The Latino Challenge for Global Mission
By Rachel
Posted in: Activate
Latin American missiologist Dr. Samuel Escobar, in a recent conference given at the Spanish Baptist Seminary in Madrid, Spain, spoke of several aspects of doing missions in today’s “post-modern” context of globalization. Referring to the growing proportion of today’s missionaries coming from the Southern Hemisphere, Dr. Escobar mentioned “formal” and “informal” dimensions of the church’s efforts to fulfill its mission calling, both being of vital importance in God’s economy. I thought of Latin American friends in both those categories: some here in Spain as missionaries sponsored by their home church or other mission-sending agency; and other Latin friends whose arrival in Spain was not “in response to God’s call,” but representative of their particular struggle for survival, yet because of their faith (either brought from their homeland, or acquired during a time of adaptation in their new country), they were also fulfilling a missionary calling! We need the “big picture” from God’s point of view to understand how the “formal” and “informal” dimensions of missions complement each other and help advance the Gospel.
Surely this was the case even in the early church! The book of Acts tells us that the early believers did not cease to teach and proclaim the Good News “in the temple courts and from house to house” (Acts 5:42): two spheres of influence and activity, equally important. As my wife Susie and I have grown in our missionary service here in Spain over the past nineteen years, it has been a fascinating process to watch as God has “filled out” those two dimensions in countless ways. The “formal” dimension has included missionary colleagues who have come and gone through the years, from many different backgrounds, countries, and mission groups. We have worked more closely with some than others, but learned to appreciate each one for the gifts they brought to the task of evangelizing Spain. Then in the late 1990’s, we were amazed to see the immigrant population in Madrid begin to explode; it went from 3% of the city’s population in 1999, to 10% in 2005, to 16% in 2007. The largest group among these immigrants was Latin American, and they were literally showing up “on our doorstep.” We decided that God must be trying to get our attention; surely He was moving us to work in that area!
So we began to “gather” them – Catholics, Evangelicals, and unaffiliated, professing Christians and unbelievers – not in “church” per se, but in informal settings. We came together for fellowship and food, football (soccer) and fun; they were hungry for a sense of belonging and hungry to be appreciated for who they were, hungry for “soul nourishment.” So we “nourished” them with encouraging parables from the Word, with joyful songs of praise to our Maker, and with prayers for their well-being and for their families. God did the rest and showed us that in this group was to be found the “informal” dimension of His greater mission to Spain! Many of them caught the vision and began to share “the encouraging Word” with others. Latin Americans now constitute a major component in most of our evangelical churches all over Spain; some congregations have literally been revived and revitalized by the presence of Latins!
But the increasing numbers of Latins in Spain include not only “economic refugees” (the informal dimension), but also more and more Latin missionaries (the formal dimension) sent to work both among the immigrants and among North Africans [Muslims]. The physical similarities often allow Latins to “mix” with North Africans much more “unnoticed” than typical Anglo-Saxons can do, and thereby establish relationships more readily, without the same cultural barriers. Now, to our joy, we’re also seeing more and more Latins participating in “short-term missions,” volunteers coming over from Latin congregations to share their gifts and witness for Christ. It’s definitely a new day in Spain, missiologically speaking! Our prayer for many years has been that the Lord of the harvest would send forth more workers, but we never imagined how He would do it or what those workers might look like. Yet the way we’re now seeing this prayer answered speaks mightily about God’s sovereignty and continuing passion for “all the peoples” of the world to come to know the Savior. And evidently, Latins are being called to have a larger and larger role in the church’s fulfillment of that Great Commission – both formally and informally!
by David Dixon
Missionary to Madrid, Spain
Immanuel Baptist Church, Madrid
