Ely Prieto

The Rev. Dr. Ely Prieto was born in the state of São Paulo, in southeast Brazil, and grew up in a Presbyterian home. When he was 12 years old his family moved to Rio de Janeiro. While in Rio, Ely was introduced to the Lutheran Church. With his mother Tamar, they began attending “Bom Pastor” (Good Shepherd) Lutheran Church and later, they joined the church. Pastor Luiz Carlos Garlipp was a man of vision, with a missionary heart. He took Ely around to various preaching stations to serve as a Sunday school teacher. This experience motivated him to join the ministry. Later in life, Ely met Miriam and they were married in 1985 and have been blessed with two children: Filipe and Natalia.

Ely received his theological training in Brazil (B.D., Seminario Concordia, Porto Alegre, RS, 1983 and B.Th., Lutheran University of Brazil, Canoas, RS, 2016) and did his graduate studies in the U.S. (S.T.M., Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, IN, 1993 and D.Min., Concordia Seminary. St. Louis, MO, 2009).

After receiving his training in special ministries – with an emphasis in Deaf Ministry at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis (1984), Prieto received a call to serve (from 1984 – 1991) as chaplain at Concordia Lutheran School for the Deaf and Missionary at Large – Deaf Mission, and to serve as assistant pastor for Congregação Luterana São Paulo (St. Paul Lutheran Church) in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. In this position, he helped develop the deaf mission in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (IELB). From 1993 – 1996, Ely served as a senior pastor at Saint Paul (São Paulo) Lutheran Church and School, a congregation of around 1,800 members, in the city of Arroio do Meio, Brazil.

In July 1996, Prieto accepted a call to serve as a Professor of Practical Theology at Seminário Concordia in São Leopoldo, and also to serve as Professor of Theology at the Lutheran University of Brazil – ULBRA.

In January of 2001, Prieto joined the staff of Concordia Lutheran Church in San Antonio, Texas, to serve as assistant pastor, and later, he also served as director of world missions. In 2011, Prieto was called by the Texas District of the LCMS, to serve as the executive director/urban mission developer for LINC-SA. From January 2009 till June 2021, Ely also served as a vacancy pastor for Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church, a mission congregation in San Antonio, primarily reaching out to Hispanics.

In the fall of 2021, Prieto was called to serve as associate Professor of Practical Theology, Lutheran Foundation Professor of Urban and Cross-Cultural Ministry, and associate dean for Urban and Cross-Cultural Ministry at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.