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What is This?
Article
Robert A. Danielson
Asbury Theological Seminary Wilmore, KY USA
Abstract
The smallest and most densely populated country in Central America is home to
several indigenous mega churches. It is hoped that by comparing two of these, their
successes, and the growth of these churches in the Global South, we can better
understand this trend. The Tabernaculo Bíblico Bautista “Amigos de Israel” is
a movement with ties to the mission history of El Salvador, but a worship style
influenced by Pentecostalism. Misión Cristiana Elim is a Pentecostal church which
has used the concepts of the cell church movement to become one of the largest
churches in the world.
Keywords
El Salvador, mega church, indigenous, Baptist, Pentecostal, Global South, leadership,
political influence
Introduction
In the wealthy suburb of Colonia Escalón in San Salvador, El Salvador, sits an impres-
sive collection of buildings which mark the heart of the Tabernaculo Bíblico Bautista
“Amigos de Israel” led by Dr. Edgar López Bertrand, often called “Brother Toby” by
the people. It includes a large multi-storied sanctuary with a capacity for 10,000. A
central circular platform maximizes the seating of worshippers and the strategic place-
ment of television cameras, which record services to be played on their 24-hour
national television station, Canal 17. There is also a barbershop, school, cafeteria,
daycare, radio and television stations, and church offices. Nearby is a drug and alcohol
Corresponding author:
Robert A. Danielson
Email: robert.danielson@asburyseminary.edu
330 Missiology: An International Review 41(3)
and 29% are classified as Renewalists (which include Pentecostals, Charismatics, and
Neo-Charismatics). What led to such a rapid growth over the last forty years?
According to the latest polls conducted by the University of Central America, Roman
Catholic allegiance in El Salvador has dropped below 60% over the past two decades, while
Evangelical professions have risen to nearly 30% and continue to grow. Some three-quarters
of these Evangelical converts belong to the tongues-speaking, faith-healing and boisterous
Pentecostal traditions. In greater San Salvador alone, there are over a dozen churches each
having attendance figures of more than five thousand. One of the largest is the Tabernaculo
Bíblico Bautista “Amigos de Israel Central.” Founded by U.S. educated Dr. Edgar López
Bertrand, better known as “brother Toby,” the Baptist Tabernacle boasts over 80,000 and has
spawned over 40 smaller churches, including several within North American Salvadorian
communities. In addition to its two schools and radio and television stations, the church’s
plush 8,000 seat sanctuary hosts six consecutive, highly entertaining and choreographed
Sunday services that have the look and feel of North America’s largest mega-churches.
(Wadkins, 2008: 32)
332 Missiology: An International Review 41(3)
El Salvador is also the location of what many recognize as the second largest church
in the world. With around 150,000 members the Pentecostal Misión Cristiana Elim
focuses more of its work among the poorer population. Basing their work on the
Korean cell church model of David Yonggi Cho, they are a massive presence in El
Salvador. By examining these two important mega churches, we can better understand
the growth of the church in El Salvador.
multiple services on Sunday with additional weekly meetings based on the various
regions of the cells. There are only 14 “churches” in Elim, one for each capital city of
the 14 departments of El Salvador, with San Salvador and Mario Vega being the main
“church” and the others being zone churches. Pastor Vásquez emphasized that there
are three key areas he sees as important in his ministry: alleviating spiritual poverty,
helping end intellectual poverty, and the restoration of people. Elim also was an early
proponent of radio and television mass media and has also spread on the internet
(www.elim.org.sv).
22 in other countries. The ministry has recorded more than 576,000 sermons on cas-
settes, CDs, and DVDs. The ministry costs $33,000.00 a day to keep the entire work
of Tabernaculo Bíblico Bautista “Amigos de Israel” functioning (Galenas, 2008: 17–
21). Jahnel (2008: 52) offers more about Brother Toby and his role in the religious
landscape in El Salvador when he writes,
A shining example of a Neo-Pentecostal Church in San Salvador was, and is, the Tabernáculo
Bíblico Bautista Amigos de Israel of the U.S.-educated psychologist Dr. Edgar López
Beltrán, a.k.a. Brother Tobi. In 1977 and 1986, Beltrán founded his first congregations in the
exclusive district La Sultana and in Escalón, respectively. On the basis of his success and the
large financial sums that came in from the U.S.A. and from affluent congregational members,
he soon founded new congregations throughout the country. During the development of
these congregations, Beltrán received financial and ideological support also from Gordon
Robertson, director of the Christian Broadcasting Network in the U.S.A. With his program,
The 700 club, he was present on Salvadoran television since 1983 with daily programs,
where in addition to religious topics, explicitly political issues were also dealt with—for
example, the approval of weapons sales to the military regime in Guatemala and El
Salvador—and where a virulent anti-communism was supported. Canal 25, to a large extent
financed by Paul Crouch, president of the television transmitter Trinity Broadcasting
Network, broadcasted U.S. programs that simply had been dubbed into Spanish, and was
similarly inflammatory. Indeed with regard to media access, a definite division of domains
can be observed. “Neo-Pentecostals” dominate television; radio stations remain for the
Pentecostals and the conservatives; the liberals are practically not represented at all.
In May of 2005, Brother Toby was arrested in Houston, Texas for trying to bring in
his adopted daughter to the United States with false papers (Rice, 2005). He pled
guilty and served a short term in prison in the US. Despite and perhaps because of this
incident, Brother Toby maintained a high degree of popularity among his followers in
El Salvador, many of whom have immigrant family members in the US. He notes in
his biography that on Mother’s Day of 2008, his church had 79,000 people in attend-
ance for his three services. Wadkins (2008: 46) criticizes Brother Toby by noting,
While he [Brother Toby] refuses to speak out on matters of social and economic injustice, he
is befriended by President Tony Saca, was selected to pray at Saca’s inauguration, and during
elections comes to the pulpit dressed in ARENA party colours.
Brother Toby is widely known for his support of the conservative party. In March of
2009, ARENA lost the election to the FMLN. It remains to be seen how this will
impact Brother Toby’s political activities in the media in the future. Meanwhile,
Brother Toby continues to be a powerful presence in the religious world in El Salvador,
because of his presence on radio, television, and the internet (www.tabernaculo.net).
In his preaching style, Brother Toby tends to rely on wit and humor, both of which
are highly appreciated in El Salvadorian culture. He uses local slang, and although his
sermons are not theologically deep, they are reassuring. Every service ends with invi-
tations for people to accept Christ, and this strong evangelistic message is often heard
between programs on their television station as well. A local station in Santa Ana
Danielson 335
presents the local news with every story ending with a scripture and the by-line,
“Today would be a good day to accept Jesus as your savior,” or something similar.
Because of their autonomy and a far-reaching theological openness, the Baptist congregations
were often very non-uniform. As of the mid-1970s, the adoption of Pentecostal elements in
the church service, such as spiritual baptism and speaking in tongues, could be observed in
many congregations, which often led to a fast growth in the respective congregations.
Because of this increasing Pentecostalization, most congregations hardly resembled the
European or North American model of classical baptism. This scene became even more
confusing when more and more Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal churches incorporated the
title “Baptists,” in their names, without ever cultivating Baptist traditions or joining Baptist
church alliances such as the ABES.
In an interview, Pastor Jorge Aguirre (Dec. 29, 2009), the Director of Ministries at the
Tabernaculo Bíblico Bautista “Amigos de Israel,” made it very clear that the
Tabernaculo was not Pentecostal, but traditionally Baptist. However, the church uses
modern music and instrumentation, some lift their hands in public worship, there is a
miracle wall for people to post prayer requests and testimonies of miracles, and there
are special services called culto de los necios (services of the stubborn people) where
people pray for miracles and claim them until they receive an answer from God. Jahnel
(2008: 52) lists Brother Toby as a “Neo-Pentecostal” more than a Baptist.
In this article, I am following the distinctions of these various groups as laid out in
the Encyclopedia of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity (Burgess, 2006). Given
their theological positions, neither Elim nor the Tabernaculo clearly fall into the cate-
gories for the classic historical Pentecostal or Charismatic movements. I have labeled
Elim Independent Pentecostal because its theology and practices are very similar to
Western Pentecostalism, but it does not maintain denominational ties with any particu-
lar group, and it has developed its own theological positions which diverge from his-
toric Pentecostalism. The Tabernaculo is more complex, since it rejects any
identification with Pentecostalism, yet exhibits many similar worship practices similar
to Charismatic or Neo-Charismatic movements. The term “Neo-Charismatic” here is
being used with reference to Burgess (2006: 329), who notes, “Included [in the term
Neo-Charismatics] were 18,810 independent and indigenous churches and groups that
cannot be classified as either Pentecostal or charismatic, but share a common emphasis
on the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, Pentecostal-like experience (not Pentecostal termi-
nology), signs and wonders, and power encounters” (emphasis in the original).
336 Missiology: An International Review 41(3)
As with the Tabernaculo, Elim is also not purely Pentecostal. In an interview Mario
Vega (Jan. 11, 2010) responded when asked about their theological basis that “We are
a kind of hybrid, we are Reformed, but with elements of Pentecostalism.” He went on
to describe Elim as a mix of Pentecostalism and Calvinism which was developed over
time. Interestingly, in an interview with Jaime Peña (Jan. 7, 2010), director of the more
traditional Seminario Bautista Latinoamericano (SEBLA), he revealed that about 70%
Danielson 337
of his students come from the Tabernaculo Bíblico Bautista Amigos de Israel, even
though they are not directly connected. He also mentioned that the seminary was in the
process of signing an agreement with Elim, as that movement is becoming more
interested in theological higher education.
Social Ministries
It is also important to recognize the importance of social ministries for these growing
indigenous mega churches. In their book, Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of
Christian Social Engagement, Miller and Yamamori (2007: 5–6) set out to study
churches which met four qualifications; they were fast-growing, were located in the
developing world, had active social ministries, and were self-supporting indigenous
groups. They found that 85% of the churches meeting these criteria were Pentecostal.
They label these groups “Progressive Pentecostals.” This revelation encouraged me to
explore the social dimension in these El Salvadorian mega churches, both of which
meet Miller and Yamamori’s criteria.
The Tabernaculo Bíblico Bautista “Amigos de Israel” has a very visual presence and
strong focus on social ministries. Pastor Aguirre (Dec. 29, 2009) outlined 12 programs
which include: a children’s shelter; drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs; food pro-
grams for the elderly without family; a program for feeding the homeless called Pan y
Chocolate which feeds 2400 people every week; a medical team of 42 doctors and
dentists which serve free of charge in poor areas; a team of 72 lawyers who give free
legal advice; a ministry which teaches 125 women how to sew; literacy programs;
hospital visitation teams; an orphanage for children with Down’s Syndrome; a prison
ministry; and a special ministry to people just arrested which gives “mercy bags” with
tissues, soap, snack, and drink to help them in a crucial time and make initial contacts
before they enter the judicial system. These ministries are completely sponsored by the
church and are considered an integral part of what the church is all about.
Pastor Manuel Vasqúez (interview, Jan. 7, 2010), the head of the Elim regional
church in Sonsonate, told me about active programs Elim has for helping poor children
with emotional, physical, and spiritual problems. There are also jail ministries which
include helping set up cells in prisons and raising up leaders who can be reintegrated
by the church after they are released. When asked about social ministries in Elim,
Mario Vega (interview, Jan. 11, 2010) replied that “social ministry is the mission of the
church.” Pastor Vega indicated that their approach was frequently more informal since
it was based on the cell structure of the church. The needs of members should be taken
care of by other members of the same cell, but this involvement was considered a
crucial part of what it means to be a part of a cell. Needs that cannot be dealt with at
the cell level move up to higher levels in the church to be met.
Centrality of Evangelism
When Pastor Aguirre (interview, Dec. 29, 2009) was asked why he felt Tabernaculo
Bíblico Bautista “Amigos de Israel” was successful in El Salvador, he responded with
338 Missiology: An International Review 41(3)
reference to three things: a love of souls, a love of Israel, and social outreach. Without
a doubt, love of souls is primary. The Tabernaculo has 29 clubs of 200–300 people
who go on buses to evangelize others. They aim to talk to 5000 people a week with a
goal of reaching 400,000 for 2009. They claim to have surpassed this number and to
have presented the gospel person-to-person to at least 456,000 in 2009. The radio and
television stations are completely geared for evangelism. Programs almost always end
with prayers for salvation, and programs are aimed to present the gospel as the answer
to people’s immediate needs. Personal testimonies are often presented.
Elim also has a television station and has provided radio ministries from the start.
Radio has played an important role from the beginning of the movement to help con-
nect people to the teachings of the central church. When asked about his vision for the
church, Mario Vega (interview, Jan. 11, 2010) responded quickly: “Evangelize all the
world and transform the society.” He went on to explain that every convert would
begin a 26-week program following his or her conversion. The first lessons would
focus on the meaning of salvation, the Bible, prayer, and ultimately move into teaching
each follower about the cell system, so that each person could be a part of the ministry
of all believers. He also stressed the importance of bringing youth into the cells to
avoid the growth of gang violence in the society.
For both churches, evangelism walks hand in hand with their social ministry.
Salvadorians are highly pragmatic people, and both of these churches have helped
people off of drugs, out of gangs, and back into restored family relationships. It is this
success which continues to attract new adherents, but all of the leaders interviewed put
a greater emphasis on evangelistic outreach as the fundamental motivator behind their
social outreach.
Pastor Vega attributes the leftward tilt in evangelical voting patterns to Funes, who was not
a militant in the war and represents a more moderate left. Vega say he hopes the shift
translates into more social justice on the part of Evangelicals: “We could become the
country’s social conscience.”
Danielson 339
This move falls in line with Vega’s concerns for social ministry, and also the historical
reality that Pentecostals have typically represented the poorer social classes. This shift
to social and possibly political action is important, especially in light of Williams’s
study (1997) which linked the poor to both Pentecostalism and Catholicism, but found
the Pentecostals overwhelmingly non-political and the Catholics in favor of the politi-
cal left. It is interesting to note that Mario Vega was asked to pray at the formal inau-
guration of President Funes in July 2009, becoming the second Protestant after Brother
Toby to share this honor.
Conclusion
What we may be witnessing in El Salvador is a changing stage in the development of
the global church. Historically evangelical churches are becoming “Pentecostalized”
and this includes the growth of popular lay charismatic movements, such as Kerygma
and the Catholic Charismatic Renewal within the Roman Catholic Church (cf. Piedra,
2006; Horton, 2009). But now, traditionally Pentecostal churches are finding a grow-
ing need for organization, order in worship, and theological training for their leaders,
what Campos (1996: 92) calls “Protestantized Pentecostalism” in the Brazilian con-
text. Jaime Peña (interview, Jan. 7, 2010), the director of the Seminario Bautista
Latinoamericana (SEBLA), indicated that both the Tabernaculo Bíblico Bautista
“Amigos de Israel” and Misión Cristiana Elim were interested in the seminary. While
the Tabernaculo has a new seminary facility in San Salvador for training its leaders,
locally in Santa Ana, many with ties to the church go to SEBLA since it is less expen-
sive and easier to access. Misión Cristiana Elim appears interested in more theological
training for their leaders to help support their cell structure, and is looking to SEBLA
as a possible answer. Both indigenous independent mega churches are coming to the
seminary tied to the historical American Baptist mission work in El Salvador. Peña
made it clear to me that SEBLA retained their commitment to certain liberal ideas,
such as the belief in the ordination of women, which both the Tabernaculo and Elim
seem opposed to accepting.
Increasing concerns of social ministry are becoming major areas of ministry
among conservative Protestant groups. In El Salvador, ministry to the poor, to prison-
ers, and especially a growing need to deal with gangs and gang-related violence is on
the rise. In an editorial from January 10, 2010, Carlos Rivas (2010), the general pas-
tor of Tabernaculo de Avivamiento Internacional (TAI), wrote of a program that
brought together two prominent Roman Catholic leaders, including the Bishop of San
Salvador, Toby Jr. (the son of Brother Toby and the second senior pastor of the
Tabernaculo), and himself to work on the issue of violence in an ecumenical way.
This type of cooperation between Roman Catholics and Evangelicals in Latin
America would have been almost unthinkable a few years ago.
The impact of immigration and the increasing transnational nature of the El
Salvadorian church is opening doors for new ideas, advanced training of leaders, and
an influx of financial support, all of which allow these mega churches to maintain their
independence and indigenous nature, while still taking advantage of the opportunities
offered by the church in the Global North. In the same way, these churches are making
inroads in bringing the Salvadorian form of Christian spirituality to the United States
(Elim lists 37 US daughter churches on its website and the Tabernaculo lists eight on
their webpage). So far this is mostly limited to Salvadorian immigrant communities,
but we can expect it to continue to spread.
If El Salvador is truly an example of the future of the church in the Global South,
we may be seeing a flattening out of the growth of Pentecostalism along with a blend-
ing of theology with that of the historical missionary denominations. This blending is
creating an interesting form of indigenous Christianity which is neither clearly
Pentecostal nor clearly traditionally Protestant. Much more study needs to be done on
Danielson 341
Catholic Charismatic movements and the churches which are rapidly growing in the
Global South, especially those which are free from external denominational or finan-
cial controls. This new move will be more influenced by the historical, cultural, and
regional influences of the local context, and will not fit into our neatly constructed
theological boxes. It may also become more imperative that missions work be actively
involved in the areas of theological education in partnership with existing local institu-
tions. No matter what changes are occurring, it would be beneficial for the Global
Church to continue watching developments of these types of churches in El Salvador
and throughout the Global South.
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Author biography
Robert Danielson is a faculty associate and affiliate professor at Asbury Theological Seminary
in Wilmore, Kentucky. He has served as a missionary in the People’s Republic of China and on
several short-term missions to Central America.