Literature: Gina Welch In the Land of Believers

Salvation, baptism, church attendance, evangelizing – what’s the real story behind the Evangelical Christian movement? Gina Welch goes undercover to find out.

By Julie LaPorte

Gina Welch. Photo by Heather Tanton.

On a recent cold and blustery day, Gina Welch met me at Dean & Deluca in Georgetown to talk about her first book. In the Land of Believers is about the two years she spent undercover at Jerry Falwell’s church Thomas Road Baptist Church, trying to understand Evangelical Christians. Her book, released this month, is an amazing narrative journey into the heart of the Evangelical movement and of the lessons she learned while she was there.