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Power Evangelism: Signs and Wonders Today
Power Signs and Wonders Today Wimber, John and Springer, Kevin
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1985
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July 13, 2013
This book is a must for any Western Christian today. It gives a clear explanation for the gap between the acts of the Bible and the lack of power on a large scale in the Western Church. Wimber had many verified signs and wonders in his day. He gives an honest evaluation of how the Western mind often thinks and how we hinder the flow of the Spirit in us. This was very helpful and challenging. As you conclude this book he inspires you to trust God and take the risk of faith to be used by him to demonstrate the kingdom of God against the kingdom of darkness.
October 25, 2020
John Wimber, one of the founders of the Vineyard movement, was a pioneer in brining Power Evangelism back to the church. This book brings a deep theology to the movement and the method of Evangelism. Wimber methodically goes through the Biblical basis for the power of the Holy Spirit being essential to fruitful evangelism. What is also essential is the church history in the Appendixes describing how this is NOT a new phenomena but something that has been with the church since Acts 2. Highly recommend this book for anyone interesting growing in their confidence in Evangelism.
August 19, 2025
The impression I get reading this book is best analogized by saying that John Wimber is to American Christendom what John Maynard Keynes is to modern economics, which is to say I scratch my head and wonder at how ideas so poorly conceived gained such wide acceptance.
The edition I read proudly displayed on the tagline and in the forward that Christianity Today listed this book as the twelfth most influential book to evangelicals in 2006, coming after Richard Foster’s A Celebration of Discipline— an excellent and Biblically-grounded book if my memory serves— in eleventh place. I truly do not know how this could have happened with my plain reading of it. This is not a robust theological text by any means, rather I believe it is trying to be an empowering evangelistic tool for the individual Christian to use when spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. But on this level I don’t believe it succeeds either for the claims made about the actual manifestations of the Holy Spirit that Wimber says are needed for a convincing proof of the Gospel by power demonstration are not claims the Bible makes.
In chapter 12, Wimber recounts how he discovered power evangelism. In 1974 he moved from his pastoral role to a teaching role at Fuller Theological Seminary where he says he first really encountered Pentecostal ideas and miracle claims. Skeptical, he says he examined works both about and written by John G. Lake, William Branham, F. F. Bosworth, and John Alexander Dowey. He writes about this saying “Their writings may not have convinced me that they had great theological insight, but they did convince me that they were not frauds.” The problem is that both John G. Lake and John Alexander Dowey were both outed as frauds and hucksters in their times, notorious for healing family members multiple times at their healing revivals. Dowey became so rich off of his schemes that he was able to found his own city and open his own miracle healing hospitals where the dead were quietly taken out by night so that no one would know that the Holy Spirit did not actually work among them to heal. And then William Branham, his connections to the Klan and advocacy of the Serpent Seed doctrine aside, claimed to be the fulfillment of the prophecy of Elijah’s return in Malachi 4:5-6. I’m not sure what John Wimber read, but at least with Branham, there were certainly people who witnessed his healing revivals to whom he could’ve gone. This is the most obvious critical failure because I believe it lays bare the false crux of the book. None of those men listed actually did anything by the Holy Spirit’s power. So if Power Evangelism is about demonstrating proof of the Gospel with a demonstration of divine power, whose power is actually being used?
As I said, this isn’t a theological book, but what theology there is which cracks through leaves my head scratching if he is actually talking about the Jesus of the Bible.
There are two more things which bother me. The first is Wimber’s insistence on leaving behind rigorous study of your Bible in favor of just doing things (he claims that rabbinic students like the apostles were expected to learn by following the rabbi’s example, and so we should with Jesus). This is one of those nice-sounding things that ignores the basic fact of Jesus and the apostles’ ministries that study did not end with conversion. Discipleship includes growing in your understanding of God and His Word. This should serve not just to enrich and inform your day to day, but keep you ready for when Satan comes along with a fancy new way of looking at the Scriptures that everyone else is doing.
The second is in Appendix A where Wimber lists a sampling of recorded miracles from Justin Martyr’s accounts through to the close of the 19th century. Neverminding the fact that he includes the accounts from Montanist heretics (who not only prophesied in a way foreign to the church but also made many false prophecies, according to Eusebius) but HE INCLUDES IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA!? THE FOUNDER OF THE JESUITS!? SENOR “I’ll believe white is black and black is white if the Church says so” IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA!? I believe Wimber just took any account and smacked it into his text if it could be made to agree with him regardless of source. So if you want power evangelism and you yourself struggle to perform a sign when giving the Gospel? Just buy you and the friends you’re trying to convert plane tickets to Italy and go to the Cathedral in Naples, Italy on September 19 to see the solidified blood of St. Januarius liquify (if it doesn’t doom approaches, and reportedly the last time it didn’t covid happened). Afterwards travel to Lanciano, Italy and behold the reliquary where a host was transmuted miraculously into flesh, which has been scientifically proven to be from a human heart! Then you can all pledge yourselves to Rome, convinced by the power of God on display, and work on receiving plenary indulgences for the forgiveness of all of your venial sins so that you don’t need to spend 1 million years in Purgatory for being a Protestant before that moment.
I was planning on giving this book one star, but then the last appendix, which I believe was added after Wimber’s death by his co-author, which concerns power evangelism and the mega-church phenomena. So regardless of how Joel Osteen is mentioned as one of the clarion call voices, I do think some honest reflection is made that does speak to our current moment. Mega-churches here are shown to draw members not by evangelizing the lost, but by draining smaller churches of their members. Additionally, because mega-churches focus almost solely on entertainment, any actual opportunities for power evangelism on the part of the laity is lessened as the charismatic personality of the pastor dominates any move of God. This is in stark contrast to Wimber’s dream of an empowered laity. This sentence I believe sums it up. “After all, folks are attracted to churches like Willow Creek because of what they can get—the programs and charismatic leadership— not what they can give.” At least it seems now that the youth are turning away from mega-churches and their excesses, seeking instead a more traditional and apostolic church approach. Time will tell if this shift between generational trends takes Wimber’s ideas of what an empowered laity should look like with it or leaves it behind.
UPDATE: I have since learned that in the John Wimber Pastoral Letters, the author apparently renounced the subject matter of the Power Evangelism book. So why is it still being published and given this new edition in 2008?
The edition I read proudly displayed on the tagline and in the forward that Christianity Today listed this book as the twelfth most influential book to evangelicals in 2006, coming after Richard Foster’s A Celebration of Discipline— an excellent and Biblically-grounded book if my memory serves— in eleventh place. I truly do not know how this could have happened with my plain reading of it. This is not a robust theological text by any means, rather I believe it is trying to be an empowering evangelistic tool for the individual Christian to use when spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. But on this level I don’t believe it succeeds either for the claims made about the actual manifestations of the Holy Spirit that Wimber says are needed for a convincing proof of the Gospel by power demonstration are not claims the Bible makes.
In chapter 12, Wimber recounts how he discovered power evangelism. In 1974 he moved from his pastoral role to a teaching role at Fuller Theological Seminary where he says he first really encountered Pentecostal ideas and miracle claims. Skeptical, he says he examined works both about and written by John G. Lake, William Branham, F. F. Bosworth, and John Alexander Dowey. He writes about this saying “Their writings may not have convinced me that they had great theological insight, but they did convince me that they were not frauds.” The problem is that both John G. Lake and John Alexander Dowey were both outed as frauds and hucksters in their times, notorious for healing family members multiple times at their healing revivals. Dowey became so rich off of his schemes that he was able to found his own city and open his own miracle healing hospitals where the dead were quietly taken out by night so that no one would know that the Holy Spirit did not actually work among them to heal. And then William Branham, his connections to the Klan and advocacy of the Serpent Seed doctrine aside, claimed to be the fulfillment of the prophecy of Elijah’s return in Malachi 4:5-6. I’m not sure what John Wimber read, but at least with Branham, there were certainly people who witnessed his healing revivals to whom he could’ve gone. This is the most obvious critical failure because I believe it lays bare the false crux of the book. None of those men listed actually did anything by the Holy Spirit’s power. So if Power Evangelism is about demonstrating proof of the Gospel with a demonstration of divine power, whose power is actually being used?
As I said, this isn’t a theological book, but what theology there is which cracks through leaves my head scratching if he is actually talking about the Jesus of the Bible.
There are two more things which bother me. The first is Wimber’s insistence on leaving behind rigorous study of your Bible in favor of just doing things (he claims that rabbinic students like the apostles were expected to learn by following the rabbi’s example, and so we should with Jesus). This is one of those nice-sounding things that ignores the basic fact of Jesus and the apostles’ ministries that study did not end with conversion. Discipleship includes growing in your understanding of God and His Word. This should serve not just to enrich and inform your day to day, but keep you ready for when Satan comes along with a fancy new way of looking at the Scriptures that everyone else is doing.
The second is in Appendix A where Wimber lists a sampling of recorded miracles from Justin Martyr’s accounts through to the close of the 19th century. Neverminding the fact that he includes the accounts from Montanist heretics (who not only prophesied in a way foreign to the church but also made many false prophecies, according to Eusebius) but HE INCLUDES IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA!? THE FOUNDER OF THE JESUITS!? SENOR “I’ll believe white is black and black is white if the Church says so” IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA!? I believe Wimber just took any account and smacked it into his text if it could be made to agree with him regardless of source. So if you want power evangelism and you yourself struggle to perform a sign when giving the Gospel? Just buy you and the friends you’re trying to convert plane tickets to Italy and go to the Cathedral in Naples, Italy on September 19 to see the solidified blood of St. Januarius liquify (if it doesn’t doom approaches, and reportedly the last time it didn’t covid happened). Afterwards travel to Lanciano, Italy and behold the reliquary where a host was transmuted miraculously into flesh, which has been scientifically proven to be from a human heart! Then you can all pledge yourselves to Rome, convinced by the power of God on display, and work on receiving plenary indulgences for the forgiveness of all of your venial sins so that you don’t need to spend 1 million years in Purgatory for being a Protestant before that moment.
I was planning on giving this book one star, but then the last appendix, which I believe was added after Wimber’s death by his co-author, which concerns power evangelism and the mega-church phenomena. So regardless of how Joel Osteen is mentioned as one of the clarion call voices, I do think some honest reflection is made that does speak to our current moment. Mega-churches here are shown to draw members not by evangelizing the lost, but by draining smaller churches of their members. Additionally, because mega-churches focus almost solely on entertainment, any actual opportunities for power evangelism on the part of the laity is lessened as the charismatic personality of the pastor dominates any move of God. This is in stark contrast to Wimber’s dream of an empowered laity. This sentence I believe sums it up. “After all, folks are attracted to churches like Willow Creek because of what they can get—the programs and charismatic leadership— not what they can give.” At least it seems now that the youth are turning away from mega-churches and their excesses, seeking instead a more traditional and apostolic church approach. Time will tell if this shift between generational trends takes Wimber’s ideas of what an empowered laity should look like with it or leaves it behind.
UPDATE: I have since learned that in the John Wimber Pastoral Letters, the author apparently renounced the subject matter of the Power Evangelism book. So why is it still being published and given this new edition in 2008?
July 30, 2023
I was given this book as a gift years ago before I left for missionary work abroad, and I only just got around to reading it. I wish I had sooner. The author talks about how the Western church is often most focused on the intellectual aspects of Christianity rather than focusing on moral and spiritual development... I definitely can see that. In many Eastern cultures, however, there is more of an awareness of spiritual attacks/evil, and trying to connect with people in those cultures without acknowledging this reality makes Christianity seem impractical for them because it can't provide relief for their spiritual problems. It's given me a lot to think about, including considering what I personally have been focusing on in my faith and what I've unintentionally closed myself off to. Anyway, lots to process.
October 24, 2023
At first I was a little bored reading this but got captivated when Wimber described his own experience going from skeptic of the Spirit and gifts of the Spirit to being an advocate. I always appreciate practical advice and liked his suggestions on pressing into the Spirit. Also hearing about the different perceptions of the Holy Spirit for Western vs non-Western Christians was intriguing.
April 1, 2023
Excellent book writing about practical and historical Pentecostalism and power Encounters in the modern day! Big recommend for anyone not in a pentecostal background!
July 18, 2018
Fantastic
Great book. I wish every Christian in America would learn the principles in this book and take them seriously. We would see this nation transformed with the power of the gospel.
Great book. I wish every Christian in America would learn the principles in this book and take them seriously. We would see this nation transformed with the power of the gospel.
June 7, 2007
incredible.
October 26, 2025
A powerful, astounding book. If even one fourth of the stories in this book are true, then well... Let's just say: This book was a powerful assault on my preconceptions about Christianity. It was probably exactly what I needed to read, if I'm being honest.
What's it about?
At its core, Power Evangelism is focussed on one thing: the claim that miracles were not just a feature of the Apostolic age (= the time of Christ and his Apostles, call it the 1st Century AD) - but that miracles have been a feature of Christian life through the centuries and remain so today.
Pretty engaging topic, right? Not at all what you might expect from a religious tome. No dust on these covers. The authors plunges early and fast into a pool of anecdotes about miracles and supernatural phenomena that he has either witnessed or facilitated or learnt from a colleague. 'Power encounters' he calls them. Moments when, in his interpretation, the Holy Spirit is at work. The focus is loosely on three kinds of encounter: miracles of healing, speaking in tongues, and demonic encounters.
Here's a quick walk-through.
Miracles of healing are easily the dominant feature of the book. And quite right too - healing was Christ's own focus after all. c.750 out of the 3,779 verses in the Gospels are concerned with healing, I now know. These Gospel accounts of healing we're familiar with, but the ones John Wimber relates in this book are frankly startling. I was startled by uplifting tales of blighted lives rescued by unexpected healing; and I was startled by the number of them. In some parts of the evangelical world, miracles of healing are an almost everyday thing. Of course, our liberal, rational mindset invites scepticism about these stories, but here's the thing that repels scepticism: most of the stories are accompanied by an account of (i) who witnessed the miracle and (ii) how many converts it generated - this latter being the empirically verifiable part of the story. So even if we're sceptical from the comfort of the armchair, the people who were actually there weren't.
The second type of power encounter: 'speaking in tongues'. This is maybe less of a big deal outside Christian circles, but a very big deal inside them. Remember: the first account we have of speaking-in-tongues was at Pentecost. Christ has just ascended into Heaven and the Apostles are in Jerusalem, waiting around in an upstairs room, hoping for a sign of what to do next. They're starting to lose heart. And then the Holy Spirit is suddenly upon them. First the violent wind and the tongues of flame - and then they start to speak in tongues. They go out among the crowd outside and find that all barriers of language have melted away. Everyone understands everyone. Back to today's world: speaking-in-tongues is apparently still happening, all the time. And to millions. The Pentecostal Church, founded in 1906, has about 300m adherents worldwide. For many of them, their conversion experience was speaking in tongues.
Then to the last type of encounter: demonic possession and exorcism. In Chapter 2, there's a lot of focus on identifying various illnesses with demonic activity - and then expelling the same. The talk is all about 'war': the war that is unfolding between the God-fearing on the one hand and Satan and his followers on the other. This is muscular Christianity.
It's also the bit that makes me most uncomfortable.
The whole problem with war is that soldiers too often lose their moral compass, right? The good guys all too often get dragged into doing the unspeakable, until it becomes a struggle to tell the good guys from the bad. War is not a metaphor that works well for me here.
Let's unpack this a bit more.
As a liberal Anglican, I've drifted to a monistic metaphysics - seeing only one major force in the Universe. Love. Or, all too often, the absence of love. But Wimber is wedded to a dualistic Universe - Love & God on the one side, the devil & evil on the other. And there's no doubting he has scripture to support him. The Bible often refers to Jesus casting demons out, to say nothing of his temptation in the desert by the devil. But while I'm comfortable with Jesus having the power to identify when a problem is or isn't caused by the devil, it's not a power I want to put in the hands of any mortal man. I mean, isn't it exactly that which gave Christianity such a bad name? History is littered with examples of the priesthood jumping on any deviation from orthodoxy and casting it as 'heresy' - then they cast 'heresy' as 'the devil's work' - and from 'the devil's work' it's a short hop to torture in an episcopal dungeon. The same goes for the medieval witch hunts. The whole witch-burning mania was all about power-crazed men identifying innocent people as demonic and killing them. Evil done in the name of good.
(I do get that evangelical metaphysics solves the problem of theodicy, "why does suffering happen in the world?" Answer: "It's the devil's work". But in solving that, it creates a quite different problem relating to order in the Universe. Namely: if God created the Universe, as Christians believe, how can He have included a demonic force within His own creation? But I'm starting to digress.)
I'm going to have to leave my metaphysical disagreements aside. I can't solve them here and, in any case, it's the ultimate Mystery. We're not supposed to be able to solve them, right? So I'm leaving the disagreements aside to focus on the book's message of healing and to reassert:
This is an inspiring book.
***
[POSTSCRIPT:
I kind of like my reviews to carry a few of the key details that I want to retain from a book.
So here are a few extra nuggets that didn't really fit in the main review but I wanted to jot down anyway (...so feel free to switch off now!)
This book also taught me lots about the Evangelical movement, which was handy because I've been curious. The evangelical movement has - if I've understood correctly - three major branches. (i) The Pentecostals (see above); (ii) the Charismatics (of which the author would be one - i.e. those who believe the 'charismatic gifts' of healing and such are still available to us today); and (iii) the conservative evangelicals. This latter are wedded to the full truth of Scripture (like the Charismatics), but tend to believe the age of miracles passed with the Apostolic age.
John Wimber wants to pull this latter category (iii) over towards his viewpoint (ii). In a powerful passage, he draws the distinction between power evangelism and programmatic evangelism.
What's it about?
At its core, Power Evangelism is focussed on one thing: the claim that miracles were not just a feature of the Apostolic age (= the time of Christ and his Apostles, call it the 1st Century AD) - but that miracles have been a feature of Christian life through the centuries and remain so today.
Pretty engaging topic, right? Not at all what you might expect from a religious tome. No dust on these covers. The authors plunges early and fast into a pool of anecdotes about miracles and supernatural phenomena that he has either witnessed or facilitated or learnt from a colleague. 'Power encounters' he calls them. Moments when, in his interpretation, the Holy Spirit is at work. The focus is loosely on three kinds of encounter: miracles of healing, speaking in tongues, and demonic encounters.
Here's a quick walk-through.
Miracles of healing are easily the dominant feature of the book. And quite right too - healing was Christ's own focus after all. c.750 out of the 3,779 verses in the Gospels are concerned with healing, I now know. These Gospel accounts of healing we're familiar with, but the ones John Wimber relates in this book are frankly startling. I was startled by uplifting tales of blighted lives rescued by unexpected healing; and I was startled by the number of them. In some parts of the evangelical world, miracles of healing are an almost everyday thing. Of course, our liberal, rational mindset invites scepticism about these stories, but here's the thing that repels scepticism: most of the stories are accompanied by an account of (i) who witnessed the miracle and (ii) how many converts it generated - this latter being the empirically verifiable part of the story. So even if we're sceptical from the comfort of the armchair, the people who were actually there weren't.
The second type of power encounter: 'speaking in tongues'. This is maybe less of a big deal outside Christian circles, but a very big deal inside them. Remember: the first account we have of speaking-in-tongues was at Pentecost. Christ has just ascended into Heaven and the Apostles are in Jerusalem, waiting around in an upstairs room, hoping for a sign of what to do next. They're starting to lose heart. And then the Holy Spirit is suddenly upon them. First the violent wind and the tongues of flame - and then they start to speak in tongues. They go out among the crowd outside and find that all barriers of language have melted away. Everyone understands everyone. Back to today's world: speaking-in-tongues is apparently still happening, all the time. And to millions. The Pentecostal Church, founded in 1906, has about 300m adherents worldwide. For many of them, their conversion experience was speaking in tongues.
Then to the last type of encounter: demonic possession and exorcism. In Chapter 2, there's a lot of focus on identifying various illnesses with demonic activity - and then expelling the same. The talk is all about 'war': the war that is unfolding between the God-fearing on the one hand and Satan and his followers on the other. This is muscular Christianity.
It's also the bit that makes me most uncomfortable.
The whole problem with war is that soldiers too often lose their moral compass, right? The good guys all too often get dragged into doing the unspeakable, until it becomes a struggle to tell the good guys from the bad. War is not a metaphor that works well for me here.
Let's unpack this a bit more.
As a liberal Anglican, I've drifted to a monistic metaphysics - seeing only one major force in the Universe. Love. Or, all too often, the absence of love. But Wimber is wedded to a dualistic Universe - Love & God on the one side, the devil & evil on the other. And there's no doubting he has scripture to support him. The Bible often refers to Jesus casting demons out, to say nothing of his temptation in the desert by the devil. But while I'm comfortable with Jesus having the power to identify when a problem is or isn't caused by the devil, it's not a power I want to put in the hands of any mortal man. I mean, isn't it exactly that which gave Christianity such a bad name? History is littered with examples of the priesthood jumping on any deviation from orthodoxy and casting it as 'heresy' - then they cast 'heresy' as 'the devil's work' - and from 'the devil's work' it's a short hop to torture in an episcopal dungeon. The same goes for the medieval witch hunts. The whole witch-burning mania was all about power-crazed men identifying innocent people as demonic and killing them. Evil done in the name of good.
(I do get that evangelical metaphysics solves the problem of theodicy, "why does suffering happen in the world?" Answer: "It's the devil's work". But in solving that, it creates a quite different problem relating to order in the Universe. Namely: if God created the Universe, as Christians believe, how can He have included a demonic force within His own creation? But I'm starting to digress.)
I'm going to have to leave my metaphysical disagreements aside. I can't solve them here and, in any case, it's the ultimate Mystery. We're not supposed to be able to solve them, right? So I'm leaving the disagreements aside to focus on the book's message of healing and to reassert:
This is an inspiring book.
***
[POSTSCRIPT:
I kind of like my reviews to carry a few of the key details that I want to retain from a book.
So here are a few extra nuggets that didn't really fit in the main review but I wanted to jot down anyway (...so feel free to switch off now!)
This book also taught me lots about the Evangelical movement, which was handy because I've been curious. The evangelical movement has - if I've understood correctly - three major branches. (i) The Pentecostals (see above); (ii) the Charismatics (of which the author would be one - i.e. those who believe the 'charismatic gifts' of healing and such are still available to us today); and (iii) the conservative evangelicals. This latter are wedded to the full truth of Scripture (like the Charismatics), but tend to believe the age of miracles passed with the Apostolic age.
John Wimber wants to pull this latter category (iii) over towards his viewpoint (ii). In a powerful passage, he draws the distinction between power evangelism and programmatic evangelism.
In programmatic evangelism, the Christian says, 'In obedience I go. Holy Spirit bless me.' In power evangelism, the Christian says, 'As the Holy Spirit tells me to go, I go.'
In programmatic evangelism, Christians might be fearful as they speak, but they are not unsure about what they are going to say... In power evangelism, Christians are [also] fearful as they speak, but they are far more vulnerable because they cannot depend on a pre-packaged message.
In programmatic evangelism there is an attitude that we do something and then God works. In power evangelism, God speaks and then we act.]
March 13, 2019
I recently finished this book and although I am glad that I had the opportunity to read it, I’m not sure I actually enjoyed it. I’m back into studying mode so haven’t had as much time to sit and soak in a book as I would like so it’s taken a lot longer to read than I am used to.
On the front cover of the edition I read, it stated “One of the top 50 books that have shaped evangelicals” and I can well believe it, although it appears that the influences on John Wimber himself were a combination of the Bible and the experiences of others who have stepped out and shared the love of God with others.
I have long been convinced that people respond to God’s love when that love is demonstrated in simple, effective and therefore powerful ways. This book was filled with lots of testimonies and examples of how God has done exactly that but for me what I found fascinating was John Wimber’s own journey into this revelation knowledge. There are so many examples of where God through the power of His Holy Spirit shares a word of knowledge with someone, heals someone of a range of illnesses from minor to serious and whole families become aware of how loved they are by God.
I think what I found odd about the book was that it appeared to me that John Wimber was attempting to justify the signs and wonders which go hand in hand with being submitted to Father God and led and empowered by God’s Holy Spirit. I guess that it was a product of his time and that there are some people who are not aware of the validity of signs and wonders and maybe need convincing. Wimber refers to these as cessationists. As far as I am concerned I am a child of God operating in His Holy Spirit and I will always seek to pray for people to receive their healing and to share God’s message with love with others and I will not limit how that occurs.
I think if I’m honest my world is too small and I probably don’t share enough with people who are outside of the church environment. I’ve had experiences where I have prayed for 3 politicians and in each situation, they found what they were looking for and received their healing but the encounter didn’t necessarily go any further than that.
So, my takeaways from this book are –
To spend time in His Presence and to carry His Presence, to anyone and everyone
To listen to what God is wanting to do in and through me so I don’t miss so many opportunities to share His love with others.
On the front cover of the edition I read, it stated “One of the top 50 books that have shaped evangelicals” and I can well believe it, although it appears that the influences on John Wimber himself were a combination of the Bible and the experiences of others who have stepped out and shared the love of God with others.
I have long been convinced that people respond to God’s love when that love is demonstrated in simple, effective and therefore powerful ways. This book was filled with lots of testimonies and examples of how God has done exactly that but for me what I found fascinating was John Wimber’s own journey into this revelation knowledge. There are so many examples of where God through the power of His Holy Spirit shares a word of knowledge with someone, heals someone of a range of illnesses from minor to serious and whole families become aware of how loved they are by God.
I think what I found odd about the book was that it appeared to me that John Wimber was attempting to justify the signs and wonders which go hand in hand with being submitted to Father God and led and empowered by God’s Holy Spirit. I guess that it was a product of his time and that there are some people who are not aware of the validity of signs and wonders and maybe need convincing. Wimber refers to these as cessationists. As far as I am concerned I am a child of God operating in His Holy Spirit and I will always seek to pray for people to receive their healing and to share God’s message with love with others and I will not limit how that occurs.
I think if I’m honest my world is too small and I probably don’t share enough with people who are outside of the church environment. I’ve had experiences where I have prayed for 3 politicians and in each situation, they found what they were looking for and received their healing but the encounter didn’t necessarily go any further than that.
So, my takeaways from this book are –
To spend time in His Presence and to carry His Presence, to anyone and everyone
To listen to what God is wanting to do in and through me so I don’t miss so many opportunities to share His love with others.
June 13, 2021
John Wimber’s ‘Power Evangelism’ helps those who follow Jesus gain a deeper understanding on the biblical and historical experiences of God doing stuff through signs & wonders.
I particularly enjoyed the chapter on worldview and it was good to be reminded how culture and experience have a significant impact on how we approach God and Spiritually.
Although some of the book feels slightly dated, it’s full of inspiring stories, practical advice and unpacks theology that some may find a bit of a challenge. It’s always good to reminded of God’s heart to heal and desire to bring freedom to all, that he is Powerful as well as loving and is still at work today.
I pray & hope that more people would encounter & experience his love and forgiveness as it truly is incredible and life changing. (Please do ask if you want to know more- love to chat)
I particularly enjoyed the chapter on worldview and it was good to be reminded how culture and experience have a significant impact on how we approach God and Spiritually.
Although some of the book feels slightly dated, it’s full of inspiring stories, practical advice and unpacks theology that some may find a bit of a challenge. It’s always good to reminded of God’s heart to heal and desire to bring freedom to all, that he is Powerful as well as loving and is still at work today.
I pray & hope that more people would encounter & experience his love and forgiveness as it truly is incredible and life changing. (Please do ask if you want to know more- love to chat)
December 5, 2023
Read this for my last assignment for K180. It took me a bit to get through it with the busyness/craziness of life and so I probably didn’t read it as well as I could have but alas
I struggled with many aspects of this book. I felt as though there was no “middle ground” between signs/wonders/words of knowledge and “plain” proclamation of the gospel. I was left wondering if I was “quenching the Spirit” or not praying with enough expectation and faith. However, I was reminded that the Lord gives different parts of the body different gifts, praise the Lord. A lot to think and pray about!
I struggled with many aspects of this book. I felt as though there was no “middle ground” between signs/wonders/words of knowledge and “plain” proclamation of the gospel. I was left wondering if I was “quenching the Spirit” or not praying with enough expectation and faith. However, I was reminded that the Lord gives different parts of the body different gifts, praise the Lord. A lot to think and pray about!
January 15, 2025
I find issue in how the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Heaven are discussed and used interchangeably.
We are not vessels per se of the kingdom of God but administrators. More so vessels of the Kingdom of heaven. I’m nitpicking, but if the rest of the book is about the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit in being a witness, then I’m going to find a fair bit of discomfort if I carry on this book.
Maybe when I have a more solid understanding of scripture I’ll be able to comeback and read it with fresh eyes.
We are not vessels per se of the kingdom of God but administrators. More so vessels of the Kingdom of heaven. I’m nitpicking, but if the rest of the book is about the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit in being a witness, then I’m going to find a fair bit of discomfort if I carry on this book.
Maybe when I have a more solid understanding of scripture I’ll be able to comeback and read it with fresh eyes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2021
Amazing book about how our theology sometimes quenches the spirit of God at work. He gave examples of how our western worldview can impact our witness and the importance of demonstration with proclamation. That we view success as large influence when success in the kingdom is not numbers but to be a body that is obedient and faithful.
May 10, 2018
Disappointing
I am on the lookout for testimonies of Christians who have experienced God's power in supernatural ways, and who can interpret these experiences through the lens of a really well thought out understanding of scripture. I am still looking...
I am on the lookout for testimonies of Christians who have experienced God's power in supernatural ways, and who can interpret these experiences through the lens of a really well thought out understanding of scripture. I am still looking...
August 9, 2021
This book is an invaluable read for anyone who wants to see more of God's power move in and through their lives. Wimber's writing is easy to read and digest, yet full of meaty truths. This is a book that will leave you longing to see God's power at work in your life.
March 23, 2018
Read this a long time ago at a time when I was in such an environment that it should have impacted a lot more than it has. Barely remember it although I do remember what its about.
February 28, 2021
Foundational, and unexpectedly scholarly. The data presented is old, but this was still an insightful read.
March 11, 2021
Loved it!
June 11, 2022
Much more open minded and sensible than I imagined. In a world full of cranks and bigots, Wimber sees a genuine good-hearted, level-headed Christian.
January 21, 2023
A good book overall.
June 27, 2025
A must read. Very powerful testimonies
April 17, 2009
When I first read this book, in the early 1990s, I found it fascinating. It's a mixture of theology and personal testimony about the 'Signs and Wonders' that permeated the Vineyard movement of Christianity (and many other denominations) in the 1980s and thereafter. When I read the book, I didn't know much about these things, and can remember finding it well-written and very interesting, as well as inspiring and encouraging.
I re-read it in the past ten days or so, about a chapter at a time. I was slightly surprised that it now seems fairly 'old hat'. It was interesting to read of John Wimber's personal experience again, beginning from a rather cynical conservative evangelical standpoint. But twenty-five years after the book was first published, there's not much that seems radical. Perhaps these theories, so startling at the time, have now become absorbed into mainstream Christianity.
Indeed, what surprised me was that Wimber was so positive about what he terms 'programmatic evangelism', and about congregational church life in general.
It felt like a three star book, reading it this time; it's well laid out and clear, with plenty of sound Scriptural explanations. It just didn't seem to say anything new. But since I'd have rated it five stars fifteen years ago, I'm compromising on four. Worth reading by anyone who is still suspicious of the charismatic movement (as it was termed) and the use of Gifts today, and perhaps as an interesting historical document for anyone who has been part of the Vineyard or similar groups. But don't expect anything mind-blowing.
I re-read it in the past ten days or so, about a chapter at a time. I was slightly surprised that it now seems fairly 'old hat'. It was interesting to read of John Wimber's personal experience again, beginning from a rather cynical conservative evangelical standpoint. But twenty-five years after the book was first published, there's not much that seems radical. Perhaps these theories, so startling at the time, have now become absorbed into mainstream Christianity.
Indeed, what surprised me was that Wimber was so positive about what he terms 'programmatic evangelism', and about congregational church life in general.
It felt like a three star book, reading it this time; it's well laid out and clear, with plenty of sound Scriptural explanations. It just didn't seem to say anything new. But since I'd have rated it five stars fifteen years ago, I'm compromising on four. Worth reading by anyone who is still suspicious of the charismatic movement (as it was termed) and the use of Gifts today, and perhaps as an interesting historical document for anyone who has been part of the Vineyard or similar groups. But don't expect anything mind-blowing.
March 23, 2015
John Wimber anchors his project in George Ladd’s theology of the kingdom: in Jesus proclamation and demonstration are linked (Wimber 6). This is an interesting point that I think most sides miss. In fact, the only ones who are aware of this fact are old-school Dispensationalists.
Here is an example. Take the song “Majesty” by Jack Hayford. Any good dispensationalist will not sing that song. And they are right. One of the lines in “Majesty” is “Kingdom authority.” That means, among other things, the coming of the Kingdom entails the casting out of demonic strongholds. That means that one of the signs identifying the Kingdom’s coming is supernatural power in spiritual warfare. Dispensationalists, more consistent than any other cessationist, deny both the antecedent and the consequent.
Wimber notes that Jesus’s miracles attack Satan’s kingdom on four fronts: Demons, Disease, Nature, and Death. Again, Wimber roots his theological conclusions in Ladd’s and Ridderbos’s exegesis. It’s kind of hard to argue with him.
And to allay fears, Wimber says the baptism of the Holy Spirit happens at conversion, can have many fillings, and does not necessarily manifest itself in tongues.
I had heard horror stories about John Wimber. And I certainly do not endorse all of his teachings, but this book was rather sane and remarkably on point in theology.
Here is an example. Take the song “Majesty” by Jack Hayford. Any good dispensationalist will not sing that song. And they are right. One of the lines in “Majesty” is “Kingdom authority.” That means, among other things, the coming of the Kingdom entails the casting out of demonic strongholds. That means that one of the signs identifying the Kingdom’s coming is supernatural power in spiritual warfare. Dispensationalists, more consistent than any other cessationist, deny both the antecedent and the consequent.
Wimber notes that Jesus’s miracles attack Satan’s kingdom on four fronts: Demons, Disease, Nature, and Death. Again, Wimber roots his theological conclusions in Ladd’s and Ridderbos’s exegesis. It’s kind of hard to argue with him.
And to allay fears, Wimber says the baptism of the Holy Spirit happens at conversion, can have many fillings, and does not necessarily manifest itself in tongues.
I had heard horror stories about John Wimber. And I certainly do not endorse all of his teachings, but this book was rather sane and remarkably on point in theology.
April 13, 2015
John Wimber writes about a topic that is not often associated with academic research. Even though many have tried to give this topic an academic foundation, Wimber seems to have gone the farthest discussing this "other dimension of Christian growth [that] adds much more" along with the teaching doctrine and building a moral character. The author does much of what any researcher and teacher would do: provides a rational explanation of the phenomena and grounds his research in exegesis, the works of the church Fathers, and the writings of vivid Reformators. Wimber uses the format of a workbook to help his readers to understand and adopt his conclusions. At the same time, he does not enforce the reader to accept his point of view. The material in the book does make one ponder the question, why contemporary Christians accept some elements of the life of the early Christians and omit others. The book is an enlightening read for an open mind, whether it is an honest student of the Bible or church leader.
January 4, 2010
This is a very quick read and the most important thing it did for me was to remind and encourage me not to stifle the Holy Spirit in my life. Our culture does not make much room for the Spirit World, and while I'm not a fan of "excess" (and neither is Wimber/Springer), I do believe we seem to have forgotten an important part of our spiritual history.
But, honestly, it's a slightly misleading title. Yes, the book discusses evangelistic topics and provides some pretty good insight that still apply today (especially in the new 2009 re-issue / update). The concept is that when we embrace the Holy Spirit in our lives, evangelism and discipleship flow naturally out of us. But the majority of the book is spent encouraging and challenging Christians to embrace the reality of the spiritual realm and discussing what the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives may look like.
But, honestly, it's a slightly misleading title. Yes, the book discusses evangelistic topics and provides some pretty good insight that still apply today (especially in the new 2009 re-issue / update). The concept is that when we embrace the Holy Spirit in our lives, evangelism and discipleship flow naturally out of us. But the majority of the book is spent encouraging and challenging Christians to embrace the reality of the spiritual realm and discussing what the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives may look like.
August 17, 2019
Great Teaching
Both intellectual and practical. Needed teaching for all christians. We can't run away from this truth: Christ Jesus expects us to do what he did.
Both intellectual and practical. Needed teaching for all christians. We can't run away from this truth: Christ Jesus expects us to do what he did.
August 18, 2007
This is a great book on evangelism, looking at it from the perspective of how to listen to God and partner with the Holy Spirit in sharing the gospel message. I found it inspirational and challenging, and plan to read it again in the future.
February 8, 2015
Some really good insights on the importance of affirming the occurrence of miracles in the church today. However its argumentation is somewhat fragmented and would be unlikely to impress a serious critic.
February 12, 2016
I found the book to be quite challenging and well written. Having been a Christian myself for many years and being raised in a baptist household I didn't agree with everything John Wimber discussed in the book. However, it did get me thinking.
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