Position · 1974

Prosperity Gospel

The teaching that God wills financial prosperity and physical health for believers, and that these are received through faith, spoken confession and giving.

Its best-known form is the Word of Faith movement. It draws on the earlier writings of E.W. Kenyon and was popularised by Kenneth Hagin, who founded Rhema Bible Training Center in 1974. Holders read Christ’s work as securing not only forgiveness but also healing and provision, which believers claim by faith. The teaching spread through Pentecostal and Charismatic networks and television ministries worldwide, but no major denomination teaches it officially, and the Assemblies of God criticised “positive confession” in a 1980 position paper. In 2008–2009 a Lausanne Movement theology working group issued a critical statement. Critics argue that it makes faith a means to material gain and overlooks the place of suffering in Christian life.