The Latino Ministry Strategy
A Call for Evangelism
By Héctor Garfias-Toledo
Almost four years ago a good friend of mine, who is a foreign born pastor, told me that he could not understand why many people, including in our denomination, have to create and develop programs for evangelism. As he looked at me, he paused, and then he said, “Evangelism is a way of life; it is who we are and what we do!” Since then every time that I see publicity about evangelism courses, programs, and the like, his words resonate within me.
When I was told that the theme for this issue is “Should we evangelize?” my immediate answer to that question was, “Yes!” I believe that this is a non-negotiable part of our call as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. As my friend and colleague told me, it is a way of life. Still, as much as I believe it, I know that the word “evangelism” can mean different things for different people and different cultural settings, and that in the name of evangelism some have abused and oppressed others. Some say that Christianity was introduced to the Americas by the conquistadores, who came with a Bible in one hand and a sword in the other. However, others argue that God worked even through them to bring the Christian faith to the native people of the Americas. In that case, I ask myself, is that the reason I am a Christian Mexican?
So then, should we evangelize? If the answer is “yes,” how is it that we will be evangelizing people? This is one of the greatest challenges that we have in the church of the twenty-first century. I believe that most people will agree with me that we need to be evangelizing in our communities. But I also believe that many people wonder where they should start. J. Andrew Kirk in his book Mission under Scrutiny tells us that evangelism faces opposition because the perception of many people is that evangelism is either part of a continuing covert “crusade” or a vigorous marketing technique to entice people to join the Christian church. Also, some people are afraid that by evangelizing they will be imposing on and oppressing others’ religions or faiths, in addition to signaling that we, Christians, are superior to the other faiths.
I do not want to come across as judging and disregarding the work and ministry of many brothers and sisters in our denomination, for I know that there are many of them who faithfully practice evangelism. However, I want to be realistic about the fact that we need to do a better job in evangelizing. Several years ago a member of my former congregation told me, during our evangelism Bible study, that in sixty years of being Lutheran he “never” studied the scriptures in a way that could connect with his life. He and others discovered that they were able to be evangelists even when they were over eighty years old. Recently another colleague told me about a person who was astonished when discovering that the members of the congregation were supposed to do evangelism. The person asked, “Does that mean that we need to talk about Jesus with others?”
So, how do we evangelize in contexts like the city of Chicago and its suburbs? If there are hundreds of churches serving both the Latino and non-Latino communities, should we evangelize? What does it mean for us to joyfully bear witness to the love and power of the Lord Jesus Christ? Over the course of my ministry serving new starts and established congregations in different countries, I have discovered that congregations that thrive and grow are congregations that foster and promote intentional prayer, study of the scripture, and the integration of daily life into God’s story. In other words, interpreting the life of individuals and of the congregation through the lenses of the gospel gives the congregation the capacity to share with others the good news in a vivid and experiential way. Congregations that constantly ask the question “why are we here?” experience an ongoing renewal that leads to joyfully bearing witness.
A great challenge that we find in urban areas is that neighbors and neighborhoods have changed or are changing rapidly. New faces, new sounds, new smells, new languages are surrounding churches that once upon a time were established to serve the new immigrants from the northern European countries. At a meeting with members of a congregation I asked them what the purpose of the congregation was many years ago when the congregation started its ministry at that location. They told me that it was to serve the Lutherans that were moving into that area. Then I asked them what the purpose of their ministry is now. Their answer was basically the same despite the fact that the surrounding neighborhood today is neither Lutheran nor of European background. So the question is again: How can congregations joyfully bear witness to the love and power of the Lord Jesus Christ even when neighbors and neighborhoods have changed or are changing?
Evangelism is not a threatening word only for the Northern European members of our congregations. In the same way the Latino community is wrestling with the very same questions. The Latino community is facing a change in demographics in which the second and third generations of Latino-descent people see and experience life differently from their parents as they grow in a bi-cultural and bi-lingual context. Latino congregations that lose their purpose as evangelizing communities lose their energy and urgency to joyfully bear witness to the love and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are seeing aging Latino congregations that are losing their younger generations. And we see younger generations that although they are “spiritual,” they are not able to integrate their lives and stories with The Story — God’s Story.
The challenge and opportunity for our synod is to intentionally find ways to support one another in ministry as we join God’s mission in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod. Times have changed and we cannot pretend one day another ship will bring Northern European people to replenish members and fill the empty pews of our congregations. We cannot pretend that the Latino community will always be a new immigrant community; younger American-born, English-speaking, young professional Latinos are taking leadership positions in communities and businesses. We cannot pretend that we are a homogeneous community, whether Latino or Northern European. Nor can we pretend that we are unable to witness to one another and to those who are un-churched, de-churched, or disenchanted with the church.
In response to such challenges and opportunities, the Latino ministries leadership of the synod worked for several years to develop a strategy for Latino ministry in the synod. On June 4, 2011, at the 24th Annual Synod Assembly, the church adopted the Latino Ministry Strategy. The document is a summons to live out our baptismal call to proclaim the gospel in a spirit of mutual Christian love and mutual listening and learning. In other words, what this strategy calls for is a way of life, reminding us of who are and what we do as members of the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ. The core message of the Latino Strategy is:
God created our human community diverse and multi-cultural. In Holy Baptism, we are all called into ministry together for the sake of the Gospel and to share our unique gifts to glorify our Father in Heaven by uniting our diversity into one body of Christ. The Latino community of this synod is called to share our assets, resources, and ministerial gifts with the body of Christ, by intentionally creating a living document that addresses our multi-cultural church with the hope to create mutual support, respect, and relationship building to become one united, but diverse body of Christ.1
The strategy promotes and encourages congregations to make evangelism the driving force of ministry in congregations. It is a call to intentionally share the good news in word and deed among ourselves in a relational way. It also strives to foster a ministry of accompaniment (walking along together) by guiding the synod toward a more honest and open conversation about how we can strengthen one another as partners. In other words the strategy itself is an evangelizing resource for congregations — both Latino and non-Latino — to build relationships based on the good news of God’s reign among us.
Evangelism is put forth in this strategy in terms of the call to discipleship we share. This is a call that involves mutual accountability. In the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Mark, the Lord Jesus sent the disciples two-by-two. We could assume that Jesus sent them in pairs for several different reasons: a) to accompany each other into the villages for safety, b) to mentor each other, and c) to hold each other accountable (in case one of them wanted to give up). Maybe it is possible that the Lord did not ask them who they wanted as a partner? Did the Lord pair them up even when some of them did not get along very well? Was the sending of the twelve intended to evangelize not only the villagers but the disciples?
In addition the Lord commanded them to stay in whatever house they visited. What was the Lord hoping to happen in the house? Who was learning from whom? Was that a strategic move to help the disciples learn from and listen to others? Let’s think of the implications that these questions might have in our ministries as our towns and villages continue to change from what we once knew. How does this passage challenge us to live out our faith and to implement the Latino Strategy? As I said earlier, this is a two-way conversation.
The strategy team intentionally met with pastors and some lay leaders of Anglo congregations as one of the first steps to begin the conversation (going into the village). The input that was gathered provided a better understanding of the struggles in the Anglo community, and opened the possibility for partnership, cooperation, and mutual support. In addition, the information helped the strategy team in setting the goals of the strategy. But, if evangelism is a way of life, the conversations were not the final destination, but the beginning of an ongoing journey together.
The core values of this strategy are:
- Dialogue
- Respect
- Sharing stories within The Story — alongside, not from the “other side”
- Developing relationships marked by friendship and trust
Leonard Sweet, in his book 11: Indispensable Relationships You Can’t Be Without, tells us that while for many people the important thing is the destination and for others it is the journey itself, what really matters, in either case, is the relationships that you build along the way. Evangelism for Christians of any background, as my friend said, is who we are and what we do. And evangelism takes different forms and shapes. That is why those of us who worked to develop the Latino Strategy firmly believe that this document is a call to be living and joyful witness. Goals #3 and #4 highlight the importance of relationship and accompaniment, and accordingly the text of the Strategy calls for the development of opportunities for lay and ordained leaders, and for congregations to work together on the field side-by-side, learning from each other across cultural and ethnic backgrounds — evangelizing each other.
Again, the Latino Strategy is not a strategy only for the Latino congregations. If our synod is intentional about being a missional and evangelizing synod we cannot treat ethnic strategies as an attachment or appendix to the real stuff. Justo Gonzàlez, one of the most prominent Latin American theologians, asserts in his commentary on the Acts of the Apostles (which he calls the “Acts of the Spirit”) that the power of the Spirit is to change and transform the world by leveling up — bringing all people to the same level where no one is an attachment or appendix of anyone else. Latinos and non-Latinos both have a part to play in this. The strategy calls us to work together and join efforts, using the gifts and resources that the Lord has given without charge. Goal #5 clearly indicates that launching new Latino ministries will not be the task of the Latino community by itself but the product of intentional partnership and mutual support between the communities, making no distinction or giving higher status to one or the other. Bishop Wayne Miller in his report to the assembly reminded us that “everything that we are and everything that we have comes to us by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.”
Relationships are based on trust and friendship. Trust and friendship frees us to open up ourselves and to be vulnerable. And, in being vulnerable we are able to share our stories as part of The Story. The Story we are part of. The Story that you and I share just because that is who we are and what we do as Latino or non-Latino members of the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Notes
Latino Ministry Strategy of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod (2011), Title page.
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