Lutherans ENGAGE the WORLD January – February 2014, Vol. 2, Issue 3
Lutherans
ENGAGE the WORLD January – February 2014
vol. 2 no. 3
inspire
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10 Questions
Mercy Moment
Serving the Church as a 21st-Century Missionary
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The Horn Family Update
To the Four Corners of the Earth
21 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. © 2014 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. 1-888-THE LCMS (843-5267) www.lcms.org
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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engage Who’s Your Missionary? MY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES are dotted with images of missionaries visiting our church with their artifacts and colorful clothing from the faraway places where they had been sent to serve. I recall special offerings and sending letters and gifts to missionary families. Missionary support was part of the fabric of our congregational life together. Fast-forward 40 years and it’s much the same today at my congregation, Hope Lutheran Church in South St. Louis. We have adopted two missionary families. Each week we pray for them in our services. We receive their newsletters, and the congregation has committed to supporting them financially with a set amount annually. Recently, missionary support has been woven into the fabric of my own family as we have committed to personally supporting these same two missionary families with our personal prayers and financial gifts. “Our missionaries” regularly send us emails and notes about their lives on the mission field. On their own, the gifts from our congregation and my family wouldn’t be enough to send or keep a missionary on the field. But joined together with gifts large and small from congregations and individuals across the LCMS, these missionaries are able to serve in places like Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. In the pages of this issue of Lutherans Engage the World, you’ll read about the changing face of mission work and the skill sets and number of people needed on the mission field, and you’ll learn about the road to missionary service. (Do you know someone who would make a great missionary?) It is the moment for mission. Who’s your missionary?
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The Changing Face of Mission Work
The Road to Missionary Service
Region by Region
Steward’s Corner
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Giving from the Heart
S TA F F Mark D. Hofman David L. Strand Pamela J. Nielsen Erica Schwan Melanie Ave Megan K. Mertz Erik M. Lunsford Carolyn A. Niehoff Chrissy A. Thomas
executive director, mission advancement executive director, communications executive editor manager of design services staff writer staff writer staff photojournalist/editor designer designer
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In Christ, Pamela J. Nielsen Associate Executive Director, Communication Services
EDITORIAL OFFICE 314-996-1215 1333 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122-7295 lutheransengage@lcms.org www.lcms.org/lutheransengage
Cover image: PHOTO: LCMS COMMUNICATIONS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD
10 Questions
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with Missionary Caitlin Worden by Erik M. Lunsford
1. What prepared you for missionary work? Many things have influenced and prepared me for today. When I look back, I see the web the Lord has woven in my life. Too often we don't know the purpose for which the Lord plans our lives, but I truly believe I am now where the Lord wants me.
my internship while I am here in Peru for my deaconess program at Concordia Theological Seminary. In addition, I am working on my full license for my bachelor’s of social work. I currently have my limited license and am working toward a fully certified license.
When I first arrived, every aspect here was sensory overload. Everything was new and different and I felt like I spent my whole day just trying to make sense of things. Because I live in a large city, there are many days it feels like a different city away from home in the United States. There are many other times when cultural differences and the language make it very clear that I am nowhere near anything familiar. A typical day here involves kisses from strangers, haggling over prices, great amounts of walking and riding in broken-down buses, among other things.
2. W ho influenced you to become a missionary? Many people have influenced and planted seeds in my life. Pastor Ted Krey [LCMS regional director for Latin America] and my father were especially influential.
3. Why Lima, Peru? I'm here because of the work we are doing, not because of the place itself. The LCMS mission has a mercy house where we are working with children [who are] living and working in the streets. We help children have a better life and a better future.
4. C an you describe your work in more detail?
5. W hat reward does that give you? Working with the children is a joy. However, the greatest blessing is these children are coming to know Christ. They are feeling His love and presence in their lives through us.
8. W hat do you miss from home?
The greatest blessing “ is these children are coming to know Christ. ”
We serve children and their families in La Victoria [a part of Lima] with a three-fold purpose of education, health and life. We have after-school tutoring, a reading club and an event called "Saturday Explosions." That time is for us to interact and build relationships. We had health fairs and clinics, and we spend time educating the people on healthy living practices. Lastly, we also have [vacation Bible school] classes, which give us a chance to teach Bible stories and the love of Christ.
7. What is life like in Peru?
6. W hat educational goals are you working toward?
I miss my family. I miss a world that speaks English. I am learning Spanish and every interaction here is learning for me. I miss doing things with more simplicity. I also miss driving. The streets of Lima are crazy and you couldn't pay me to drive here.
9. W hat advice do you have for new missionaries? Be patient with all things, with yourself and with God. When you are humbled by Him you will seek your fulfillment in Him.
10. W hat one word describes your missionary work?
www.lcms.org/missionarysupport
I am working on two certifications. I am serving
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The Changing Face of
mission work
PHOTOS: LCMS
The Rev. Theodore Naether and family, the first LCMS missionary to India (circa 1890)
The Rev. Dr. Otto Hintze teaches “Jesus Loves Me” to the indigenous people in Papua New Guinea (circa 1950). Hintze was one of the first LCMS missionaries to the country.
by Rev. Dr. Albert B. Collver III
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h at d oe s modern-day mission work look like?
Would you describe an image
of men clad in khaki and pith hats, slashing through thick vegetation, living in mud huts and teaching and preaching
The Rev. Ted Krey, LCMS regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, lays hands on Willy Gaspar during his ordination in 2011. Gaspar was the first man from the Dominican Republic to become a Lutheran lcms.org/givenow/globalmission pastor because of LCMS mission work.
the Gospel to indigenous peoples?
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Left: LCMS missionary Rev. Mark Eisold (far right) stands with congregation members at an LCMS church plant in Lima, Peru. Right: Seminary students listen to a lecture at the seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana, an LCMS partner church.
If so, you’ve given an 1895 kind of answer. That was the year that the Rev. Theodore Naether, the first LCMS missionary, was sent to India. Pastor Naether was only 27 years old when he and his family made the long journey overseas by steamship. After 10 years of sharing Christ’s forgiveness and peace with sinners, he died of the plague while surrounded by his beloved congregation. His work laid the foundation for our first LCMS partner church, the India Evangelical Lutheran Church, which today has hundreds of thousands of members and a vast system of schools and mercy institutions. Or maybe you would describe a time before the mid-19th century — the early modern period (the past 500 years) — which often evokes the black-robed priest living in a Native American village, teaching the rudiments of the Christian faith to natives while trying to survive in harsh conditions. Perhaps the first thought you have is boarding an airplane to fly to a Latin American country, speaking the Gospel while passing out eyeglasses or building shelters for homeless people, a more recent reality. Each of these images helps illustrate the changing face of mission work in the Church today.
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Our concept of “mission work” developed during the past 300 years or so. The Church followed where Christian, European countries explored and settled. The late 18th and particularly the 19th centuries also saw the rise of international mission societies. These lay groups organized to send pastors and others with various skills, helping to spread the Church to the four corners of the earth. Today, the face of mission work, although connected to these past efforts, looks very different. Inexpensive airfare, cell phones and the Internet connect people from different cultures, lands and languages who interact in a way inconceivable to earlier generations. Church groups can easily board an airplane, traveling to the farthest reaches of the globe to teach vacation Bible school to children in Mongolia. In places where no church existed 100 years ago, some of the largest Lutheran churches on earth now reside. The mission field also can now be found in parts of America that have become the home of entire African communities, who only a generation ago would have only been found in the heart of Africa. Yet, the goal of mission work is always the same: to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to sinners.
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Today, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod accomplishes this work in several ways. Church planting — establishing a Lutheran altar and pulpit — continues to lead our activity in places where no church exists. Where we have an existing partner church, LCMS mission efforts are focused on providing specific resources that will help sustain, revitalize and strengthen the partner church as it proclaims the Gospel. Together, the local, indigenous church, our missionaries on the ground and the LCMS Office of International Mission staff work to determine the best way to approach the work on the field.
Help Us Train Our Pastors The number one request coming from our LCMS partner churches worldwide is: “Help us train our pastors.” Our reputation for robust theological education that fully equips a man to shepherd a flock is recognized around the globe. How we enhance and strengthen theological education depends upon the location and setting. It might involve providing scholarships for men to study at a local or regional seminary like we do in Argentina, where nine Latin countries send their students. In Africa, it might involve
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PHOTOS: LCMS
LCMS missionary Michelle Cagnin leads a microcredit loan workshop in the Philippines.
the goal of mission work is always the same: to bring the gospel of jesus christ to sinners
providing assistance at a missionary training center as we do in Togo or sending a recent seminary graduate to a local Bible school. Or perhaps it involves sending a pastor with a Ph.D. to teach for a few months to strengthen seminary faculty, as we are doing now in Ethiopia. Parish pastors who can provide administrative and teaching support to a partner church seminary are also requested. Providing long-term theological educators is another way the LCMS is instrumental on the mission field. Although intensive short-term courses are appreciated, the most frequent request we get is for people who can teach for several years. In Siberia, Russia, for example, the Rev. Alan Ludwig, serves as a theological educator. He has taught seminarians, preached at local Lutheran congregations and assisted in building up Lutheran pastors in the region since 1998. Dr. Ludwig writes: “Missions means planting churches. For many reasons — including political, economic and cultural ones — this can better be done by trained Russians. It is better to equip 10 Russian pastors than to send 10 American pastors. This will help insure the continuation of the Lutheran church in Russia and other territories. Long after foreigners have left, the church will have strong, confessional leaders.” The Lutheran churches in Africa are requesting our theological educators to help train more pastors to serve the hundreds of new congregations being formed. The Rev. Dr. Carl and Deaconess Deborah Rockrohr,
missionaries in Ethiopia, currently assist with theological training. Dr. Rockrohr instructs seminarians desiring to be pastors at the Mekane Yesus Seminary in Addis Ababa, while Deaconess Rockrohr helps to teach theological courses for women considering vocations within the Church. They write: “The EECMY has set big goals for itself. Concerning the seminary, the church wants to expand the new graduate program so that in five years there will be 200 M.A. students and up to 30 doctoral students. The challenges to reach these goals are immense. … Despite the challenges, the students are very eager to learn!” In Madagascar, there are not enough pastors to serve the more than one new congregation that opens each week. Can you imagine it? A new congregation serving between 1,000 and 3,000 people opening every week! In many cases, congregations or preaching stations are served by evangelists, men who still require theological and practical training.
Many Skills LCMS missionaries are often focused on supporting, revitalizing and strengthening Lutheran churches around the world. They frequently serve as “Aarons,” holding up Moses’ hands. They assist our partners
through a variety of ways — ways specifically requested by the partner, such as bringing in doctors and nurses, people to teach English as a Second Language or by finding skilled workmen to complete various construction projects. These lay missionaries, serving alongside pastors and deaconesses, have been sent with almost every imaginable skill and profession — accountants, doctors, nurses, schoolteachers, farmers and other laborers. What is the face of missions in 2013? Your answer depends on where in the world our LCMS missionaries are serving and what they have been given to do for the church in that place. But no matter where they are or what their vocation may be, our LCMS missionaries’ work is always done at the foot of Christ’s cross and focused on witness (proclaiming the Gospel), mercy (showing love and compassion to people in need) and life together (having a community of people gathered around Jesus). The Rev. Dr. Albert B. Collver III is director of LCMS Church Relations and assistant to LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison. Learn more: www.lcms.org/international
A volunteer treats a child during a 2009 Mercy Medical Team trip to Madagascar.
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MERCY MOMENT
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Missionary Sean Harlow
by Erik M. Lunsford
PHOTOS: LCMS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD
ean Harlow, LCMS missionary to Taiwan and the Philippines, descends from his seat atop gas cans in the van’s trunk, dons a floppy militarystyle hat and lands with a pair of flip-flops on the debris-strewn ground of Tacloban City, Leyte province, Philippines. He carries a bag of rice, bound for hungry families of Christ Lutheran Church. Across the street, body bags lay in a sloppy row. “I have never seen the degree of destruction that I found in Tacloban,” Harlow said after delivering rice as part of the initial LCMS disaster-relief effort following Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013. “Even though it was very hot, I felt a chill come over me, which coincided with the sense of death and destruction that surrounded me from all angles and directions.” As part of his role as a career missionary, Harlow serves as the assistant to the president of the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP). An average student in a family of four brothers, Harlow grew up in a home rich in Christian discipline, participating in nightly prayer and devotionals while his father studied to become a pastor in St. Louis.
“I loved reading and memorizing the Bible, singing Christian songs and learning the difference between being a lover of Jesus and a lover of the world,” he said. Harlow easily grasped biblical concepts, and he knew he wanted to share them with others. Following graduation from Lutheran High School North in St. Louis and Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich., Harlow enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He fought in the Persian Gulf twice during his five years of military service. Harlow said his military career helped him prepare emotionally and mentally for disaster-relief work. “Being able to show compassion and mercy to those in need is incredibly important,” he said, “but it is also important to not let the situation become overwhelming or overbearing.” On Nov. 8, Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 5,000 people on the island of Leyte and the surrounding islands that make up the Philippines. The storm displaced millions and wiped out entire communities.
Although he was attending a fall retreat at the time of the storm, Harlow quickly researched the affected area and found friends and LCMS partners who were suffering from the disaster. He coordinated with LCP Disaster Response Leader Rev. Antonio Reyes and helped prepare for the arrival of the LCMS Disaster Response team from the United States. When the St. Louis-based response team arrived in the Philippines, Harlow traveled with the group from Manila via plane to Cebu City then onto Ormoc on the island of Leyte. Traveling by boat at night, Harlow marveled when the boat pulled into port. “We could all sense the destruction that surrounded us in the dark,” he said. “We could see the bare skeletons of many coconut, banana and palm trees that were destroyed by the storm.” One night during the trip, spiders walked across Harlow as he slept outside in the rain. During the day, he worked behind the scenes for the LCMS Disaster Response team, scouring nearby cities for
On Nov. 8, 2013, the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Haiyan, leaving thousands dead and millions displaced. Missionary Sean Harlow joined responders from the Lutheran Church in the Philippines and the LCMS, bringing food and supplies to hard-hit communities along with a witness of the hope that is found in Christ.
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supplies and coordinating transportation. “I love that my job is always an adventure of responsibilities that lead to serving Jesus and others through being a witness, showing mercy and building relationships with both those who know or don’t know the Lord.” Missionaries around the world are not only engaged in witness but are often called upon to lead and bear mercy in their regions. Harlow said he is saddened at the horrendous devastation from Haiyan, but he cherishes the opportunity to help others who have lost everything. “I feel that this is what the Lord has called me to [do],” he said. Erik M. Lunsford is staff photojournalist and editor for LCMS Communications. Video update: www.lcms.org/video/ PhilippinesUpdate Photo gallery: www.lcms.org/photo/ PhilippinesUpdate
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nvolve
f ro m t h e h e a rt T O
S U P P O R T
M I S S I O N S
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M I S S I O N A R I E S
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o n o r s l i k e Ron and Evelyn Harman and Kelly and Cheryl Keithly are vital to the national
and international witness and mercy work of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). But the way the two couples support the church’s work is quite different. The Harmans directly support three LCMS career missionaries who are based in different parts of the world. The Keithlys regularly give to the LCMS Global Mission Fund, which supports the Synod’s Gospel proclamation, disaster response and humancare activities. Global Mission funds are distributed where they are needed most,
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nationally and internationally. “Every donor brings a unique, distinctive blessing to our work,” said Mark Hofman, executive director of LCMS Mission Advancement. “Both those who desire a deep personal connection to the missionaries doing the work and those who are willing to let the LCMS determine where their gift is most needed out in the field are equally treasured. “What our donors all share is a deep love of Jesus and a
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passion for sharing the Gospel with the world, combined with the immense trust of a heavenly Father who provides for their every need. Together they take action as the body of Christ to bring hope and healing to those who are lost, weak or new in the faith.” Here’s what the Harmans and the Keithlys have to say about why they give the way they do. Ron, 81, and Evelyn, 79, Harman live in Phoenix and have been supporting LCMS missionaries for about a decade. Each month they write checks to the LCMS that directly support Shara
Cunningham, who serves in Kenya; the Rev. Stephen and Maggie Oliver, who serve in the Asia Pacific region; and another missionary family. For Ron Harman, a retired Lutheran school teacher, the motivation behind his support of missionaries is simple. “They’re doing what the Church ought to be doing,” he said. “According to the Great Commission, that is No. 1.” The LCMS trains, sends and supports called and appointed career, long-term and short-term missionaries worldwide where there are mission stations, partner churches, schools or mission relationships.
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PHOTOS: LCMS
by Melanie Ave
Opposite page, left: LCMS missionary Shara Cunningham hugs a girl who has just received her first pair of eyeglasses at a church-sponsored eyeglass clinic in Kenya in 2012. Right: A Mercy Medical Team volunteer takes a woman’s blood pressure during a 2010 trip to Kenya.
Photo provided by Ron and Evelyn Harman
always tithed, even when, as annually or annually, becoming my husband says, we were too partners with the LCMS in poor to pay attention.” ministry. The minimum annual The Keithlys are delighted commitment is $300. to be a part of the larger global The Keithlys have strong mission and ministry of beliefs about the importance of the LCMS. Christian stewardship. The Keithlys, who own a For Cheryl Keithly, giving to vegetable seed sales business, the church has been part of her have been married 48 years entire life. and have four children and 13 “I was raised tithing,” she Because missionaries member to be a part of grandchildren. said. “The first dollar I earned I must raise 100 percent of the Christ’s Great Commission,” Cheryl Keithly said by giving put a dime in the Sunday school funds necessary to support Grimenstein said, “actively to Lutheran causes she and plate. It comes naturally. It’s their overseas work, they ensuring the Word of God is her husband feel a sense of always the first check I write. need individual — and spoken throughout all nations.” Always has been.” congregational — supporters The Harmans feel a special Like Ron like the Harmans, who have connection to missionary Shara Harman, Keithly been married 56 years and Cunningham, who is a member said giving is a joy. have four children and 15 of their congregation. “We believe grandchildren. Supporting her and the two everything we “Nothing is more important other families is an honor, Ron have comes from than sending missionaries out Harman said. God, not just into the world,” said the Rev. “The Lord has blessed me our money, but Edward Grimenstein, director with enough money since I our health, our of Missionary Services for the retired that I can do all this,” material goods, LCMS. “This is one reason why said Harman, a member of jobs, everything,” the LCMS exists — to speak of Christ Church Lutheran in said Keithly, who with her husband are Every donor brings a unique, distinctive blessing Photo provided by Kelly and Cheryl Keithly members to our work. Both those who desire a deep of Christ Lutheran personal connection to the missionaries doing the ownership and belonging to Church in Yuma, Ariz. a larger ministry that extends “They are a gift and we work and those who are willing to let the LCMS beyond their immediate are the stewards. determine where their gift is most needed out in church family. “It’s all from Him.” “It’s a joy knowing we can be Giving also is an act the field are equally treasured.” a small part of it,” she said. “It’s of faith for the Keithlys. — Mark Hofman, director of LCMS Mission Advancement the least the rest of us can do Keithly said she from the comfort of our homes, remembers writing Christ to all nations.” Phoenix. “I have the resources share the gifts God gives us.” checks early in the couple’s Grimenstein said people now. It’s a joy to do.” marriage that they really who support missionaries Kelly, 68, and Cheryl, couldn’t afford, but they always Melanie Ave is a staff writer get regular updates from 70, Keithly are part of the trusted God would work it out. for LCMS Communications. them while the missionaries Ascending Roots sustaining “We’ve learned through the Support a missionary: www. serve overseas. They also are giving group that supports the years that faith is intimately tied lcms.org/missionarysupport encouraged to pray for the LCMS Global Mission Fund. into stewardship and our ability Support the LCMS Global Mission missionaries they support. Members of the group send to give faithfully,” she said. Fund: www.lcms.org/givenow/ “This allows any LCMS gifts monthly, quarterly, semi“You can’t out-give God. We’ve globalmission
“
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THE START—contact recruiter
ROA
D TO MIS
Rev. Dan McMiller 414-882-1530 Daniel.McMiller@lcms.org
FORMAL ASSESSMENT with a counselor helps place candidates in fitting locations.
FILL OUT
APPLICATION from recruiter
REFERENCES are reviewed
Theological Interview with LCMS Office of International Mission leadership
POSITION MATCH Candidates are matched with the needs of the field.
Fie
with the the nee
The Mission Field Ne ect Manager Proj
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ological Educator The
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Teacher
munication Specialist Com
nter/Evange rch Pla list Chu
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rC untee Vol
E S Y SSIONAR
E C I RV
Executive Interview
nform
ORIENTATION/TRAINING provided by: • LCMS Missionary Services • LCMS Communications • LCMS Mission Advancement
with executive director of the LCMS Office of International Mission
DO
BE
CALL OR SOLEMN APPOINTMENT
NO
GIN
S
R-
NE
TW
OR
K
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is issued by the LCMS Board for International Mission and accepted by the missionary.
IL DI NG
eld Interview
e regional director who helps match eds of the field with a candidate’s skills
PLACED IN THE MISSION FIELD
A missionary is deployed to the field when roughly 75% of his/her donor network is built.
eeds You!
Coordina tor
iness Manager Bus
tegic Stra
Mission Develo per
Deaconess
dical Missionary Me
©2013 LCMS
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Serving the Church as a
21st-Century Missionary by Melanie Ave
— James Neuendorf, LCMS missionary to Latin America
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PHOTOS: LCMS
“This is not a temporary thing or a stage in our life. It’s not two years of the Peace Corps as a resume booster.”
The 21st-century missionary is a skilled and trained individual who comes from all walks of life, often lives in a city and helps LCMS partner churches do what missionaries have always done: share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
O
ne month into their marriage and fresh out of college, James and Christel Neuendorf packed their earthly possessions into a handful of suitcases. They were leaving Michigan to become LCMS missionaries in Panama. That was five years ago. So much has happened since then, said James, a creative outreach specialist, and Christel, a business manager for the LCMS Latin America region. The couple, both 28, said God has used their experiences on the mission field to shape them just as much as He has shaped others through their ministry. “You get to be with people in some very dark places in their lives,” said James Neuendorf, now based in the Dominican Republic. “You see some very ugly things and there is nothing romantic about poverty, violence and sin. The enemy is very real and he makes people hurt and hurt a lot. “It’s rough going through the thorny ground, but then you think about what you are doing and Who you work for and it’s almost like you won the lottery to be doing this.” Despite Neuendorf’s enthusiasm, missionary work is not for everyone, said the Rev. Dr. Edward Grimenstein, director of LCMS Missionary Services. It is a sacrifice as well as a spiritual and physical commitment, Grimenstein said. Today’s missionary is much different from missionaries of the past. The 21st-century missionary is a skilled and trained individual who comes from all walks of life, often lives in a city and helps LCMS partner churches do what missionaries have always done: share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The LCMS places two main types of missionaries — career missionaries, who serve five years or longer, and Globally Engaged in Outreach (GEO) missionaries, who typically serve one to two years — in five regions around the world. “A lot of people think we’re going to parachute some person in with a Bible and
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they’re going to walk through a village and tell people about Jesus,” Grimenstein said. “That situation just isn’t reality on the ground.” Because many people already have been reached with the Gospel, the image of a missionary sharing Christ with children in a mud hut is not the most accurate picture, he said. God’s Word is frequently shared while teaching adults English or helping children in the schoolyard.
Field-driven Mission Work With the changed landscape of mission work has come a greater need for educated and skilled missionaries. Missionary job titles include careers such as theological educators, teachers, business managers, medical workers and project managers. One LCMS missionary in Papua New Guinea is an electrician. Another in Eurasia is a farmer.
The Rev. Dr. Carl Rockrohr, an LCMS missionary to Ethiopia, teaches secondyear students at Mekane Yesus Seminary in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
That was one thing that surprised Caitlin Worden, 24, a deaconess intern who is serving as a GEO missionary. She works with children at the Casa de Misericordia — Castillo Fuerte, a community center in Lima, Peru. “My living conditions have been the easiest part of being a missionary,” said Worden, a student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. “The city of Lima is a modern city.” In a recent newsletter to her supporters, Worden included a picture of herself and members of a visiting short-term mission team enjoying a study break from Worden’s daily four-hour Spanish class. “Thankfully, they still have Starbucks here!” she wrote.
LCMS missionaries include church workers and non-church workers, those who are married and single, retirees and new college graduates, and couples with several young children and others with grandchildren. “I need people who can teach English,” Grimenstein said. “I need people who can run mercy projects. I need people with business experience. I need people who are willing to do more of the grunt work, people who are willing to get down and dirty with manual work. “We need a wide variety of people and skill sets.” It is the field — partner churches and other entities abroad — that determines the type of missionaries needed from the LCMS.
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The Rev. Dr. Carl Rockrohr and his wife, Deaconess Deborah Rockrohr, began new positions in Ethiopia in 2013 after the fast-growing church in Africa requested help with theological education. The couple had been serving as missionaries to South Africa. Carl Rockrohr is now serving as dean of the school of theology at the Mekane Yesus Seminary of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, the second-largest Lutheran church in the world. The church has 8,000 congregations but only 3,000 ordained pastors. Rockrohr is overseeing the training of 3,000-plus pastoral students. In August, he “led the graduation procession and was the leader of the graduation program,” the couple wrote in a newsletter. “How happy were the … graduates and their families!” In Latin America, James Neuendorf develops resources for laity and generates and promotes the creative expression of the Lutheran confessional faith using local resources. He also produces multimedia resources such as books, films, websites and Web video series for missionaries and national churches to use in evangelism. Being flexible, he said, is an important skill for a missionary. “We have committed to lifelong, eternal service to the Gospel and the Lord of that Gospel, with all of our gifts and abilities that He has given us and every moment of our existence,” he said. “This is not a temporary thing or a stage in our life. It’s not two years of the Peace Corps as a resume booster.”
Nairobi, Kenya
Steps to Missionary Life The process of becoming a missionary typically takes about two months. It often begins with an application, which is followed by a series of phone and inperson interviews and an assessment by a counselor to make sure the missionary-tobe would fare well overseas and work well in team environments. The candidate must pass an interview with one of five LCMS regional directors, a face-to-face interview with the Office of International Mission in St. Louis and a review by the LCMS president’s office. It is then up to the LCMS Board for International Mission to formally issue a call to church workers or a solemn appointment to non-church workers. Once accepted, missionaries attend an orientation, offered twice a year.
Caitlin Worden serves as a GEO missionary in Peru. She works with the children who come to Casa de Misericordia — Castillo Fuerte, a community center where LCMS missionaries and Peruvian Lutherans care for the physical and spiritual needs of the community.
They can then begin fundraising. Once missionaries raise 75 percent of the funds necessary to support their first year of service, they are deployed to the field. Phil Jaseph, 23, a graduate of Lehigh University, will soon head to Nairobi, Kenya, where he will serve as a communication specialist for Africa. He has been reading about the African culture, finishing vaccinations and fundraising. The prospect of raising money was stressful at first, he said, but God has provided. “There have been great days and difficult days, but I have experienced a big shift in perspective during preparations for service,” Jaseph said. “I had two or three other missionaries remind me that God’s work, done in God’s time in God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.” Grimenstein said the importance of missionaries, even in this technologysaturated world where many people are a cell phone or Internet video message away, cannot be understated. “It comes back to St. Paul,” he said. “Faith comes by hearing. We cannot and must never downplay that relationship between people and the speaking of the Gospel. It takes time and it takes warm bodies of people who are willing to sacrifice for that Gospel to be spread.”
PHOTOS: LCMS
Lima, Peru
Philip Jaseph, a GEO missionary in Kenya, serves as the communication specialist for the Africa region. In this role, he helps to share the story of what God is doing in Africa through missionaries, partner church bodies and all believers.
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nspire
The Horn Family
Update by Megan K. Mertz
“There is so much work to do here,” wrote the Rev.
by Kim Plummer Krull
before rev. jeffrey Horn accepted the call to serve as an LCMS career missionary in Papua New Guinea, he considered the challenges: z leaving the parish ministry and a beloved flock after 15 years. z ensuring that his wife, Lora, also wanted to make the dramatic leap from their Garrett, Ind., parish — Zion Lutheran — to a remote mission field with a new culture and more than 900 spoken languages. z asking the couple’s children to say goodbye to friends, grandparents, pets and snow. But even as Horn, 42, weighed the hurdles, he says “a pressing need” weighed on his heart. “The need in Papua New Guinea is strong,” he said. “Their system for training pastors has broken down in many ways, and if . . . they don’t find a way to get that going again, they won’t have pastors to help the
The Rev. Jeffrey and Lora Horn, above, were featured in Lutherans Engage the World last year as they prepared to begin missionary service in Papua New Guinea.
churches; the churches then will struggle, and lots of the people who came to faith in the last 20 to 40 years might not have that faith preached to them.” longtime desire Since his childhood in Los Angeles, Horn has longed to serve as a pastor and a missionary. He remembers hearing a sermon when he was around age 6 about the need to reach all people with the Gospel. He felt the pastor was speaking directly to him. Growing up with an international mix of friends fueled his desire to be a missionary, Horn says, making him a person who enjoys “other cultures and people from all over the world.” But when he graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary
The LCMS began work in Papua New Guinea in 1948, at the invitation of a Wauni tribal leader in2012 Yaramanda, Enga Province November–December lcms.org/lutheraNsengage
istock; lcms
Going the Distance from Indiana to PapuaNew Guinea
13
DID YOU KNOW? The LCMS began work in Papua New Guinea in 1948, at the invitation of a Wauni tribal leader. In 1971, the Gutnius Lutheran Church became an LCMS partner church. The church has grown to a baptized membership of more than 54,500 in approximately 550 congregations. MALAYSIA SINGAPORE
INDONESIA EAST TIMOR
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
AUSTRALIA
Jeffrey Horn, an LCMS career missionary to Papua New Guinea, in a recent newsletter. “Preaching Christ crucified. Teaching good doctrine. Preparing solid new Lutheran pastors. Edifying pastors and evangelists in the field. Confronting false doctrine. Protecting the little sheep. Building relationships.” Horn and his family arrived in Papua New Guinea in August, where they have continued the work first started by LCMS missionaries to the country in 1948. Horn serves as a theological educator, teaching new pastors at Timothy Seminary, the seminary of the Gutnius (Good News) Lutheran Church, an LCMS partner church. He also travels around the country and offers continuing education to pastors and evangelists in the field, many of whom have been working for years with very few educational resources to help them through challenging times. After their arrival, the Horn family spent the first few months learning Pidgin, a common language used by the country’s different tribes. Now Horn is preaching in that language and he will begin using it in the seminary classroom in February. He also plans to study Enga, the language of the Enga people, with whom he works. His wife, Lora, and their two children, Chris, 17, and Maggie, 11, are adapting to their new life in the Highlands. Lora homeschools Chris and Maggie, tends a garden, leads a women’s Bible study at the
seminary and plans to begin teaching an English class next year. Chris has started learning how to play the guitar, while Maggie makes friends everywhere she goes. The family also has adopted two cats and a dog. “Almost everything is new,” Horn wrote. “You have to learn how to go to the market, how to cook new foods, how to deal with having electricity for only a few hours a day, how to drive, how to do banking, how to deal with bugs and other critters, and many more things.” Despite the challenges, Horn says the family has pulled together and the work among these brothers and sisters in Christ is worth it. “There are many faithful Christians here and they are excited to work together,” he reports. “They are grateful for the ongoing commitment the LCMS has made to work with them to strengthen the church in Papua New Guinea and spread the Gospel.”
Megan K. Mertz is a staff writer for LCMS Communications.
NEW ZEALAND
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Region by Region
UNITED KINGDOM
DENMARK
GERMANY
BELGIUM FRANCE
PORTUGAL
CZECH REP.
SPAIN
An Overview of LCMS Mission Work Around the World A KIN BUR FASO
THE GAMBIA
BELIZE
GUINEA
PUERTO RICO
VENEZUELA
PANAMA
MALI
SIERRA LEONE
by Megan K. Mertz
IVORY COAST
LIBERIA
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has a long tradition of international mission work that dates back to the 1880s. This work has encompassed many different witness and mercy projects over the years in some 80 countries around the world. Today, LCMS efforts focus on training pastors, planting churches and starting schools, all while working in collaboration with partner churches in the five mission regions. God has enabled and blessed the far reach of LCMS mission work through you, the LCMS members who support this work with your prayers and gifts to the Global Mission Fund and through direct missionary support.
Latin America and the Caribbean The LCMS began work in Latin America and the Caribbean in 1900 at the request of German immigrants who were living in Brazil. Since that time, the LCMS has expanded its witness and mercy work to many other countries in the region. Current LCMS projects in the region include providing scholarships for seminarians from six countries to study at Concordia Seminary,
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NIGERIA
TOGO
BRAZIL
PERU
BOLIVIA
CHILE
PARAGUAY
URUGUAY ARGENTINA
Africa
Buenos Aires, Argentina, and church planting in eight countries with mercy houses alongside.
From the earliest days of the LCMS’ mission work in Africa, church planting and evangelism has been a top priority. As the Lutheran church in Africa has grown, the churches established by missionaries have planted new congregations. These African-initiated Lutheran churches are emerging all over the region and provide a great opportunity for theological education and partnership with the LCMS.
First mission field: Brazil, 1900
First mission field: Nigeria, 1936
Missionaries: 18
Missionaries: 24
Missionaries needed: Pastors, Deaconesses, EFL Teachers (English as a Foreign Language)
Missionaries needed: Area Facilitators, Mission Facilitators
Partner church bodies: 8
Partner seminaries: 5 Non-partner seminaries: 21
Partner seminaries: 2
Partner congregations: 7,840
Partner congregations: 2,600
Mercy projects: 16
Partner church bodies: 7
Mercy projects: 10
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BENIN
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PHOTOS: LCMS
GUATEMALA
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
CAYMAN HAITI ISLANDS JAMAICA
GHANA
MEXICO
nform
FINLAND
RUSSIA
ESTONIA
LATVIA
LITHUANIA
POLAND BELARUS UKRAINE
KAZAKHSTAN MONGOLIA
SLOVAKIA HUNGARY
GEORGIA KYRGYZSTAN
CHINA TA
N
SOUTH KOREA
JAPAN
P
A
K
IS
AF GH AN IST AN
TURKEY
INDIA
TAIWAN HONG KONG MACAU
SUDAN
THAILAND
PHILIPPINES VIETNAM
S OUTH S UD A N
ETHIOPIA
CAMBODIA
CON GO
SRI LANKA DEM. R EP. OF CON G O (DR C )
M AL AY S I A
DA AN KENYA UG SINGAPORE
INDONESIA
TANZANIA PAPUA NEW GUINEA
BURUNDI
UE IQ MB A Z MO
BOTSWANA
MAD AGAS CAR
ANGOLA
SOUTH AFRICA
Eurasia The Synod’s work in Eurasia is focused on connecting the people of the region to the resources of the LCMS so they might hear the saving Word of God. The missionaries’ work is focused on those who have never heard of Christ and those who have heard but do not yet believe in Christ as their Savior. Missionaries are involved with church planting, theological education, music instruction, agriculture, human-care needs and prison ministry. First mission field: Denmark, 1898 Missionaries: 25 Missionaries needed: Area Facilitators, EFL Teachers (English as a Foreign Language)
Southern Asia and Oceania The Southern Asia and Oceania region is home to 1.5 billion people. It also is the site of the earliest LCMS mission field and some areas where Lutheran groups are just starting to emerge. Through this renewed commitment in this region, the LCMS plans to provide the guidance and support necessary to help fellow Lutherans in Southern Asia and Oceania overcome obstacles and become strong witnesses for the Gospel. A critical priority for future work in this region is the recruitment and sending of missionaries to work alongside indigenous pastors and church leaders. First mission field: India, 1895 Missionaries: 11
Partner church bodies: 10
Missionaries needed: Theological Educators, Deaconesses, EFL Teachers (English as a Foreign Language)
Partner seminaries: 4
Partner church bodies: 3
Partner congregations: 250
Partner seminaries: 3
Mercy projects: 4
Partner congregations: 2,269
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Mercy projects: 2
Asia Pacific The Synod’s mission work in the Asia Pacific region began in the early 20th century and escalated following World War II. During the last 60 years, the LCMS has been involved in many acts of witness and mercy in diverse areas of the region, from remote villages in Thailand to the modern metropolis of Hong Kong. The LCMS, whose rich heritage includes a strong emphasis on education, also has helped start Lutheran schools in many countries of this region. First mission field: China, 1913 Missionaries: 50 Missionaries needed: EFL Teachers (English as a Foreign Language), High School Teachers, Outreach Coordinators Partner church bodies: 5 Partner seminaries: 7 Partner congregations: 312 Mercy projects: 34
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|
STEWARD’S CORNER
nform
Giving Simplified by Erik M. Lunsford
Throughout his career as a fundraiser, the executive director of LCMS Mission Advancement has seen the joy drained from the hearts of generous donors because of complicated giving options. His advice for keeping the joy in your giving? Be intentional, Hofman said, and “spend time thinking” about what you want your gifts to achieve. Hofman said he tailors his approach to donors to maximize his relationship with them. “They are trusting us to accomplish some very important work on their behalf,” he said. He advises donors to focus their gifts on issues
that really matter to them. But when donors make a major contribution, they should consider granting the LCMS some flexibility in how to spend the gift since the organization best knows how to use the funds most effectively. “We accomplish more working together than any of us could if we went at it alone,” Hofman said. He urges donors to commit to a routine contribution schedule throughout the year as a way to increase their giving and decrease end-ofyear “cramming.”
Hofman said charitably minded people, especially Christians, are willing to give because they know the Lord will sustain them and they see themselves as stewards of God’s gifts.
Donors are an important piece of the church’s mission. “You can’t do anything without good people so when we send missionaries overseas, that’s immediate impact,” he said. “The gifts are
“ You can’t do anything without good people …”
“They love the Gospel,” he said, “and they love their Lord.” Hofman said gifts to the LCMS have immediate and long-term impact. The ultimate goal is to bring people into the body of Christ, allowing them to receive the Word and Sacraments on a regular basis.
—M ark Hofman, executive director of LCMS Mission Advancement
what provide the resources and materials to do the Witness, Mercy, Life Together.” For donors on the fence, Hofman is passionate about earning their trust and their gifts. “We want people to give, but what we want most is not the money but for each donor to experience the joy of something wonderful,” he said. “We’re the Synod’s advocate to ask for support but at the same time we’re the donor’s advocate. We’re here to help them get to the feeling of joy.”
Mark Hofman, executive director of LCMS Mission Advancement, plays with his 4-year-old son, Matthew, at his office at the LCMS International Center.
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LCMS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD
M
ark Hofman wants to simplify the lives of people who give to the LCMS.
Medical Professionals Needed for Short-Term Service 2014 Mercy Medical Trips March 13-23, 2014: M adagascar, Africa (Clinical Team) May 5-12, 2014: D ominican Republic, Caribbean (Educational Team) June 6-16, 2014: Kenya, Africa (Clinical Team) July: MMT Alumni and Leadership Reunion and Retreat, Dallas, TX (Date to be determined) Sept. 13-23, 2014: Kyrgyzstan, Eurasia (Educational Team) Oct. 16-26, 2014: Madagascar, Africa (Clinical Team) Additional Mercy Medical Team dates are currently being scheduled. LEARN MORE HERE: www.lcms.org/mercyteams 800-248-1930, ext. 1711 mercyteams@lcms.org
Contact our recruiter: Daniel.McMiller@lcms.org | 414-882-1530
A COLLECTION OF FIVE PROGRAMS FEATURING FRESH TALK ABOUT LUTHERAN CHRISTIANITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY.
2-3
P.M. CST
MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. M o n d ay
T u e s d ay
Cross Defense
Concord Matters
Host: Rev. Rod Zwonitzer. Dig into Christian apologetics to get answers to the hard questions skeptics ask about the faith.
Hosts: Rev. Rod
Cross Edges
Zwonitzer, Rev. Craig Donofrio, Rev. Charlie Henrickson & Rev. Joshua Scheer. Join in a lively, roundtable discussion for the layperson on the Lutheran Confessions.
!
t u o t i k c che We d n e s d ay
T h u r s d ay
F r i d ay
Culture and Christianity
The God Whisperers
Book Talk
Host: Lori Lewis. Featuring a look into the vocations and lives of today’s top musicians, artists, scholars and more, the program addresses the place of Christians in modern culture as they serve God and neighbor.
Hosts: Rev. Craig Donofrio & Rev. Bill Cwirla. This offbeat program features observations of the everyday life of Christians with humor and intelligence.
Host: Rev. Rod Zwonitzer. A look at literature and how the writings of today’s best authors intersect with the faith.
Streaming and archived at www.kfuo.org. Like us on www.facebook.com/KFUORadio.
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Who’s Your
Missionary?
Support LCMS Witness and
nvolve
Mercy Work Worldwide
If sharing Jesus Christ with the world is your passion, the LCMS stands ready to be your partner.
} MISSION SENDERS
} GLOBAL MISSION FUND
www.lcms.org/missionsenders
www.lcms.org/globalmissionfund
Do you or your family want to directly support a specific overseas LCMS missionary?
Learn more about how making an annual cost-effective gift in any amount can vigorously make known Christ’s love in word and deed throughout the world.
Contact: Tani.Berner@lcms.org 800-248-1930, ext. 1047
Contact: Kathy.Wakeman@lcms.org 800-248-1930, ext. 1648
} TOGETHER IN MISSION www.lcms.org/togetherinmission Together In Mission (TIM) is a way for your congregation to directly sponsor one or more specific overseas LCMS missionaries. Contact: Debra.Feenstra@lcms.org 800-248-1930, ext. 1651
} ASCENDING ROOTS www.lcms.org/ascendingroots A giving society for those committed to the Global Mission of the LCMS, through the Global Mission Fund. Contact: Kathy.Wakeman@lcms.org 800-248-1930, ext. 1648
} Mission Central (Iowa) www.missioncentral.us Individuals, families and congregations in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and other Great Plains states may also contact: Gary.Thies@lcms.org 712-882-1029
} SPECIFIC PROJECTS www.lcms.org/givenow/projects Learn more about specific witness or mercy projects intended to grow and strengthen the body of Christ. Contact: Leah.Sieveking@lcms.org 800-248-1930, ext. 1655
Find your missionary at
www.lcms.org/missionaries LCMS Mission Advancement Donor Care Line: 888-930-4438 20
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to the four corners of the earth
F
erdinand Sievers and Theodore Naether. Two men you have likely never heard about. Yet they loom large in the long, faithful story of LCMS mission efforts around the world. Sievers was sent to Michigan in the 1840s by the German pastor Wilhelm Löehe. He became a missionary to Ojibwa Indians who were native to the Northern Great Lakes region. And because of Sievers, many, many Lutheran congregations were planted in places like Frankentrost and Frankenmuth, Mich. You’ve already read about the Rev. Theodore Naether, who more than 100 years ago was sent with his family to be a missionary in India. Who would have thought that the result would be our first international partner church? Our first mission plant is now a church body with hundreds of thousands of believers in Christ. Naether gave everything he had, including his life for this work. What an amazing, amazing effort. And as you’ve read in this issue, efforts like his are still going on all over the world. We have missionaries in the four corners of the earth — laypeople and pastors, teachers and deaconesses — who with their families are sharing the Gospel of Christ and teaching about His salvation. They are doing all kinds of activities in service to the Gospel and having mercy on people in the name of Jesus. And that is just what Jesus wanted. The Bible tells us that Jesus had compassion on the multitudes and then He said, “Pray that the Lord of the harvest send workers.”
The moment is right for us. Because of the
PHOTO: CONCORDIA HISTORICAL INSTITUTE
Missouri Synod’s strong biblical position, the Lutheran world is coming to us. Huge church bodies are looking to us for help in theological leadership, in training their own missionaries, in training their own pastors and deaconesses. And that’s just one big part of what’s happening worldwide in mission. These churches want help with mercy work, teaching English, medical clinics and so much more. We need people right now serving all over the world. And we need people like you to pray and support this work with your financial gifts. One day when his wife, Katie, was complaining about him giving money away, Luther said, “Look Katie, the hand has been made with holes in between the fingers so money can fall out easily.” What an observation.
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Rev. Theodore Naether
It’s our time and it’s your chance to support the global witness and mercy work of the LCMS. It’s a time to personally support one or more of our wonderful missionaries who carry out this work overseas. The gift is acceptable according to what a person has, Paul says. But be generous. Be generous and the Gospel message shall fly out all across the world for the salvation of many souls. God grant it,
Pastor Matthew Harrison, President The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
January–February 2014
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