BACKGROUND: Churches may provide a familiar and accessible setting for chronic disease self-management education and social support for Latinos with diabetes. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the impact of a multi-faceted church-based diabetes self-management intervention on diabetes outcomes among Latino adults. DESIGN: This was a community-based, randomized controlled, pilot study. SUBJECTS: One-hundred adults with self-reported diabetes from a Midwestern, urban, low-income MexicanAmerican neighborhood were included in the study. INTERVENTIONS: Intervention participants were enrolled in a church-based diabetes self-management program that included eight weekly group classes led by trained lay leaders. Enhanced usual care participants attended one 90-minute lecture on diabetes selfmanagement at a local church. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was change in glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C). Secondary outcomes included changes in low-density lipoproteins (LDL), blood pressure, weight, and diabetes self-care practices. KEY RESULTS: Participants' mean age was 54±12 years, 81 % were female, 98 % were Latino, and 51 % were uninsured. At 3 months, study participants in both arms decreased their A1C from baseline (−0.32 %, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: -0.62, -0.02 %). The difference in change in A1C, LDL, blood pressure and weight from baseline to 3-month and 6-month follow-up was not statistically significant between the intervention and enhanced usual care groups. Intervention participants