In 1981, the Rocky Mountain District of the LCMS
purchased the 4.2 acres of land and 14 buildings that would become San
Pablo Lutheran Church and Ysleta Lutheran Mission. The property’s location
one mile from the border in one of the most impoverished communities of El
Paso, TX, presented an abundance of opportunity to reach out in love with
physical and spiritual care. Original ideas of the district were to
develop a holistic ministry that included church, school, health care,
youth outreach, and more. Rev. Karl Heimer arrived in El Paso with his
wife and children in 1982 to serve as pastor of the hoped-for church and
later assumed an additional role as director.
Empty buildings and dirt parking lots have been
transformed to places of constant activity. Hundreds of people pass through
the gates of YLM for devotions, Bible classes, social services, music
classes, worship and more. Ministry has spilled out into the community,
into Mexico, and deeper into the U.S. Pastors visit jails and hospitals in
El Paso and Juarez. Televisions and telephones carry God’s Word outward.
The ministry group Mariachi San Pablo proclaims the Good News through
hundreds of performances each year. Dozens of servant event groups from
throughout the U.S. and Canada use YLM as a home base as they build
houses, teach VBS, provide medical care, and build/repair churches on both
sides of the border. Thousands of food baskets, school kits, health kits,
vitamins, and other supplies are distributed to families, missions,
orphanages, and shelters in the poorest communities.
Praise God! for His foresight, power, and love that
created ministry here, develops it, and sustains it according to His
purposes and will.
San Pablo Lutheran Church Through the Years
.JPG "Inside the warehouse after receiving donations")
.JPG)
.jpg "Preaching during the Christmas posada at San Pablo")
