By Roy S. Askins
In April, Lutherans in Magán, Spain, came together to celebrate Palm Sunday. As they met for worship and a meal in the home of a church member, the feeling was that of a family gathering. Before the service, deaconess student Betania Casniro distributed palm branches. Afterwards, as the tables were being set and the food prepared, the Rev. Isaac Machado played with 3-year-old Joaquin — Betania’s son and his godson. When the meal was ready, Joaquin recited a prayer from memory, as Machado beamed with pride.
Machado is a Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) alliance missionary and a pastor of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela (ILV). As an alliance missionary, he is called by the ILV to serve in Spain while working under the oversight and with the support of the LCMS. This small group in Magán is one of six congregations and preaching stations he serves.
Betania and her husband, who are from Venezuela, knew Machado back home. She finds great comfort in having a familiar face around: “It’s comforting to have pastors, at least for us who are migrants, … [who are our] fellow countrymen, who can bring us the Word of God, who help us, who encourage us, who guide us, who lead us spiritually,” she said.
The work of alliance missionaries is not new. At the 2023 LCMS convention in Milwaukee, delegates adopted Resolution 2-01, “To Commend, Strengthen, and Give Thanks for [the] Alliance Missionary Program.” Currently, the LCMS fully supports the financial needs of around 20 alliance missionaries and their families. The LCMS Office of International Mission is seeking ways to expand the program in Spain and around the world.
“I want to thank all the people that are supporting this alliance missionary program,” Machado said, addressing those whose financial gifts make his missionary service possible. “I pray for you all, there in the United States. If you want to come and see what the Holy Spirit and the Word of God is doing here in Spain, you are more than welcome to come and be here and with us. … And then you can see with your own eyes what your offerings and what your support are doing in Spain.”
Read a longer version of this story in the Summer 2025 edition of Lutherans Engage the World.
Posted June 6, 2025
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