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thirty-eight. The concern to reach young people is a key issue to prevent them from leaving the church. Stoll notes that in the population of the interior of the country in the 1980s, the new generations of young people and adolescents went very little to the Evangelical or Catholic churches; they did not want to imitate the faith of their parents (Stoll 1990: 319). This conduct varies in the context of the NPCs in the urban area.\u000AThese churches have been successful in attracting young people and they have involved them in the ecclesiastical activities. This phenomenon, up to a point, goes hand in hand with the age of the Guatemalan population: 48.30 per cent of the population are less than fifteen years old, 39.14 percent are between fifteen and fifty-nine and only 7.06 per cent are over sixty year old (United Nations 2000:144). The same phenomenon of young people being attracted to NEOP can also be observed in Brazil especially through the music, sports, among others activities which attract youth culture (Freston 1997:193-195).\u000AThe fact that young people are attracted to the NPCs is very significant in a country where some of the youth join gangs of thugs known as the \u2018Maras\u2019. As can be seen later some of these churches are even reaching out to members of these gangs. In other words they are offering an answer to a sociological problem inside and outside of the Guatemalan urban areas. The use of musical concerts, theatrical presentations, retreats, cells for young people and the worship styles give the young people the possibility to know and accept the Neo-Pentecostal Christian faith.\u000AMass media stations such as \u2018Stereo Visi\u00F3n\u2019, \u2018Radio Viva\u2019 and other transmitters attract this population especially through the music. Concerts such as \u2018Explosi\u00F3n Juvenil\u2019 of the FCG annually unite thousands of young people for whom they provide music and some training. Some critics of the Neo-Pentecostal media presentations argue that the programmes do not contribute to Christian formation. For example, Fernando Montero (2002) commenting on some Costa Rican broadcasting stations notes that they mainly entertain young people, but they do not provide the best pastoral care. Rose & Schultz\u000A90\u000A


































































































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