God Broke Through: The Story of Chile's Methodist Pentecostals

It has been described as “the greatest church history ever written outside of North America!” When the Pentecostal Awakening came to Chile, it caused an explosion that was heard throughout the country. It was followed by the expulsion of the Pentecostals from their churches, just as happened in the United States and other countries around the world. This is the story of just how it occurred in Chile; before, during and after, from 1817 to 1984. In 1909, Chile received its Pentecost. This book carefully documents not just the events, but the very thoughts and actions of the principle actors. On September 12, 1909, the “new wine” had a frontal confrontation with the “old wineskins,” and an explosion took place that has continued to the present day. When those expelled from their churches took their enthusiasm to the streets, the movement started to grow, and the nation was changed. Despite religious and secular opposition, signs, wonders and miracles confirmed the work of the Risen Lord. Today, the overwhelming majority of Chile’s Protestant believers proudly call themselves “Pentecostals.” Their story will open your eyes to what God can do with yielded vessels. Missionaries Dean Helland and Alice Rasmussen united their scholarly expertise in this investigative report of exactly what happened in this isolated part of the world. Though fully a Classical Pentecostal denomination, the Methodist Pentecostal Church has retained the form, doctrine and rituals of the Methodist Church, including infant baptism, with real surprises for the reader. The result is a masterpiece; riveting, at times, shocking -- an emotion-packed account of a singular spiritual event. The experiences contained here also relate directly to what is happening in the world today. These spiritual and mystical accounts will stretch one’s faith with the challenge to draw closer God.

It has been described as “the greatest church history ever written outside of North America!” When the Pentecostal Awakening came to Chile, it caused an explosion that was heard throughout the country. It was followed by the expulsion of the Pentecostals from their churches, just as happened in the United States and other countries around the world. This is the story of just how it occurred in Chile; before, during and after, from 1817 to 1984. In 1909, Chile received its Pentecost. This book carefully documents not just the events, but the very thoughts and actions of the principle actors. On September 12, 1909, the “new wine” had a frontal confrontation with the “old wineskins,” and an explosion took place that has continued to the present day. When those expelled from their churches took their enthusiasm to the streets, the movement started to grow, and the nation was changed. Despite religious and secular opposition, signs, wonders and miracles confirmed the work of the Risen Lord. Today, the overwhelming majority of Chile’s Protestant believers proudly call themselves “Pentecostals.” Their story will open your eyes to what God can do with yielded vessels. Missionaries Dean Helland and Alice Rasmussen united their scholarly expertise in this investigative report of exactly what happened in this isolated part of the world. Though fully a Classical Pentecostal denomination, the Methodist Pentecostal Church has retained the form, doctrine and rituals of the Methodist Church, including infant baptism, with real surprises for the reader. The result is a masterpiece; riveting, at times, shocking -- an emotion-packed account of a singular spiritual event. The experiences contained here also relate directly to what is happening in the world today. These spiritual and mystical accounts will stretch one’s faith with the challenge to draw closer God.

Dr. Helland graduated from the Graduate School of Theology at Oral Roberts University in 1969. After pastoring for three years in Oakland, California, he went to Chile with his wife and their two young children in 1975 to work with the large indigenous church movement which had taken root there. Helland was authorized to write this book in 1981 by the Annual Conference of the Methodist Pentecostal Church of Chile. In that capacity, he traveled throughout the nation gathering anecdotes from eye-witnesses and family members. He haunted the archives of the National Libraries and compared notes with other church historians. Chilean Protestantism is mostly Pentecostal, primarily the result of the work of two missionaries, David Trumbull during the 19th Century and Willis C. Hoover, whose ministry overlapped the 19th and 20th Centuries. A mighty revival started in 1909 in the Methodist Episcopal Church of Valparaíso, which was pastored by Hoover. It resulted in a rupture in the two large Methodist Episcopal Churches in Santiago and then spread throughout Chile. It impacted all other Christian denominations including the Roman Catholic Church. This new denomination was organized in 1910 under the name of The Methodist Pentecostal Church of Chile. It was incorporated officially in 1929. The dramatic events of each stage are chronologically documented and explained, beginning from the time of Chile's Independence from Spain in 1818 until 1984. The book was finally published in Spanish in Chile in 1987. It was first published in two volumes as "La Iglesia Metodista Pentecostal--Ayer y Hoy" (The Methodist Pentecostal Church--Yesterday and Today). It details developments occurring during its evolution, including details of church divisions, times of persecution, moral failings of church leaders, and handling difficult negotiations with governments, the launching of foreign missionary outreaches and the fraternal relationship it has established with the International Pentecostal Holiness Church in the United States. This is an important book especially useful for use in seminaries and Bible Schools, showing the impact of American missionary outreach and positive results which are forthcoming. This is illustrated when considering nearly all aspects of modern life in Chile, including the fact that it is the most economically advanced country in Latin America today. After nearly 30 years of extensive editing and translation effort, this attractive easy-to-read book, containing over 40 photos and an extensive bibliography, is now available for the English-speaking world both in this soft-cover edition and as an eBook.