Rev. Dr. Esaúl Salomón (Fort Wayne ‘82) is a pastor-missionary in the San Diego, California area and has been working in the border region with a large and fluid Hispanic population of nearly 3 million. He is married and has two children. His wife, Melissa, is an attorney who is currently the manager of the Lutheran Hour office in Tijuana, Mexico.

Originally, from Veracruz, Mexico, Salomón was taught the faith by his mother and his maternal grandfather. As an adolescent, he read of Martin Luther and later when he came to the United States to study at a graduate school, he sought out the Lutheran church. "I knew I wanted to belong to the Missouri Synod after studying its theology and seeing that I could contribute to the development of the ministry to the Hispanic community," he states.

Concordia Theologica1 Seminary, Fort Wayne, gave me the opportunity and support to undertake seminary studies. I felt welcomed and accepted on the Fort Wayne campus by my peers and professors alike. CTS equipped me with the theological education and understanding which allow me, by God’s grace, to carry out the work I am presently doing as a pastor-missionary. The studies at CTS were challenging, especially for someone who was not a native English speaker. I was encouraged by the professors who always took the time to speak with me when I sought confirmation on some point of understanding after classes. CTS continued to encourage me in recommending me for continued education in the Doctor of Ministry program, which I completed in 1990.

In the area of Hispanic ministry, the church must broaden her focus to include new models for reaching out to the Hispanic middle class. The goal is to have congregations that are self-sustaining, that will provide leadership and more pastoral candidates, and that can provide even greater social ministry to the poor of their own communities. Large and growing communities of Hispanics will be found in most urban centers of the United States over the next few decades. There will be more exposure to this community in areas not traditionally known for its immigrant populations. The Hispanic population in the United States will grow to 24% by the year 2050. Some states, like California, will move toward populations in which the Hispanic people will comprise half of the total population in the very near future. There is a great sense of urgency in meeting the growing needs of this community.

The other important issue facing the church as we reach out to Hispanic people is discerning the kind of Hispanic pastoral leadership we are going to provide for the 21^st century. We must make sure that our Hispanic pastoral candidates are afforded an education as excellent as any required of an Anglo pastoral candidate. We need to encourage, mentor and support Hispanic candidates who will undertake graduate theological studies if we intend to provide the leadership at the university, seminary and Synodical level that is necessary to participate fully in the future of the Missouri Synod.

There has been a lack of cross-cultural information and exposure among the people of our congregations. We need to make a deliberate effort to develop Hispanic leadership and expose our people to positive and visible Hispanic leaders. We must develop leaders who can teach at university and seminary positions and serve in strategic Synod positions. In this way the church at large will accept the active participation of the Hispanic and modify its identity to include the Hispanic people as a valuable element of our church.

A large obstacle alluded to before is the lack of a deliberate effort to develop a well prepared, both academically and theologically, Hispanic clergy who will provide the vision for the future in our Synod. This must be a priority for our Synod. I applaud the vision of CTS and President Wenthe who have demonstrated true commitment to meet this need for future Hispanic leadership and are actively recruiting Hispanic students for study and service within our Synod.

There are many false assumptions about the Hispanic people based on stereotypes and exposure to only one segment of the Hispanic population. There is a false assumption that Hispanic people do not like liturgy. In fact, liturgy is a point of contact for the Hispanic that comes from the Roman Catholic tradition. It is a false assumption that Hispanics do not like traditional hymnody. There are large, traditional evangelical churches in Mexico whose large choirs and church musicians produce excellent sacred music programs. Stereotypes abound. These stereotypes will be broken by exposure to an educated Hispanic clergy; Hispanic congregations that are self-supporting; and leadership that participates in Synod business, leadership and academia.

Our plan must include the recruitment and support of Hispanic students at every level. Our seminaries also have the opportunity to partner in the development of seminary programs in Latin American countries so that quality programs can be designed which preserve our strong theological tradition. The only Latin American, Spanish speaking country that has a seminary program is Argentina. Mexico has a population of 120 million, and we have property but no seminary.

From Volume 1, Issue 3, Fall 1997