Adelante Ministries Receives LWML Grant
Through the support and hard work of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) of Zion Lutheran Church in El Paso, Texas, a grant was submitted and approved for the purpose of funding music outreach, education, and resource development through Ysleta Lutheran Mission’s (YLM) Adelante Ministries.
With these generous funds, YLM’s music ministry can grow as a fruitful form of outreach for the purpose of changing lives through music education and resource development for other churches and church-work colleges seeking to add music ministry to their outreach efforts.
“We’ll be able to have dedicated classrooms, offer instruments for students with limited resources, and add to the resource materials we currently have available to churches,” Miguel Muñoz, Director of Mariachi San Pablo and Assistant Director of the Adelante Ministries at YLM, stated as he shared what areas of YLM’s music ministry will be greatly impacted by this grant.
Through the years, the Adelante Ministries has evolved, however, due to lack of space and funds, it’s been limited for some years.
The current plan is to re-assign existing buildings and renovate them for the purpose of the music ministry -classrooms equipped for music instruction, a piano lab, secure storage for instruments and sound equipment, perhaps even a recording studio.
“We’re dreaming big,” Miguel laughed as he picked up the grant acceptance letter, “Thanks to this grant, we can now take steps to make those dreams happen.”
As an outreach tool, music works on all generations and cultures for one simple reason. “People love music,” Rev. Stephen Heimer, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church and member of the Mariachi San Pablo, explained when asked why music, “The words, the rhythm, the style -it speaks to the heart in a way simple words sometimes can’t.”
“My daughter Mia enjoys learning to play the guitarron; she had the opportunity to play with Mariachi San Pablo at Zion for Christmas. There’s no way I could afford private lessons for her,” Lizette Barrientos, a volunteer music instructor and member of Mariachi San Pablo, shared while Mia, a beautiful eleven-year-old girl, practiced guitarron along with two guitar students in the office next door, “The Adelante Ministries here at YLM gives ten lessons for $30. That’s $3 per lesson! The way I see it, $30 for 10 lessons is more than just affordable, especially when I see the smile on Mia’s face as she masters her instrument of choice.”
While music education is the current focus, it is just the beginning step to a bigger picture. “We’ll start by growing the education area of the music ministry,” Miguel shared as a brief outline for the use of the grant was reviewed, “From there, we can grow everything else -after all, we need students to grow into accomplished musicians who will learn to become servant leaders within and outside of the church.”
The mission of the Adelante Ministries at YLM is to cultivate musical ability and Christian leadership, reach out to others in love and with God’s saving gospel, and unite communities, families, generations, and races in celebration and worship.
“We are about changing lives through acts of kindness,” Rev. Dr. Karl Heimer narrowed everything down to YLM’s mission statement, “That’s what we do here at YLM, and lives are changed through music. So we want to continue our music ministry to bring the Good News to many people -in our community, city, state, country -to the ends of the world, if possible, but first, we start here. In our own home, our own church.”
