Youth Group Spanish to Go on Outreach

Have you ever done a service project of some kind? Either with school, family, or an organization? One group that often gives back to the community is the church, so today we’ll be looking at specific service projects that a youth group can do on an outreach trip.

When I was younger, I was in youth groups that had outreach projects both locally and abroad. You may not have to travel far, though, to be of service in a project where someone speaks Spanish!

If you do end up traveling abroad, it’s best to be prepared before you leave. Outreach trips offer many different types of projects, but we’re going to look at five common ones.

But wait—before we begin, let’s go over some basic phrases that you will need to know!

General Questions

Spanish	English
¡Hola!	Hello!
¿Cómo estás?	How are you?
¿Cómo te llamas?	What’s your name?
¿Cuántos años tienes?	How old are you?
¿Hay algo que necesitas?	Is there anything you need?
¿Puedo orar por ti?	Can I pray for you?
¿Cómo puedo orar por ti?	How can I pray for you?
Oremos.	Let’s pray.
Cuéntame de ti.	Tell me about yourself.
Cuéntame de tu familia.	Tell me about your family.

These basic questions allow you to get to know another person and pray for them. From my experience, people don’t really mind what language you pray in, but you do need to know how to ask to pray in Spanish before you do so!

Now, what are five common outreach trips you can do with your youth group?

Ministerio de indigentes

This first outreach ministry is probably one of the most common ways to serve the community, and many groups (not just youth groups!) are working in this area. Through this outreach project, you serve the homeless by visiting them on the streets, bringing them hot beverages, and serving in a soup kitchen. Some keywords and phrases are particularly relevant for this type of service:

Spanish	English
La comida	Food
La sopa	Soup
El café	Coffee
El abrigo	Coat
La cobija	Blanket
La ropa	Clothes
Los zapatos	Shoes
El albergue	Homeless shelter
¿Necesitas más?	Do you need more?
¡Aquí tienes!	Here you go!
¡Buen provecho!	Enjoy!

Visitar los hospitales y los hogares de ancianos

This next serving opportunity is not for the faint of heart, but it’s a crucial service needed all over the world! Visiting hospitals and nursing homes will present your youth group with a lot of chances to pray with people and keep them company. Some vocabulary you might encounter in these situations are as follows: 

Spanish	English
el hospital	hospital
el hogar de ancianos	nursing home
la medicina	medicine
la cirugía	surgery
Alzheimer	Alzheimer’s
el accidente	accident
la pediatría	pediatrics
la maternidad	maternity
la sala de emergencia	emergency room
la unidad de cuidados intensivos	intensive care unit
a sala de espera	waiting room
¿Por qué estás en el hospital?	Why are you in the hospital?
¿Estás esperando a alguien?	Are you waiting for someone?
¿Hay alguien aquí contigo?	Is there anyone here with you?
¿Cuál es tu memoria favorita?	What is your favorite memory?

Ministerio de niños

Probably the most popular outreach project is working with kids! It doesn’t even feel like work when you get to sing songs, paint faces, and play games with kids from the community. Unfortunately, I can’t give you a complete Sunday School lesson in Spanish, but I can start you with some commands and activities!

Spanish	English
¡Juguemos un juego!	Let’s play a game.
Hagan un círculo.	Make a circle.
¡Cantemos!	Let’s sing!
¡Bailemos!	Let’s dance!
Repitan después de mí.	Repeat after me.
Les voy a contar una historia.	I’m going to tell you a story.
Vamos a aprender sobre…	We’re going to learn about…
¿Quieres colorear?	Do you want to color?
¿Quieres que te pinte la cara?	Do you want me to paint your face?
¿Qué te gustaría?	What would you like?
la pelota	Ball
los juegos	Games
dibujar	Draw
las canciones	Songs
la presentación	Presentation
el drama	Drama
las actividades	Activities
la refacción	Snack

Evangelismo

Our next outreach activity is evangelism! A lot of people do this differently; you can set up a booth and talk to people that walk by, preach in the streets, or talk to individuals you meet. Whichever way you decide to it, you’ll need some key phrases to help you get to the heart of the matter quickly and with ease. I suggest having a bilingual or Spanish Bible with you to share some passages and messages without having to know all the complex vocabulary.

Spanish	English
la calle	Street
el evangelio	evangelism
al aire libre	open-air
el micrófono	Microphone
Predicar	Preach
Dios te ama	God loves you
Arrepiéntete	Repent
Dios tiene un plan para tu vida	God has a plan for your life
Dios te perdona	God forgives you
¿Crees en Dios?	Do you believe in God?
¡Te relacionas con Dios?	Do you have a relationship with God?

Construcción

Last but not least, we have another incredibly popular service opportunity: construction! Again, this can be done both locally and abroad. I have a list of common tools and phrases to help get you through the construction process without hurting yourself or building something incorrectly!

Spanish	English
la construcción	Constructions
construir	build
la casa	house
el martillo	hammer
la madera	wood
el cerrucho	saw
serruchar	to saw
el clavo	nail
la pintura	paint
to paint	pintar
foundation	los cimientos
la ventana	window
la pared	wall
la puerta	door
medir	measure
la cinta métrica	measuring tape
la escalera	ladder
pulgadas	inches
metros	meters
centímetros	centimeters
pies	feet
¿Puedes medir eso por favor?	Can you measure that, please?
¿Cuánto mide?	How big is it?
Pon eso aquí.	Put that here.
Sostén esto.	Hold this.
¿Me puedes ayudar?	Can you help me?
¡Cuidado!	Careful!
¡Cuidado con la cabeza!	Watch your head!

Is Your Youth Group Ready to Go Now?

Do you feel ready to go on outreach with your youth group now? Even if you are just doing a service project by yourself, I hope this vocabulary can help you prepare to talk to any Spanish speakers you may run across. Of course, this vocabulary is not at all complete. Thankfully, we have classes with native Spanish speakers who can help you prepare for conversations in Spanish! Try a free class today and enjoy your outreach!

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