Ministry in Chihuahua continues to grow through the work of Rev. Misael Tovar, who serves Iglesia Luterana Gloria Dei in Chihuahua City while also shepherding the Lutheran Mission of San Esteban in the rural community of San Lorenzo.
At Gloria Dei, the congregation gathers for Sunday worship and midweek Bible study. Pastor Tovar also works in government schools and clinics, using his education and training in psychology, special education, and addiction counseling. Through this work, he has begun inviting addiction counseling clients to a biweekly Bible study that regularly draws 10 to 12 people.
“Several of them have started coming for Sunday services,” Pastor Tovar recently shared with YLM staff. “And I have a couple interested in becoming members.”
This growing ministry continues a relationship with Gloria Dei that began decades ago. With Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care’s (YLM) support, the church was built in the 1990s, with Rev. Martin Tovar serving as pastor. Following Pastor Martin’s death in 2020, his son, Misael, who was ordained by the Sínodo Luterano de México (SLM) in 1996, stepped forward to provide spiritual care for the congregation. After completing the SLM colloquy process, Pastor Tovar will be officially installed as pastor of Gloria Dei in October.
His ministry extends about an hour outside Chihuahua City to San Lorenzo, where he travels monthly to provide Word and Sacrament ministry at San Esteban. Together with his wife, Erika, and through partnerships with YLM and other nonprofit organizations in Chihuahua, he also connects families with food, supplies, and other needed resources.
Those relationships were strengthened this summer when Pastor Tovar brought 50 backpacks filled with school supplies donated through YLM to San Esteban and accompanied five of the mission’s youth to the Mexico Youth Gathering in Morelos. The experience gave the youth an opportunity to worship, study Scripture, and build relationships with Lutheran youth from across Mexico. In August, those same young people helped teach children Scripture through storytelling and art before distributing the backpacks in time for the beginning of school.
Pastor Tovar’s ministry demonstrates what becomes possible when a pastor is present to consistently shepherd a congregation and serve its community. From worship and Bible study to counseling, outreach, youth ministry, and caring for families, relationships are being built and new opportunities are opening to connect people with the Church and the Gospel.
This is the work YLM is committed to sustaining through Build Up in Love. The campaign provides financial support for pastors serving YLM partner congregations and missions in Mexico, where pastors receive approximately $750 per month through the SLM. Supporting these pastors helps provide for their families while allowing them to remain committed to the people and communities they have been called to serve.
We invite you to become part of what God is doing through these pastors. Prayerfully consider making a gift to Build Up in Love and help us reach our goal by October 31. Your support helps ensure pastors like Rev. Misael Tovar can continue bringing Word and Sacrament, developing relationships, strengthening congregations, and carrying the Gospel into communities throughout northern Mexico.
