Rev. Alex Quispe

Alex Quispe
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An alternate path to ministry for Alex Quispe

An alternate path to ministry for

Alex Quispe

Alex Quispe , 37

Before Quispe came to the United States from Peru in 1987 he was a lay pastor with the Scandinavian Free Mission , an independent Lutheran mission.He received a scholarship to study at Lutheran Bible Institute , Anaheim , Calif. When he entered the alternate route program , he was acting pastor at Loving Shepherd Lutheran Church , Gardena , Calif. After ordination in 1993 , Quispe served St. Elizabeth Lutheran Church , El Centro , Calif. , for three years.Proudly he says a number of the young people he worked with in El Centro have gone to college.

Oct. 1 the Pacifica Synod called Quispe to develop a Hispanic ministry in Whittier , Calif. Salem Lutheran Church , Whittier , offered him office space.But the congregation got excited about developing the new congregation and decided to help Quispe canvass the community.The congregation in Whittier is interested in being part of this ministry , Quispe says.People even asked me to teach them how to say in Spanish , We have a Hispanic ministry in our church' as they distribute fliers door to door.The gospel isn't a racial or ethnic issue..

See these personal stories of the PLTS program :.

Back in 1999 I remember asking Pastor Alex Quispe, "How much does it cost" for a round-trip flight to Lima?He answered, "About $400."I said, "At that price, we could take a youth group to Peru!"We talked about possibly working with his mother in Pachacamac and the fact that she is known as the "Mother Teresa of Peru."What an opportunity to work with her there, with all of Alex's family, and to serve the children south of Lima in some of the poorest sections of the country!

God had been preparing our congregation for this possibility, as we had earlier taken a significant youth and family mission trip to both Tijuana and Tecate, Mexico.Now God was calling us to stretch our faith and our service even farther-to South America.That summer of '99, 23 of us from St. Andrew and Iglesia Luterana went to Peru to serve Christ as we led a vacation Bible school for 500 eager kids.Seventy-five of them were baptized on the last day of school!During that trip we also flew to Cusco to visit the Huch'ay Runa Orphanage that the ELCA supports.We saw a well-run program there, but the facilities needed a lot of work.
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THREE PADRES IN PERU: Joaquin Figueroa (far left), Pacifica's director for Hispanic ministries and a pastor at First, Vista; Steve Herder, St. Andrew; and Alex Quispe, Iglesia Luterana.
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For more about mission-support opportunities in Peru, contact Pastor Herder or Pastor Quispe at (562) 944-1148.

Rev. Alex Quispe - Pastor of Outreach (installed on March 17, 2002) ILSJB@aol.com