What is Pentecost All About?

What’s the big deal about Pentecost?  Why do people insist on celebrating it in church ever year?

Pentecost is sometimes called the “birthday of the church” and its story is found in Acts, but it goes back much further than that.  In Judaism, Shavuot or “Festival of Weeks”, is observed fifty days after the start of Passover.  People from all over had come to Jerusalem to celebrate and remember receiving the ten commandments at Mt. Sinai. It’s one of the three pilgrimage festivals, when all Jews in Jesus’ time were expected to travel to the temple in Jerusalem.

After his death and resurrection, Jesus’s disciples gathered in Jerusalem for Shavuot and to wait for instructions about what to do next.  Enter the Holy Spirit.  Suddenly a wind and fire appeared and danced on their heads.  This gave them the ability to speak in different languages and be understood by everyone present, no matter where they were from.  That wind and fire at Pentecost reminded readers of Acts of God at Sinai in Exodus.

Peter took this opportunity to tell everyone about Jesus and all the amazing things he did and said.  After hearing these wonderful things, lots of people made the decision to join this new movement of believers (the term Christian was not used until many years later).  Hence the Good News started to spread and led to the formation of the early church.  

As pastors and educators, you can find ways to incorporate feelings of joy and moving of the Holy Spirit into the church community’s Pentecost celebration.  You can:

• Host a Pentecost Party with different craft/activity stations:

  • Make Pentecost flame hats for everyone to wear in worship

  • Finger print dove

  • Be creative and think of your own that works for your context!

• Decorate the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall with Dollar store items, such as red, yellow and orange balloons, pinwheels, (LED) candles

• Host a Pentecost Picnic that includes the entire church family

• Read a Pentecost book, like The Day When God Made the Church by Rebekah McLeod Hutto

• Invite each family unity to make a Pentecost box to use at home.  Each box contains:

  • Pinwheels

  • Oriental Trading stuffed animal (when bird)

  • Illustrated ministry Pentecost Holy Spirit colorsheet and crayons

  • Supplies to have your own birthday party for the church

  • Supplies to tell the Pentecost story