Diaconia is the heartbeat of the church

The church of the future will be a diaconal church - we are more convinced of this than ever after our trip to Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

In November/December 2025, we, Kurt Herrera (Consultant for Latin America and International Church Development, Dr Mirjam Laaser, Head of the International Church Cooperation Department and Ulrich Meyer-Höllings, Head of the Public Relations and Fundraising Department at the Ev.-luth. Mission in Lower Saxony) travelled to Latin America. At the beginning of our visit, the church leadership in Buenos Aires presented us with the vision for the future of their church. This vision is characterised by four central cornerstones, one of which was a particular focus from the outset: diaconal commitment as a driver of church development. This clearly identified one of the key themes of our trip.

What we were able to experience in the following weeks was far more than individual social projects on the fringes of church work. In numerous churches and initiatives - both in Argentina and in Brazil - it became clear that diaconia is not an "appendage" of the church, but its heartbeat. Diaconal work is often the starting point for church planting, for spiritual growth and for a new church presence in neighbourhoods and socially deprived areas.

The self-image of many local leaders was particularly impressive. Again and again we heard the sentence - spoken with great naturalness: "This diaconal project is also a church." Soup kitchens, educational opportunities, advice centres, health projects or initiatives for children and young people are not primarily seen as a preliminary stage to the "actual" church, but as a living church in the midst of people's everyday lives. Community is created where people serve one another, share hope and put faith into practice.

This approach is in line with current church theological and missiological considerations worldwide. In times of social upheaval, growing social inequality and dwindling ties to traditional church forms, an incarnational church is gaining in importance: a church that does not first invite, but goes; that does not primarily offer programmes, but lives relationships; that meets people not as a target group, but as neighbours. Diakonia is not only understood as providing help, but as an expression of the Gospel itself.

International discourses on the "missional church", "fresh expressions of church" or "public theology" emphasise precisely this connection: the church continues to develop where it takes on social responsibility and addresses the real needs of people. Diaconal action creates trust, opens up spaces for encounters and enables spiritual dialogue at eye level. The church does not necessarily grow in numbers first, but in depth, relevance and credibility.

Our trip showed us this: In Latin America, this path is already being consistently followed in many places. The church of the future is often created there at tables where people eat together, in neighbourhood centres, in learning spaces or health stations. It is present, approachable and effective. And it is precisely because of this that many people experience it anew as a spiritual home.

For us as a mission organisation, this experience is an important encouragement and at the same time an invitation to self-examination. If diaconia really is a motor of church development, then it is not just a form of work, but characterises the entire self-image of the church. The church of the future will be a diaconal church - or it will hardly be perceived as a church at all.