LatinX Learning

By Mónica Tornoé, Director of Latinx Learning

Latinos are now the largest minority group in the United States, causing some to see them as a powerful force. This is a misconception. Latino culture is not homogeneous but a complex mixture of first generation, second generation, and American born. It is a culture that still experiences oppression, particularly among those from the lower class or first generation. Their immigration status and language barrier represent hurdles to overcome.

Latinos remain the least represented group in decision making, politics, and overall leadership. Their spirituality and religiosity, interwoven in the Latino culture, serve as foundations of strength in coping with life’s struggles. Christianity has flourished within the Latino church, perhaps like in no other ethnic group, and with it, its challenges of education, training, women’s changing roles, and lack of leadership.

Once reluctant to do online education, the Latino community (local and abroad) is now forced to go online for everything, even their own education, so they have grown a new appreciation for it. This has given us the opportunity to tap into their specific needs. Through the Certificado en Ministerio (CEM), Certificate in Leadership for Hispanic Women, and Instituto de Maria y Marta (IMM) programs, we provide basic theological education online, in Spanish, for pastors, lay leaders, and potential leaders, and also work to empower women in these roles.

Jimena Ibañez represents a minority within a minority, as a woman, Latina, and immigrant from Colombia. She has overcome language, migration status, and gender barriers. She began in EBW as an IMM student, and will now be an author, instructor, and leader in the program. This is the kind of difference that we want to make: to provide not only education, but also tools, opportunities, encouragement, and long-lasting connections that continue to flourish and multiply our work beyond our walls.

– Jimena Ibañez, IMM participant and leader