A new website at lcms.org/espanol offers a number of resources for Hispanic ministry, including links to 71 LCMS congregations nationwide that offer worship services in Spanish.
Also available at the site are links to a number of Spanish resources from three St. Louis-based entities: the Center for Hispanic Studies at Concordia Seminary; Concordia Publishing House; and Lutheran Hour Ministries. Those resources include Bibles, Bible studies, books, articles, and audio and video programs.
The Rev. Dr. Carlos Hernandez, director of Church and Community Engagement with the Synod’s Office of National Mission, acknowledged that the website is still being developed but said it is “absolutely” his hope that it might bring more Hispanic/Latino people to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
Fewer than 10,000 of the Synod’s 2.3 million baptized members speak Spanish as their “first language,” according to Hernandez.
The new website “has a lot of potential,” he told Reporter, “especially if it includes practical information to assist people in their day-to-day lives.”
Updated Aug. 14, 2013
There may be fewer than 10,000 of the Synod’s 2.3 million baptized members who speak Spanish as their “first language” but I believe that if the word could get out to the Spanish speaking countries in which the LCMS has missionaries and/or partnerships, we could honestly say that there are far more people who will benefit from this than what are located in the US.
How many Lutherans are there in the Spanish speaking world around the globe?