Key points:
- La Trinidad, marking its 120th anniversary this year, stands as “a symbol of struggle, faithfulness and resilience,” said Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey.
- The church’s history illustrates the struggles of carrying out ministry amid segregation, poverty, racism and intolerance.
- La Trinidad is recovering from a period in which it nearly closed, due to factors that included the pandemic and disaffiliations in the wider denomination.
Developing ministries among the most vulnerable communities is a significant challenge of faith. Poverty, racial discrimination, uprootedness, religious sectarianism, segregation and many other factors are adversities that Hispanic-Latino ministries must confront to build faith communities.
La Trinidad United Methodist Church in Seguin, Texas, just east of San Antonio, is an example of faith, perseverance and fidelity in following the values of the Gospel and Wesleyan discernment in its doctrine and ministerial tradition.
In times like these, when narratives based on lies and political manipulation attack and demean not only the immigrant population but the Hispanic-Latino community as a whole, examples like that of La Trinidad inspire resilience and encourage the ongoing mission of the church everywhere.
In May, La Trinidad celebrated 120 years of history with an event that gathered nearly 200 people to honor and recognize the contributions of many families who have made this church one of the few Hispanic congregations in the denomination with such a long history, continuing to serve as a reference both in society and the broader church.
During the anniversary celebration, Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey emphasized that La Trinidad “is highly significant for our annual conference (Rio Texas), as it represents a foundational milestone upon which several generations of church leaders have been formed: people who have served not only in Hispanic churches but throughout the denomination.”
“In these challenging times for the Hispanic-Latino community inside and outside the church, this congregation is a symbol of struggle, faithfulness and resilience,” she stressed.
La Trinidad belongs to the Rio Texas Annual Conference, which was formed in 2015 by merging the Rio Grande Conference (the only conference structure composed entirely of Hispanic congregations) and the Southwest Texas Conference. This merger, like the development of new Hispanic ministries and congregations in the area, has been challenging.
A rich history
Few Hispanic-Latino churches can celebrate as long and rich a ministerial history as La Trinidad. The congregation’s centennial history contrasts sharply with the minimal impact and limited relevance The United Methodist Church has had among the Hispanic-Latino community. According to statistics from the General Council on Finance and Administration, only 1.3% of the denomination comes from this ethnic-racial background.
As in other Protestant denominations, the development of ministries among racial and ethnic minorities has been negligible. A 2023 report by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research, published by the Roman Catholic Church, shows that only 4.4% of the Hispanic-Latino population in the U.S. attends Protestant churches. These numbers highlight the difficulty churches face when responding to sociocultural patterns and traditions rooted in Caucasian, English-speaking culture.
However, many individuals throughout history have recognized the need to minister equitably to communities of varying social, ethnic and racial backgrounds, overcoming economic limitations, linguistic and cultural barriers, the legal instability of immigrant communities and other factors that complicate ministry among groups such as the Hispanic-Latino population.
Oralia Herrera, La Trinidad’s church historian, has compiled information, testimonies, photographs and documents that recreate the congregation’s history.
“The first church building was donated to the Hispanic community by the German Methodist Episcopal Church, after a period in which congregants met in their homes, porches and public parks in 1864,” she said.
This first building, located on lots 7 and 8 in Seguin, Guadalupe County, brought together first- and second-generation Tejanos of Mexican origin, with the support of the Rev. Frank Scovill Onderdonk, who served as a pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1892.
Onderdonk had served in Mexico as a missionary in San Luis Potosí and as pastor in churches in Mexico City and Guadalajara before being appointed director of Methodist missions for Mexican, Italian and Bohemian communities in Texas.
He is one example of the many Methodist leaders who recognized diversity — racial, ethnic and cultural — as a strength rather than a threat to the church’s life.
Onderdonk’s work “was fundamental in establishing ministry for the Spanish-speaking community,” Herrera said. “He worked intensively with families and the community, as documented in numerous photographs of this beautiful work.”
The history of La Trinidad illustrates the struggles of carrying out ministry amid segregation, poverty, racism and intolerance.
Building the community
In 1905, under the pastoral leadership of the Rev. Basilio Soto, La Trinidad United Methodist Church was formally established. Soto, born in Laredo, Texas, in 1858, became one of the most renowned Hispanic Methodist preachers in the state. The Texas Conference received him in 1881 and more than two decades later, he became the first pastor of the new La Trinidad church.
“This church initially served Mexican immigrants and played an important role in building the Hispanic community in Texas,” recalled Herrera. Today, it remains a reference point in Seguin for the service it has provided to the community for more than five generations.
Herrera noted that Seguin has a long history of segregation. “Social life was very limited due to segregation,” she said. “People mainly socialized within their own community. Each ethnic group had separate schools, lived in different neighborhoods, and used separate pools and parks, so congregations had little interaction. Since then, things have changed, although some vestiges of segregation remain.”
The Rev. Dr. David Maldonado, who grew up and trained at this church and later held key positions in educational institutions such as Iliff Seminary, where he served as president from 2000 to 2004, recounts segregation in Seguin and the attacks he faced when crossing neighborhoods to reach school.
“Growing up as a Mexican-American Methodist in a small town in south-central Texas during the 1940s and 1950s meant being a minority within another minority,” he writes in his book, “Crossing Guadalupe Street: Growing Up Hispanic and Protestant.”
Maldonado highlights that the Hispanic Methodist community faced not only racism, discrimination and segregation from the dominant culture but also religious intolerance within the Hispanic community itself for being Protestant rather than Roman Catholic.
Being “a minority within a minority” forged the character, resilience and perseverance that have defined many Hispanic-Latino ministries (and other minority ministries) within the denomination and society at large. In an adverse context, minority communities embrace their faith, culture and identity to survive and thrive.
Throughout its ministry, La Trinidad has organized and promoted programs to benefit communities in need, such as distributing school supplies, food and other essentials. Additionally, through social gatherings during holidays and various times of the year, La Trinidad has become a space for community engagement and strengthening the social fabric in a historically segregated city like Seguin.
“This church has earned the respect and appreciation of city authorities for its role throughout history and is today considered one of Seguin’s most significant Hispanic churches,” Herrera said.
A tradition of leadership
The church’s facilities now offer public spaces such as an open garden for prayer, rest and meditation, as well as the “Wesley House,” which provides activities and school programs for local children.
La Trinidad’s pulpit has heard the preaching of 37 pastors throughout its history. Herrera recalls: “Over the years, some received positive reviews and others not, but pastoral leadership transitions have always been uninterrupted.”
Many clerical and lay leaders have served the church and the denomination. Perhaps the best-known is Bishop Joel Martínez, the second Hispanic bishop elected in The United Methodist Church, who grew up and was formed at La Trinidad with his family.
Bishop Martínez, now retired, held roles as pastor and superintendent, led several denominational boards including Global Ministries and the National Committee on Mission Priorities Coordination, and served as executive secretary of the Office of Ethnic and Language Ministries, among other responsibilities. He worked closely with Cesar Chávez in the 1970s and was a founding member of MARCHA (Metodistas Asociados Representando la Causa Hispano Americana), the Hispanic-Latino caucus in The United Methodist Church, presiding over the National Committee for the National Plan for Hispanic Ministries.
During the 120th anniversary celebration, Martínez honored the names of people and entire families who, for several generations, have participated in this faith community, emphasizing: “The future of the church is not in the pulpits but in the pews and chairs, in people’s daily lives.”
Facing challenges
The Rev. Nohemí Ramírez served as pastor of this congregation from 2020 until mid-2025 and now leads another historic Hispanic church in the denomination (celebrating 150 years of ministry in 2026) with the same name, La Trinidad, in San Antonio, Texas. She recalls the church’s ups and downs, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This situation changed the life of the church,” she said. “Difficulties in meeting in person greatly affected a church like this, where there is a strong sense of family.”
The pandemic’s impact on ethnic-racial churches and ministries was deep and hard to overcome. The economic vulnerability of the Hispanic-Latino community became a risk factor for a population that could not stay home to survive, while it also caused community fragmentation as people sought better income and job opportunities.
According to the latest 2024 Census data and Pew Research Center, the average income of the Hispanic population in the U.S. is below the national average, slightly above only the African American community.
Another major challenge for La Trinidad and many other Hispanic-Latino congregations was the departure of members following denominational decisions regarding human sexuality.
The church’s current official membership is at 75, a drop from its traditional level of 200 to 300 members due to the departure of younger generations to other states, the denominational split and the pandemic. The church is in a period of recovery after almost closing.
Subscribe to our
e-newsletter
“A significant part of the congregation left due to confusion and misinformation during a period when the church lacked proper pastoral leadership,” Ramírez stated. “We worked on re-education and raising awareness, which allowed for stability and consolidation of our denominational identity, and now we can say we are a church with open doors, arms and hearts.”
Since 2019, about 25% of all United Methodist churches disaffiliated. Among Hispanic-Latino churches, the percentage leaving the denomination was 16%, according to Wespath, the agency managing retirement plans, investment funds and benefits of The United Methodist Church.
As a result, First United Methodist Church of Seguin, with a majority Anglo-Caucasian membership, disaffiliated, and those members who chose to remain formed Walnut Springs United Methodist Church. This emerging church has received significant support from La Trinidad, which has hosted it, and both congregations now share facilities every Sunday. This cooperation is an example of openness and fellowship.
Traditionally, it is Hispanic-Latino ministries (like other racial-ethnic minorities) that are welcomed by predominantly white churches and granted use of certain spaces. Here, the experience is reversed, showing that ethnic-racial minorities also have much to give and share with majority groups.
Amid growing social hostility toward immigrants and the Hispanic-Latino community, social and institutional racism are at risk of increasing.
Many Hispanic-Latino ministries, like ministries among other racial-ethnic minorities, must constantly demonstrate their relevance and the importance of ministering to minority communities. Being considered accessory or non-essential is part of institutional racism and segregation that still exist in many Protestant churches and other traditions.
Currently, La Trinidad is pastored by the Rev. Federico “Fred” Pérez Jr., a native of El Valle, Texas, installed on July 6. Pérez has 12 years of pastoral experience and previously led First United Methodist Church of La Feria in Texas.
La Trinidad is an example of perseverance and the affirmation of the historical and cultural heritage of the Hispanic community in Methodism. This congregation has expanded Methodist presence in its locality, overcome denominational difficulties and crises, provided leaders for the denomination, confronted segregation and racism, overcome poverty and intercultural obstacles, and after 120 years continues to enrich The United Methodist Church with its witness.
Vasquez is coordinator of Hispanic-Latino Relations for United Methodist Communications. To contact UM News, email [email protected] or [email protected].
