WELS missionaries are sent around the world and asked to acclimate and integrate themselves into a foreign culture. They learn the language, customs, culture, social practices—they truly become part of the country as they work to share the gospel.

In August, a group of former WELS missionaries, some retired and some returning to the United States for new calls, met for a two-day repatriation retreat.

“The retreat is a recognition that people, once they live overseas for an extended period of time, really change in their worldview,” says Larry Schlomer, Board for World Missions administrator. “When they come back to the United States, they’re actually not coming back to their home country, because they know their home country from 7, 10, 20 years ago. Things will have changed drastically in that time.”

Two speakers came to offer counseling, insight, and expertise to the former missionaries and their wives.

Schlomer says, “The retreat is to get several people who have gone through this experience together so they learn from each other and realize there are some common themes they will be facing.”

These themes include seemingly routine things like trying to decipher what products are a good value at the grocery store, ordering at a fast food restaurant, and navigating retirement benefits.

On top of day-to-day tasks that are now foreign, they have left people, friends, a home, and a ministry that they loved. “You get to where you don’t know how to do things in the States anymore, and you feel like an outsider. Nobody is really like you, and people don’t understand you,” says Andrea Wordell, wife of former missionary Brad Wordell, who spend 17 years in Japan.

For Adam Gawel and his wife, Sherri, the roles are reversing. Adam met Sherri while serving in East Asia. The Gawels and their three children moved to Chicago after Adam accepted a new call. This time, it is Sherri moving to a foreign country.

After serving seven years in East Asia, Adam has noticed how ministry work is different. “Being a foreigner in East Asia, it was easy to talk to people,” he says. “They’re willing to engage with you in conversation, even religious conversation. But here in the U.S., people are a little more hesitant to talk about religion and maybe more suspicious if you approach them.”

When Stephen and Lori Lawrenz left for Africa 30 years ago with two small children and one on the way, they treated the experience like an adventure. Stephen says, “Now I look at America like a foreign country, and I have to figure it out too.” They say they know to put their trust in God as they face each new chapter.

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MISSIONARY CHILDREN

Missionaries aren’t the only ones having to deal with change when returning from a foreign field. It affects their children too. Here’s what Anna Sherod, whose father served in Japan for 11 years, has to say:

I moved to the States from the Japan mission field when I was 13. The first few years were privately difficult as I tried to fake my way past my reality: ignoring 11 years of growing up speaking Japanese, eating rice, commuting on trains, and having my family life defined by the sharing the gospel. I was successful enough, but I struggled with depression and a sense of drifting through life.

In 2011, I attended a retreat for adult (former) missionary kids sponsored by the WELS Board for World Missions. The purpose was to offer ongoing support. There I met the very first people outside my immediate family who understood my story. They had all grown up on mission fields too. The lives of their families were also defined by big moves, cross-cultural stories, and sharing God’s love.

We shared stories of grief and loss, guided by a trained facilitator. When we worshiped together at the end of the retreat, the sermon was preached on the Beatitudes: “Blessed are those who mourn.” I began to understand that the many “good-byes” in my life had been used for God’s kingdom and could continue to be used.

I started embracing my identity—as a Christian, as a missionary kid, and as someone whose formative years were spent in Japan. Since then, I have volunteered in Japan after a tsunami and earthquake struck, navigated living in Germany and Romania, and now work for Kingdom Workers on an Apache reservation. I know that the way I grew up shaped me—to love languages, to embrace listening to other cultures, and to be fearless about proclaiming Christ’s love. I needed to meet people who had something in common with me, to embrace being “different” in my day-to-day life.

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Anna is on a volunteer team putting together the next adult WELS missionary kid conference on April 21–23, 2017, in Minneapolis, Minn. Learn more at facebook.com/WELSMKs or e-mail her at [email protected].

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Author:
Volume 103, Number 11
Issue: November 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

“Our mission to share the gospel is so important that it demands nothing less than our very best,” says Rob Guenther, pastor at Grace, Kenai, Alaska, and chairman of the Continuing Education of Called Workers Task Force. “We want to always strive for excellence in all that we do and push ourselves to be better not only because eternal souls are at stake but especially because our Savior’s love compels us. And because we each have a sinful nature that is very active, we want others to push us and encourage us to stay focused on that task.”

Guenther explains that these thoughts drove the work of the Continuing Education of Called Workers Task Force, which was created at the direction of the 2013 synod in convention. Convention delegates resolved that a special task force should be appointed to develop a continuing education process for pastors and staff ministers “so that progress toward professional growth for pastors and staff ministers can be more formally encouraged and reported.” In recent years, special emphasis has been placed on professional growth for teachers, so this task force’s work helped formalize growth for other called workers.

As the task force began its work, it quickly recognized that spiritual and professional growth is taking place throughout the synod. “For that we are thankful to God and his grace,” says Guenther. “But we’re also glad to 1) keep pushing that growth with an online newsletter to encourage it; 2) better track that growth through regular reporting to circuit pastors and district presidents; and 3) help create and locate resources to help with that growth and present a toolbox of resources.”

The first issue of this newsletter, titled The Four Branches, will be e-mailed to all pastors at the end of September. Each issue will contain one article on each of the four traditional branches of theology—systematic, exegetical, historical, and practical.

As Joel Seifert, editor of The Four Branches, explains, “More than anything, the newsletter is meant to be a starting point for self-guided continuing education. The articles all have links to other online resources for those who want to take their study a little deeper. Even those who just read the short articles should receive a little more insight into some Scripture or dust the cobwebs off some learning they once did long ago.”

Much of the task force’s work was in conjunction with Grow in Grace, the institute for pastoral growth at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. One such project became known as Fan God’s Gifts into Flame, an essay and workbook to help a called worker develop a well-designed annual plan for growth. Grow in Grace is also housing an ever-growing list of growth tools that a pastor or staff minister can use to pursue growth. This toolbox of resources includes listings of articles, essays, books, videos, websites, podcasts, courses, workshops, and more. These tools are available at wls.wels.net/grow-in-grace.

Now that these resources have been created and compiled, the Continuing Education of Called Workers Task Force is praying that called workers and their congregations use these tools.

“My encouragement to congregations is to make continuing education a part of your annual church budget,” says Guenther. “It shows your called workers that there is an expectation to grow and improve. . . . Give them time to grow as well. Time spent at conferences, at workshops, and in the study is not time wasted. It’s critical to becoming a better servant of our Savior.”

Guenther continues, “My encouragement to called workers is to continue to make use of what’s right at your fingertips. Read what you’re sent. Invest in good books, and make time to read them. It doesn’t need to be huge leaps forward, but regular improvement in an area of ministry will pay big dividends in the long run.”

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Author:
Volume 103, Number 10
Issue: October 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

LWMS convention highlights mission work

The Chicago Area Circuit of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society (LWMS) welcomed nearly 1,100 WELS women from around the world to praise God and show their support for WELS mission work. “Christ Alone, Our Cornerstone” was the theme for the 53rd annual LWMS convention, held June 23–26 in St. Charles, Ill.

During the convention, members attended several workshops and learned from home and world mission speakers about what God is doing through WELS missionaries—and through all of his people. “As a mom, I definitely want my kids to learn that missionaries aren’t just people that maybe live in a different country,” says Katherine Schmoller, a member at Lamb of God, Lafayette, Ind. “We’re all called to be missionaries for Christ and we can do that whether we live in Zambia, or whether we live in Indiana or Wisconsin or anywhere (that) Christ has called us to share the good news.”

Missionary Terry Schultz, the preacher for opening worship, was amazed at the enthusiasm of the attendees. “To stand up on stage and see over one thousand women have such a passion for missions—it’s like no other church service you can imagine,” he says. “Their support through their prayers, volunteer work, and their gifts allows WELS to bring that Bible-based truth to all ends of the earth.”

About $53,000 was gathered during the convention for mission projects, and more than $143,000 was received throughout the year from LWMS chapters and its k.i.d.s. care program.

“Such faithful support isn’t taken for granted,” says Keith Free, administrator of Home Missions. “It is another evidence of the power of the Lord’s love moving hearts to support the work we do in WELS through Home and World Missions,” Karen Fischer, LWMS president, sums up the convention: “It was a wonderful, emotion-filled convention that underscored how God takes all of us—little pieces of rubble—to build his church as he sees fit, making more of us together than we could ever make individually and building a diverse church full of saints around the world.”

Next year’s convention will be held June 22–25, 2017, in Orlando, Fla.

Learn more about LWMS at www.lwms.org.

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Author:
Volume 103, Number 10
Issue: October 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

In 2015, the Compensation Review Committee of the Synodical Council began a comprehensive examination of the synod’s compensation guidelines at the request of the 2015 synod in convention. The goal was to simplify the guidelines if possible, to address the question of whether the guidelines can or should do more to provide increased compensation for increased responsibilities, and to analyze whether the current way that years of experience are compensated is functioning as it should.

Earle Treptow, chairman of the Compensation Review Committee, says, “The committee, after about four months of work, came to the realization that many of the concerns about the present compensation guidelines were actually addressed in the current guidelines adopted in 2003. The problem has been that calling bodies haven’t consistently applied the guidelines’ recommendations. The Compensation Review Committee decided to focus on a repackaging of the guidelines, with some revisions, rather than a radical reworking of them.”

The committee presented preliminary thoughts in the 2016 Report to the Twelve Districts and sought comments and input from district convention delegates. District convention delegates had a wide range of opinions.

One area that Treptow says the districts unanimously supported was the production of a user-friendly, web-based tool to assist calling bodies in determining appropriate compensation. The committee is now working with WELS Technology to prepare an online form to help calling bodies with this important work.

A proposal that most districts rejected was the suggestion of reducing the salary matrix from 32 years to 22 years. The committee’s intention in offering that proposal was to have compensation based more on duties and responsibilities than simply on the number of years someone has been serving in the public ministry. Treptow notes that the Compensation Review Committee was not suggesting that workers with more than 22 years of service ought to have their salaries frozen for the remainder of their service, but that was a concern of district convention delegates.

“Our intention was to encourage calling bodies to be more mindful in their approach to compensation,” says Treptow, “spending a little more time reflecting on what they are asking of their called workers—instead of merely pulling a number from a matrix—and that the result would be a greater appreciation for the time and effort those workers are expending with compensation reflecting that. The districts that rejected the proposal thought it would fly in the face of our goal to have compensation that shows double honor to public ministers of the gospel. From their perspective, the proposal was a bit naïve or at least idealistic.”

Treptow notes that this suggestion was removed from the committee’s considerations at its July meeting when the committee began to consider the districts’ feedback.

The Compensation Review Committee will bring its final conclusions and any recommendations to the Synodical Council as it develops the ministry financial plan for the next biennium. Any changes in the compensation guidelines would need the approval of the 2017 synod convention.

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Author:
Volume 103, Number 9
Issue: September 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

Each of WELS’ 12 districts met in convention this June, considering local ministry topics along with issues that apply to the entire synod.

Lay delegate Paul Giovinazzo, a member of Good Shepherd, South Attleboro, Mass., summed up his North Atlantic District convention experience by saying, “When you come from a congregation that is isolated from other like-minded believers, you often feel like you are on an island all by yourself. It is so nice to be reminded that you are part of something bigger, that there are other Christians who share your faith and an appreciation for the truths found in God’s Word.”

Each district held elections for district officers. Four new district presidents were elected—Philip Hirsch, Nebraska District; Charles Westra, South Atlantic District; David Kolander, Southeastern Wisconsin District; and Michael Jensen, Western Wisconsin District.

In addition to elections, worship, Bible study, and presentations, delegates considered information reported by the areas of ministry in the Report to the Twelve Districts.

Delegates also had a sneak peek of the new Luther movie being developed by Boettcher+Trinklein Television, Inc., through the support of Thrivent Financial, to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in October 2017. The movie will be shown on PBS. To view the trailer, visit wels.net/reformation500.

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Four new district presidents elected

As Mark Schroeder, synod president, notes, “A turnover of one-third of the district presidents is rare.”

Yet in 2016, four new district presidents were elected. This took place because three district presidents—John Guse, South Atlantic District; David Rutschow, Southeastern Wisconsin District; and Herb Prahl, Western Wisconsin District—announced before the conventions that they would not seek re-election as they were considering retiring from the full-time ministry and because Nebraska District President Earle Treptow accepted a call to Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.

The president of each district plays an important role in the ministry of the synod. His responsibilities include

• overseeing the doctrine and practice in his district’s congregations;

• providing congregations with call lists to fill vacancies;

• encouraging the called workers in his district and providing them with individual counsel; and

• serving on the Conference of Presidents.

Meet the men who were newly elected in June to serve as district presidents.

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Philip Hirsch, Nebraska District

Currently serves: Hope, Manhattan, Kan.

Family: He and his wife, Kristi, have seven children

What do you view as your most important job as district president? To help the brothers proclaim the unconditional gospel of Jesus Christ at a time when it is so easy to take one’s eye off the ball and do some other nice or even churchy thing—something other than proclaim the unconditional gospel of Jesus Christ to the sinner-saints.

What are some ways that God has blessed the Nebraska District? The Nebraska District is 89 congregations spread all around mid-America and the Rocky Mountain West, gathering in the name of the Lord of the church and trusting in his presence. We’re blessed with older brothers and sisters who have seen the trends come and go and yet are pleased and thankful for the gospel, above all. We’re blessed to serve dyed-in-the-wool confessional Lutherans who know what that means. And we’re blessed to serve many new converts to the faith who are simply overjoyed to know the peace of God in Christ Jesus. We’re blessed with Lutheran school principals and teachers who recognize the privilege of serving the gospel. We’re blessed with two district mission boards that take seriously the business of planting churches in the world’s third largest mission field—the United States of America.

Michael Jensen, Western Wisconsin District

Currently serves: St. Mark’s, Watertown, Wis.

Family: He and his wife, Jane, have seven children and three grandchildren

What do you view as your most important job as district president? Being a servant/pastor of Christ to the called workers, congregations, schools, and people of our district.

How has God prepared you to serve as district president? As I look back on my life and the people Christ has placed in my life, I see the gracious hand of my Savior in every aspect of my life. I’ll also add my voice to the apostle Paul’s: “Our competency comes from Christ” (2 Corinthians 3:4-6).

What are some ways that God has blessed the Western Wisconsin District? The Western Wisconsin District includes

• 172 congregations filled with faithful people and faithful pastors listening to and proclaiming Christ’s gospel;

• 104 Lutheran elementary and preschools, three area Lutheran high schools, and a synod preparatory school, all filled with hundreds of faithful gospel teachers serving and children hearing of their Savior every day; and

• countless opportunities for outreach even in an established district.

Any other thoughts? I’m just another sinner-saint, claimed and kept by God’s underserved love in Christ, “pressing on toward the goal for which Christ took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12).

David Kolander, Southeastern Wisconsin District

Currently serves: Christ the Lord, Brookfield, Wis.

Family: He and his wife, Lu, have three children.

What do you view as your most important job as district president? To seek to apply God’s Word to people and situations in a Christ-centered, evangelical manner. In that connection it is also important for the district president to encourage the called workers of his district to “watch their life and their doctrine closely,” as the apostle Paul encouraged Timothy. As called workers, we want to say what God wants us to say, and we want to live in a way that is consistent with God’s wonderful message of forgiveness.

What are some ways that God has blessed the Southeastern Wisconsin District? The Southeastern Wisconsin District is blessed to have such a high concentration of WELS members, congregations, and schools. One thing this allows us to do is to provide extra opportunities to worship, fellowship, and serve. Our challenge is to not take these many opportunities for granted but to be grateful to God for the extra chances we have to be built up and edified in our Christian faith and life. It is a joy to see so many people in one area look at God’s Word in the same way with humble love, gratitude, and respect.

Any other thoughts? Please pray for all of us who serve you in this way, that God might give us joy, patience, wisdom, firmness, and love.

Charles Westra, South Atlantic District

Currently serves: Christ Our Savior, Columbia, Tenn.

Family: He and his wife, Deb, have four children

What do you view as your most important job as district president? I have been called to serve as pastor to the called workers and congregations of our district. That is an immense privilege and tremendous responsibility. That pastoral responsibility could bring many different challenges and duties. I am comforted by the simple fact that it is all “means of grace” ministry and that the Lord of the church remains in control of his church.

How has God prepared you to serve as district president? He declared that I am innocent through the work of his Son. He claimed me as his own in baptism. He continues to nourish me through his life-giving Word and sacrament. Over the years of representative ministry he has also given me opportunities for experience in our congregation and in working with many other congregations in our district and beyond.

What are some ways that God has blessed the South Atlantic District? God has blessed the South Atlantic District with a faithful and evangelical district president for more than three decades. We are thankful to God for Pastor John Guse and his leadership among us. Through Pastor Guse, God has given an example of mission spirit and faithful ministry.

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Members of the Conference of Presidents

Mark Schroeder, synod president

James Huebner, first vice president

Joel Voss, second vice president

Jon Buchholz, Arizona-California District president

Charles Degner, Minnesota District president

Douglas Free, Dakota-Montana District president

Philip Hirsch, Nebraska District president

Michael Jensen, Western Wisconsin District president

David Kolander, Southeastern Wisconsin District president

Donald Patterson, South Central District president

John Seifert, Michigan District president

John Steinbrenner, Pacific Northwest District president

Donald Tollefson, North Atlantic District president

Charles Westra, South Atlantic District president

Joel Zank, Northern Wisconsin District president

Robert Pasbrig, synod secretary (advisory member)

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Author:
Volume 103, Number 9
Issue: September 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

“We were all working together—the district mission board, WELS Church Extension Fund, and us,” says Bob Giebelhaus, president of Our Shepherd, Cornville, Ariz. “We were all going for the same thing. And to me, God was leading the way.”

Our Shepherd, an unsubsidized home mission, recently bought land with an existing house and shop and is renovating the buildings to serve as its new church in the Verde Valley. The 82-member congregation which started as a satellite of Christ, Prescott Valley, Ariz., in 2014, held its charter service in October 2015.

The congregation currently worships in a local elementary school. “We need to show that we’re going to be here for the long haul,” says Giebelhaus, “so that’s the reason we started looking for property.”

Our Shepherd worked closely with its district mission board through the process, which included becoming an unsubsidized home mission. This allowed the mission to apply for a loan and grant from the WELS Church Extension Fund (WELS CEF). The congregation plans to have an open house for its renovated facility this fall.

WELS CEF and the Board for Home Missions are excited to work together in this way to help congregations build churches for future generations. Our Shepherd is just one of 19 congregations that received a loan from WELS CEF in fiscal year 2016. Each congregation has a unique story:

Redemption, Watertown, N.Y.—This relatively new mission started in 2014 to reach out to a largely unchurched city as well as serve military personnel at nearby Fort Drum. The congregation meets weekly on Sunday for worship and Bible study at the local community center but has no place to go during the week for fellowship and community outreach events. “People are really skeptical of religion here,” says Harland Goetzinger III, Redemption’s pastor. “I knew we needed a permanent place because it was too great of an obstacle for people otherwise.”

Because rental properties are expensive in this area, the congregation began looking for a building to buy. It purchased an old furniture store in December 2015 and is working on renovations. Loans and grants from WELS CEF is making that possible. “To get a loan from a normal bank would have been impossible because we have no credit history,” says Goetzinger. “To have this resource [in WELS] is just immense.”

Living Word, Montrose, Colo.—Living Word is a veteran in terms of working with WELS CEF. It received its first loan in 2011 to build its original facility and is now working with WELS CEF to finance a 1,900-square-foot addition. The congregation originally worshiped in a storefront but built a church so that it could start a preschool. That preschool has grown and serves 28 children, only one of whom is a member. “As the preschool grew bigger and our congregation grew bigger, we decided we would like to have dedicated space for the preschool as well as extra space for bigger events,” says Matt Frey, Living Word’s pastor. Builders For Christ, a division of Kingdom Workers, built the original church and is now constructing the addition.

Living Promise, Morristown, Tenn.—Matt Westra, Living Promise’s pastor, arrived in 2011 to start this home mission with nine core members. Now the almost 80-member congregation has outgrown its second rental facility. When members began looking for a new space, they discovered that it wasn’t that much more expensive to build their own facility, especially after receiving a special grant from WELS CEF to purchase land. In October 2015, Living Promise broke ground on its new building, which includes space for a future early childhood ministry. It plans to hold a grand opening this August.

Westra says that since construction started, the congregation’s website traffic has tripled and a dozen people have visited for the first time. “There are three dozen storefront churches in our town of 30,000, most of which don’t last more than a few years,” says Westra. “Having our own facility just gives us a bunch of legitimacy. Morristown is Living Promise’s home, and we pray we’re going to be here for generations to come.”

He also is thankful for partnerships. “Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School students came down to hand out fliers that a Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society group helped pay for that promote a project that would not be possible without WELS CEF. Thank God that we can walk together as a synod!”

Learn more about WELS CEF at wels.net/cef and in this month’s edition of WELS Connection.

 

 

Author:
Volume 103, Number 8
Issue: August 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

Isaac David has not had an easy life. In fact, at one point, he was so disappointed in God, he stopped going to church. Now, however, he is looking for every opportunity he can to share the message of salvation—whether to legal immigrants in his home city of Las Vegas or to the people of his homeland in Liberia. “I know God has been faithful and he has been carrying me through,” he says. “What I am today is not by my strength but because God has a plan for my life.

David was born and raised as a Christian in Liberia. But with the eruption of a civil war in 1989, his life changed dramatically. In 1990, at the age of 10, he witnessed his parents being murdered. He escaped and traveled to Nigeria by boat—along with 30,000 other refugees. There he grew up as an orphan in a refugee camp, often with little food or medication. “I slept on the ground for eight years,” he says.

He was mad at God. “Church was not my priority because I was going to church in Liberia and now I lost my parents—both of them in the war,” he says. “So I felt that God had let me down.”

In time he returned to church and even agreed to study to be a church leader. He went to high school and college to study to be a teacher. In 2003, he immigrated to America and was among the first Liberian refugees to settle in Las Vegas, Nev.

After settling in, he became concerned about the faith of his people—and that of other immigrants flooding into the area. He says that the immigrants were not going to church, probably due to cultural and language differences. He decided to open a church—the Chapel of Improvement Christian Fellowship—to reach these immigrants. “My goal was to reach African refugees that come to Las Vegas with the gospel of Christ and to remind them of the promises that were made before coming to America,” he says.

He began studying at a Lutheran seminary but found it was too liberal for him. After an Internet search for conservative Christian church bodies, he discovered WELS. Now David is studying to be a pastor through the Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI) of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, with plans to graduate in May 2017.

Part of David’s ministry is providing material items to new refugees to help them get started in America. Along with the pots and pans, the soap and detergent, is information about the church and an invitation to worship. He is also working with Water of Life, Las Vegas, to set up a first friends program, in which volunteers establish relationships with the refugees. “They minister the Word of God to them but also help them out in American society,” says David.

The congregation recently has started a second site that is closer to where the refugees are settling down. More than 100 people from 13 different nationalities are being served.

David, however, doesn’t just want to help refugees to America. He also wants to share the gospel in Liberia. When he traveled there in 2014 to see family members, he started five churches and began training more than 30 leaders.

In March 2016, David returned to register these congregations with the government as the Confessional Lutheran Church of Liberia. John Vogt, one of David’s PSI professors, and Matt Vogt, pastor at Water of Life, met him there in April to attend the first convention of the new church as well as to teach courses to the leaders. John Vogt writes, “The convention’s worship services—unlike anything we experience in the U.S.—were filled with a joy, enthusiasm and volume. The reports indicated that worship attendance and congregational membership are about 900, and 18 men are serving as pastors. On Saturday we taught a day-long course on law and gospel—57 people attended the full course and received a certificate of attendance.” He reports that 62 students—pastors plus other leaders and teachers—then attended two weeks more of full-day classes for ministerial training.

“The Lord is providing WELS with a world mission field right at our door,” says Larry Schlomer, administrator of WELS World Missions. “New immigrants arrive in our cities and towns looking for a place to belong. When the love of our members reaches out with the gospel, the Holy Spirit goes to work. These new, God-planned connections are helping our synod reach with the message of Jesus’ love far beyond what where we could ever go on our own.”

Both the WELS Joint Mission Council and WELS Christian Aid and Relief are providing funding for David’s work in Las Vegas. Learn more about Christian Aid and Relief’s work in Las Vegas in the July WELS Connection.

 

 

Author:
Volume 103, Number 7
Issue: July 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

When Rachel (Kionka) Schroeder arrived in Malawi after her graduation from Martin Luther College (MLC), New Ulm, Minn., in 2007, she knew she’d crossed a threshold, not only into a new country, but into a new way of seeing the world.

A year later, she wrote: “The joy hits before you even get out of the truck. The choir sways out of the small brick church, clapping and dancing. Then they begin to sing. It is a sound you’ve never heard before; the harmonies are more brilliant, more penetrating. Stepping down onto the dirt, you realize you will never be the same again.”

Schroeder’s written reflection and accompanying photo earned her MLC’s Thalassa Prize in 2008.

Thalassa is a Greek word meaning “the sea.” The Thalassa contest gives MLC students and graduates who’ve served overseas an opportunity to share their experiences through a photo and 300-word reflection.

Thalassa Prize winners are awarded $1,000, half of which they designate to a mission of their choice. The prize was funded by a founding donor the first seven years, then by another donor for one year, and now by the MLC International Services Office.

The year 2016 marks ten years of Thalassa. Johannah Crass won the 2016 prize with her entry from Antigua, “White Robes.” Her submission joined more than one hundred over the years—from Peruvian villages and teeming cities in Asia, from a snowy Siberian college town and the sun-soaked Caribbean, from a Brazilian fazenda and the Zambian bush. Each photo and reflection is rich in particulars but tells the same story—of human needs and the Savior who meets them.

In honor of this anniversary year, the ten Thalassa winners reflected again on their ministries overseas, noting what they did afterward, what they learned, how they were changed.

Rachel Schroeder taught at two Lutheran high schools; chaperoned a mission trip to Ukraine; and spent another year overseas, this time in Mexico with her husband, Howard. She recalls that the Malawians taught her more than she ever taught them: to be happy even in the toughest of circumstances, to focus on Christ, and to consider service to the Lord a great privilege.

The 2007 winner, Kristina (Wessel) Troge, notes that she still uses the Spanish skills she honed in the Dominican Republic at Divine Savior Lutheran Academy in Miami, Fla. Similarly, the 2011 winner, Amber (Schlomer) Poth, lives in St. Louis, where she uses her Mandarin skills with the large Chinese population.

The 2012 winner, Paul Kelm, served in Japan from 1987 to 1989 and the Czech Republic from 1994 to 2006. Now teaching at Risen Savior, Milwaukee, Wis., he says: “Sharing

God’s Word in Milwaukee, though a world apart from the work we did in the Czech Republic, is still exciting and humbling. I am thrilled that the Lord continues to use me and my family to do his work of sharing his love and forgiveness with the world around us.”

See all the winning entries plus additional photos in the ten-year anniversary booklet, Martin Luther College Thalassa Prize 2007-2016, at mlc-wels.edu/go/thalassa_anniversary

 

 

Author:
Volume 103, Number 7
Issue: July 2016

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Two years ago, Benjamin Sadler, pastor at Goodview Trinity, Goodview, Minn., attended a seminar on child abuse. Victor Vieth, WELS member and nationally recognized expert on the issue of child abuse, was presenting and shared some sobering statistics—such as one in four people is the victim of some kind of abuse and that victims tend to have a higher propensity toward issues like drug use and promiscuity. “I walked away from that seminar knowing I had to do something,” says Sadler.

He began by addressing the issue of child abuse in his sermons and Bible studies. Soon, members were opening up about their own experiences with the topic. “The reality is that everybody’s broken,” Sadler says. “Everyone’s got a past, and everyone’s got issues. We want this to be a place where people can be honest about that.”

As Sadler brought more attention to the issue, the congregation decided to put a child protection policy in place, which requires background checks for staff and volunteers who will be working with children. “Perpetrators look at churches because they are easy targets; people are accepting,” says Sadler. “This policy lets them know we are serious. We want this to be a safe place for everybody.”

They are also taking this issue into the community. Sadler is part of the Child Abuse Council, a community task force that aims to raise awareness of this issue, and the congregation participates in a program called “Care in Action,” which provides help to families with children in need.

“It’s really good for our members to realize that we’re here to serve people,” he says. “It’s a hard thing for our sinful nature, to help people without expecting anything in return. But there are many people who are giving toward this, and when we have a need we always fill it.”

Sadler says there’s still more work to do—and he hopes other congregations will consider addressing issues like this. “We all have baggage and fear and shame and sadness,” he says. “When you address these issues, it turns your church from a museum for saints into a hospital for sinners. You become a safe place for broken people to come and hear the good news.”

For more information, visit www.freedomforcaptives.com, a website developed by WELS Commission on Special Ministries. The site is geared toward abuse survivors and also offers counseling resources for called workers.

 

Author:
Volume 103, Number 06
Issue: June 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

The 2015 synod convention launched the “One in Christ” debt elimination offering through June 2016 to eliminate the remaining $4.7 million synod debt. If successful by God’s gracious blessing, the “One in Christ” campaign will put our synod in a better financial position to continue the ministry of training workers and establishing missions at home and abroad.

Steve Smith, pastor at Immanuel, Buffalo, Minn., requested more “One in Christ” offering brochures on behalf of the members, but, he said, it was his congregation’s idea to do the second offering collection: “The Lord opens hearts. The idea came from the congregation, and I certainly approve.”

Kurt Lueneburg, director of the Ministry of Christian Giving, says, “We glorify our gracious God for this marvelous blessing and thank all who have participated to date. We also encourage those still planning to participate in ‘One in Christ’ to consider an effort during the Pentecost season. What a special time for thanksgiving and an offering that, in the end, will benefit our sharing the message of the Resurrection and the Life by the Spirit’s power!”

Learn more and find resources at wels.net/oneinchrist.

 

Author:
Volume 103, Number 06
Issue: June 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
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When Rev. Daniel Habben, pastor at St. Peter’s, in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, was asked to write for Forward in Christ magazine, “I thought they got the wrong Habben,” he said, laughing. “My wife is the writer of the family.” After being assured that he was, indeed, the right Habben, he graciously accepted the invitation to be the new writer for the Thought for Today devotions. His series, which begins this month, focuses on the depth of God’s love for us and our responses to it. He says the idea for his devotions came from a variety of experiences, including growing up in Japan and serving a congregation in Canada for more than a decade.

He was born and raised in Japan while his father served as a missionary there. Habben says the cultural differences between Japan and North America are “as wide as the Pacific Ocean,” and that includes religion. In rural areas, people are very superstitious and some still participate in ancestor worship. Habben remembers his father talking about the mission work being hard and slow because many people don’t know anything about the Bible. So his family spent a lot of time making personal connections, building relationships and inviting people to Bible study.

Habben came back to the United States to train for the ministry, and after he graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, he was assigned to St. Peter’s. He has been serving the small congregation for the past 16 years. Although St. Peter’s has hosted large outreach events that attracted several hundred community members, few have showed up in church afterward. “Sometimes it takes years to get new people in the door,” he says.

Habben thinks this is partly because of multi-culturalism, which is prevalent throughout the Canadian culture. “That idea, that your culture is just as good as mine, spills over into their philosophy and religion,” he says. “Mission work can be difficult, because people think it’s okay to be Christian — as long as you’re not serious about it. In that respect, I think we’re a generation ahead of where the United States is heading.”

He hopes to touch on that idea in his devotion series. “As Christians, we need to be serious,” says Habben. “Let’s not be Sunday Christians. It’s not just part of your life, it is your life. I’ll be looking at how we sin and take things for granted. But God grants us forgiveness and gives us the power to live our lives the way he wants us to. I just really want to look at depths of God’s love for us and marvel at that.”

Alicia Neumann

 

 

Author: Alicia Neumann
Volume 103, Number 05
Issue: May 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
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Internet and smartphone usage is on the rise in Spanish-speaking countries; there were more than 70 million smartphone users in Mexico at the end of 2015. World Missions, through its One Latin America team (1LA) and Multi-Language Publications, is using these tools to reach out to Spanish speakers around the world, connecting them with each other and their Savior.

The 1LA team and Multi-Language Publications, with help from national Spanish-speaking church bodies, have developed a suite of websites that functions—as Mike Hartman, field coordinator for Latin America, describes it—as a church does.

● A PLACE TO WORSHIP: Iglesialuteranacristo.com (Christ Lutheran Church) enables people to participate in live-streamed Christ-centered worship. Hartman shares that 95 percent of the people in Latin America never have experienced a Christ-centered church service. Now, through these live-streamed services prepared especially for the online viewer, they can experience Christ-centered worship as well as download resources such as liturgies and hymns for their own use.

The Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church in Colombia has taken the lead on this project, broadcasting the services from Most Holy Trinity in Medellín. Three different worship leaders—Henry Herrera (see p. 28) from Colombia, Juan Garcia from the United States, and Andrés San Martín from Chile—conduct the service, which includes a live chat window to interact with online viewers. Spanish-speakers from ten different countries have gone through instruction classes with Herrera and joined Most Holy Trinity.

● A PLACE TO LEARN: Academiacristo.com (Christ Academy) was developed in 2015 to provide free Spanish video and audio resources that share the gospel message and teach lessons on Christianity and the Bible. The two most popular resources are Spanish versions of the recent WELS movies Come Follow Me and My Son, My Savior. Spanish-speaking national pastors and missionaries are online for live chats with those visiting the site. The site also directs them to Iglesia Luterana Cristo for online worship.

Leaders’ guides are available for Bible studies so that local lay leaders can take the materials and use them in their communities. “We want to empower people to start churches that faithfully teach Christ,” says Hartman. “Our main focus is working with contacts who reach out to us.” In April, the site began offering live weekly online classes to train leaders how to conduct Bible classes in their communities.

● A PLACE TO REACH OUT: “One of our main goals in Latin America is to become a known entity,” says Hartman. “In Mexico, there are more Buddhists than Lutherans. No one knows who a Lutheran is.” The Academia Cristo Facebook page is used to get the name “Lutheran” out in Latin America as well as to promote resources. With limited advertising, the site reaches an average of 300,000 people a day with Christ-centered messages and links to Academia Cristo.

● A PLACE FOR INFORMATION: Cristopalabradevida.com (Christ Word of Life) serves as a digital newsletter for Spanish-speakers. Meant mainly for those already in our fellowship, the site contains daily audio devotions, Christian resources in Spanish, and news about confessional Lutheranism. This site replaces El Mensajero Luterano (Lutheran Messenger), a printed newsletter that was distributed to Spanish-speaking congregations for the past four decades.

While the Internet is being used to distribute information, Hartman is quick to point out that this doesn’t replace face-to-face communication. It’s actually meant to promote it. “We are seeking to use online means of communication God has given us to empower more people to do on-the-ground ministry,” he says. Several members of the 1LA team live in Mexico and will work directly with contacts to start new churches. Another team member works with Spanish-speaking members in the United States who want to reach out with the gospel message to their families back in Latin America. Connections made through Academia Cristo have opened up new opportunities for church planting in several different areas in Colombia.

The sites also allow any WELS member to spread the gospel to their Spanish-speaking neighbors. “You don’t have to know Spanish,” says Hartman. “We’re giving you the resources to help you share your faith with someone who prefers to speak Spanish.”

Multi-Language Publications prepares the resources for these sites, while the 1LA team makes connections and follows up on contacts. According to Nate Seiltz, director of Multi-Language Publications, this model of using digital media may be used in other areas of the world in the future.

 

 

Author:
Volume 103, Number 05
Issue: May 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us