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“I was in awe the first time I walked into St. George Lutheran Church,” says Dora Correa Zapata, a member originally from Medellín, Colombia, who lives in London and attends weekly worship there.
The congregation meets in the oldest surviving Lutheran church in the United Kingdom, which dates to 1736. “Here I was in this church where others had come before to worship,” Dora says. “While I love history, moreover I thought about the seed of faith God planted in me in Colombia, which traversed and grew in different countries and cultures. He never left me and continues to guide me today.”
Dora and her sister Martha were born in Medellín, Colombia. Their mother, Berta, worked for Missionary Larry Schlomer Sr. and his family, who lived in Colombia from 1977 to 1983. She learned that missionary families were offering Bible studies, and soon she and her children were gathering at a neighbor’s home to study. They were among the first confirmed members of the ministry in Colombia in the early 1980s. “We were part of the first young people’s group,” recalls Martha. Dora taught Sunday school classes to children as well.
In the year 2000, Martha moved to Spain with her husband. “At first it was difficult as we couldn’t find a church to attend that taught the same teachings as what we knew to be true,” Martha says. Then in 2005, Most Holy Trinity, their church in Medellín, started an online ministry called Iglesia Cristo to serve Spanish speakers around the world. “It was a miracle for me to be able to continue studying the Bible with trained pastors and learn more,” says Martha. “We’ve connected with others in Germany, France, Chile, and Asia, among other places.”
Dora joined her sister in 2008 in Spain, and the two remained connected to the Word through Iglesia Cristo. Then in 2011, Martha moved to London and settled there; Dora followed in 2013. They continued with the virtual church until they learned of in-person opportunities to gather with other Lutherans in London. In June 2024, weekly worship began at St. George in central London. “It’s such a blessing to be able to meet in person again,” Dora says. “I’m so thankful to have a group here and feel very blessed to be a part of it.”
Now as part of the core group in London, both sisters help prepare the building for worship and participate in its upkeep. Martha says, “For more than 50 years, God has kept me connected to church and blessed me in so many ways. The biggest blessing is to know him and to have his grace in my life.”
Featured image above pictures sisters Martha (left) and Dora with Missionary Mike Hartman at St. George Lutheran Church in London.
Mission work in the United Kingdom
“Just as we do in Latin America, we are using the hourglass principle to reach people in the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe,” says Missionary Michael Hartman, who is based in London. “We want to scatter the seed of the gospel to many people, to find a few who will share the gospel with many more.”
The YouTube channel “Discover Hidden Gems” is being used at the top of the hourglass. Every week a video is released that shares a story about history or culture in the UK and then ties it into the Bible. A system to train those in the narrow middle of the hourglass is being developed by Luke Wolfgramm, a missionary in Leipzig, Germany. Missionary Conifer Berg’s efforts reflect work on the bottom: traveling to visit and work with leaders who are planting churches.
Weekly worship is currently held in three locations in the UK: London, Wolverhampton, and Manchester. In London, sermons are printed out in five different languages (Urdu, Mandarin, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish) and made available for visitors and members to pick up as they enter church. Missionaries and leaders work with families from more than ten different countries on a regular basis.
Learn more about how the Latin America field uses the hourglass principle.
Author: FIC
Volume 111, Number 10
Issue: October 2024
