LATINO PENTECOSTALS

A few weeks ago I attended a lecture by Dr. David Edwin Harrell at UAB on 'The Pentecostal Century'. One of the items of interest he noted was the particularly strong growth of Pentecostalism and Charismatics in South America. Dovetailing with that, the Washington Post shows that Hispanic immigrants are also attracted:

Fabiola Briones is one of thousands of Latino immigrants who have left behind the ritual and perceived formality of the Roman Catholic Church for the personal experiences and boisterous services of Pentecostalism. The mass migration of Latinos to charismatic Christian movements, such as Pentecostalism, is more than a religious transformation. It also could have strong political ramifications.

Thirty years ago, about 90 percent of Latinos in the United States were Catholic, sociologists estimate. Today that number is about 70 percent, and it remains steady only because of high birth rates and new immigrants filling the pews. Most other Latino Americans -- 9.5 million of them -- are Protestant, usually Pentecostal or another evangelical denomination. Their numbers are fed by the conversion of second- and third-generation immigrants, whose families become more likely to convert the longer they are in the United States.

Regardless of one's political position on immigration, our position as Christians must be to see this as a door of opportunity to spread the gospel. And Pentecostalism is not what they need to hear.