C Peter Wagner

C. Peter Wagner (1930-2016) was an American missionary, educator, and prolific author who significantly influenced independent Charismatic Christianity. He was instrumental in establishing and expanding the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a movement within the Apostolic-Prophetic tradition. Wagner also played a key role in the Church Growth Movement and became a prominent voice on the subject of spiritual warfare.

Educated at Fuller Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the University of Southern California, Wagner served as a missionary in Bolivia before dedicating decades to teaching church growth at Fuller. He authored numerous books, disseminating his ideas through academic platforms and his own organizations, such as Global Harvest Ministries and the Wagner Leadership Institute. His work often focused on the practical application of spiritual principles for church expansion and societal transformation.

Wagner developed a theology of spiritual warfare, outlining three levels: Ground Level (person-to-person needs), Occult Level (addressing forces from occult practices), and Strategic-Level or Cosmic-Level (combating spiritual principalities ruling over governments). His method involved selecting an area, deploying prayer armies, establishing unity among pastors and congregations, personal sanctification, identifying demonic strongholds through spiritual mapping (often by those with prophetic gifts), and engaging in prayer marches to command demons to depart. Wagner also advocated for a fivefold ministry, including apostles and prophets as active, contemporary roles in the church, responsible for ushering in the Kingdom of God through prayer warfare. He coined the term New Apostolic Reformation to describe a growing movement characterized by these and other elements, though he maintained it was not a formal organization but a loose network.

Wagner's theological contributions extended to the concept of dominionism, particularly detailed in his book Dominion!. This perspective suggests that Christians, led by apostles and prophets, should actively work to transform societies by establishing governance based on biblical law. He also promoted the idea of the "Third Wave of the Holy Spirit," which included claims of miraculous healing and the active engagement of spiritual gifts like prophecy. Wagner's teachings, disseminated through his extensive writing and the institutions he founded, significantly shaped the landscape of independent Charismatic and Pentecostal movements globally, emphasizing a proactive approach to spiritual engagement and societal change.