Level 3 — Intermediate (CEFR: B1)
Unit 11 — Commands: The Imperative
Missionary Application — Altar Call and Discipleship Invitation in Spanish
Purpose
Unit 11 produces the most immediately deployable ministry skill in Level 3: the ability to give an altar call and discipleship invitation in Spanish. This is not a passive comprehension exercise. You are producing commands in Spanish — directly addressing a congregation or an individual — with the same urgency, warmth, and authority that a Spanish-speaking pastor would use.
This skill matters disproportionately. An interpreter who stumbles during the altar call has failed at the most critical moment of the service. An interpreter who can deliver an altar call in Spanish — clearly, warmly, with correct command forms — has done something that protects the integrity of the most important invitation a person may ever receive.
The three exercises in this application build from congregational address to one-on-one invitation to a full recorded altar call.
Part 1: Discipleship Challenge (Address to a Group)
Context: You are a missionary teaching a discipleship class in Spanish. Close your session by issuing a challenge and a call to deeper commitment.
Structural requirements:
- At least 3 ustedes affirmative imperative forms
- At least 2 ustedes negative imperative forms (no + subjunctive)
- At least 1 nosotros imperative (let us…)
- At least 1 imperative with an attached pronoun (díganme, síganme, denlo)
- At least 1 imperative from an irregular affirmative form (sean, vengan, tengan, hagan, digan, vayan)
Draft framework (fill in the blanks with your own content):
Opening challenge:
____________ (Do something) con lo que aprendieron hoy. No ____________ (don’t leave) aquí sin haberlo aplicado.
Call to commitment:
____________ (Choose) a quién van a servir esta semana. ____________ (Be) fieles a ese compromiso. No ____________ (don’t give up) cuando sea difícil.
Nosotros command:
____________ (Let us) orar juntos por la fuerza para hacerlo.
Pronoun-attached command:
____________ (Tell me): ¿están listos?
Your Part 1 (deliver as a live address, minimum 60 seconds):
Write your challenge here, then speak it without notes:
Part 2: One-on-One Gospel Invitation
Context: You are in an evangelistic conversation with an individual. They have expressed openness but have not yet committed. You are closing the conversation with a personal invitation.
This is different from an altar call — it is intimate, unhurried, and conversational. The commands here are informal (tú forms where natural) or formal (usted if the relationship demands it). The imperative is warmer and less declarative.
Required forms:
- At least 1 informal affirmative tú command (ven, confía, abre, recibe, pide)
- At least 1 informal negative command (no esperes, no tengas miedo, no te vayas)
- At least 1 formal command if addressing an elder (venga, reciba, confíe)
Sample individual invitation:
Mira, Dios te está esperando. No necesitas entender todo primero. No esperes a tener todo resuelto. Solo abre tu corazón y dile que sí. Recibe lo que Él tiene para ti. No tengas miedo — este paso no te quita nada. Te da todo. ¿Estás listo?
Your Part 2 (adapt to your own words, 30–60 seconds):
Write a draft, then practice speaking it as if to a real person:
Part 3: Recorded Altar Call (3–5 Minutes)
This is the full-length exercise from the curriculum. Deliver a complete altar call in Spanish, following the five-part structure below. Record yourself.
The five-part altar call structure:
1. The Invitation Setup (30–60 seconds)
Establish who is being called. This is the quién section — painting a picture of who God is speaking to tonight.
Sample:
Esta noche, Dios está hablando a alguien en este lugar. Tal vez llevas años alejado de Él. Tal vez nunca lo has conocido. Tal vez lo conoces pero no le has dado el control de tu vida.
Your setup:
2. The Urgency (20–30 seconds)
Explain why tonight is the right moment. Use negative commands to preempt resistance.
Sample:
No digas que ya lo pensarás. No endurezcan su corazón. No salgan de aquí cargando lo que Él quiere quitarles.
Your urgency:
3. The Call to Action (30–45 seconds)
Issue the specific invitation: raise your hand, come forward, repeat the prayer.
Sample:
Si estás listo para recibir a Cristo como tu Señor y Salvador, levanta tu mano donde estás. No tengas vergüenza. Solo levántala. Yo la veo. Gracias.
Ahora, si levantaste tu mano, repite esta oración conmigo: Señor Jesús, reconozco que soy pecador. Creo que moriste por mis pecados y que resucitaste. Ven a mi vida como Señor y Salvador. Amén.
Your call to action:
4. The Instruction to Come Forward (20–30 seconds)
Sample:
Si hiciste esa oración, ven al frente ahora. No te quedes en tu asiento. Ven. Queremos orar contigo personalmente y darte algo para que te lleves.
Your come-forward instruction:
5. The Reassurance (20–30 seconds)
Close with warmth. The person who just responded needs encouragement, not more instruction.
Sample:
Dios te ama tal como eres. No tienes que ser perfecto para venir a Él. La decisión que tomaste esta noche es la más importante de tu vida. Bienvenido a la familia de Dios.
Your reassurance:
Recording Requirements
- Record the full 3–5 minute altar call without stopping
- Speak as if to a real congregation — not reading from notes
- Vary your pace and emotional intensity — the urgency section should feel different from the reassurance section
- Record the one-on-one invitation as a separate shorter track
Minimum command form counts in the altar call recording:
- 5 ustedes affirmative imperative forms
- 3 negative imperative forms (no + subjunctive)
- 1 nosotros command
- 1 pronoun-attached command
- 2 irregular affirmative forms (vengan, sean, tengan, hagan)
Native Speaker Evaluation
Share the altar call recording with a Spanish-speaking pastor or church member.
Evaluator form:
- Did the invitation sound genuine and warm, or mechanical and flat? GENUINE / SOMEWHAT / MECHANICAL
- Were the command forms grammatically correct throughout? YES / MOSTLY / NO
- Were there any specific command forms that sounded wrong or unnatural? (List them)
- Did the emotional register stay consistent with a real altar call?
- Would you respond to this invitation in a church service? YES / MAYBE / NO — Why?
Self-Evaluation
Listen to your own recordings before receiving evaluator feedback.
- List every imperative form you used and identify whether it is: tú, usted/ustedes, or nosotros.
- Identify any moment where you hesitated on a command form — what caused it?
- Did you correctly attach pronouns where needed (síganme, vengan al frente, denles)?
- Did you use negative commands with the correct form (no se rindan not no se rinden)?
- Did your voice communicate urgency, warmth, and authority — or did the grammar effort flatten your delivery?
- On a scale of 1–10: how close was your altar call to the register of a real Spanish-speaking pastor?
Example Altar Call: Complete Model
Esta noche, el Espíritu de Dios está aquí. Y hay personas en este lugar que saben que Él les está hablando directamente.
Tal vez llevan años huyendo de Dios. Tal vez llevan semanas oyendo este mensaje y resistiendo. No resistan más. No endurezcas tu corazón esta noche.
No piensen que no son suficientemente buenos para venir a Él. Jesús no murió por personas perfectas — murió por personas exactamente como ustedes y como yo.
Si estás listo para recibirlo, levanta tu mano donde estás. No te muevas. Solo levántala. Yo la veo. Gracias. Gracias. Gracias.
Para los que levantaron la mano, repitan esta oración en voz baja conmigo. Repitan cada palabra: Señor Jesús — te necesito. Reconozco que he vivido lejos de ti. Creo que moriste por mis pecados. Creo que resucitaste. Perdóname. Ven a mi vida. Quiero que seas mi Señor. Amén.
Si hiciste esa oración, ven al frente ahora mismo. No te quedes en tu asiento. Ven. Hay personas esperando para orar contigo y acompañarte en este primer paso.
No tengas vergüenza. No mires a los lados. Solo ven. El Señor te está esperando con los brazos abiertos.
Y para los que ya conocen a Cristo: oren por los que están viniendo al frente. Intercede por ellos en este momento. Sean testigos de lo que Dios está haciendo esta noche.
Command inventory:
| Form | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| No resistan | neg. ustedes | Do not resist |
| No endurezcas | neg. tú | Do not harden |
| No piensen | neg. ustedes | Do not think |
| levanta | affirm. tú | raise |
| No te muevas | neg. tú | Do not move |
| Repitan | affirm. ustedes | Repeat |
| Ven | affirm. tú | Come |
| No te quedes | neg. tú | Do not stay |
| No tengas | neg. tú | Do not have (= don’t be ashamed) |
| No mires | neg. tú | Do not look |
| oren | affirm. ustedes | Pray |
| Intercede | affirm. tú | Intercede |
| Sean | affirm. ustedes | Be |
See also: Interpretation Lab, Lesson 5 — Altar Call and Invitation Language