In 2022 I had the opportunity of attending AFCOE (Amazing Facts Center Of Evangelism). It was a real blessing being able to learn from experienced evangelists and Bible workers about doing evangelism. After graduation I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Guatemala with some of my classmates and some from the previous year and do a prophecy/evangelistic series. There I had my first taste of what is it like preaching a prophecy series, it was a blessing and God truly helped my classmate and I who were paired together to preach the series in our assigned church. Pastor Doug Batchelor also conducted a GYC conference, and hundreds of people came!
Two years later (2024) the Lord opened another opportunity for me to go again to Guatemala with Amazing Facts and the AFCOE graduates and do another evangelistic series at a different church. In my two visits to Guatemala doing evangelistic series, I’ve seen hundreds of SDA’s (Pastor Doug’s GYC event) and I have visited 4 churches, I have noticed a couple things about Adventist in Guatemala as it relates to Christian Adventist standards based on the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy that sadly is a striking contrast compared to some churches in the States and standards that have been lowered in many other places.
1. SDA’s in Guatemala very rarely wear jewelry (earrings, wedding rings). Now maybe someone might point out that Guatemala is a poor country and people might not be able to afford it, that argument will crumble since it’s common to see a non-SDA wear jewelry, but in the church, it is hardly worn even amongst married couples. I guess they don’t see it as something important to wear. EGW certainly didn’t see it as important calling it “useless” and referring to it as sin by saying it is a “leavening process” (1 Tim 2:9-10, 1 Pet 3:3-4, 3T 366, 4T 630, TM 180, RH March 28, 1882 par 5-10).
2. Modesty is everywhere. You are not going to find a woman showing off her legs in the church, or even hardly in public, unless you are a prostitute in the street corner. I was on my way to church to preach and we stopped at a traffic light. As I looked through the window I noticed two women standing in the street corner wearing more makeup than usual and a skirt that went up a few inches higher than the knee. I looked around and saw no other women in that area of the city dressed like that. All other women were modestly covered. I realized that the two women that dressed revealing and seductive were prostitutes soliciting. The thought quickly came to my mind, I have seen women in SDA churches dressed in almost the same fashion as these harlots! Sometimes they are even allowed in the platform to sing! Men now have to fight the temptation of lust not just in the world but in the church, in social youth/young adult gatherings, in Bible study! Interestingly In the Bible God describes a woman that reveals her legs up to her thighs and calls it nakedness and shame!
“Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground…make bare the leg, uncover the thigh…Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen” (Isaiah 47:1-3).
When a woman wears clothing (shorts, short dresses, miniskirts) that uncovers her legs up to her thighs that everyone can see especially men, God calls it nakedness and shame. In Guatemalan society (at least what I have seen) it’s hard to find a woman dressed revealing. Almost all women cover up their legs/thigh either by wearing pants or skirts below the knees. I went to the mall and it was hard to find women dressed scantily, in the U.S it is common. In Guatemala women dress in modest apparel for the house of God, I wish I could say the same for all churches in the States, but this is a standard that Adventists (church leaders & parents) have largely neglected in many of our churches for the sake of not offending.
3. Drums is a worship instrument for Pentecostals and evangelicals, not for God’s remnant SDA church. Song service in SDA churches in Guatemala (at least the ones my AFCOE group and I visited) consists of mostly hymns and a calm uplifting music. Nothing boisterous, loud, or bedlam of noise. What I am seeing is a new worship system trying to be instituted in some of our churches, it starts out small and gradually resembles more like a Sunday Pentecostal worship service. EGW warns about this.
“A new order of things has come into the ministry. There is a desire to pattern after other churches, and simplicity and humility are almost unknown” {2SM 18}
This new order of worship coming into the church from the world might bring in new people and increase membership, but just because of increasing numbers doesn’t mean success.
“If you lower the standard in order to secure popularity and an increase of numbers, and then make this increase a cause of rejoicing, you show great blindness. If numbers were evidence of success, Satan might claim the pre-eminence; for, in this world, his followers are largely in the majority. It is the degree of moral power pervading the College, that is a test of its prosperity. It is the virtue, intelligence, and piety of the people composing our churches, not their numbers, that should be a source of joy and thankfulness” {CE 42}
These are a few simple standards that SDA’s commonly upheld, not so much anymore.
I’m not saying that Adventism in Guatemala is perfect, there are issues everywhere, but worldly influences to a certain degree have been kept out of the church compared to many churches in the States and abroad. People are hungry for Bible truth. Many are tired of sugarcoated messages, but there are also many who desire it.
“The Lord desires His servants today to preach the old gospel doctrine, sorrow for sin, repentance, and confession. We want old-fashioned sermons, old-fashioned customs, old-fashioned fathers and mothers in Israel. The sinner must be labored for, perseveringly, earnestly, wisely, until he shall see that he is a transgressor of God’s law, and shall exercise repentance toward God, and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ”{2SM 19}.
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Nathanael Morel is 26 years old and was born and raised Adventist. His family is from the Dominican Republic and very close. He loves to study the Bible and preach when an opportunity comes. He attended Amazing Facts Center Of Evangelism (AFCOE) and hopes to be an evangelist and continue to share the truths found in God’s word. He enjoys the outdoors and like to bike ride and be athletic.
