How a Bilingual Church in La Paz Operates

When we started Destino Cristiano nearly 5 years ago, we didn’t know that it would organically evolve into a bilingual church. Like everything that has happened at our nondenominational church in La Paz, God has worked out the logistics of having a bilingual church in Mexico. At our first service in our downtown location, there were 5 Americans, so we had an English only church service.

But not long after, a Mexican family joined us. And while the mother (Esperanza) and 2 daughters didn’t speak a word of English, the teenage son could speak enough to help us all have a conversation. And when asked why she was coming to our church when she couldn’t speak English, Esperanza said that she felt the Holy Spirit was there, and that was good enough for her.  This family attended our church for 1.5 years before her husband, a marine, got sent to the mainland. Meanwhile, more Mexicans came, and after a while, a translator arrived. And the rest is history.

Today, Destino Cristiano is a bilingual church whose pastor is American (learning Spanish as she goes) and whose leadership is mostly made up of Mexicans, but with an American couple helping things to operate. And while there are many bilingual members at Destino Cristiano Christian Church in La Paz, there are also people who can’t speak a second language. But the beautiful thing about the family of God is that love is a universal language. And we have become a blended family!

Here’s how our bilingual church operates:

The music: We have one English song and 3 Spanish songs during worship. We usually learn both the English and Spanish versions.

The preaching:  The pastor speaks in English and has a Spanish translator. There are sometimes guest speakers whose first language is Spanish. In that case, the sermon is translated into English.

The fellowship:  It’s all about assimilation at Destino Cristiano. The Americans and Canadians who are members and visitors want the cultural experience of participating in a bilingual, bicultural church.

 

Destino Cristiano – Making Jesus famous in the city of La Paz.

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