for the Study of World Christianity, University of Edinburgh