Abstract

This paper makes some observations for assessing faith-based social services from a sociological perspective. More specifically, it examines internal factors like the theology of the group and external factors, the political context, for understanding a Pentecostal approach in the USA. Observations are made from the Los Angeles Dream Center, a Pentecostal ministry, which is also a model for other Dream Centers throughout the world. The central argument is twofold: Pentecostals offer a unique holistic approach to mission and second, a sociological approach which takes seriously the theology of a group as well as its social context provides an optic for assessing similarities and differences among faith-based social services.