Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that individual churches may not be able to specialize in by themselves. They often cross denominational and national boundaries providing specialized services and training.
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👉 Parachurch organizations in the context of Holiness movement
The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions, such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. Churches aligned with the holiness movement teach that the life of a born again Christian should be free of sin. The movement is historically distinguished by its emphasis on the doctrine of a second work of grace, which is called entire sanctification or Christian perfection. The word Holiness refers specifically to this belief in entire sanctification as an instantaneous, definite second work of grace, in which original sin is cleansed, the heart is made perfect in love, and the believer is empowered to serve God. For the Holiness movement, "the term 'perfection' signifies completeness of Christian character; its freedom from all sin, and possession of all the graces of the Spirit, complete in kind." A number of Christian denominations, parachurch organizations, and movements emphasize those Holiness beliefs as central doctrine.
In addition to the regular holding of church services in the morning and evening of the Lord's Day, and usually having a midweek Wednesday church service, within parts of denominations or entire denominations aligned with the holiness movement, camp meetings and tent revivals are organized throughout the year—especially in the summertime. These are aimed at preaching the New Birth (first work of grace) and entire sanctification (second work of grace), along with calling backsliders to repentance. Churches in the holiness tradition emphasize a sober lifestyle, especially with regard to clean speech, modesty, and teetotalism.
In this Dossier
Parachurch organizations in the context of Women in Christianity
Women have played important roles in Christianity especially in marriage and in formal ministry positions within certain Christian denominations, and parachurch organizations. Although more males are born than females naturally, and in 2014, the global population included 300 million more males of reproductive age than females (mainly in the Far East) in 2016, it was estimated that 52–53 percent of the world's Christian population aged 20 years and over was female, with this figure falling to 51.6 percent in 2020. The Pew Research Center studied the effects of gender on religiosity throughout the world, finding that Christian women in 53 countries are generally more religious than Christian men, while Christians of both genders in African countries are equally likely to regularly attend services.
The New Testament which is the core of the Christian faith, begins with the Gospel of Matthew. Judaism finds its strength in the study of Jewish scripture and vigorous debate as to its meaning, which was not considered blasphemy then nor down to the present day. Jesus is challenged by the priests with the question if a woman can divorce a man, since Moses himself mentions only a writ of divorce from a man. Jesus claims that men and women are equal in God's eyes because in the beginning God made humankind male and female. If a man can divorce, so can a woman, but it is better to remain one flesh. Throughout the Gospels, he defends the spirituality of women and gathers both boys and girls around him, curing the ailments of both. In perhaps his best known defense of a woman about to be stoned for adultery he challenges anyone without sin to cast the first stone.