Christian education hits home in Nicaragua

By Rev. Leonardo Neitzel

We have been impressed with the way pastors, missionaries, deaconesses and “maestras” daily carry out the church’s mission and ministry in Nicaragua with children. The foundation of the work is the Holy Scripture. Besides tutoring and reinforcing lessons in math and Spanish and assisting them daily with homework assignments, they teach and lead the children in God’s Word as they provide exercises through Bible stories and memorization of verses.

Dr. Neitzel tells a story to more than 100 children gathered in Santa Patricia

Martin Luther’s Small Catechism is the next important tool in their teaching. In the community of Santa Patricia we had the privilege of spending time interacting with more than 100 children and workers communicating through our “Portuñol” (a mix of Portuguese and Español) – and what a blessing it was to hear them recite Scripture verses, parts of the Small Catechism, pray the Lord’s Prayer and sing.

The way the church leaders and the community value these important ‘tools’ and handle them interactively with the children is a great reason for our gratitude to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This Christian education process, seen in church and in family circles at home, highlights one of Martin Luther’s educational methods throughout his entire ministry and in his own family. Is the Lord trying to teach us a lesson today as we sometimes seem to put aside the Holy Scriptures and the Small Catechism in favour of other earthly priorities?

We thank and praise the Lord for giving Iglesia Luterana Sìnodo de Nicaragua the understanding of His will towards the Christian education of His church. As Martin Luther says, “the Holy Spirit is present in such reading and repetition and meditation, and bestows ever new and more light and devoutness, so that it is daily relished and appreciated better, as Christ promises, Matthew 18:20: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.”