Page 73 - tesis

(4) Participation in the civic society\u000AEvangelicals also have participated in some happenings of civic society. For example, the Evangelical Alliance together with other religious groups participated in a dialogue with the Guatemalan guerrillas in Quito Ecuador, in 1995. Later they took part in the meetings of the Assembly of the Civic Society. One of their representatives, Manuel Conde Orellana a member of an independent church (later on he moved on to a branch of Rains of Grace [LDG]) became the president\u2019s private secretary during the presidency of Serrano El\u00EDas. He presided over the peace delegation from central government who initiated the dialogue and signed the peace declaration between the guerrillas and the army. This was signed on December 29th 1996.\u000AIn the context of the civil war some Evangelical institutions showed social concern for the Guatemalan peace process. The Permanent Evangelical Forum (FEP), the Latin American Council of Evangelical Churches (CLAI), The Latin American Theological Fraternity (FTL), the Centro Evang\u00E9lico de Estudios Pastorales en Am\u00E9rica Central (CEDPCA), the CIEDEG, and some Christian agencies of service like World Vision, coordinated some activities in favour of the peace agreement and expressed a more open opinion about some social issues related with country\u2019s problems.\u000AFrom 1986 onwards some Evangelicals occupied some of the government ministries in the presidency of Cerezo\u2019s government. At the same time a small group of Evangelical lay people begin to participate in local committees or as municipal council members serving in the communities. However the majority of Evangelicals were occupied in evangelism which they felt would bring change to society. [Chapter five amplifies this participation].\u000A(5) The emergence of Neo-Pentecostal churches\u000AThe NPCs were born in the context of the earthquake of 1976, the civil war and world economic pressure of the1980s. They grew within a context of violence, destruction, death\u000A60\u000A