Lutheran Latino Ministries Frequently Asked Questions
What is Lutheran Latino Ministries and what do they do?
Lutheran Latino Ministries (LLM) is Recognized Service Organization (RSO) of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, founded and administered by lay volunteers. We collaborate with LCMS congregations for the purpose of providing the Gospel of Christ and engaging in ministry with and among Hispanic/Latino people in the Northwest District LCMS. We encourage congregations and individuals to engage in outreach ministry with and among Hispanic Latino people. We coordinate funding received from congregations, individuals, and grants to provide Christian ministry and train leaders to serve in the church. Lutheran Latino Ministries also serves congregations in the Northwest District of the LCMS, and other parts of the US by helping them connect with resources they need to carry out ministry in their area.
As an RSO, we are authorized to extend a call to professional church workers, and, if necessary, to borrow money from the Lutheran Church Extension Fund.
Who does the work of Lutheran Latino Ministries?
Lutheran Latino Ministries provides a full-time deaconess who serves in the Portland, Woodburn, and Salem areas.
Individuals responding to the Holy Spirit may transport children to Sunday School, teach English classes, give rides to doctor or other appointments, etc. Many who engage in these activities speak no Spanish at all. A smile, a little gift, a helping hand, are often more effective than a spoken word. It is person-to-person ministry that builds God's kingdom, and that is what we encourage.
Aren't all Latinos Catholic?
Roman Catholicism is the state religion of Mexico and most Central and South American countries, so many of the people most readily identify themselves as Catholic. Many identify themselves as "Christian", meaning Pentecostal. Statistics from 2007 showed that only 2% of Hispanics in the northwest are actively involved in any church. The Lutheran emphasis on Scripture and the truth of the Gospel – salvation by grace alone - is very attractive to Latino people. Many feel at home with our Lutheran worship because of its close kinship to the catholic liturgical style. For others from a Pentecostal background, that can be a barrier.
Why don't they go to "their own church"?
Like many in the US who drift away from the church, many Latinos who come to the US or were born here have lost their church connections. So, when Latinos come to a congregation, it is because someone has befriended them or helped them to faith in Christ or to renewed faith in him. Through this befriending ministry the congregation becomes “their own church.”
Why don't Latinos learn English?
They do. The majority of Latinos living in the US are born here and speak English. Most immigrant Latinos want to learn English. However, the rigors of long days of hard, physical labor and raising a family make it difficult to attend English language classes. Nevertheless, English classes are an excellent ministry for a congregation to provide. Many have been brought into the church’s fellowship through English classes offered by the church.
Since most Latinos living in the US speak English, why not minister to them in English?
As a matter of fact, Latino ministry is provided in English. Sunday School classes, confirmation instruction, VBS, and Teen ministry with Latino children are all in English. Developing relevant ministry to English-speaking Hispanics is a challenge and a current area of focus in our strategic ministry plan.
How necessary, then, is the Spanish language for ministry Latino people?
There are two considerations.
The Spanish language serves as a bridge of communication with immigrant Latinos at a time of major transition to life in these United States and for some, to life in the Lutheran Church. Spanish is the most direct path to connecting them personally with Christ and His Word. For the immigrant, worship in Spanish is meaningful because one’s native language is the language of the heart. Ministry in the Spanish language is an accommodation to the immigrant heart until that time when he/she makes the transition to English.
Latino families may be comprised of immigrant members whose primary language is Spanish and members who were born in the US whose primary language is English and secondary language is Spanish. Within the family then, Spanish is often the primary language of communication. Because of this, ministry to the Latino family requires the use of Spanish.
Doesn’t ministry in Spanish prevent Latinos from assimilating into American life?
Not at all. The LCMS began as a German speaking immigrant church. For many, World Wars I and II motivated people to learn English quite rapidly. Others gradually made the transition to English and the American way of life. The Spanish speaking immigrants will do the same. Such a transition normally takes two to three generations.
What church do Latinos join through LLM’s ministry?
Our Hispanic/Latino brothers and sisters are welcomed into established LCMS congregations Lutheran Latino Ministries is an association of established congregations. We do not establish independent Hispanic/Latino congregations.
Is Lutheran Latino Ministries helping people who are in the country illegally?
Since Christ's Gospel is for all people, we do not require or check documentation before sharing the Gospel or showing mercy. We do, however, encourage people to become documented and when asked, we assist them in doing so as much as we are able.
The mission of Lutheran Latino Ministries can be at once a foreign mission and a domestic mission. Just as in the foreign mission field, there are people who speak a different language and have a different culture and way of life; we encounter poverty, disease, and a variety of other challenges that typically are encountered in a foreign mission, or any American neighborhood. But the mission is carried out locally among the significant number of Hispanic/Latino people who have come to this area.
Those who participate in the mission work locally experience the same benefits and blessings as those who work in foreign missions.
What is Lutheran Latino Ministries and what do they do?
Lutheran Latino Ministries (LLM) is Recognized Service Organization (RSO) of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, founded and administered by lay volunteers. We collaborate with LCMS congregations for the purpose of providing the Gospel of Christ and engaging in ministry with and among Hispanic/Latino people in the Northwest District LCMS. We encourage congregations and individuals to engage in outreach ministry with and among Hispanic Latino people. We coordinate funding received from congregations, individuals, and grants to provide Christian ministry and train leaders to serve in the church. Lutheran Latino Ministries also serves congregations in the Northwest District of the LCMS, and other parts of the US by helping them connect with resources they need to carry out ministry in their area.
As an RSO, we are authorized to extend a call to professional church workers, and, if necessary, to borrow money from the Lutheran Church Extension Fund.
Who does the work of Lutheran Latino Ministries?
Lutheran Latino Ministries provides a full-time deaconess who serves in the Portland, Woodburn, and Salem areas.
Individuals responding to the Holy Spirit may transport children to Sunday School, teach English classes, give rides to doctor or other appointments, etc. Many who engage in these activities speak no Spanish at all. A smile, a little gift, a helping hand, are often more effective than a spoken word. It is person-to-person ministry that builds God's kingdom, and that is what we encourage.
Aren't all Latinos Catholic?
Roman Catholicism is the state religion of Mexico and most Central and South American countries, so many of the people most readily identify themselves as Catholic. Many identify themselves as "Christian", meaning Pentecostal. Statistics from 2007 showed that only 2% of Hispanics in the northwest are actively involved in any church. The Lutheran emphasis on Scripture and the truth of the Gospel – salvation by grace alone - is very attractive to Latino people. Many feel at home with our Lutheran worship because of its close kinship to the catholic liturgical style. For others from a Pentecostal background, that can be a barrier.
Why don't they go to "their own church"?
Like many in the US who drift away from the church, many Latinos who come to the US or were born here have lost their church connections. So, when Latinos come to a congregation, it is because someone has befriended them or helped them to faith in Christ or to renewed faith in him. Through this befriending ministry the congregation becomes “their own church.”
Why don't Latinos learn English?
They do. The majority of Latinos living in the US are born here and speak English. Most immigrant Latinos want to learn English. However, the rigors of long days of hard, physical labor and raising a family make it difficult to attend English language classes. Nevertheless, English classes are an excellent ministry for a congregation to provide. Many have been brought into the church’s fellowship through English classes offered by the church.
Since most Latinos living in the US speak English, why not minister to them in English?
As a matter of fact, Latino ministry is provided in English. Sunday School classes, confirmation instruction, VBS, and Teen ministry with Latino children are all in English. Developing relevant ministry to English-speaking Hispanics is a challenge and a current area of focus in our strategic ministry plan.
How necessary, then, is the Spanish language for ministry Latino people?
There are two considerations.
The Spanish language serves as a bridge of communication with immigrant Latinos at a time of major transition to life in these United States and for some, to life in the Lutheran Church. Spanish is the most direct path to connecting them personally with Christ and His Word. For the immigrant, worship in Spanish is meaningful because one’s native language is the language of the heart. Ministry in the Spanish language is an accommodation to the immigrant heart until that time when he/she makes the transition to English.
Latino families may be comprised of immigrant members whose primary language is Spanish and members who were born in the US whose primary language is English and secondary language is Spanish. Within the family then, Spanish is often the primary language of communication. Because of this, ministry to the Latino family requires the use of Spanish.
Doesn’t ministry in Spanish prevent Latinos from assimilating into American life?
Not at all. The LCMS began as a German speaking immigrant church. For many, World Wars I and II motivated people to learn English quite rapidly. Others gradually made the transition to English and the American way of life. The Spanish speaking immigrants will do the same. Such a transition normally takes two to three generations.
What church do Latinos join through LLM’s ministry?
Our Hispanic/Latino brothers and sisters are welcomed into established LCMS congregations Lutheran Latino Ministries is an association of established congregations. We do not establish independent Hispanic/Latino congregations.
Is Lutheran Latino Ministries helping people who are in the country illegally?
Since Christ's Gospel is for all people, we do not require or check documentation before sharing the Gospel or showing mercy. We do, however, encourage people to become documented and when asked, we assist them in doing so as much as we are able.
The mission of Lutheran Latino Ministries can be at once a foreign mission and a domestic mission. Just as in the foreign mission field, there are people who speak a different language and have a different culture and way of life; we encounter poverty, disease, and a variety of other challenges that typically are encountered in a foreign mission, or any American neighborhood. But the mission is carried out locally among the significant number of Hispanic/Latino people who have come to this area.
Those who participate in the mission work locally experience the same benefits and blessings as those who work in foreign missions.