THE REV. DR. RUBEN DURAN
ELCA, Senior Advisor for New Ministry Development
The Rev. Dr. Ruben Duran serves as Senior Advisor for New Ministry Development in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He promotes synodical mission strategies, local initiatives, and innovative models nurturing life-changing relationships in new and existing communities of faith in the U.S. and the Caribbean. He also resources 352 new mission congregations reaching people in multiple contexts throughout the country. He organizes ongoing training opportunities for lay and rostered leaders and teaches at various seminaries.
Pastor Ruben is a native of Lima, Peru. He served parishes in the Seattle, Washington, and Los Angeles, California areas prior to becoming Associate to the Bishop and Mission Director for the Metropolitan Chicago Synod. He has also served as Associate Director for Latino Outreach, and Director for New Congregations, and Director for Congregational Vitality in the ELCA churchwide offices prior to his current position. He is also serving as Interim Pastor at New Hope-Nueva Esperanza Lutheran Church in Aurora, Illinois.
He is a graduate of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, CA; Trinity Lutheran College in Seattle, WA; and the Escuela Nacional de Turismo in Lima, Peru.
Ruben and his wife, The Rev. Jean Marie Duran, are parents of 3 adult daughters, and grandparents to Arabella (9y ), Teddy (3y ), and Evelyn (3y ).