ABSTRACT
This chapter explores Mexican American participation in US evangelicalism and Pentecostalism. In some ways, the story of mainline missions and conversion is the same for many Mexican American evangelicals—Anglo evangelists, often working under the auspices of a particular denomination, made Mexican American converts, who then worked to expand their own leadership and involvement within their congregations. An early debate among Pentecostals concerning the nature of God immediately influenced divisions among Mexican American converts. Even as some Mexican Americans were making gains in the Assemblies of God, Mexican and Mexican American Apostolic Pentecostals also experienced growth in the first half of the twentieth century. Healing power certainly has had a role in attracting Mexican Americans to Pentecostalism. One of the primary Pentecostal organizations that has mobilized to deal with Mexican American drugs and gangs is Victory Outreach. In the 1960s, the Spirit-filled worship styles of Pentecostalism spread to English-speaking Catholics in the United States.
