, São Paulo in 1950 Louis Francescon came for the first time to
Brazil from
Chicago, Illinois in 1910. After arriving in São Paulo, Francescon went to
Santo Antonio da Plantina,
Paraná. His eleven missionary trips were quite successful among fellow Italian immigrants and Brazilian nationals. The
Christian Congregation of Brazil is one of the most dynamic and it is fast-growing. In 2016, the Christian Congregation in the Brazil had around 2.8 million members in 2020 and 24,272 temples (2021) in that country and more than 50,000 temples in all world and an intense missionary work abroad. In the metro area of São Paulo, the church shows its strength: there are 500,000 followers, distributed in 2,000 churches and a mother-church in the Brás district that houses a 9,800 member congregation in the Brás district. Francescon was among the early founders of the Italian-American Pentecostal church in Chicago. He had left the
First Italian Presbyterian Church of Chicago because of his belief in Water
Baptism by
immersion. Later, he accepted the
doctrines of
anointing with oil,
miracles, and
Holy Spirit baptism at the North Avenue Full Gospel Mission led by
William Howard Durham. Evangelists from Chicago 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, with a few affiliated with the
Christian Congregation in the United States. ==Music and orchestras==