Disciple's Handbook

Unit 13 Missionary Application

8 min read

Level 3 — Intermediate (CEFR: B1)

Unit 13 — Core Ministry Vocabulary for Listening Comprehension

Missionary Application — Gospel Explanation and Pastoral Conversation

Purpose

Unit 13 trains the ear — specifically, the ability to recognize theological and pastoral vocabulary instantly in incoming Spanish speech. The Missionary Application trains the mouth — the ability to produce that vocabulary in ministry contexts. These are complementary skills, and both are essential.

A missionary interpreter who can recognize arrepentimiento but cannot produce it in natural speech has a passive vocabulary gap that will show up under pressure. A missionary who can pronounce justificación in a drill but has never said it in a real pastoral sentence will freeze when the moment comes.

This application has two exercises: a Gospel explanation (active theological vocabulary production) and a pastoral conversation script (emotional and pastoral vocabulary in context). Together they cover the two registers the interpreter must command: doctrinal speech and pastoral speech.

Part 1: Gospel Explanation (3–4 Minutes)

Context: A missionary has just asked you to explain the gospel in Spanish to a small group of people who have expressed interest. You have 3–4 minutes. No interpreter — you are speaking directly.

Vocabulary requirement (use each term at minimum once, in a natural sentence):

From the salvation/gospel list:

  • el evangelio
  • el pecado
  • la gracia
  • la fe
  • el arrepentimiento
  • la redención or la expiación
  • el perdón
  • la vida eterna
  • nacer de nuevo

Structure (use this as a framework, not a script):

1. The human problem (30–45 seconds): All people have sinned (todos hemos pecado) and fall short of God’s glory. We cannot save ourselves. We need redención.

2. The divine solution (45–60 seconds): God sent his Son. Christ died as an expiación for our sins. Through his sacrifice we can receive perdón and reconciliación with the Father. This is la gracia — what we could not earn.

3. The human response (30–45 seconds): La fe and el arrepentimiento. Faith is not just believing facts — it is trusting Christ with your life. Repentance is turning from sin. Together, they bring el nuevo nacimiento — you are nacido de nuevo.

4. The offer (30 seconds): La vida eterna is not just a future promise — it begins now. Knowing God. Walking with him. This is the evangelio.

Sample transitions (use freely):

  • El corazón del evangelio es esto: (The heart of the gospel is this:)
  • Permítame explicarles algo fundamental: (Let me explain something foundational:)
  • Esto no es lo que la religión enseña — esto es lo que Cristo hizo: (This is not what religion teaches — this is what Christ did:)
  • La diferencia entre la religión y el evangelio es esta: (The difference between religion and the gospel is this:)

Your draft (write, then practice speaking from memory — do not read):

Part 2: Pastoral Conversation (4–5 Minutes)

Context: A person from the church has asked to speak with you privately. They are struggling spiritually. You are not their pastor — but you are present, and they need someone to talk to and to pray with them.

Choose one scenario and conduct the full conversation — both sides — as a role-play:

Scenario A: A new believer who feels their faith is too weak and wonders if they are really saved.

Scenario B: A church member who has been away from God for two years and wants to return but feels ashamed.

Scenario C: A person who is angry at God after a family tragedy and does not know how to pray anymore.

Vocabulary requirements (pastoral register):

Use at least 5 terms from the following list in natural, non-formulaic sentences:

  • la culpa (guilt)
  • la vergüenza (shame)
  • el quebranto (brokenness)
  • la sanidad (healing)
  • el consuelo (comfort)
  • la misericordia (mercy)
  • la compasión (compassion)
  • la esperanza (hope)
  • el temor (fear)
  • la fortaleza (strength)
  • la humildad (humility)

Sample for Scenario B:

You: Gracias por contarme esto. Sé que no es fácil admitir que te has alejado de Dios.

Person (you, playing both roles): Me da mucha vergüenza. Sé que tomé malas decisiones. No sé cómo volver.

You: La vergüenza que sientes puede ser una señal buena — significa que todavía te importa tu relación con Dios. Pero la vergüenza no tiene que ser la última palabra. La misericordia de Dios es más grande que cualquier cosa que hayas hecho. Él no está esperándote con ira — está esperándote con los brazos abiertos.

Person: ¿Cómo sé que Él me va a perdonar?

You: Porque lo prometió. Si confesamos nuestros pecados, Él es fiel y justo para perdonarnos. Eso no cambia basado en cuánto tiempo has estado lejos. La misericordia de Dios no expira. ¿Quieres que oremos juntos ahora?

Your conversation draft (write both sides for your scenario; practice as a role-play or solo):

Recording Requirements

Two recordings:

Recording 1 — Gospel explanation:

  • 3–4 minutes, speaking directly to a real or imagined group
  • Must include all 9 required vocabulary terms
  • Do not read — speak from the structure you memorized

Recording 2 — Pastoral conversation:

  • 3–5 minutes, role-playing both parts
  • Must include at least 5 pastoral vocabulary terms in natural sentences
  • The conversation should feel compassionate and genuinely pastoral, not like a vocabulary exercise

Native Speaker Evaluation

Share both recordings with a Spanish-speaking pastor or church member.

Evaluator questions:

For the gospel explanation:

  1. Did the theological terms (arrepentimiento, expiación, justificación, etc.) sound natural and well-placed, or forced and out of context? NATURAL / SOMEWHAT / FORCED
  2. Were there any theological terms used incorrectly?
  3. Was the gospel communicated clearly and accurately?

For the pastoral conversation: 4. Did the speaker seem genuinely compassionate, or did the Spanish get in the way of the pastoral warmth? GENUINE / SOMEWHAT / IN THE WAY 5. Were any pastoral vocabulary terms misused or out of register? 6. Would you be comforted in this conversation if you were the person in pain? YES / SOMEWHAT / NO

For both: 7. What one vocabulary item most needs improvement?

Self-Evaluation

Before receiving evaluator feedback, complete this:

Gospel explanation:

  1. List each theological term you used and the sentence you used it in.
  2. Were there any terms on the required list you avoided because you were not confident? Which ones?
  3. Did the gospel explanation feel coherent and natural, or did you feel yourself searching for words?

Pastoral conversation:

  1. List each pastoral vocabulary term you used and the sentence you used it in.
  2. Were there moments where English wanted to come out and you had to stop and find the Spanish? What caused them?
  3. Did the conversation feel warm and pastoral, or clinical and grammatical?

Vocabulary Consolidation: Production Drill

Before your final recording, run through this production drill to activate vocabulary from passive to active.

Instructions: Say each Spanish term aloud, then immediately produce a natural ministry sentence using it. Do not write — speak only. No hesitation longer than 3 seconds.

  1. el arrepentimiento → Sentence with this term
  2. la expiación → Sentence with this term
  3. la justificación → Sentence with this term
  4. el quebranto → Sentence with this term
  5. la vergüenza → Sentence with this term
  6. la culpa → Sentence with this term
  7. la misericordia → Sentence with this term
  8. el discipulado → Sentence with this term
  9. la intercesión → Sentence with this term
  10. nacer de nuevo → Sentence with this term

Target standard: Each sentence should sound like something a ministry leader would actually say — not like a dictionary example.

Model Gospel Explanation: Complete Text

Gracias por estar aquí hoy. Quisiera contarles algo que ha cambiado mi vida completamente.

El evangelio — la buena noticia — comienza con una realidad difícil de escuchar: todos nosotros hemos fallado. La Biblia llama a eso el pecado. No hablo solo de acciones específicas — hablo de una condición del corazón humano que nos separa de Dios. Ninguno de nosotros puede llegar a Dios por sus propios medios. No somos suficientemente buenos. No hay acto religioso, no hay esfuerzo humano que pueda cubrir esa brecha.

Pero aquí es donde entra la buena noticia. Dios no nos dejó en esa situación. Envió a su Hijo, Jesucristo, al mundo. Cristo vivió la vida perfecta que nosotros no pudimos vivir. Y murió una muerte que no merecía — una expiación perfecta por nuestros pecados. Su sacrificio en la cruz pagó la deuda que nosotros no podíamos pagar.

Por eso, la redención está disponible. No se gana. Se recibe. Esto es lo que la Biblia llama la gracia — el favor de Dios que no merecemos pero que Él da libremente.

¿Cómo se recibe? A través de la fe y el arrepentimiento. La fe no es solo creer que Dios existe — los demonios creen eso. La fe es confiar en Cristo completamente. El arrepentimiento es dar la vuelta — dejar la dirección equivocada y caminar hacia Dios.

Cuando alguien da ese paso, algo extraordinario ocurre: nace de nuevo. Recibe el perdón completo de todos sus pecados. Es justificado — declarado justo delante de Dios. No por lo que ha hecho, sino por lo que Cristo hizo.

Y empieza la vida eterna — no solo una promesa futura, sino una relación con Dios que comienza hoy.

Eso es el evangelio. ¿Tienen preguntas?

Vocabulary used in model:

el evangelio, el pecado, la expiación, la redención, la gracia, la fe, el arrepentimiento, nacer de nuevo, el perdón, justificado/la justificación, la vida eterna

See also: Interpretation Lab, Lesson 6 — Emotions and Pastoral Vocabulary

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