Pentecostal Church.—Toward the close of the 19th century there was a religious revival very similar to that of the previous century. The basis of this movement was the belief that Christ had the power to make Christians holy in the present life, thus emphasizing the doctrine of entire sanctification. It started in three different parts of the country at nearly the same time—in New England, in New York City and in Los Angeles, Cal. A mission was formed in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1894 and the following year organized as an independent church, called the Utica Avenue Pentecostal Tabernacle. Two other Pentecostal organizations followed and in 1895 delegates from the three churches formed the American Association of the Pentecostal Churches in America, adopted a constitution, a summary of doctrines and by-laws.

In New England several independent churches had been organized, which united under the name of the Central Evangelical Holiness Association. In 1896 a joint committee met in Brooklyn and formed the Pentecostal Churches of America. In 1895 a number of persons at Los Angeles formed the Church of the Nazarene. Important features of their doctrine were their conviction that sanctification especially involved the example of Christ's preaching to the poor; the belief that adornment of home or person was contrary to the Christian spirit; that time devoted to worldly affairs was better spent in saving souls for the Lord.

As these two bodies on the opposite side of the continent learned more of each other, they felt it would be to their mutual advantage to unite. At the annual meeting of each body in 1906 a basis of union was prepared and delegates were authorized to call the first convention of the Pentecostal church of the Nazarene, the name chosen for the new denomination. The convention met in Chicago in 1907 and a union was effected, since which time the growth has been rapid. In 1906 there were 100 organizations, located in 26 states, two of them being in Kansas, with a membership of 119.