How the Prophetic Ministers at Bethel Church are Legitimized

This article presents my research on the dynamics of legitimacy and empowerment of lay prophetic ministers at Bethel Church in Redding, California. Using a qualitative empirical research design, I conducted ethnographically inspired fieldwork with participant observation and interviews at Bethel’s main campus in Redding. I am interested in how the people involved legitimize their role in this ministry, but also how it is legitimated within the ecclesiological structure. My aim is to develop an understanding of how the role of the prophetic minister is shaped and legitimized at Bethel, with a particular focus on the individual and structural factors that justify this ministry. The findings show that emotional and spiritual development and support play an important role on the individual level. On the structural level, the training, the organization and its ideological grounding in ecclesiology are factors that have contributed to the popularity and impact of the prophetic ministry. Using Max Weber’s theory of authority, the legitimacy of the prophetic ministers can be best understood as a form of routinized bureaucracy that has its authority derived from Bethel’s charismatic leadership. With its findings and theological considerations, the article contributes to the discussion about the prophetic practice at Bethel and, in the wider sense, about ecclesial practices in the field of Pentecostal studies.