A Summer of Celebrating Our Shared Mission

by KURT BUCHHOLZ, CEO, Lutheran Hour Ministries

It seems like summer, or the 2023 calendar year for that matter, just began and already the days are getting shorter, kids are returning to school, and we are starting to anticipate falling leaves and cooler temperatures. While summer sometimes offers a slower pace of life, that has not been the case for many of us at Lutheran Hour Ministries over the past few months. This has been a busy summer preparing for and attending two major denominational events, the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League Convention and the National Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. These gatherings allow us to engage in meaningful conversations about how God is using LHM to share the saving message of Christ with people around the world more than 195 million times each week. They also always serve as a reminder that we are part of a larger body of Christ in mission and ministry and that we are not alone in our goal to share Jesus with those who do not yet know Him.

The LWML Convention offered a tremendous opportunity to not only share the remarkable things God is doing through our ministry globally but provide an update on how a grant the LWML approved two years ago has helped us expand ministry with women and children in Mongolia. In addition, we are extremely grateful to have been approved this year for two grants that will help us expand work in Kazakhstan and through Hispanic ministry in the United States. We cannot thank the LWML enough for their continuous support. I always look forward to meeting lay delegates, pastors, church workers, and church leaders at the LCMS Convention and hearing how our resources are serving as a tremendous blessing throughout our church body. Our ongoing research in partnership with Barna Group has shown that many Christians are inspired to share their faith, they are using social media to connect with others, and they are finding an authentic joy in having faith-based conversations. However, they are also looking for help in making better connections between their everyday, ordinary life and the faith that sustains them.

I was excited to hear positive feedback about how our research-based kits of in-depth tools focused on a yearly theme have helped kickstart