Generational transition and the transformation of authority structures in an African Pentecostal congregation in western Germany

Abstract

This contribution focuses on how authority structures are adapted in African Pentecostalism in the process of transnational migration. Based on qualitative research conducted in an independent, non-denominational Pentecostal congregation established in western Germany by a small group of African migrants in 2015, it shows to whom (and what) authority is ascribed and on the basis of which legitimation, as well as which relationships of and attitudes towards authority can be distinguished in the congregation. Drawing from sociological literature on the concept of authority, the research results show that the church’s leadership exerts authority, but not in a way one would expect in a Pentecostal setting. Instead of centralized authority structures and a dominating, “charismatic” pastor, authority is selectively pluralized; various people and groups are granted degrees of autonomy in shaping congregational life. This particularly includes the congregation’s youth group, largely comprising African youth socialized in Germany and culturally fluent in both German secular and African Christian settings. To ensure a stable future for the congregation, its leadership is delegating authority to this group of young, bicultural, committed Christians—who, however, are reluctant to claim authority for themselves.