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Sub-commander Mateo of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia knew that a good guerrilla obeys orders, so when his cadre arrived at the evangelical church, he did as told: he set fire to the building.

The 1999 attack took place about 7:30 p.m., in the dark, in Toches, a village so small it doesn't appear on most maps of the tiny Colombian state of Quindío. About 50 worshipers were meeting inside for a midweek service.

Mateo fired warning shots in the air to give the Christians a chance to flee to safety. His superior scolded him. The guerrillas then poured gasoline around the church and ignited it. When the church erupted in flames, the 50 worshipers rushed outside.

The pastor confronted the attackers. Guerrillas shot him and two church members, killing all three.

Two years ago, Mateo's crimes landed him in prison. Mateo is not his real name. Revealing his true identity and location would endanger his life. Prison is the best thing that ever happened to the former guerrilla fighter.

In early 2003, Mateo, now 24, accepted Christ through prisoners who themselves had become Christians while incarcerated in Medellín's Bellavista Prison. Bellavista has become a pulpit for all of Colombia, as prisoners who meet God there are transferred to other penitentiaries to plant churches behind bars.

Like thousands of other guerrilla fighters in war-torn Colombia, Mateo was born into a poor peasant family that eked out its living working coffee and plantain plantations. The rebel recruiter that called on teen-aged Mateo seven years ago was his older brother, who had spent 22 years in the guerrilla ranks.

Mateo eagerly received the message that taking over Colombia's government and imposing communism would solve all the woes that he, his family and other impoverished Colombians suffered. He believed rebel leaders who told him they were fighting for true democracy in Colombia. They intended to confiscate the riches of the wealthy and redistribute them to those in need. No one would ever again suffer lack.

Perhaps the biggest incentive to join the rebel army was the promise of 100,000 pesos ($100) a week -- more money than Mateo had ever dreamed of earning. He became a guerrilla.

Mateo enjoyed his first year as a fighter. Revolutionary educators taught him to read and write. He lived in the "demilitarized zone," territory that former President Andrés Pastrana conceded to the rebels in 1998 as an incentive to join peace talks. After peace talks broke down in February 2002, Pastrana sent commandos to retake the zone.

Rebel leaders called on Mateo to rob, kill and kidnap. Once he killed a 14-year-old boy to steal his plantains. He killed people accused of being allied with enemy paramilitaries. Other victims -- including children as young as five -- he killed for no reason at all. Once he massacred a family. "After that, I couldn't sleep," he said.

Then came the church attack. An informant had said the church was full of paramilitaries and that congregational members were storing weapons.

"It was a lie," Mateo said. "They did it for pure pleasure, no other reason."

Mateo's reward for carrying out the attack was $200. He said that at the time, he was proud of what he had done.

Then his crimes caught up with him. He was captured in 2002, charged with rebellion, kidnapping, extortion and cocaine growing. His sentence was 19 years and 10 months. A few months after being imprisoned, he began seeking God through a small Christian community. In February 2003 he accepted Christ.

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February (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48