Mission guide
Texas McAllen Mission
The Texas McAllen Mission serves a warm, bilingual region shaped by border trade, citrus farming, and deep Church history.
- English
- Spanish
Texas McAllen Mission shirts
Every style made for this mission, printed when you order.
Texas McAllen Mission T-Shirt
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Texas McAllen Mission Heart Map Shirt
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Texas McAllen Mission Flag Map Shirt
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Choose size & color →I Glory in My Jesus, in the language of this mission
2 Nephi 33:6 as it reads in the Book of Mormon for each language spoken here.
Weak Things Become Strong, in the language of this mission
"I make weak things become strong" (Ether 12:27) as it reads in the Book of Mormon for each language spoken here.
About the mission
Missionaries speak English and Spanish. Spanish-speaking Latter-day Saint work in the Rio Grande Valley dates to the 1920s.
At a glance
- Country
- United States, South Texas
- Main city
- McAllen, 150,640 residents (2025 estimate)
- Languages
- English and Spanish
- Time zone
- Central Time (UTC-6 standard)
- Climate
- Hot, humid summers and brief, warm winters; wet season from May through October
- Church in Texas
- 395,964 members, 83 stakes, 756 congregations
A short history of the area
The railroad reached the Santa Anita Ranch in 1904 after John McAllen and his son James donated land for the route. In 1916, about 20,000 New York state troops were stationed in McAllen during border disturbances, helping bring an economic boom. The McAllen-Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge, completed in 1941, increased tourist trade and travel to Mexico.
The Church here
- 1920sLatter-day Saint missionaries from the Mexican Mission taught Spanish-speaking people in the Rio Grande Valley.
- 1921A Spanish branch was organized in Brownsville on September 11.
- 1923The Brownsville Spanish branch dedicated its own building on July 8.
- 1925An English-speaking Sunday School was organized in Brownsville, later becoming the Rio Grande Valley Branch.
- 1952The first stake in Texas was organized in El Paso.
- 1975The McAllen Texas Stake was organized on May 4.
- 2019Plans for the McAllen Texas Temple were announced on October 5.
- 2020Groundbreaking for the McAllen Texas Temple took place on November 21.
Temples nearby
McAllen Texas Temple
Dedicated October 8, 2023 · Near McAllen
Reynosa Mexico Temple
Announced · Near McAllen
The Book of Mormon here
Missionaries in this mission share the Book of Mormon in these languages. Tap a cover to read it free.
Cover art is an illustration. Links open the free edition on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Before you go
Phrases to learn
- HolaHello
- Buenos díasGood morning
- ¿Cómo está?How are you?
- GraciasThank you
Foods to try
- Tex-Mex tacos (seasoned meat and toppings served in a tortilla)
- Barbacoa (slow-cooked meat often served in tacos)
- Fajitas (grilled meat served with tortillas and toppings)
- Citrus drinks and desserts (made with the grapefruit and other citrus grown in the region)
Fun facts
- McAllen received measurable snow only twice since 1941: 1.7 inches on December 25, 2004, and almost 3 inches in December 2017.
- The New Main Library opened in a former Walmart building in fall 2011 and won a 2012 Library Interior Design Award.
- The McAllen Foreign-Trade Zone, commissioned in 1973, was the first inland foreign-trade zone in the United States.
Just got the call?
Turn the opening into a game: family and friends guess where the missionary is going before the reveal.