This most recent episode of the NOWLeading Podcast is a story of immigration, faith, outreach, and support for young leaders. In it we hear from Rev. Ruberto Ek Yah, a bi-vocational Mayan-Latino LCMS pastor whose story is an example of the power of God answering consistent prayers for new leaders.
One thing that really sparked Ek Yah was hearing the preaching in his own language — specifically from the late Rev. Miguel Luna, who served with Lutheran Latino Ministries for many years. Ek Yah was excited to hear the preaching, the teaching, and really comprehend the gift of mercy. It was amazing to him that God changed his thinking to understand this.
“I want to preach this, I want to show this to people, I want to live through that grace,” he said. “So that was really, really moving.”
Ek Yah is proof positive that connecting with our neighbors, especially those in the Latino community, is a great way to show Jesus’ love. Without the members at Trinity Lutheran Church and LLM intentionally engaging him and his family and then later offering support, he would not be in the ministry today. Especially after the licensed lay deacon program was restructured.
“Lutheran Latino Ministries said, ‘Well what can we do now? We need pastors that speak this language, so we need to train people, we need to keep training people.’ So they invited me. I think it was Pam (Bridgehouse) that invited me… to become a pastor.” He said other people also said to him: “We see a heart for a pastorship from you. You should continue.”
So Ek Yah prayed and gave it to God.
“By myself, by my own strength, by my own money, I cannot do this. But if you’re willing, if that’s your will and you will help me, I’ll do it,” he said. “Well, now you know, I’m getting ordained next week. God did it.”
A few questions that will be answered in this episode:
- Who is Ruberto Ek Yah, and what makes his path to ministry so exciting?
- What does Lutheran Latino Ministries do?
- How can outreach to neighbors help increase the number of workers for the harvest?
- What does this mean for you and your next steps for outreach?
Listen to the full episode below.
NOW Start Network: Mayan-Latino Pastor Ruberto Ek Yah “God Raises Up Workers for His Harvest
