Abelardo García – A Mexican Village’s Evangelical Shift

Abelardo García is an elementary teacher in Zongozotla, a small town in the highlands of Puebla state, Mexico. 

"The Bible is now in our hands. We can read it, reference it and look for explanations ourselves. In the Catholic church, the priest simply tells you what the Bible says and nothing more. That's very limited. And the sermons and songs are often the same. The evangelical church offers more variety and that's good.

We've seen a big difference in our town [with more evangelical converts]. There is much more support, and we help each other when someone's sick or if someone is in trouble. We all come together to help. Why? Because that's what the Bible says we should do.

At my school, some of the students are Catholic, others are evangelicals, and some are Jehovah's Witnesses. But they all get along. They respect each other's religions. When there is tension, it's on All Saints' Day, when the Catholics want to put an altar at school so that they can put their offerings to the dead there. The evangelicals say that's not right because the Bible prohibits that type of worship.

García was interviewed after attending a Sunday service at one of the town's several Baptist churches."