ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the physical transformation of an Assemblies of God church over a 20-year period (1980-2000). Drawing on data collected from an ethnographic study of a Pentecostal fellowship in the north-east of England, significant issues arise concerning the use of ‘sacred space’, religious symbols and church artefacts. Whereas many physical elements have been discarded over the period in question, these have largely been replaced by new innovations that facilitate a distinctive brand of neo-Pentecostal worship and theological outlook. These changes indicate a growing distance between classical Pentecostalism and recent expressions of Charismatic belief: a shift from the tradition of the ‘upper room’ to the contemporary ‘Christian Centre’.
