Activism is a Form of Worship
Background
For so many Latinos in the United States today, day-to-day life is challenging. This is especially true in Florida, the nation’s least affordable state and home to its third-largest Latino population. Though known to be industrious and hard-working, almost half of Floridian Latinos live near or below the poverty line. Many work in low-pay jobs to make ends meet as they quest to gain a toehold in the American dream.
Adding to their economic troubles is racial and ethnicity-based prejudice, which has recently become even more widespread and dire. New immigration policies are spreading shock and anxiety throughout the Latino population. There’s a growing sense of scrutiny, discrimination, injustices, and betrayal, even among those with documented status.
The church continues to be a place of cohesion and refuge for many. More than 80% of Latino Americans consider religion important in their lives, and they’re the fastest-growing group of American evangelicals, with 15% identifying as evangelical Protestants. Clergy are central figures in Latinos’ close-knit community life.
Yet, many are struggling to respond to the distress their congregants are experiencing. Their theological training and mostly conservative leanings simply haven’t prepared them to take on the social justice issues facing their community. What’s more, consciously or not, they’re often influenced by organizations and affiliations that lack an authentic Latino lens. For instance, philanthropies often focus on short-term fixes versus the root causes of social problems. And, as a large and fast-growing voting bloc, Latinos are often aggressively courted by political parties only to have their voices ignored post-election.
Now, more than ever, the Latino church is being called to embrace activism as a form of worship, says Agustín Quiles, head of the Florida advocacy group Mission Talk. Just as it did in the Civil Rights Movement, the church must play a central role in challenging the racial and social injustices of today, he maintains.
Initiative Overview
Founded in 2016, Mission Talk exists to provoke and empower a new understanding of the church’s role in contemporary Latino culture, connecting the dots between beliefs and action. For many, it’s a transformative leap of faith as they begin to channel their inner spiritual wisdom into outward-facing actions that address their community’s needs.
“Once key justice issues are presented to Latino faith leaders by trusted and credible messengers, they begin thinking about how these issues connect to their faith and quickly become passionate advocates in the public square,” Quiles reports. Already over 1,800 Latino church leaders from over 30 counties in Florida participate in Mission Talk’s advocacy efforts, and it was featured in the PBS documentary, “VOICES: LATINO VOTE 2024.”
Mission Talk empowers Latino church leaders to engage in the work of justice and community transformation using a multi-pronged approach: awareness, education, mobilization, and community building. As Latinos themselves, the Mission Talk team benefits from a broad and trusted network of personal and professional relationships.
Together, they work to ignite vitally needed change by advancing understanding within church communities of how race, poverty, and injustice shape Latino history and current-day experience. Solidly grounded in core human values and spiritual imagination, their efforts include:
- Shifting the dominant state and national narrative that Latino Evangelicals can be taken for granted as partisan
- Developing and delivering clear, cohesive messaging to advance public and political understanding of how extreme punishments, deportations, and a lack of affordable housing harm families and communities
- Effectively articulating and sharing Mission Talk’s mission, values, and contributions
- Building Latino theology through pilgrimages to landmark sites of racial and ethnic discrimination
- Translating complex policies in ways that are easy to understand
Impact
Over 500 leaders from 50 congregations introduced to core justice issues through outreach, events, or trainings
20 churches participating in the Leadership Development for Community Transformation program
8 anchor congregations actively committed to advancing justice-oriented initiatives in key cities
More than 500 pastors and leaders from 20 churches mobilized for prayer and advocacy at the Florida State Capitol
255 participants in an educational pilgrimage to civil rights sites and museums in Alabama
How Spirituality Makes This Work Different
“Activism is a form of worship. It’s how we worship God, connecting to something bigger than ourselves. I don’t know how to do this work any other way. Christ is the model — love, forgiveness, grace, caring for the marginalized. We integrate Christian practices into everything we do. We look for the God moment, for the Holy Spirit at work.”
Agustín Quiles, Director & Cofounder
Mission Talk empowers Latino churches for the crucial work of justice and community transformation. Unlike political or secular organizations, its efforts are grounded in core faith values — grace, compassion, and social good. Through meaningful dialogue and active engagement, it brings spiritual imagination to the cause of social change, awakening clergy and congregants to their unique history, their power, and their call to activate the Gospel in the here and now of today.
As Pastor Victor Ramos of the School of Ministry in Orlando states, “We are realizing that if the church does not hear the cry of those in need, we are no longer the salt of the earth and the light of this world. We should not only preach with faith but preach with action.”