Signs and wonders refers to experiences that are perceived to be miraculous as being normative in the modern Christian experience, and is a phrase associated with groups that are a part of modern charismatic movements and Pentecostalism. This phrase is seen multiple times throughout the Christian Bible to describe the activities of the early church, and is historically recorded as continuing, at least in practice, since the time of Christ. The phrase is primarily derived from Old and New Testament references, and is now used in the Christian and mainstream press, and in scholarly religious discourse to communicate a strong emphasis on recognizing perceived manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the contemporary lives of Christian believers; as well, it communicates a focus on the expectation that divine action would be experienced in the individual and corporate life of the modern Christian church, and a further insistence that followers actively seek the "gifts of the Spirit". A further major emphasis of belief in signs and wonders is that the message of the Christian "good news" is communicated more effectively to those who do not believe it if accompanied by such supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit, including such signs and wonders as miraculous healings and modern prophetic proclamations. This is the message of John Wimber's book, Power Evangelism.
Biblical origins
The origin of the phrase in the Old Testament is in, which describes God's actions to free the Israelites from being enslaved in Ancient Egypt. This phrase is used a total of 31 times in the Bible and it became popular again in modern history around the time of the Azusa Street Revival, when attendees claimed miraculous and supernatural events had happened.
Critical responses
Critical responses were made by various writers including: J. Woodhouse, K. L. Sarles, K. M. Bond, and D. H. Shepherd, Later in the 1990s, the discussion was taken up by R. E. Jackson, and D. Williams.
Defense and reflection
The ongoing theological reflection accompanying the signs and wonders movement was evidenced by Fuller Theological Seminary's 1988 Symposium on Power Evangelism and C. Peter Wagner's book titled The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit. The study of the missiological implications of signs and wonders would continue on into the turn of the century Cessationists object to the existence of charismatic gifts, leading to a cessationism versus continuationism debate. The broader debate specifically over the signs and wonders movement and the present-day function of the manifestation gifts would continue on into the 1990s.
Power Evangelism
The term power evangelism originally comes from Lonnie Frisbee's ministry but some of his harshest critics for heavy use of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit came from the churches he helped found. Power evangelism is a form of evangelism which relies on the supernatural power and gifts of the Holy Spirit, that is, on signs and wonders, to reach new converts and work throughborn again Christians. It is not the way most churches practice evangelism currently, which relies on an intellectual argument with the hope of salvation through logic and structured rituals. Proponents believe power evangelism is the way Jesus operated, although it is known he also was a great student of the Torah. Although most Christians would believe that a person is brought to faith primarily through the action of God in the person of the Holy Spirit, in this form of evangelism supernatural events such as faith healings, prophetic revelation, words of knowledge and glossolalia are a demonstration of the power, and therefore the reality, of God. Power Evangelism is illustrated in the lives of the disciples in the Book of Acts.
