Lutherans ENGAGE the WORLD July – August 2016, Vol. 4, Issue 6
Thanks be to God!
Lutherans
ENGAGE the WORLD July – August 2016
vol. 4, no. 6
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US Church Planting: A New Initiative for the LCMS
Seven Sisters
9 6 Engaging the Church in the work of witness and mercy across the globe in our life together. LUTHERANS ENGAGE THE WORLD is published bi-monthly by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. © 2016 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Reproduction for parish use does not require permission. Such reproductions, however, should credit LUTHERANS ENGAGE THE WORLD as a source. Print editions are sent to LCMS donors, rostered workers and missionaries. An online version is available (lcms.org/lutheransengage). To receive the print edition, we invite you to make a financial gift for LCMS global witness and mercy work. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are property of the LCMS. 888-THE LCMS (843-5267) lcms.org
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Thanks Be to God! He Does All Things Well!
Living Learning in Wittenberg
Church-Worker Wellness: When One Suffers …
LCMS Grant Funds Roofs for Madagascar Churches
Beating the Bushes
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Our Prayers Are Heard & Answered A Fundraiser’s Code of Ethical Principles and Practices
With this last issue of the triennium, Lutherans Engage the World looks back with thanksgiving on just a few of the opportunities God has granted His Church to bear witness and mercy in our life together. These are YOUR stories. Your prayers, financial gifts and hands-on service have been blessed and used by our loving Lord to change and save lives for eternity. Thanks be to God! A rehabbed building from the time of Luther now welcomes students, visitors and scholars to learn the truths discovered in the Reformation. Thanks be to God! An examination of mission opportunities here at home has blossomed into a robust plan to deploy national missionaries and revitalize and plant new churches in communities across the country. Thanks be to God! Mercy work continues to expand in Latin America through the service of seven deaconesses. Thanks be to God! Not only are we reaching out to care for wounded and suffering church workers, we are actively working to prevent burnout and foster wellness. Thanks be to God! Across Africa, roofless church buildings are being covered with tin provided by gifts given to the LCMS and the elbow grease of their own church members. Thanks be to God! Hispanic ministry is blossoming and gaining ground in rural communities, on the border and in cities across the country. Take a peek and see what God has done through YOU. Then pray for God’s continued blessings upon the witness and mercy work of YOUR church. Support this work with your gifts. Get involved — volunteer, adopt a missionary, engage with the work in your parish and district. God will bless this work we do together. He truly does all things well! And stay tuned. We are making some big changes to Lutherans Engage the World to enable you to better share the great stories of how we Lutherans are engaging the world with the Gospel and Christ’s mercy! In Christ, Pamela J. Nielsen Associate Executive Director, LCMS Communications
S TA F F David L. Strand Pamela J. Nielsen Erica Schwan Megan K. Mertz Erik M. Lunsford Lisa Moeller Annie Monette Chrissy Thomas
executive director, communications executive editor director, design services managing editor/staff writer manager, photojournalism designer designer designer
EDITORIAL OFFICE 314-996-1215 1333 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122-7295 lutheransengage@lcms.org lcms.org/lutheransengage
Cover image: The Rev. Juan Luna leads the congregation in prayer during worship at La Iglesia Luterana San Pablo in Columbus, Ind. PHOTO: LCMS COMMUNICATIONS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD
Our Prayers Are Heard
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& Answered
s a former parish pastor and now a servant of the LCMS, I consider the ever-growing list of petitions recorded in my prayer journal — a book that, for obvious reasons, has been confidential — as one of the most gratifying aspects of my personal spiritual journey. No one has heard all these prayers except for the One who neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps. 121:4). He intimately knows every cry, every “ask,” every hope, every concern, every demand, every utterance of thanksgiving. In our life together as God’s royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), everything revolves around our Lord, Jesus Christ: crucified for our sins and raised from the dead that we would be declared righteous and resurrected in Him. But this grace-filled revolution also is rhythmically saturated with daily prayer. “O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch” (Ps. 5:3); “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice” (Ps. 141:2). A healthy prayer habit mirrors a deep relationship with our heavenly Father, who delights to hear and answer. We ask as “dear children ask their dear father” (Small Catechism, Lord’s Prayer Introduction). Parents know that kids rarely hold back, saying “I want… ” and “I need…” We have unconditional assurance from the Son of God: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7). And respond God does … often in unanticipated ways. As I meditate over my prayer journal’s contents and outcomes, I am sometimes left speechless at its beautiful array of obvious answers — even when I prayed with fear, skepticism or hesitancy. There are curiosities that cannot
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be coincidence, U-turns and surprises over the way things “came out.” Sometimes I feel ashamed over what I prayed; in hindsight, it looks way too petty, self-centered, foolish or downright sinful. I am humbled by this. “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (Prov. 19:21). This axiom is fulfilled, now and forever, in the living Word that is Christ Jesus Himself! This issue of Lutherans Engage the World offers a “prayer journal” review of sorts. St. Paul once advised, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8). Accordingly, we’re taking another look and reporting anew on the progress of mission activities, well-sustained projects and recent developments over which you and your brothers and sisters in Christ have already heard, prayed, contributed and made a difference. You’ll see how we’re planting churches, reaching people who have never heard the Gospel and demonstrating Christ’s mercy. Stepping forward in faith, we pray without ceasing, in a “love letter” filled with thanksgiving and hope to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In Christ, Rev. Kevin D. Robson Chief Mission Officer, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
July–August 2016
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The Reformation was kind of a big deal. Errors needed to be corrected, doctrine needed to be restored, practices needed to be amended, all so that the Gospel could shine brighter and purer. Of course, education — both of clergy and laity — was no small part of the Reformation. Between placing Scripture into the hands of the people and providing the church with a catechism for lifelong learning, it’s obvious Luther felt an
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educated and informed church was something to
p The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, peers from the window above the entrance of the International Lutheran Center at the Old Latin School.
Living Learning in Wittenberg
by Jeni Miller
The following article first appeared in the September-October 2014 issue. Read the “Update” section to learn about the exciting work that has been completed to date.
be sought after. Through The Wittenberg Project, our church continues to seek it even today. The Wittenberg Project is providing a venue for Lutheran education and a platform for Gospel proclamation in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany, the birthplace of the Reformation. As a key building in Wittenberg, the Old Latin School, is being renovated, The Wittenberg Project’s Education-Program Committee is hard at work planning the particulars for how the new International Lutheran Center will offer educational experiences par excellence in the heart of Wittenberg. While the center is intended for use by all visitors to Wittenberg as well as locals, the building itself is very well-suited for groups of students, pastors, church workers and others who are looking for more in-depth study. Inside the center, the chapel also functions as a lecture hall, seating up to 60 people, in addition to classroom space where students and guests can gather for instruction. Of course, the entire city of Wittenberg is a living classroom, so the International Lutheran Center also will serve as the home base for an immersion experience, not just classroom instruction. “Those who choose to study in Wittenberg — either through college or seminary courses, or as part of a church group (e.g., confirmation class, elder hostel, youth group) — will be able to experience the streets, buildings and rooms where critical events turned Europe upside down,” said Dr. Lisa Keyne, former chair of the Education-Program Committee. “They will feel the physical dimensions of Luther’s world and see artifacts that reflect the historical reality of the Reformation, expand their vision for what was happening during the Reformation and interact with people from all over the world.”
FROM CAMPUS TO WITTENBERG Students at Concordia University System (CUS) schools, other colleges across the United States and elsewhere will have an opportunity to July–August 2016
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Celebration and worship at St. Mary’s Church just before the dedication of the International Lutheran Center.
NURTURING SEMINARIANS, PASTORS AND CHURCH WORKERS
and research opportunities, or simply for professional continuing education purposes. “Those who respect their calling and office as servants of God’s Word are always thirsty for more, and learning from our rich Lutheran heritage can take place anywhere the books offer us the texts from Luther or Melanchthon’s pen,” said the Rev. Dr. Robert Kolb, professor emeritus at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and a member of the Education-Program Committee. “But reading and discussing them in Wittenberg lends a special flavor and deepens and broadens the experience by the unique visual experiences that can only occur [in Wittenberg],” he said. “That is why we hope to offer for our seminaries a variety of courses and other kinds of experiences in learning and encountering the Reformation. Just as we hope that our physicians have continued to learn and grow after leaving med school, so it is important that pastors and DCEs and DCOs and ministers of music and others in the service of the Church show respect for their calling by learning more. Wittenberg is an excellent locale for Lutherans to make that learning happen at a deeper level.”
In keeping with Synod priorities and goals, seminarians, pastors and church workers potentially will be able to visit Wittenberg via the International Lutheran Center to seek master’s and postgraduate-level courses
As The Wittenberg Project continues to unfold, the Education-Program Committee is working diligently to develop an outline
engage in both long- and short-term study abroad programs, with the International Lutheran Center hosting individuals and groups. “Early on, we began working with the Concordia University System and individual CUS campuses,” said the Rev. David Mahsman, LCMS missionary in Germany and managing director of the International Lutheran Society of Wittenberg, who is developing The Wittenberg Project. “Dr. Rich Carter of Concordia University, St. Paul led a six-week program in Wittenberg this year for CUS schools. I understand that the CUS is planning to offer more of these six-week experiences on a regular basis in the future.” While a six-week immersion trip would be a welcome experience for any college student interested in Luther and Reformation studies, each CUS campus also will be able to facilitate its own courses — some shorter and some longer — and service trips, working within individual campus trip and faculty guidelines.
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EDUCATION FOR ALL
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Statue of Martin Luther
for a weeklong Germany experience, including key Lutheran sites with Wittenberg as the focus, with the intention that visitors of all ages would stay at the new International Lutheran Center. The idea is to have a weeklong “curriculum” unique to the International Lutheran Center, which leverages existing materials that have been developed for past trips and experiences. “We are creating a variety of programs that will be of interest to congregations, youth, seniors and university students,” explained Mahsman. “The weeklong Germany experience … began as a ‘confirmation capstone’ program. We will be working with some pilot congregations to send their confirmands to Wittenberg for a week or more for an immersion experience in Lutheran heritage and what it means to be Lutheran. We are working with CPH on the curriculum, which also could be adapted for use with other groups, including families, congregational groups and seniors (through elder hostels).” According to Kolb, educating our laity and church workers in the heart of Wittenberg, where God worked through Luther to bring clarity to His Gospel, will offer unparalleled, once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunities that will continue to serve the Gospel in our world, both inside and outside of the Church. “As a church historian, my calling involves me in leading people into contact with the past, with other times and other cultures, to translate across the ages and other cultural barriers what lcms.org/givenow/globalmission
“ Some dramatic events that helped clarify the Gospel and demonstrate its power took place in Wittenberg, and we hope to bring both students and church workers already serving in congregations to study the texts of Luther and other reformers while visiting the places they walked and talked.” — Rev. Dr. Robert Kolb, professor emeritus at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
Attendees gather for the dedication of the International Lutheran Center at the Old Latin School.
A period performer posing as Philipp Melanchthon climbs the new steps of the International Lutheran Center at the Old Latin School.
experiences with the action of God in human history has done in and through the message of our Lord’s death and resurrection,” said Kolb. “Some dramatic events that helped clarify the Gospel and demonstrate its power took place in Wittenberg, and we hope to bring both students and church workers already serving in congregations to study the texts of Luther and other reformers while visiting the places they walked and talked and absorbing something of the spirit of their times by seeing what they saw and walking where they walked.” Following renovation, the center is slated to open in May 2015. The project’s timeline allows the building to be established and running in advance of the arrival of the many visitors the city anticipates for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. The Wittenberg Project is seeking prayers and support from LCMS congregations and schools, which are invited to join the Reformation 500 Club to help make this Gospel outreach and education possible in 2015 and beyond. Deaconess Jeni Miller is a freelance writer and a member of Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Atlanta. Learn more: thewittenbergproject.org
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The Wittenberg city square
The International Lutheran Center next to St. Mary’s Church.
UPDATE:
The mood was joyful as Lutherans from around the world — joined by local residents, church leaders and civic officials — filled Martin Luther’s Wittenberg parish church, St. Mary’s, May 3, 2015, for worship, followed by the dedication of the Old Latin School to God’s glory and the service of the Gospel. The event marked a major milestone for The Wittenberg Project and the International Lutheran Center, which is located in the newly renovated building. “It took a lot of work and the support of many dedicated and faithful people to get to that point,” Mahsman said. “Now we are using this wonderful gift of God in His service.”
Since May 2015:
• Monthly worship services (in German) are led in the chapel by the Rev. Markus Fischer, a pastor from the Synod’s German partner church, the Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche (SELK). • Hundreds of guests have already stayed at the center, including students from more than half of the schools of the Concordia University System. • The building has been used by the International Lutheran Council, the SELK’s seminary, SELK congregations and pastors’ conferences, and other Christian groups. • Kristin Lange — who succeeds Mahsman as managing director of the center — arrived in mid-February. Mahsman will return to the U.S. in September. Until then, the two are working together during the transition to finalize the “capstone”
program intended to be the centerpiece of the International Lutheran Society of Wittenberg’s plan to bring people of all ages to Wittenberg to learn about the Reformation and better appreciate what God has done — and continues to do — through it. • Lange and Mahsman have hosted various Wittenberg organizations, local kindergarten children, the city’s tour guides and others who are interested in the building — and have made a point of sharing the Gospel with their guests. • They organized outreach at “Luther’s Hochzeit,” or wedding festival, which draws as many as 100,000 visitors to Wittenberg over one weekend in June.
Planning also is underway for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, which is expected to draw thousands more visitors to Wittenberg every day. The Old Latin School will be in the very center of the activities and will house an exhibition that explains who we are and what we believe as Lutherans who uphold the authority of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. “Our visitors’ and guests’ excitement to see how far this project has come, as well as their enthusiastic well-wishes for our presence here,” Lange says, “give me encouragement for what God has in store for the Old Latin School.”
July–August 2016
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The following article first appeared in the January–February 2015 issue. Read about the current progress in the “Update” section.
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US ChuRch PlaNting: A New Initiative for the LCMS
by Melanie Ave
A new chapter on church planting is about to begin in the recent history book of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Faced with population shifts and a request for the Synod to play a larger role in helping districts, circuits and congregations start new churches, discussions are just beginning about how to craft a new church-planting initiative aimed at encouraging, facilitating, funding and sharing best practices, said the Rev. Bart Day, executive director of the LCMS Office of National Mission. The 2013 Synod convention approved a resolution to “encourage church multiplication as means of making new disciples.” Some LCMS districts, congregations and related church organizations are actively planting churches. But the effort, Day said, seems fragmented and somewhat invisible. “Right now, it’s just not in the spotlight, on the radar,” he said. “It’s not getting the attention it needs from the broader whole of Synod and all 35 districts being engaged in daughtering and planting congregations.” The LCMS Office of National Mission has written policies specific to church planting that call for the Synod to work with districts and congregations to develop witness and mercy opportunities that will lead to the establishment of Word
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and Sacrament ministry and support the development of strong missional leaders.
A New Mission Frontier When the discussion turns to church planting, you have to begin with demographics, population shifts and global Christianity changes, said the Rev. Steven Schave, director of LCMS Urban & InnerCity Mission, who is coordinating the yetunnamed LCMS church-planting efforts. “We in the United States were always considered to be the ones who sent missionaries around the world to plant churches and to preach the Gospel,” he said. “Now we’re seeing the reverse. We are seeing our church partners thriving. … We’re seeing the United States from a global perspective. We’re the third-largest mission field in the world.
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“Only China and India have more people outside the Christian faith than we do.” In short, the mission field is here. But by and large, LCMS congregations are not concentrated in fast-growing areas — cities — or where minority groups are the highest. Sixty-four percent of the Synod’s membership is in the Midwest, 16 percent in the South, 13 percent in the West and 7 percent in the Northeast, according to Pew Research Center’s “Religious Landscape” report. But it is U.S. urban areas, Schave said, that are prime spots for mission work and new churches. “This is the next chapter in the Missouri Synod book of missions,” he said. Schave said LCMS church plants will go beyond the suburbs and small towns to reach different ethnic groups, college campuses, underserved communities and neglected inner cities. Domestic missionaries will become mission developers, helping to plant or restart churches. During the November 2015 LCMS National Mission Summit in California, the Rev. Larry Vogel, associate executive director of the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations, gave a presentation on demographics, citing
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PHOTOS: LCMS COMMUNICATIONS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD
The Rev. Adam DeGroot, national missionary and pastor at Shepherd of the City Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, visits the home of a church member.
information from Pew and the LCMS Office of Rosters and Statistics. He said the LCMS is 95 percent non-Latino white compared to less than 64 percent for the entire country. Only one other faith tradition had a higher percentage of whites: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Additionally, Vogel said the level of aging in LCMS congregations is well above average and it is struggling to retain and evangelize young people. After presenting the rather grim statistics, Vogel left the group on a positive note.
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“We live by the Gospel, not numbers,” he said. “We will all die without it, so I simply remind you that we walk by faith not by sight or statistics. That doesn’t mean we can ignore the numbers, but I pray that it will allow us to keep them in their place.”
Coming Alongside
Parishioners eat and chat together after worship at El Calvario Lutheran Church in Brownsville, Texas. T he Rev. Peter Burfeind, domestic missionary and campus pastor at the University of Toledo in Ohio, talks to new students at the university.
Church planting is very much a part of LCMS history. In the late 1800s, the Synod averaged a new church a day. In comparison, between 2006–2014, the LCMS had 559
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UPDate:
Since this article was originally published in January 2015, the LCMS Office of National Mission (ONM) launched its church-planting initiative — called “Mission Field: USA” — and sent its first national missionaries to bring the Gospel to underserved places. In consultation with the Synod’s districts, several pilot projects were chosen to receive the ONM’s first national missionaries:
Toledo, Ohio—The Rev. Peter Burfeind is engaged in urban, campus and mercy ministries.
Philadelphia—The Rev. Adam DeGroot is engaged in urban, campus
foundation as well as a step-by-step guide for planting churches. Schave also is working with the Synod’s seminaries to establish mission formation tracks and with Lutheran Church Extension Fund to revamp a revolving loan program for church plants. “It will take mother congregations, districts and other Synod entities and seminaries all working together,” Schave said. “It’s not about preserving our institution; it’s about being faithful to our calling to reach the lost. We believe that God desires that we continue to reach the lost in new locations and with new people groups all around the country, as we are led by His Spirit.”
and mercy ministries.
Ferguson, Mo.—Micah Glenn, who graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, in May, will serve as director of a new center that is currently being built.
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Brownsville, Texas—The Rev. Dr. Antonio Lopez is engaged
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in Hispanic, campus and mercy ministries.
Gary, Ind.—Under development Denver—Under development St. Paul, Minn.—Under development
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Through Mission Field: USA, Schave is assisting church plants around the country by providing technical assistance and funding («). A church-planting manual is being developed that will provide a theological
“we’re the tHird-largest mission field in the woRld.”
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— Rev. Steven Schave, director of LCMS Urban & Inner-City Mission
new church starts and new congregations — an average of 70 per year, according to LCMS Rosters and Statistics. “Planting a church is a natural occurrence in the life of the church and it is quite biblical and Trinitarian by nature,” Schave wrote for the LCMS Leader Blog in an article called “Planting a Reformation.” “And in these dark and latter days, when one thinks upon Christ’s imperative to preach repentance and forgiveness to the ends of the earth, and we consider how some of our largest major cities have only a handful of LCMS churches, there is certainly opportunity to love our neighbors and preach the Good News across the spectrum.” Day said by taking a leadership role, the LCMS can bring together districts, circuits, congregations and other partners and help create a more coordinated approach and a framework in which to plant churches. “We’re just recognizing our lack of leadership in church planting has not been helpful,” he said. “How do we strategize and help equip districts to do missions in new territories or where maybe they’ve wanted to but they haven’t had the resources or the skills? 8
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“Can we come alongside them and help them do it?” In addition to the Synod’s urban ministry, its Black, Hispanic, Rural & Small Town and Campus ministries also will be a key part of the church-planting initiative. LCMS Hispanic Ministry works with districts and congregations to reach out to Hispanics in their communities, which has included the creation of congregations, special Spanish-language services and mercy work. The Rev. Dr. Carlos Hernandez, director of LCMS Church and Community Engagement — which includes the strategic development of Hispanic Ministry — said the 52 million Latinos in the United States, the largest ethnic population, are an “enormously untapped mission field.” “This is what we have been called to do — to make disciples of all nations — and to be Christ’s witnesses to the ‘ends of the earth,’” he said. “What a Gospelproclamation opportunity.” The Rev. Todd Kollbaum, director of LCMS Rural & Small Town Mission, said although much of his work has focused on church revitalization, he is helping rural congregations determine
July–August 2016
potential areas or communities in which to plant churches. About half of the Synod’s membership comes from rural areas or small towns. “Church planting and revitalization really work hand in hand,” Kollbaum said. “We cannot forsake one for the other.” While the church-planting initiative is in its infancy, it will flow from the Synod’s Witness, Mercy, Life Together emphasis. “We’re going to plant distinctly Lutheran churches doing distinctly Lutheran missions,” Schave said. “We’re going to look back on history and say this, for us, was a watershed moment for a new chapter of Lutheran missions. How did we respond? We’re going to take seriously and plan for this United States of America being the new mission frontier.” Melanie Ave was a staff writer and social media coordinator for LCMS Communications at the time this article first appeared. Learn more: Visit the Web page: lcms.org/ churchplanting Watch a video: lcms.org/video/plantingchurches
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED I N T H E N OV E M B E R – DECEMBER 2015 ISSUE. READ THE “ U P D AT E ” S E C T I O N TO LEARN ABOUT T H E E XC I T I N G D E V E LO P M E N TS I N THIS REGION.
by Adriane Heins
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July–August 2016
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That little phrase often refers to the chalk cliffs in Ireland or the cluster of stars called the Pleiades. But in Latin America, seven women have found that they are sisters in Christ, bound together by a common confession of faith in Jesus and humble service to those around them. This time, it’s not because of a geographic location or the ordering of the stars. It’s because all seven are deaconesses.
H E AR A N D RESPOND “God instituted the pastoral office to feed and sustain the Church,” explains Deaconess Rosie Adle, former deaconess intern to Latin America and now an online instructor for the distance deaconess program at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. “As Christ is loving us and forgiving us through the pastors tending to the Word and Sacraments, we, His Bride, are fueled for a purpose. The deaconess is trained to understand this in a special way.” It means that each of these deaconesses (from the Greek word for “servant”), many of whom received graduate-level theological training from that seminary, “is equipped to hear and respond to the needs of her neighbors in the congregation and in the community,” Adle explains. “She is also prepared to encourage all of the baptized to care for others from the fullness of God’s grace.” That ability makes deaconesses instrumental on the mission field, where a desire to hear the Gospel often goes hand in hand with caring for a physical need. “Just as Mary brought Jesus into the world, caring for Him, nurturing Him, loving Him, so also Mary stood at the foot of the cross, looking to Him as her Savior and trusting in Him,” the Rev. Ted Krey, regional director for LCMS mission work in Latin America, says. “So deaconesses today nurture, care and bring others to Jesus, all the while, like Mary, steadfastly fixing their eyes on Jesus.” 10
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Deaconesses are, he believes, “integral in the work of mercy, bringing others to Jesus, showing them in their body, whether it’s people with disabilities, the elderly, sick, children. They care and show compassion, just as our Lord does throughout the Gospels.” It’s why there are seven serving in Krey’s region alone.
A H ISTOR IC SHIFT Their service in Latin America, and specifically to those in need of Christ’s care, comes at a fitting time. “Today, another historic shift is occurring. Christianity is shifting away from the Global North (primarily Europe and North America) to the Global South (Africa, Asia and Latin America),” notes LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison. So who are they? And what work is the Lord causing them to do at this unique time and place? Caitlin Worden lives in Lima, Peru, and directs Castillo Fuerte (Mercy House), where underprivileged children learn about Jesus. Cherie Auger, along with her husband, the Rev. Edward Auger, is guiding diaconal formation and mission efforts in Nicaragua. The remainder reside in the Dominican Republic. Gail Ludvigson is writing curriculum for Latin American diaconal training programs. Rachel Powell identifies mercy needs in the community while teaching and encouraging Dominican deaconess students.
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Christel Neuendorf serves as missionary care provider for Latin America, overseeing the mental, physical and spiritual care of the missionaries in the area. Danelle Putnam works in the church in Santo Domingo and also cares for disabled children living in a group home in Santiago. Kathryn Ziegler makes diaconal visits and assists with training Dominican deaconesses for service in their own church. Their service is varied and unique to their God-given gifts and talents. Yet Auger is quick to note, “A deaconess is not defined by what she does but who she is. A deaconess is a Christian born in Baptism, enriched by the Word, fed at the altar and called to serve using her God-given talents.” It’s a fact the seven women remind each other of regularly. “I know that although we serve the Lord’s people in a variety of capacities and in distinct cultural contexts, we have been called and equipped by the same Holy Spirit,” says Powell. “There is a sense of support in serving with sisters who experience similar joys and struggles on the foreign mission field.”
LE T ’S GO TO T HE M “The deaconess does not pick up the slack of the pastor but of the parish,” Adle says. “Through word and deed, she says to all who are fed, ‘Come on, everyone. We have so much! Let’s notice those who lack, and let’s go to them. We can give food to the hungry. We can visit the lonely. We can pray
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PHOTOS: DANIEL FICKENSCHER
UPDATE:
for those who suffer. Let’s share Christ’s great love with all, as He is ever filling us.’” Krey watches the seven deaconesses in Latin America do just that … and on a routine basis. The “deaconesses are quick to bring [hurting people] to the pastors, who give them the saving Word of Jesus, forgive sins, administer the Lord’s Supper,” he observes. “It is essential that we have these women who work with us in building churches, establishing mercy houses, making visits, caring for the lost — and also the household of faith — in body and soul.” It doesn’t mean their service is easy. Mission work combined with deaconess formation has taught Ziegler that “I am just as broken as the people I serve,” she admits. “I learned that it is all talk until you yourself — in all humility — must fully lean on the blood of Christ.” But while the location and face of Christianity may be shifting and changing, the seven sisters in Christ remain confident, sure in promises of their Savior, who was Himself quick to show mercy to His hurting children. Indeed, “the changing face of global Christianity is not to be feared but to be embraced in the confident hope that our Lord will work a blessing from it both for the Church and the world, as people hear the Gospel of Jesus,” Harrison encourages. And as He does, in countries down South, seven women will continue to serve Him and
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their neighbor, knowing “that we all have a mutual goal, and that it takes many shapes, sizes and walks of life to continue down that path,” says Ziegler, “but it only takes one headship, one Lord and one Savior of all.”
“WE CAN FOOD TO
THE HUNGRY.
WE CAN THE LONELY. WE CAN FOR THOSE WHO
SUFFER.”
Adriane Heins is managing editor of The Lutheran Witness and the Journal of Lutheran Mission. Learn more: lcms.org/latinamerica Deaconess Rachel Powell walks with children in a Palm Sunday service in Palmar Arriba, Dominican Republic. Gail Ludvigson is installed as deaconess to the Dominican Republic. Deaconesses Christel Neuendorf (left) and Rachel Powell (right) talk with a girl during a monthly Sunday school-type event for kids with disabilities in Licey, Dominican Republic.
The Synod’s “Seven Sisters” are still hard at work in Latin America, showing mercy and bearing witness to Christ. However, the team is always changing, according to God’s plans. Earlier this year, Deaconess Katie Ziegler married a pastor from Argentina and left her position as an LCMS missionary. But God is providing Deaconess Cheryl Naumann — who is currently building her network of support with her husband, the Rev. Jonathan Naumann — to continue this work. In May, the Synod’s deaconesses held a regional deaconess conference, where they launched a formal deaconess-training program. The program will include 10 Spanishlanguage courses — to be developed during the next five years — and will be used to train deaconesses from Mexico, Venezuela, Panama, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. The program intentionally teaches future deaconesses how to witness, as well as challenges them to identify the principal area in which they will work in their own contexts. “Our first deaconess conference was edifying, with 24 women from five countries participating. The first course on the letters of Paul was well received,” Krey says. “All of the women in the program already serve vocationally in education and visitation of the sick, elderly and children. Our Lutheran churches are determined to carry Christ’s mercy received from His altar and pulpit to a world that is indifferent to the marginalized and the least of these so that a faithful witness of Him would be given and they are served in their body just as our Lord served and continues to serve His Church. “We are excited and give thanks to our Lord Jesus for raising up women who are merciful and for our seven sisters who embody this Reformational theology of serving the whole person throughout our Latin churches,” Krey says.
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Church - Worker Wellness::
When One Suffers…… by Jeni Miller
This article first appeared in the September-October 2015 issue. Read the “Update” section for developments that have taken place since its original publication.
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ired out, burned out, kicked out, down and out. It’s no secret — or shouldn’t be — that our LCMS church workers are susceptible to suffering just like those they serve. Sometimes this suffering is connected with health or financial issues. Other times it can be traced directly to the daily stress of caring for sinners — and unfortunately, some church workers suffer due to the unloving words and actions of their own congregations. But Scripture is clear: If one part of the body suffers, we all suffer (1 Cor. 12:26). And so together — as the Church — we seek to care for our faithful servants who are suffering.
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Thankfully, the LCMS helps facilitate tangible ways in which this care can take place. Through the generous donations and support of individuals, congregations, districts and others, the LCMS Office of National Mission (ONM) is able to grant financial sustenance to three key partners in this work: DOXOLOGY, Grace Place Wellness Ministries and Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat. In addition to these Recognized Service Organizations (RSOs), the ONM also assists the Soldiers of the Cross and Veterans of the Cross programs, which offer financial support for active and retired church workers in the midst of financial or personal crises.
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“This year, the amount [of the grant] will be around $850,000 to be shared between Soldiers of the Cross, Veterans of the Cross and those three organizations: DOXOLOGY, Grace Place Wellness and Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat,” noted the Rev. Bart Day, executive director of the ONM. “Veterans of the Cross gives out basically as much as is requested. In recent years, the requests are diminishing, but you never know when we will be asked for more. Soldiers of the Cross receives a good portion of that total as well, and could be nearly doubled based on the needs and requests we receive.”
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COMMITMENT TO SUPPORT CHURCH-WORKER WELLNESS
$850,000 — amount of
grants provided by the LCMS toward Grace Place Wellness, DOXOLOGY, Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat, Soldiers of the Cross and Veterans of the Cross
$365,000 — separate
amount dedicated to missionary care and support nform
PHOTOS: LCMS COMMUNICATIONS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD, LIGHTSTOCK
Help and Hope for Church Workers and Families Grace Place Wellness has held retreats around the country for thousands of LCMS church workers and their spouses since 1999, and they won’t be slowing down anytime soon. According to Randy Fauser, Grace Place Wellness president and CEO, the “stressors on our church workers are getting more intense. “Spiritual warfare is in full gear, from the outside and from within,” Fauser explained. “Grace Place Wellness is a ministry that teaches a model of preventive self-care so that our pastors, teachers, deaconesses, missionaries and chaplains will stay in ministry longer and serve with joy. We focus on spiritual, relational, financial and physical wellness. Our mission at Grace Place Wellness is to nurture vitality and joy in ministry by inspiring and equipping church workers to lead healthy lives.” Similarly, Dave Anderson, president of Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat and a member of the organization’s board of directors, also expects that church workers will continue to experience increased stress and difficulty as ministry becomes exponentially more challenging in our anti-Christian culture. “When a pastor — or a person in another field of full-time ministry — is in the midst of various stages of burnout, stress, depression and conflicts, the wounds can sidetrack ministry, impact the person’s family and even lead one to leave lcms.org/givenow/globalmission
ministry,” Anderson explained. “Since our first retreat in March 2009, Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat has been privileged to provide an experience of restoration and healing to men and women in ministry, including pastors, teachers, missionaries, DCEs, music ministers, youth directors, camp directors and military chaplains. All restoration is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit.” Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat has hosted nearly 275 men and women from 27 states through 44 retreats. Beginning late fall 2015, the Fellowship House at its Arizona retreat center, Standing Stones, will house retreat participants in addition to providing group and private counseling space. The Rev. Dr. Harold Senkbeil, executive director for Spiritual Care for DOXOLOGY: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel, agrees that the stressors on our church workers come from both within and outside of the church. “We all know that it’s getting increasingly difficult to confess and live the Christian faith as our world becomes increasingly chaotic, its moral fiber unravels and religious belief is called into question,” Senkbeil said. “In such an environment, our church needs to pay special attention to its called workers. These faithful saints of God experience special emotional and spiritual stress as they strive to serve His people with confidence in a world that continually undermines their joy.” Founded in 2007, DOXOLOGY specializes in continuing education for pastors but also offers two-day “Insight” conferences so that other church workers and laity can develop competence and confidence in their specific vocations. The RSO has served more than 600 pastors and the congregations and agencies they serve with retreat seminars geared around quality instruction in skills for the care and cure of souls, enriching worship and collegial conversation.
Wellness and Hope Extend Overseas Through the LCMS Office of International Mission (OIM), church-worker wellness is strongly supported and nurtured through several different avenues. One of those avenues includes free Employee Assistance Program counseling for missionaries, carried out on behalf of the OIM through Lutheran Counseling Services in Orlando, Fla. The organization has eight therapists available to speak confidentially with missionaries via Skype or over the phone. “To provide Christ-centered care is the call of the church,” said the Rev. Dr. Richard Armstrong, executive director of Lutheran Counseling Services. “Our missionaries, as with all of us, face pressures, frustrations and struggles as they live out their calling and service. Not to mention, issues and problems in relationships, parenting, health and loss at various levels, together with transitions into new cultures and situations of extended families back home and so much more.” Care for missionaries in the field, however, doesn’t end there. “Our missionaries are our most important assets in the field,” explained the Rev. John A. Fale, executive director of the OIM. “First and foremost, we strive to provide them with good pastoral support for the care of their soul — someone who will listen to their cares and struggles without judgment, comfort them with God’s Word, pray with them, absolve them and lead them in worship. Also, each regional director provides annual retreats for the regional team to come together for mutual support and encouragement, relaxation, worship and professional development.”
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Everyone Engaged “The care for its workers is serious business for our church body,” said the Rev. Dr. Carlos Hernandez, director of LCMS Church and Community Engagement, which includes administration of Soldiers and Veterans of the Cross. “In a critical sense, our church workers serving their congregations and communities are in the front lines of Gospel proclamation, the Gospel of peace. Through the preaching and teaching of the Word and the administration of the Holy Sacraments, they equip us with the whole armor of God. When they are in crisis and not, understandably, fully functioning, the Gospel is muffled. The devil has a field day when the worker is not fully functioning because of a personal crisis. Oh yes, we need to care for our workers, our front-line troops in the battle against the devil, the world and our sinful flesh.” Since we all suffer when one member suffers, it is truly the responsibility and privilege of all the baptized to care for the Body of Christ and engage in support of those who serve that body. How can we do this? First, pray for your pastors and other church workers. Tell them you’re praying for them. Also, pray for the missionaries serving the LCMS. “Our missionaries represent the entire LCMS where they serve,” Fale added. “It is so very reassuring to them to know that their brothers and sisters of the LCMS pray for them regularly. I also ask that members of the LCMS give prayerful consideration to
supporting opportunities for missionaries to retreat, that they may be refreshed and renewed periodically so they can continue in their service with renewed zeal.” Next, look out for the well-being of your church workers. Be mindful of the signs of stress and difficulty in their lives. Encourage them, and remind them to seek help and resources when needed. Point them to Christ, and suggest that they speak with their own pastor and have the Word preached and administered to them just as they share it with others. Finally, act. Financially supporting organizations that bring relief and restore wellness to suffering church workers ensures that those who are there to serve you and the church at-large can continue in this work. Of course, even a simple act of kindness can go a long way. “Congregations should be encouraged and reminded to do the little, simple things to love and support their church workers,” Day said. “It doesn’t have to be big and showy. The little things go a very long way, like letting the pastor use your vacation condo, baby-sitting their kids so they can have a date night, etc.” Learn more:
lcms.org/sotc lcms.org/votc doxology.us graceplacewellness.org shepherdscanyonretreat.com
UPDATE T
he LCMS Office of National Mission takes the well-being of the Synod’s church workers seriously. Again this year, the ONM provided $850,000 to programs and organizations that provide tangible care for church workers and their families. However, the ultimate goal is to provide preventive care to keep church workers healthy in the first place. That’s why the ONM formed an ad hoc work group in January 2016 to study the issue further. The work group conducted a survey of church workers in the Synod to learn which needs were going unmet, and the ONM and Concordia Plan Services jointly funded research from Dr. Ben Freudenburg of Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich., on the needs of LCMS church-worker families. Freudenburg’s research found that 30 percent of the men and 27 percent of the women who participated expressed a need for marriage retreats or conferences for church workers, while 27 percent of the men and 24 percent of the women expressed a need for small-group Bible studies on various marriage topics. Furthermore, 47 percent of the church workers who participated reported that they “rarely” or “never” invested appropriately in Sabbath rest or leisure. “The purpose of the research is to discover unmet needs facing LCMS church workers with the intent of developing new ministries to address these needs in close partnership with districts,” Hernandez said. The work group also proposed several resolutions for consideration at this summer’s Synod convention in Milwaukee. One resolution calls for establishing “an ONM worker wellness task force,” while others call for “promoting worker wellness within circuits and districts” and establishing and promoting “the ministries of district caregivers and father confessors and spiritual companions.”
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LCMS Grant
Funds Roofs for Madagascar Churches by Erik M. Lunsford
The following article first appeared in the January-February 2015 issue. Read the “Update” section to learn about the work that has been completed to date.
PHOTOS: LCMS COMMUNICATIONS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD
In the extreme southern part nform of Madagascar, set against hot hillsides of prickly cactuses and Triangle palms, a tour guide in Andohahela National Park stops on the rocky path. Here, he said, is where two different climates meet. To the west in the desert is the Androy region; to the east, the tropical Anosy region. It’s also a place where two church bodies intersect as they seek altar and pulpit fellowship. The LCMS and the Malagasy Lutheran Church, known locally as the Fiangonana Loterana Malagasy (FLM), have embarked on a project to install tin roofs on FLM churches around the country. For this, the LCMS gave a $100,000 grant.“W lcms.org/givenow/globalmission
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“W
e are so glad to have the support from the U.S. to realize the tin roof project,” said the Rev. Dr. David Rakotonirina, FLM bishop of the capital city of Antananarivo. “This project is just one way to show the relationship between the two church bodies.” To see the first round of roofs, one needs to have an experienced driver, a durable four-wheel-drive truck and a strong stomach. Churches sit off roads cratered with potholes, far from towns and cellular service. Along the way, there is rarely a smooth surface. Near the town of Antsovela, members of a congregation in a small stone church explain how they plan to use these pieces of tin to extend the building for a growing parish. After prayer, they give a visiting LCMS representative a highly respected gift of daily bread — a live goat — as a gesture of thanks. Pastor Joroaze, president of the FLM district west of Antsovela, said the LCMS project has helped him witness in the community and build a sense of unity through the teamwork involved in roof construction.
“It has great impact because people are more willing to help and work and get the church done,” he said. The project also has helped to change minds. By witnessing the LCMS’ help, Joroaze said residents have come to realize that the church serves the poor within the community. It isn’t the actual roofs that are important, but rather how the community responds to the project, he explained. “The church is the community, the community is the church,” he said. LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison and the Rev. Dr. Albert B. Collver III, LCMS director of Church Relations, first pursued the project in February 2014 after meeting with FLM bishops in Antsirabe, the staging area for LCMS Mercy Medical Teams in Madagascar. In all, the project will buy some 22,000 pieces of tin to cover 220 churches. “The Malagasy Lutheran Church, although only 20 years younger than the LCMS, is a church body that the LCMS has only had contact with for about 15 years,” Collver said. “Both churches’ commitment to the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions have drawn them closer together over the past decade.” During this time, a number of FLM pastors have studied at the Synod’s two seminaries in the U.S. The LCMS also
has worked with synods of the Malagasy church to carry out mercy projects like HIV awareness, hospital projects and Mercy Medical Team trips. “The tin roof project is the largest project between the Malagasy Lutheran Church and the LCMS to date,” Collver continued. “It helps show concern for individual congregations. We hope that Christ will draw our churches closer in a common confession of faith.” Rakotonirina is visibly excited when he discusses the tin roof project. “We are very thankful for having a relationship between the LCMS and the FLM.” As the sun sets over the farming community of Amboasary, the community gathers to watch two men install tin roofing on the church. The elderly Falesoa Jean-Pierre hoists a piece of tin over a rickety handmade ladder and nails it into place. He stops for the evening — not because it’s getting dark, but because he runs out of nails. Later, while observers overlook the cliff edges at the rough intersection of the Indian Ocean and the Mozambique Channel, clouds begin to shroud the sky, obscuring the pale landscape of rocks and shrubby plants. The words “Thy Kingdom come” come to mind. And on this intersection, an LCMS representative and an FLM bishop shake hands. Where two bodies of water meet, so do two cultures, walking onward together. “Thy will be done.” Erik M. Lunsford is managing photojournalist for LCMS Communications. V iew the photo gallery: lcms.org/photo/
roofs-for-malagasy-churches Learn more: lcms.org/madagascar
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“
“
This project is just one way to show the relationship between the two church bodies.
— Rev. Dr. David Rakotonirina, FLM bishop of the capital city of Antananarivo
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housands of Lutherans in Madagascar are now able to worship in their churches come rain or shine thanks to the $100,000 grant given by the LCMS in late 2014. During the past year, grant money was disbursed to congregations from all 17 synods, or districts, of the Malagasy Lutheran Church to replace their leaky roofs with sturdy corrugated tin. This assistance has enabled members to gather for worship and meetings year-round — even during the rainy season. “We have learned that a project such as replacing the roofing of churches that appears to be very simple has a lot of impact in the lives of the church members,” said Rakotonirina. But the Synod’s provision of tin for roofs doesn’t end with Madagascar. The Tin Roofs for Africa project continues to impact Lutherans in Tanzania, Ethiopia and all around the continent.
While some churches — like those in Madagascar — replace existing thatch roofs, many of the grants go to new church buildings, which are being built by the members’ own hands from mud, sticks and clay bricks. “Tin roofs are not just about providing a shelter under which you can worship in the rainy seasons. They are not just about keeping the sun off your head for the threeto five-hour worship service,” said the Rev. Shauen Trump, LCMS area director for Eastern and Southern Africa. “The tin roofs are fundamental to preserving a building itself to keep the rain from literally melting the walls. “The church is expanding, the Gospel is going forth, congregations are being planted, and we get to be a part of it all,” Trump continued. “Praise God!”
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nform
Beatheting
Bushes
by Adriane Heins
The following article first appeared in the November–December 2014 issue. Read the “Update” section to learn what has happened since its original publication.
Hispanic ministry is growing in places across the country, such as in Brownsville, Texas; Sheboygan, Wis.; and Orlando, Fla.
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“We’re willing and ready to go out and beat the bushes.” The Rev. Dr.
PHOTOS: LCMS COMMUNICATIONS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD, GETTY IMAGES, THINKSTOCK
Carlos Hernandez’s voice proves he means business. “We go into their homes and ask them how we can care for human beings with human needs, waiting for the Holy Spirit to move them,” he explains. “And often He does. Whenever we share the Gospel, people say, ‘Really? Salvation by grace? It’s a free gift?’ Some people cry.” Beating the bushes is easy, because Hernandez, director of LCMS Church and Community Engagement, isn’t doing it alone. Partnerships between congregations, districts and the Synod are making in-roads across the country. “By invitation, we assist districts or congregations that are interested. Usually, it’s a double partnership, because the district is often already helping the congregation,” he explains. St. John’s Lutheran Church in Beardstown, Ill., is one such example of a lay-led joint venture. “The congregation is in a community that has, over the last 20 years, become increasingly Hispanic,” says Hernandez. “The members of the congregation said to the pastor, ‘We really need to reach out to the growing Hispanic population in this town.’ The pastor agreed, but he also knew the church didn’t have much money.” When the Rev. Doug Evenson mentioned this obstacle, one lay member took it as a challenge. He simply asked, “How much does it cost?” recalls Hernandez. That’s when the congregation “brought up
groups who knock on doors, he notes. “We start with mercy and then bear witness according to the Holy Spirit and then move to life together as He draws them into the Church.”
What Do Lutherans Believe? The Rev. Dr. Carlos Hernandez, director of LCMS Church and Community Engagement, walks with Abigail Konig during a Gospel Seeds training session in Philadelphia, Pa.
the idea of a partnership — both in terms of finances and as a mission development — between the congregation and the district and the Synod.” The ball was already rolling. Using the Synod’s Gospel Seeds model — where congregations focus on mercy, finding out from their neighbors what human-care needs the church can help them meet, which leads them to opportunities to bear witness to Christ — Hernandez and congregation members got to work. “You can’t just put up a sign and say, ‘Y’all come,’” Hernandez says. “When I met with the congregation in Beardstown, I asked them, ‘What Hispanics do you know? Do you know Spanish?’” The congregation made a lengthy list of names and then started knocking on doors. “We asked them, ‘We’re from St. John’s. We’re reaching out to the Latino population. What are some of the needs you see in our community?’” Hernandez recalls. Starting conversations through acts of mercy sets Lutherans apart from other
The congregation offered the Latino community the use of their gym, which was no longer in use since the church’s school closed. Then the church started English-asa-Second-Language (ESL) classes. “People were drawn in quickly,” Hernandez recalls. Then a woman from the community named Maria Guijosa offered her help, both in translation and in locating local and county services families could make use of. Before long, “St. John’s became a Hispanic center for people to inquire about human needs,” Hernandez observed. “And then they started asking the same question they always ask: What do Lutherans believe?” The Rev. Pablo Dominguez, pastor of a Hispanic mission in the LCMS Central Illinois District, was quickly on the scene, visiting every couple of weeks while simultaneously leading a Bible class. Soon, though, the congregation members pushed for even more: “Can we get a vicar?” Hernandez recalls them asking. “We need someone here for them every day!” And they did. Jason Gullidge, a vicar from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., who is still learning Spanish, now assists with a variety of Hispanic ministry opportunities, like
“We’re from St. John’s. We’re reaching out to the Latino population. What are some of the needs you see in our community?”
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PHOTO: JASON GULLIDGE
hosting “Sunday School to our community and our members, and every other Saturday, a gathering similar to a church service (religious movies, songs, a message and a prayer), led by Pastor Dominguez,” Gullidge says, with plans for more in the works.
Acts of Mercy Ultimately, Gullidge and Evenson believe this partnership enables them to “share the Gospel of Christ through acts of mercy while helping with daily needs.” The Central Illinois District is now putting funds on the table in addition to what the congregation gives while the Synod’s Hispanic Ministry staff continues to offer time, counsel and expertise. This tri-fold partnership “allows new ideas to be shared, resources to be increased and our work to be synchronized around the world,” explains the Rev. Bart Day, executive director of the LCMS Office of National Mission. “All of this means the Gospel is proclaimed to the ends of the earth, and Lutheran churches grow as the Word is taught and the Sacraments are administered. Walking together in our life together is a tremendous witness to the world of our shared mission.” And as for that witness? “I’ve never seen this much love and excitement in reaching out to Hispanics in all my years,” acknowledges Hernandez. “It’s an amazing thing.” Learn more: lcms.org/gospelseeds
UPDATE
icar Jason Gullidge (left), the Rev. Doug Evenson V (center) and vacation Bible school students at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Beardstown, Ill.
Almost two years after this story was originally published, Hispanic ministry is still in full swing at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Beardstown, Ill. The church now has a core group of Latinos who attend regularly, and as many as 50 come to the various events. The congregation also has been able to expand its programs to meet the needs of the community, thanks to dedicated members who volunteer their time. In addition to ESL classes and worship opportunities, St. John’s also offers Bible studies, an exercise class for mothers, a resource library and a computer lab where people can learn English, prepare for citizenship or study for the GED test. Guijosa also continues to be an important partner in this ministry. She drives people to the hospital or doctor when needed and translates for them. She also lets the pastor and vicar know who to pray for and visit at the hospital. Often, they are the only clergy to visit. St. John’s has had two different vicars who have helped Dominguez provide consistent outreach to the Hispanic population, and its third vicar was installed June 12. “Congregational member support is a powerful factor in the long-term stability and growth of a Hispanic ministry,” Hernandez says. “Thanks to lay Lutherans who love the Lord so much they want to share the Gospel with others, the Hispanic ministry in Beardstown is here to say, all glory to God!”
Church members greet each other during a monthly bilingual service at Salem Lutheran Church in Springdale, Ark.
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STEWARD’S CORNER
A Commitment to You as God’s Steward
A Fund r a ise r ’ s C ode o f
Ethical Principles and Practices by Mark Hofman If you read my previous Steward’s Corner article about your rights as a donor, recall that I promised to share the flip side of that topic: our Code of Ethical Principles and Practices* as advancement professionals. Those of us serving the Synod, especially those within Mission Advancement, are bound by God’s Word — in passages like Phil. 4:8 — and by this code as we work alongside anyone who has or is considering making a charitable investment in our Synod’s work.
Our Code of Ethical Principles and Practices God’s Word does not speak directly to codes of ethics (rules of professional conduct), which fall more under the left-hand kingdom than the right-hand kingdom. Still, for each statement I have added a reference or two that may help interpret that statement through the lens of Scripture. The staff and volunteers of the LCMS will: • Seek to serve Christ faithfully and hold His name supreme (2 Thess. 1:11–12; Eph. 4:15–16). •W ork for the best interest of the donor (Matt 22:37–39; 1 Cor. 10:24).
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
•S trive to model and promote the concept of Christian stewardship in
the church and among donors, Synod co-workers and other advancement professionals (1 Tim. 6:17–19; Prov. 11:3). •P ortray accurately the Synod’s mission in all communications (Eph. 4:15; Prov. 21:6; Col. 3:9). •M aintain confidentiality in handling donor and prospective donor records (Prov. 11:13; 13:3; 20:19). • Offer public recognition and appreciation for a gift only after donor permission has been granted (2 Cor. 9:12–15; Heb. 10:24). • Ensure accurate use of designated gifts, optimal management of all solicited funds and truthful reporting (Luke 16:10; 2 Cor. 8:20–21). •C omply with all federal, state and municipal laws (Matt. 22:20–21; Rom. 13:1–7). •D eal charitably, fairly and honestly with other professionals and organizations (Ps. 15:1–5; 1 Peter 3:10–12). • Maintain and encourage high levels of professional competence and accurately present professional qualifications and experiences to prospective donors and employers (Col. 1:10; 1 Peter 2:12). •B e compensated by a set salary or fixed hourly wage, NOT by commissions, fees or wages based on a percentage of charitable gifts secured (Lev. 19:35–36; Prov. 22:1). •A void or otherwise disclose all potential conflicts of interest (Matt. 6:24; 2 Cor. 7:1).
The Mission Advancement team takes this code seriously. As professionals, we have this code in front of us at our desks and workstations. Over the past five years, we have intentionally invested time reviewing each and every ethical statement in detail, and we remind each other of our ethical obligations to you under the code and under God’s Word. I invite you to do this: If we fail you in any of these ethical obligations, please let the Synod’s chief mission officer, my immediate supervisor, know. If you see us upholding these obligations, let us know by calling our donor care line at 888-9304438 or by sending an email to mission. advancement@lcms.org with a subject line of “Honoring Your Code.” You also can read an expanded version of this article on our Leader Blog at blogs. lcms.org/2016/a-fundraisers-code-of-ethicalprinciples-and-practices, where I have a little more space to comment on each ethical statement. I pray that knowing about this code, and our commitment to upholding it, is an encouragement to you that we live, love and serve under our Lord’s cross. Mark Hofman, CFRE, MBA, is the executive director of LCMS Mission Advancement.
Are any of these a surprise to you?
* Our code parallels the Code of Ethical Principles and Practices endorsed by the Association of Lutheran Development Executives, or ALDE. LCMS Mission Advancement also accepts the Code of Ethical Standards prepared by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, or AFP.
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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID Burlington, WI Permit No. 12
This magazine was developed for you, as one who has supported the Witness, Mercy, Life Together work of the LCMS with your time and/or financial gifts. Whether your efforts and gifts were for disaster relief, a specific ministry or an individual missionary, you are a vital part of the Synod’s work around the world. The stories found in these pages are about how YOU are making a difference and changing lives with the Gospel and Christ’s mercy. Lutherans Engage the World is our effort to keep you informed about the difference you are making in the world and to say THANK YOU for all you do.
2016 IS THE YEAR FOR THE TRIENNIAL LCMS NATIONAL OFFERING, which will be gathered at the 66th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod July 9-14 in Milwaukee.
Gifts to the 2016 National Offering — which can be made at any time — will empower the work God has given us to do in His name through programs and projects where we witness, show mercy and walk with one another as Christians in our life together.
Interested in making a gift?
• Visit lcms.org/givenow/NO2016; • Call 888-930-4438; or • Mail a check, made payable to “The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod,” to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, 2016 LCMS National Offering, P.O. Box 66861, St. Louis, MO 63166-6861. (Write “2016 LCMS National Offering” on the memo line.)
TO LEARN MORE visit lcms.org/national-offering