Hispanic Heritage Month is from September 15 through October 15. The NC Conference Media Center has books, DVDs, and curricula for use in Hispanic/Latinx Ministries, including resources in Spanish. We also have resources to help English-speaking congregations learn about Hispanic/Latinx culture and social issues and engage in outreach to the Hispanic/Latinx community.
In this post, we recommend:
- Books on Discipleship (Spanish)
- Books for Church Leadership (Spanish)
- Resources for Ministry with the Hispanic/Latinx Community (English)
- Books and DVDs on Hispanic/Latinx Culture & Social Issues (Spanish and English)
- Youth & Children’s Resources (Spanish and English)
These resources may be borrowed through the mail by anyone involved with a United Methodist Church in the North Carolina Conference. All you need to do is fill out the Resource Request Form.
You can find a complete list of these resources and more on our Hispanic/Latinx Ministry Pathfinder.
Libros en Español para el Discipulado
Cinco Marcas de un Metodista: El Fruto de una Fe Viva por Steve Harper. Cinco marcas de un metodista confirman nuestra identidad como genuinos y fructíferos seguidores de Cristo. Este breve libro esta diseñado para ser compartido con otras personas, ofrece una meditaciones sobre cada una de estas diferentes características.
La Evangelización Transformadora: La Manera Wesleyana de Compartir la Fe por Henry H. Knight, III y F. Douglas Powe, Jr. La explicación de Knight y Powe sobre la evangelización está impregnada de la tradición wesleyana y expone cómo el amor y la gracia de Dios llegan a cada uno de nosotros tal como los recibimos una vez, a través del don de la proclamación. Como cristianos, no debemos conservar el don que recibimos a través de la evangelización; debemos vivir lo que aprendemos en comunidad y estudio, invitando a otros a esta gracia.
Doctrina Metodista: Los Fundamentos por Ted A. Campbell. Este es un libro conciso y sencillo, Ted Campbell nos da un breve resumen de las doctrinas más importantes que la familia de denominaciones Wesleyanas comparten.
El Significado de la Santa Comunión en la Iglesia Metodista Unida por E. Byron Anderson. Este librillo de fácil uso provee una introducción sobre la interpretación de la Iglesia Metodista Unida y el entendimiento de la Santa Comunión.
Introducción a la Vida y Teología de Juan Wesley por Hugo Magallanes. En este libro, de una manera muy simple pero profunda, el Dr. Magallanes nos ofrece los rasgos más básicos del contexto socio-religioso en el que Wesley vivió en la Inglaterra del siglo XVIII.
Tres Meses en la Escuela de Juan: Estudios Sobre el Evangelio de Juan por Justo L. Gonzalez. Este libro consta de trece estudios bíblicos detallados. El lenguaje es simple con un mensaje profundo para los lectores.
Rezando en Colores: Dibujando un Camino Nuevo hacia Dios por Sybil MacBeth. Dibujar es la mitad de la oración, la otra mitad es llevar las imágenes contigo para orar durante todo el día.
Libros en Español para el Liderazgo de la Iglesia
Fiesta Jubilosa: Recursos bilingües para la Adoración por Raquel Mora Martínez, Editora General. Fiesta Jubilosa incluye 87 cantos y 59 oraciones y letanías y está disponible en ediciones para asamblea y para acompañamiento. Este nuevo recurso de adoración bilingüe fur desarrollado bajo la dirección de la Editora General, Dra. Raquel Mora Martínez, e incluye textos, música original y arreglos musicales de 91 colaboradores para la adoración bilingüe.
Fiesta Cristiana: Recursos para la Adoración por Joel Martinez y Raquel Martinez. Fiesta Cristiana es una colección bilingüe de servicios de adoración que se puede utilizar con congregaciones hispanas. Fiesta Cristiana no solo contiene servicios de adoración tradicionales, sino que también presenta servicios especiales para la cultura hispana.
La Planificación Eficaz de la Educación Cristiana: Enfoque Bíblico y Pastoral del Ministerio Educativo de la Iglesia por Fernando A. Cascante. Este libro constituye una herramienta indispensable para cualquier pastor y laico que se dedica a la tarea docente en la iglesia.
Boga mar Adentro: La Renovación Congregacional para un Discipulado De Transformación por Dan Glover y Claudia Lavy. Los autores comparan seis etapas del desarrollo espiritual con la playa y el océano, las cuales son ilustradas con las enseñanzas y el proceso de hacer discípulos/as de Jesucristo.
Santuarios Seguros: Prevención̤ del Abuso Infantil y Juvenil en la Iglesia por Joy Thornburg Melton. Esta traducción es una combinación de los libros Safe Sanctuaries® y Safe Sanctuaries® for Youth. El recurso está diseñado para líderes en congregaciones y comunidades de fe de habla hispana: pastores(as), misioneros(as) laicos(as), personas laicas, maestros(as) de educación cristiana, maestros(as) de la escuela dominical, y directores de ministerios ofrecidos durante la semana.
English Resources for Ministry with the Hispanic/Latinx Community
When Christ Lives in Us / Cuando Cristo Vive en Nosotros by Justo L. González. When Christ Lives in Us, written in both English and Spanish by the renowned author Justo L. González, explores how today’s Christians may walk with Jesus in eight specific forms and acts of ministry: calling, praying, feeding, healing, commissioning, teaching, witnessing, and giving. This bilingual resource is a combined student/leader book that includes discussion questions at the end of every chapter.
Who is My Neighbor? = ¿Quién es Mi Vecino? : Learning Spanish as Church Hospitality by Joyce Carrasco, Ruth Cassel Hoffman, and Ngoc-Diep Nguyen. Who Is My Neighbor? is a field-tested resource through which English speakers of any church and congregation can learn basic Spanish-speaking skills to be able to communicate and provide a welcoming atmosphere to the Hispanic communities surrounding them.
Viral Multiplication in Hispanic Churches: How to Plant and Multiply Disciple-Making Hispanic Churches in Twenty-First-Century America by Iosmar Álvarez. Reverend Iosmar Álvarez created this book to teach church planting leaders how to plant new, healthy, vital, and vibrant churches with multiplication DNA. Using scripture-grounded values, principles, and the author’s own testimony, this book will help reach both new and diverse Hispanic/Latino people, as well as other cultures and contexts.
Pentecost Journey: A Planning Guide for Non-Hispanic/Latino Congregations by Marigene Chamberlain and Melanie Lee Carey. This resource is intended to help congregations, districts, and conferences fulfill Christ’s mandate to make disciples, with a particular focus on helping local churches understand issues related to developing a ministry with Hispanics/Latinos.
A Future for the Latino Church: Models for Multilingual, Multigenerational Hispanic Congregations by Daniel A. Rodriguez. Through careful study of dozens of cutting-edge Latino churches across the country, Rodriguez describes how innovative congregations are ministering creatively to the next generations of Latinos. In-depth case studies reveal how gifted leaders are reaching beyond their own demographics to have lasting impact on their wider communities.
Books on Hispanic/Latinx Culture & Social Issues
The People Called Metodista: Renewing Doctrine, Worship, and Mission from the Margins by Edgardo Colón-Emeric. Church renewal burns with fiery passion among the LatinX pueblos and barrios, and this energy in Latin America can be harnessed to reform doctrine, worship, and the core purpose of Methodists. In true Wesleyan spirit, this renewal does not confine itself to Methodism, but the people called metodistas share in the movement’s fundamental calling to reform the church universal in its mission to the world.
Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity by Robert Chao Romero. Romero explores the history and theology of what he terms the “Brown Church.” He considers how this movement has responded to injustices throughout its history by appealing to the belief that God’s vision for redemption includes not only heavenly promises but also the transformation of every aspect of our lives and the world.
Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate by Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang. World Relief immigration experts Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang move beyond the rhetoric to offer a Christian response to immigration. With careful historical understanding and thoughtful policy analysis, they debunk myths and misconceptions about immigration and show the limitations of the current immigration system.
The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong by Karen González. Immigration advocate Karen González recounts her family’s migration from the instability of Guatemala to making a new life in Los Angeles and the suburbs of south Florida. Here, too, is the sweeping epic of immigrants and refugees in Scripture. Abraham, Hagar, Joseph, Ruth: these intrepid heroes of the faith cross borders and seek refuge.
La Inmigración y la Biblia: Guía para una Bienvenida Radical by Joan M. Maruskin. This study explores the biblical and theological understandings of immigration, immigrants and migration. Participants examine what it is to be a sojourner and to live into the biblical mandate of hospitality for the strangers and aliens in our midst. Spanish and English versions of this book are available.
América Latina: La Gente y la Fe by Sonia Maria Barbosa Dias. This study examines the history of the region from pre-Colombian times until colonization and the struggle for independence. It also explores the current challenges of the nations, along with their rich art, culture, and the ongoing contributions of women. This study is available in Spanish and English versions, along with an accompanying DVD. Versions for youth and children are also available.
Documentaries
The Guestworker. The Guestworker tells the story of Don Candelario Gonzalez Moreno, a 66-year old Mexican farmer who has been coming to the U.S. since the 1960s as a farm laborer. He says he still wants to work harder than all the others as he did when he was a younger man, but now knows he just cant. Yet he is asked back, year after year, because of his commitment to hard work, his good attitude, and his long-term service to Wester Farms in North Carolina. This DVD includes subtitles in English and Spanish.
Dying to Live: A Migrant’s Journey. Dying to Live is a profound look at the human face of the immigrant. It explores who these people are, why they leave their homes, and what they face in their journey. It is a reflection on the human struggle for a more dignified life and the search to find God in the midst of that struggle. Spanish subtitles available.
The Stranger: Immigrants, Scripture and the American Dream. By highlighting biblical teaching related to immigrants, sharing compelling stories of immigrants who are also evangelical Christians, and addressing some common economic and political misconceptions, The Stranger seeks to mobilize evangelical Christians to respond to immigrants and to immigration policy in ways that are consistent with biblical principles.
Gospel Without Borders. Gospel Without Borders separates myth from fact, examines what the Bible says about the treatment of the “stranger,” shows the experiences of documented and undocumented immigrants, and provides handles for Christians to advance the common good. The documentary highlights stories in five states: Arizona, Arkansas, North Carolina, Alabama, and Iowa.
One Border, One Body: Immigration & the Eucharist. In the dry, rugged, and sun-scorched terrain where many immigrants lose their lives, bishops, priests, and lay people come together each year to celebrate the Eucharist. Like other liturgies, they pray and worship together. Unlike other liturgies, a sixteen-foot iron fence divides this community in half, with one side in Mexico and the other in the United States.
A Class Apart: A Mexican American Civil Rights Story. This American Experience film tells the little-known story of an underdog band of Mexican American lawyers who took the case, Hernandez v. Texas, all the way to the Supreme Court, where they challenged Jim Crow-style discrimination against Mexican Americans. In the landmark legal case, lawyers forged a daring legal strategy, arguing that Mexican Americans were “a class apart” and did not neatly fit into a legal structure that recognized only blacks and whites.
Youth & Children’s Resources
Our collection also includes picture books that are in English and Spanish on the same page, and several of our animated children’s DVDs include captions or language tracks in Spanish.
Understanding & Relating to Latino/a Youth: A Toolkit for Bilingual and Intergenerational Conversations by Marcos Canales, Jennifer Guerra Aldana, Daisy Rosales, and Brad Griffin; Translation by Ronald Guerra and Rosa Ramirez. This comprehensive 43-page guide is the perfect handbook for any adult looking for a starting point in conversations with today’s Latina/o youth. The handbook is translated in English and Spanish. It includes an overview of the reality Latina/o youth face, fundamental principles of conversation, plus 30+ questions and ideas for next steps.
Zona Bíblica. Zona Bíblica es un programa lleno de diversión, que puede utilizarse durante la Escuela Dominical o durante la semana. Cada trimestre contiene materiales dirigidos a tres grupos de edades: Pre-escolar (de 3 a 5), primarios menores (de 6 a 8) y primarios mayores (de 9 a 11). Zona Bíblica es un currículo innovador con el que los niños y niñas se divertirán, conocerán la Biblia íntimamente y desarrollarán su amor por las Escrituras.
Cosas para Hacer y Crear en Cuaresma y Pascua por Martha Bettis Gee. Cuaresma: Miercoles de Cenizia, Recordamos a Jesus, Domingo de Ramos, Semana Santa: Jueves Santo, Viernes Santo, Domingo de Resurreccion: Simbolos de Pascua, Cosas para hacer: Actividades por edades. An English version is also available.
Luis y Mia / Mia and Luis by Mónica Reyna y L.J. Zimmerman. This flip-over book tells the story of a cross-cultural friendship from each child’s perspective. Luis is the child of Mexican immigrants, and Mia is a white American child. Their story begins when Mia makes a culturally insensitive remark to Luis. Prayer and thoughtful conversations with family help Luis and Mia move past this rocky start and develop a lasting friendship. For ages 6-9. Both stories are in English and Spanish.
Miracle of the Poinsettia / Milagro de la Flor de Nochebuena by Brian Cavanaugh and Carmen Lopez-Platek. Maria wanted to make a very special gift for the Christ Child. A retelling of the traditional Mexican folktale of the origin of the Poinsettia.
Additional Resources
For a complete list of our resources for Hispanic/Latinx Ministries, view our Hispanic/Latinx Ministry pathfinder.
You can also try searching our online catalog for “Spanish” to discover 140+ resources that use the Spanish language.
Online Resources
The Pentecost Challenge: Liturgical Resources for the Church to Decenter and Dismantle Whiteness, Colonialism, and Patriarchy in Christian Worship. Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church has published The Pentecost Challenge. It is a digital platform that provides a library of liturgical resources and worship for the whole church that pulls from the Latinx reality and the experience of multicultural/bicultural, cross-racial/cross-cultural ministry and settings. This resource is Christ-centered, emerging, contextual, relevant, and centered in liberation theology and social justice to enhance the worship experience of multicultural, bilingual/bicultural worship experiences but also congregations that are striving to be more inclusive in their public worship witness as the body of Christ.
National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministries. This initiative from The United Methodist Church offers a curriculum for leadership development along with additional booklets In English and Spanish, including “Know Your Rights.”
The General Commission on Religion and Race offers this infographic for Hispanic Heritage Month.
Request These Resources
These resources can be borrowed for free by anyone involved with a United Methodist Church in the North Carolina Conference. We will mail them to your home! All you need to do is fill out the Resource Request Form.
Featured image by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications