The Beginnings
The Lutheran Church first came to Guatemala with German immigrants in the 1800's. The number of Germans grew as their home country deveoped a thriving coffee exportation business. As more and more Germans arrived in Guatemala, churches began to be established, served by pastors from Germany.
The Germans also maintained their culture in their new land. They spoke German, had their own German clubs and societies, and sent their children to German schools. It was the Germans who established Guatemala's first brewery.
Changes in the World
World War II changed all of that. The Guatemala government seized the land held by German nationals and companies and deported all German adult males. The men had the choice of detention camps in the United States or returning to war-torn Germany. That included not only husbands, fathers, and older brothers, but the pastors as well. The church laity was on its own.
Once the war ended, many of the men returned to their families in Guatemala. Faced with a church without pastors, they suggested a new idea: find a pastor in the United States to come and shepherd them.
What had happened was that during their time in detention camps, pastors of Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) had acted as their chaplins. Even in the 1940's, many LCMS pastors spoke German. They even preached and taught in German in many areas.
Soon an LCMS missionary was assigned to minister to the Lutherans in Guatemala and the Cristo Rey congregation was established in Guatemala City.
Expansion and even more changes
It wasn't long before the Lutheran missionary pastors were at work in other parts of Guatemala. A congregation was established in Zacapa, a major crossroad for Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. In the coastal port of Puerto Barrios, another congregation was born among Jamaican immigrants and other English-speaking residents. Later, the church began ministering to some of the various indigenous cultures in the country.
The Lutheran Church in Guatemala Today
The Lutheran Church in Guatemala has congregations in about a dozen locations, including the larger cities and small country villages. Germans, Ladinos, Garífuna, Maya, and recent immigrants make up the face of Guatemala Lutheranism. Nearly all LCMS missionaries have left Guatemala, replaced by naitonal pastors and, recently, by pastors of the Brazilian Lutheran Church.
The Lutheran Hour in Guatemala
The Lutheran Hour is the evangelical arm of the Lutheran Church in Guatemala, where it is known as Christ for all the Nations (CPTLN). CPTLN has a popular media ministry, correspondence Bible studies, and outreach to youth in local schools.
Lutheran Bible Translators in Guatemala
Lutheran Bible Translators has several teams serving in Guatemala. Some are translating Scriptures into Maya langauges, while others are developing literacy and Scripture use programs.
Other Lutheran Bodies in Guatemala
Other Lutheran church bodies are present in Guatemala, including the Augustana Lutheran Church (affiliated with ELCA) and a German-speaking congregation in Guatemala City.
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