A pastor from Argentina began visiting two Lutheran groups in Montevideo in 1936. This work bore fruit with the formation of a congregation in 1947, San Pablo Lutheran Church. San Pablo Church still serves as the national mother church with mission work extending out to other parts of the country.  The Office of International Mission of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has two missionaries in Uruguay, working as part of a team with the national church. The Montevideo City Center Mission doubles as a mercy and outreach center. It has a clothing bank, holds enrichment courses for the community, and serves as a distribution center for food and other needs of the poor. The San Pablo school campus includes both new and historic buildings and is valued by the local community. Work in the northern Uruguayan department of Paysandú has resulted in a new congregation, who purchased land and has begun construction of a worship and outreach center in the town of Chapicuy.