How Evangelical pastors provide spiritual comfort in crisis-hit Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela — ''Can I bring my gun into the worship service?''

The question presented Venezuelan pastor Fernanda Eglé with a dilemma. Agreeing might have endangered parishioners at her evangelical church in Caracas. But what if dismissing the gang member pulled him farther from God?

''It was risky, but this was God's plan,'' Eglé said. ''He knew these people's hearts, their need for change. So I created a ‘service for criminals,' intending they would come.''

Many pastors like Eglé provide spiritual guidance in Venezuelan slums affected by crime, drug addiction and gangs. Their task has proven challenging amid the 12-year crisis that stemmed from a drop in oil prices, corruption and government mismanagement.

The economic collapse has forced millions to emigrate since Nicolás Maduro took power in 2013. And despite official claims of decreasing inflation levels in 2024, he declared an ''economic emergency'' in April, granting himself powers to implement extraordinary measures.

''Working in these communities has been difficult,'' Eglé said. ''But we need to keep up our work.''

How big is the evangelical community in Venezuela?

Reliable statistics are hard to come by since official figures have not been issued in more than a decade, but academic experts and community members contend the number of evangelicals in Venezuela has grown in recent decades, just as it has in other Latin American countries.

The region's string of social, political and economic crises is a key driver of that growth, said David Smilde, professor of sociology at Tulane University in New Orleans.

The second issue driving communities to evangelical churches might be the Catholic Church's priest shortage, which means fewer faith leaders are now serving larger groups of people, said Smilde. With less stringent rules for clergy, evangelical churches can more quickly step into that void.

As for Venezuelans, many find themselves on the margins of survival. ''This is a context in which participation in evangelical churches can provide strength, focus and a social network for mutual support,'' Smilde said.

Despite the statistical void, the U.S. State Department's 2023 report on religious freedom estimated that 96% of the Venezuelan population is Catholic — though that may not reflect the rise in evangelicals.

Sociologist Enrique Alí González estimates that the current religious affiliation would be 82%-84% Catholic and 10%-12% evangelical with other faiths accounting for the rest. He based those numbers on his own field work and data from one of the most recent demographic assessments, which was led by the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas in 2016.

A pastor's role among the people

Like Eglé, pastor José Luis Villamizar encourages Venezuelans to embrace the Gospel as a path to change course.

''We have managed to get people who used to be hitmen away from that lifestyle,'' Villamizar said.

Also based in Caracas, Villamizar founded his evangelical church at his house during the pandemic. At first he ministered from a window. As lockdown receded, he took his work to the streets.

Both he and Eglé visit elderly people and Venezuelans lacking basic care on a regular basis.

Mostly dependent on donations or their savings, they deliver food, medicines and clothing. Prayers and religious lectures are followed by recreational activities, financial workshops and barbershop days.

''We joke around, we paint the women's nails, we try everything to make life a little easier,'' Eglé said. ''To lift some of the burden of loneliness and depression.''

A welcoming church

At Eglé's sanctuary, gang members eventually agreed to leave their weapons at the entrance.

''I spoke to many of them and asked: What led you to this life?'' Eglé said. ''And when they told me their stories, I wept with them.''

Villamizar's congregation finds temporary homes for those willing to start over and embrace the Gospel. His team monitors their behavior. And like Eglé, he offers support until they find a job and regain self-reliance.

''If we don't help them get out of their situation, they'll end up in the same circumstances,'' he said.

Maduro has openly associated with evangelicals

In 2023, the president launched a program called ''My well-equipped church'' to improve evangelical churches with government funding. Some pastors accept the help. Others prefer to find their own means.

Eglé recalled a contribution that helped her acquire chairs and a house that she later turned into a sanctuary. Villamizar opted to remain fully independent.

''They have offered us help, but if the church of God gets tangled in politics, one ends up in debt,'' he said. ''I prefer Him to provide and, to this day, He has fulfilled.''

Maduro's outreach to evangelical groups has had little effect on gaining the president more supporters, said Smilde. Politicians are mistaken if they think the structure of independent evangelical churches mirror the hierarchical nature of the Catholic Church, he added.

''The possibilities for politically mobilizing evangelicals is widely misunderstood in Venezuela and consistently overestimated,'' Smilde said.

''A year ago there was a lot of concern in Venezuela about Maduro's outreach to evangelicals being a factor in the election, but it was not, despite considerable effort on his part.''

What Venezuelans find in their evangelical church

Israel Guerra was raised Catholic, but a spiritual crisis led him to become evangelical.

''I made the transition because in Catholicism I never felt supported nor that God loved me,'' said Guerra, who attends a Caracas megachurch.

He, too, has noticed the expansion of evangelical churches in Venezuela and says people find them approachable.

''More than being places listing rules to enter heaven, they're a place of refuge,'' he said. ''They are safe places for the poor and the rich alike, for former gang members and entrepreneurs.''

Not all congregations are as open or welcoming, said Génesis Díaz, born to evangelical pastors in a church requiring its members to follow strict rules. But their proliferation is nonetheless evident to her.

As a missionary and Christian content creator visiting Caracas congregations on a regular basis, Díaz said she has seen up to 20 evangelical churches in neighborhoods where a single Catholic church stands.

''Venezuela is a Christian, religious country,'' she said. ''While there are things we have forgotten and bad people are around, there is a very strong awakening towards God.''

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María Teresa Hernández reported from Mexico City.

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