Pentecostalism is a Christian movement that started in the early 1900s. It teaches that people can be filled with the Holy Spirit and show signs like speaking in tongues, healing people, and casting out demons. It began with preacher Charles Parham and grew quickly after William J. Seymour led a major revival in Los Angeles.

In West Virginia and Appalachia, Pentecostalism mixed with the Holiness movement, which came from the teachings of John Wesley, founder of Methodism. Holiness believers focus on becoming more spiritually pure, a process called Sanctification.

Some Appalachian Pentecostal churches also practice snake handling and drinking poison based on Bible verses in Mark 16:17-18. There are two main types of Pentecostals:

• Trinitarian – baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

• Oneness – baptize only in the name of Jesus

As of 2014, about 39% of West Virginia Christians identified as Pentecostal, though the real number might be higher since many churches don’t use “Pentecostal” in their names. Some examples include the Assemblies of God and the Church of God. Many of these churches are small and independent, so it’s hard to know exactly how many congregants there are.