Page 14 - tesis

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION\u000AWho are the Guatemalan Neo-Pentecostals? Where did they come from? Why is it important to investigate this subject? These are some of the questions this introductory chapter seeks to answer. A working hypothesis will be put forward and the objectives and methodology for the investigation will be explained as well as the definition of some key concepts.\u000AA. NEW SOCIAL ACTORS\u000AOn March 23, 1982 Guatemalans were rudely awakened by a coup d\u2019\u00E9tat that overthrew General Romero Lucas Garc\u00EDa. General Efra\u00EDn R\u00EDos Montt became head of a military triumvirate which assumed control of the government. Nevertheless those most surprised by the news were the Evangelicals.1 For the first time in the history of the country an Evangelical assumed the highest office of the nation, precisely the year in which the Protestant Centennial was celebrated. R\u00EDos Montt added two governing elders from the Verbo Christian Church (ICV) as part of his cabinet and opened the way for Evangelicals to participate in the political arena. The Evangelicals thus passed from being on the margin to seeking political power. The recently founded El Shaddai Church (ESH) acquired international notoriety through their relationship with Serrano Elias who became President in 1990.\u000AAt the same time these churches surprised the Evangelical world by their unusual eruption and rapid growth in prestigious areas of Guatemala City. From small family bible study groups in a farm outside the city they became mega-churches with membership drawn especially from the middle and upper classes. Although the Evangelical boom was part of the scene at that moment, these churches, together with other similar churches,\u000A1 The term Evangelical in the present thesis is used interchangeably with the term Protestant. Both terms include the historical churches, the faith missions, the Pentecostal churches, independent churches and the Neo-Pentecostal churches.\u000A 1\u000A