Within South African Pentecostal circles has emerged a movement of variegated streams, named in this study as the Apostolic Movement (AM). Proponents of this movement call for a return to the ‘apostolicity of the church.’ The AM draws attention to the nature, hierarchical structure and mission of the church, introducing ‘new’ and contrasting perspectives to those traditionally held by Pentecostal churches.

This study focuses on the history of Apostolicity in the AM streams that have emerged and developed through three periods: the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. While there are several other streams in the AM, this study has a specific focus on the following South African AM groups: New Covenant Ministries International (NCMI), Grace International (GI), Congress World Breakthrough Network (C-WBN), International Strategic Alliance of Apostolic Churches (ISAAC) and Judah Kingdom Alliance (JKA).