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he converted to the Evangelical faith in 1983.34 A year after his conversion he established the Christian Motivation Ministry whose theme was to \u2018reconcile Guatemala with God\u2019. He decided later to establish the IFD as part of the global ministry. They started activities in the Camino Real Hotel in 1985.\u000AThe senior pastor\u2019s testimony and preaching on television as well as on the radio, has been a key element for recruiting new members for the church. These media communication systems are pillars of the advance of this church (Iglesia Familia de Dios 1993: no. 47 p.8). From this moment on they experienced a process of growth and expansion. The church which started out with 400 people in 1990 has at the present moment a membership of 10,000 belonging to the middle and working classes. The pastor treats members and visitors warmly. He is known for using the phrases \u2018beloved brother\u2019 or \u2018beautiful brother\u2019 in his time of welcoming.\u000AThe biblical formation of the leadership of this church shows a mixture of influences and theological backgrounds. In spite of the charismatic Pentecostal experience of senior pastor, he studied at the Central American Theological Seminary of the Central American Mission. The co-pastor studied theology at the Mariano G\u00E1lvez University founded by Evangelicals linked to historical churches. In the beginning their seminary used as their basic teaching materials the biblical materials of the Faculty of Theological Studies (FLET).\u000AIn 1991 the church acquired a plot of land that they rented and later they rented the property of the radio station Radio Exclusiva. In 1992 they founded the Neo-Pentecostal Biblical Theological Seminary in which they have various levels of theological education. In 1993 the church received a donation of land covering an area of nine and a half blocks valued at three million quetzals (Bolet\u00EDn Quincenal November 14th 1993: 4). In this place called \u2018the holy land\u2019 they have built a mega-church building with other installations. In\u000A34 According to his personal testimony, the founder pastor practiced transcendental meditation, yoga, had been a Catholic, a motivator, a Rosicrucian, a mystic, a metaphysicist, an occultist, parapsychologist, and a Freemason. In \u2018Vida Pastoral Luis Fernando Solares Alma, mente y cuerpo\u2019, in Aleluya News, A\u00F1o 2, Numero 6, Guatemala, pp.12-13.\u000A  79\u000A


































































































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