The Catholic Church is still the largest religious group in Brazil. There are many cults vying for people's commitments. But it appeared that the Protestant churches, including Baptist, are growing the fastest. We saw Protestant churches everywhere, filled with worshippers. Second, the worship of God is central to the life of the churches.
People come to a worship service expecting that the Holy Spirit is there.
While the worship services were different from one another, the general pattern was the same. There was about one hour of singing and one or more hours of prayer and preaching. Then followed an invitation to the people to respond to the sermon. Later, there was usually a time of fellowship and refreshments. A well known Baptist pastor in Brazil, Vilarindo Lima, pastor of the Central Baptist Church in the capital city of Brasilia, told us that they are baptizing about 800 people each year, with many young people responding.