Christian Congregation of Brazil

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The Christian Congregation in Brazil or Congregação Cristã no Brasil was founded by Italian-American missionary Louis Francescon (1866-1964) in Sao Paulo in 1910. Francescon came to Brazil from Chicago, Illinois, and was quite successful among Italian immigrants.

He had left the Italian Presbyterian Church because of his belief in Water Baptism by immersion. Later he accepted the doctrines of faith healing, miracles, and Holy Spirit baptism.

This was part of the first wave of pentecostalism, and evidently the first organized Pentecostal denomination in Brazil. Together with the Brazilian Assemblies of God founded 1911 in Pará, by the Swedish-Americans, Daniel Berg and Gunnar Vingren, the Christian Congregation of Brazil are the early foundation of the Brazilian Pentecostal Movement, one of the most dynamic and fast-growing evangelical movements worldwide.

The Christian Congregation in Brazil has today 2.5 million members and 15,000 congregations in Brazil and an intense missionary work abroad. In the metro area of Sao Paulo, the church shows its strength: there are 500.000 followers, distributed in 2,000 branches and a mother-church in the Braz district that houses a 5,000 member congregation.

Francescon was among the early founders of the Italian-American Pentecostal church in Chicago, from where evangelists went to the Italian colonies in the United States planting churches mostly in the Northeast. Most of those churches were incorporated into the Christian Church of North America.

The beliefs of the Christian Congregation are set forth in their 12-articles of Faith. They believe in the Trinity, and in theBible, salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. They accept the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and divine healing and miracles. The church holds two ordinances - water baptism by immersion and the Lord's supper.