C4SO is committed to more fully cooperating with the vision of racial and ethnic diversity in Revelation 7:9, so amplifying the voices of our Latina/o brothers and sisters is a step toward this Kingdom vision. Starting September 15, as part of our celebration of #HispanicHeritageMonth, we want to commemorate how Hispanic communities have influenced and contributed to American society and the Church. Join us in engaging, reading, listening and investing!

Hispanic refers to a person who is from, or a descendant of someone who is from, a Spanish-speaking country.

Latina/o refers to a person who has roots in Latin American nations, which include not only Spanish-speaking communities but also Portuguese-speaking (Brazil) as well.

ENGAGE

These are just a few of the Hispanic and Lantina/o Christian leaders making an impact in the Church today. We celebrate the ways God is using them to impact our world.

Elizabeth Conde-Frazier
The Rev. Dr. Conde-Frazier serves as the Academic Dean of Esperanza College. Prior to that, she was a professor of religious education at the Claremont School of Theology and taught Hispanic theology at the Latin American Bible Institute in California. She has also worked extensively with Latino youth ministries for adolescents, and has led workshops focusing on second generation youth in the Latino community. She has taught courses on Christian education at the Calvin Seminary Hispanic Program and has worked with the Christian Coalition for Colleges and Universities on issues of diversity. As a co-founder of the Orlando E. Costas Hispanic and Latin American Ministries Program at Andover Newton Theological School, she developed leadership training programs for clergy, lay leaders, and youth.

See Elizabeth’s 2017 Talk at a Fuller Missiology Lecture.

Alexia Salvatierra
The Rev. Dr. Alexia Salvatierra is the Academic Dean of the Centro Latino at Fuller Theological Seminary as well as the Assistant Professor of Integral Mission and Global Transformation. She speaks, trains and leads workshops in the areas of immigration, faith-rooted organizing, cross-cultural ministry and building vital holistic Christian community.

Marcos Canales
Marcos has been church planting amongst the Latina community of the greater Los Angeles area for the last 10 years. He has worked with non-profit community organizations in the areas of urban youth development, mentorship, and immigration advocacy. Currently, Marcos is the pastor of La Fuente Ministries—a bilingual, intercultural, and intergenerational ministry of Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene. A special focus of his ministry is the pastoral development of emerging Latino/a leaders. He also serves on the advisory board for the Immigration Resource Center of the San Gabriel Valley.

Tina Colon Williams
Tina is an attorney practicing immigration law, a minister and pastor’s wife who is passionate about cross-cultural community, and a musician who believes in the power of songs to change the world. She is the Worship Pastor at Elm City Vineyard and an artist at Vineyard Worship.

Listen to one of Tina’s multiethnic worship songs.

READ

A great way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month is through reading, which can strengthen our ability to understand the feelings, beliefs and experiences embedded in Hispanic culture.

Non-fiction

Fiction

Children’s Books

Thanks to the Rev. Karla Stevenson and the Rev. Dr. Shawn McCain for these book recommendations. Do you have others? Let us know.

LISTEN

These are just a few of the Church’s many talented Hispanic artists and musicians.

  • Adoremos Juntos — a bilingual song on multicultural unity written by Anglican Latino worship leaders. You may want to teach it to your church and sing it during Hispanic Heritage Month. Here are the chords.

INVEST

During Hispanic Heritage Month, we invite you to invest in a C4SO church led by the Rev. Gene Flanery: La Mision de San Lucas (The Mission of St. Luke).

The Rev. Gene Flanery leads the only Spanish-speaking Anglican church between Chicago and Dallas: La Mision de San Lucas in Kansas City, Kansas. The congregation now has representatives from four different countries: Mexico, Honduras, Cuba and the US. They are truly a multi-national congregation in the heartland of America. The church’s outreach to the community includes planting new churches in the Kansas City Metro area, teaching English classes for Spanish speakers, leading Bible studies in Spanish, hosting a summer kids’ soccer camp, and leading Vacation Bible School.

Invest Now.

We also invite you to invest in one or more of the following non-profits dedicated to raising up and resourcing Latina/o churches, leaders and students around the world.

Caminemos Juntos
A community that seeks to unify, equip and multiply Latina/o congregations throughout North, Central and South America.

Hispanic Theological Initiative
A community that cultivates Latinx PhD students across the nation by uniting and leveraging institutional resources (human, financial, and infrastructural).

Association for Hispanic Theological Education (AETH)
A network of people and institutions that works in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Latin America and the Caribbean, dedicated to the promotion and improvement of theological education and its impact on the lives of people, churches and communities.

Hispanic Summer Program (HSP)
An organization that seeks to shape the next generation of Latinx theological and academic leaders.

ReDET
A community dedicated to the theological formation of leaders for service to the Hispanic-Latina/o communities.

To participate in C4SO’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter.