Go to any large US city—or small town in the Midwest, even—and you probably won't have to look hard to find Latino immigrants speaking their native language. Whether they've immigrated from the northern reaches of the Texas-Mexico border or southern-most tip of Cape Horn, or the various Caribbean islands, many Latinos have brought with them an important piece of home: their faith. And, naturally, to find a church community that speaks their language—in every sense of the word—becomes a question of prime importance.
The Boston area is home to one of the larger Latino immigrant populations in the US. It counts more than 75 churches for Spanish-speaking people. One such church is Congregación León de Judá (Congregation Lion of Judah), located on the South End/Roxbury line—two historic neighborhoods within Boston proper. What makes this Latino church unique is the diverse composition of ethnicities within the already ethnic church. In general, the cultural makeup in Latino churches tends to reflect one or two countries of origin. Congregación León de Judá, however, has members who come from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, and the list goes on.
In this church of Latino diversity, one of the few members outside the ethnic circle is, perhaps somewhat ironically, the associate pastor, Gregory Bishop. As an outsider of sorts, at least culturally speaking, Rev. Bishop is able to step back and observe what makes the congregation successful—what makes it click as a church that engages in spiritually transforming individuals, and then, in turn, the community.
