Brown Church: Recovering Our Past, Reaching to Our Future

Historically, Latina/o communities have endured significant historical suffering that has shaped their spiritual formation and produced spiritual leaders with significant roles in social justice movements. In Brown Church: Recovering Our Past, Reaching to Our Future, you will explore key events and influential figures who contributed to this journey, deepening your understanding of the struggles and resilience that have marked the Brown Church’s paths. By examining mestizaje and the cultural-spiritual contributions of Latina/o communities, you will gain insight into how these elements have shaped the heritage, theology, and identity of the Brown Church.

Through group learning, intercultural dialogue, and practical theological collaboration, you will foster a comprehensive understanding of how the Brown Church has historically addressed—and continues to address—social issues.

This course introduces you to tools to apply Brown Church theology to modern challenges, encouraging faith-based solutions to address Latina/o community needs today. Through videos and community-based discussions, you will explore how local churches actively support marginalized communities, ensuring that the principles of social justice and spiritual resilience remain central to your mission.

What You Will Learn

• Describe the historical suffering of minority communities and key events and figures that shaped their spiritual formation and their role in social justice movements
• Examine mestizaje and the cultural-spiritual contributions of Latinx communities, shaping Brown Church heritage, theology, and identity
• Evaluate how the Brown Church has dealt with past and present social issues, using examples of how local churches still support marginalized communities today
• Apply Brown Church theology to Christian social justice, proposing faith-based solutions to current Latina/o community challenges

What Skills You Will Grow

• Intercultural & Community Engagement: The ability to foster inclusive collaboration and drive positive social change through understanding and respecting diverse cultural norms, values, beliefs, and perspectives.
• Biblical & Theological Competence: The ability to understand and apply biblical teachings and theological principles to various contexts.

Produced by Centro Latino, hosted by FULLER Equip