In his early 30s, Christenson was a Lutheran pastor in San Pedro, California, who came to believe at the start of the 1960s that Jesus Christ still heals the sick today as He did 2,000 years ago.

That belief led Christenson to accept that the other gifts of the Holy Spirit were also still available.

He himself was baptized in the Spirit and began to speak in tongues at a local Assemblies of God church he visited in 1961.

Christenson decided to stay in his Lutheran denomination, where he became a major advocate for and leader of the charismatic renewal sweeping through mainline churches.

His own San Pedro church became so popular that it could well have become a mega-church as Lutherans curious about the baptism in the Holy Spirit flocked there. But he always encouraged them to return to their own congregations to be a strength and light.

Christenson's books, "Speaking in Tongues" (1968) and "The Christian Family (1970)," became bestsellers.

Where detractors criticized the charismatic movement as being too based in shallow emotionalism, Christenson's own sharp and quiet intellect contradicted the stereotype.

After decades pastoring in California, he returned to his home state of Minnesota. At age 89, he was attending the same church in Northfield, Minnesota, where he was baptized at the start of his life.

Christenson had memorized the entire Book of Ephesians, and praying from that book was a major part of the four-hour prayer walks he did daily. It was on such a walk two months away from his 90th birthday that he slipped on ice Dec. 21, the fall that led to his five-day coma and then death.

He was married to his wife, Nordis, for 66 years and is survived by her, four children, 18 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

5 Key Signs to Spot a Human Trafficking Victim

CDC's Major Change on COVID-19 Vax; Lets Individuals Decide, and Makes Chickenpox Vaccine Standalone

COVER-UP EXPOSED: Declassified Docs Reveal Then-VP Biden Suppressed Report on Family's Foreign Entanglements

Another Scandal Threatens to Shake up Virginia's Elections

Dems Back Virginia AG Candidate Despite 'Violent, Disgusting, Disqualifying' Texts about Killing Republicans, and Their Children

Pam Bondi Tears into Illinois' Dem Senator: 'I Wish You Loved Chicago as Much as You Hate President Trump'

White House Slams 'Sick' Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson After His Latest Anti-ICE Move

Portland DA Drops Charges against Conservative Journalist Who Was Attacked by Antifa

Battered, Yet Strong: With Christian and US Support, Israelis Mark 2 Years Since October 7th Atrocities

Leftists Try to Shut Down Pro-Charlie Kirk Coffee Shop: 'But God is Good'

Dr. Jordan Peterson Was 'Near Death' Over the Summer

'Playing God': Shocking Research Turns Skin Cells into Human Eggs [Video]

'Unacceptable': Despite Promising a Safety Review, FDA Approves Another Generic Abortion Pill

Mainstream Media Goes All in on Woke Pronouns over Chief Justice Kavanaugh's Would-Be Assassin

Rank-And-File DC Officers Accuse Superiors of Downgrading Crimes to Mask Real Levels: Report

Trump's Deployment of National Guard Troops to Handle Antifa in Portland Halted by Federal Judge

Israeli Delegation Heads to Egypt for Hostage Talks with Hamas

Good News: TPUSA High School Clubs More Than Double, Hit 2,700 Nationwide

Atheist Bill Maher Condemns Media Silence on Christian Genocide in Nigeria: 'Systematic Killing'

'We Found Him': The Alleged Smoke Bomber Who Disrupted a Sean Feucht Worship Event; His Shocking Links to Antifa Inside Canada's Military