Mission and Ministry work in Latin America & the Caribbean
Concordia the Reformer Seminary and Mercy Center (CMSCR) in the Dominican Republic, opened its doors in 2017, paving the way for an influx of new Lutheran pastors for Latin America. The institution, noted for its rigorous coursework and practical, church-planting emphasis, draws students from countries across Latin America.
These future pastors have left homes, families and livelihoods behind for the sake of the holy ministry.
Four church-planting pastors and a vicar work with an energetic young missionary team to grow current congregations in Mayagüez, Ponce and San Juan. In Mayagüez and Ponce, each congregation operates a mercy house where members and missionaries do extensive community outreach. In 2022, the mercy houses installed solar panels to meet the need for consistent electricity during regular power outages.
The Lutheran Mission of Peru, established in 2010, is the umbrella organization for church planting in the country. The mission is served by a seasoned Alliance Missionary Pastor from Brazil and a Peruvian pastor. Together, they serve three growing church plants in Los Olivos, La Victoria, and San Borja, as well as a preaching station.
LCMS mission work in Panama began with service to military personnel during the Canal Zone era, as early as 1941. The ministry expanded and led to the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Panama (IELPA).
Mexico City’s Martin Luther Institute works with North American missionaries and Concordia the Reformer Seminary to form pastors and deaconesses. The Mexican pastorate, which previously numbered three, has more than tripled since the opening of the Dominican seminary, with ten ordained men. Twelve more are in the pastoral formation pipeline. In addition, thirty new deaconess graduates bring the total number of current church workers to 40. Twenty more are studying.
The Luther Academy mission statement is as follows: Luther Academy promotes genuine, confessional Lutheran theology and research through conferences, scholarly exchanges, and publications that assist the Church both to preserve and to proclaim to the world the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the only saving faith.
Lutheran Hour Ministries radio contacts in the 1990s helped begin LCMS efforts in Jamaica. Alliance Missionary Pastor Obot Ite, from Nigeria, has faithfully served the missions since 2007.
Born of the Lutheran Church of Canada’s mission in Nicaragua, LCMS and Nicaraguan missionaries ventured into Honduras 20 years ago and began evangelism efforts in Southern and Central Honduras. Congregations in the U.S. began to support and visit the missions and formed a FORO to coordinate the mission efforts.
Rev. Obot Ite is a church planter in Jamaica and is the longest-serving Alliance Missionary on the LCMS mission field. He grew up with a missionary pastor, later received his theological education, and became a pastor in the Lutheran Church of Nigeria (LCN). Since Jamaica has a substantial population with African heritage, partnering with the Lutheran Church of Nigeria (LCN) to call Rev. Ite to Jamaica in October 2007 as an Alliance Missionary pastor was logical and has borne much fruit.
The rapidly growing Dominican Republic Lutheran Mission (DRLM) is the hub for mission work in the Latin America & Caribbean region (LAC).
Church plants in the country’s two largest cities are moving toward self-sufficiency as they identify leaders, reach out to local and immigrant communities, and sow daughter preaching stations.
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