Share our Father’s compassion

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Dear Friend,

History has given certain men, mostly inventors, the title “father of.” The physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer has been called the father of the atomic bomb because of his groundbreaking work on the Manhattan Project during World War II. Carl Benz is considered by many to be the father of the automotive industry because he designed and built the first practical automobile in 1885. Jacques Cousteau is known as the father of SCUBA diving because he invented and perfected the first self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.

Some will argue that the wrong man has been given the title “father of” a particular invention. However, there is no argument about this: God is the “Father of compassion.” Scripture says so. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).

Nowhere is compassion more clearly seen than at the humble manger, blood-stained cross, and empty tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ. When God saw the helpless, hopeless state of us sinners, he leaped to action. He entered our world, carried our sin and sorrow to the cross, shed his blood to pay our debt, and rose again to secure forgiveness and life for us and for all. What compassion!

One way to thank and praise God for his compassion is to show compassion to others. There are so many in our world in need of compassion! In the name of Jesus and with your generous support, WELS Christian Aid and Relief strives to imitate our God’s compassionate heart and hands as we care for people in need. It is our privilege to be part of the following ministries of compassion:

  • Disaster Relief: We assist those who have been impacted by disaster by providing, as appropriate, funding, volunteer labor, equipment, training, and leadership. Recently in the U.S. we deployed to southwestern Florida to help those impacted by Hurricane Ian. We also assisted several families who lost their homes to tornados in Tennessee. We worked abroad to help rebuild churches in Malawi destroyed by Cyclone Freddy and to help feed 847 families displaced by flooding in India.
  • Humanitarian Aid: We fund humanitarian aid projects through our missions at home and abroad. These efforts include food support for the hungry, clean water for the thirsty, medical care for the sick and dying, school supplies for underprivileged students, and mosquito netting for those who live in areas where malaria is a problem.
  • Community Care and Compassion: We provide matching grants of up to $2,500 to self-supporting WELS congregations engaged in compassion ministry in their communities such as supporting the homeless, running a community food pantry, offering a holiday meal, or supporting a pregnancy counseling center. The opportunities to help are endless.
  • Personal Relief Grants: We work with WELS congregations to support members or prospects in crisis when the need goes beyond the ability of the congregation.

To continue showing our Father’s compassion in these ways, we invite your prayers and offerings. Please consider a gift to the WELS Christian Aid and Relief General Fund to help us maintain these ministries and imitate the Lord’s compassion as we serve and support people in need around the world.

In Jesus, our compassionate Savior,
Pastor Dan Sims
Director, WELS Christian Aid and Relief
wels.net/relief

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Prayer: Lord, our compassionate and gracious God, open our eyes to see the needs of people in our communities and move us to show compassion. We thank you that, through the support of WELS Christian Aid and Relief, our churches can do more to help our neighbors in need. May our compassion for others reflect your compassion for them and our trust in you. We pray that your Holy Spirit will use our efforts to communicate that we love because you first loved us. May your gospel move many more to believe in you. Amen.

Continue the momentum

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Dear Friend of Missions,

If you received my letter this past week, you know that, as we aim to open 100 new home missions and enhance 75 existing missions over ten years, I’m encouraging us to keep in mind that “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” We thank God that the “race” has started well with 20 new mission starts and enhancements approved in year one!

We know we need to keep going to reach more of the lost and we want to equip our missions to thrive, not just survive. Yet, some might ask, “Is it worth the cost?” The answer is a resounding “Yes!” “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). As we consider our riches because of the cross and empty tomb, how can we not share Jesus with those who are still poor?

Our district mission boards have submitted 16 new starts and 17 enhancement requests for review at next month’s Board for Home Missions meetings. The financial cost to support these requests is not small, but it’s worth it realizing we’re sending missionaries out with the powerful gospel that changes hearts, just like it changed yours and mine. Will you prayerfully consider giving to support this 100 Missions in 10 Years initiative?

While there is still much work to be done, by God’s grace, we have started strong and, God willing, will continue this momentum in the years ahead.

In Christ’s service,
Mark Gabb
Administrator, WELS Home Missions

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A marathon, not a sprint

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Dear Christian Friend,

“Remember, it’s a marathon and not a sprint.”

Growing up and going through school, I enjoyed playing sports like football, basketball, baseball, and even floor hockey. But as full-time ministry began, it became more difficult to find opportunities to do those things even though I knew I still needed to get exercise. So, I took up running. Little did I know that running would lead to competing in 5K races, which led to friends convincing me to compete in a half-marathon.

That’s when “it’s a marathon and not a sprint” hit home. While wind sprints get you in shape for football, basketball, baseball, and floor hockey, training for a half-marathon requires far less sprinting and far more long-distance running. You must learn to pace yourself so that you can run a strong race for the entire 13.1 miles.

“It’s a marathon and not a sprint” can also apply to the WELS initiative to start 100 missions and enhance 75 missions in 10 years. The “race” has now started with ten new mission starts and ten enhancements approved in year one. We thank God for you and our partnership in the gospel that enables us to reach more lost souls with the message of forgiveness, peace, and hope through Jesus Christ.

We’ve started strong and now need to continue going where the people are to reach more of the lost. We also want to equip our missions to thrive and not just survive. Yet, in these markets, we’re seeing the cost of real estate, rental property, and construction rising dramatically. Some might ask, “Is it worth the cost?” The answer is a resounding, “Yes!”

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Jesus became poor so that we could become rich. What we have wasn’t purchased with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood and by his innocent suffering and death. We have pardon for our sins, peace with God, and hope for this life and eternity. We are rich!

The “100 Missions in 10 Years” initiative is all about sharing our riches with those who are still poor. By God’s grace, together with you, we have started strong. We trust that we will continue running strong. We trust that we will continue to pray for this initiative as well as the ministry of WELS.

During this season of Lent as we consider the empty tomb and the riches we have, how can we not share our riches with those who are still poor? We trust that as God has blessed you financially, you will consider a special gift that will help us continue to run a strong race by God’s grace. And remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

In Christ’s service,
Mark Gabb
Administrator, WELS Home Missions

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Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for blessing our synod’s “100 Missions in 10 Years” effort with a strong start toward the goal of 100 new home missions and 75 mission enhancements by 2033. Send your Spirit to bless the ten mission starts and ten enhancements that were approved last year. May they—and all of our congregations—stay focused on gathering around your gospel in Word and sacraments and sharing it with our communities. Amen.

A strong start!

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Dear Friend of Missions,

Twenty new home mission starts and enhancements were approved in 2023—praise God! Thank you for your prayers and offerings that have helped us start strong! We know the incredible things God will do through each congregation gathered around and proclaiming his salvation from sin through Jesus. Realizing this is a marathon and not a sprint, we now want to maintain a good pace as we continue the race to reach more of the lost and equip our missions to thrive.

We do this through district mission boards, which support existing home missions and work with local congregations to identify where to plant new churches throughout their district. This volunteer group of two to four pastors and two to four laymen builds a solid foundation for each new mission, shepherding these churches and their pastors on their path from mission status to self-supporting congregations. The district mission boards are preparing a new round of mission start and enhancement requests for the Board for Home Missions to review at their April meeting.

We are confident in God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s power to continue to fuel our efforts for this marathon. Knowing there is a cost to running this race, would you consider a gift to help with the marathon ahead? We continue to pray that God would bless the efforts of the missionaries already on location and give patience to the groups of mission-minded believers waiting for their first shepherd so that in the end, more people see their desperate need for salvation and come believe the wonderful message of forgiveness and salvation through Christ alone.

Watch your mailbox for more information about this exciting initiative. And let’s remember this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Serving him,
Mark Gabb
Administrator, WELS Home Missions

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Another path to pastoring

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Dear Friend,

Imagine that you’re part of a group of people who are not widely represented in North America or our church body. You and others from your culture are members of a WELS congregation where you are blessed to hear of the salvation won for us by Jesus Christ. You would like to be a pastor to your people. How could that happen? You need to keep working at your regular job in order to support your family. You can’t afford to move your family to Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minn., and enroll in the pre-seminary program. How is your desire to be a Lutheran pastor going to be possible?

The Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI) of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary exists to walk with kingdom-committed spiritual leaders worldwide. Our privilege and joy is to train men from non-traditional backgrounds to serve as confessional Lutheran pastors to the people of their culture. These men can remain in their home congregations while their local pastor serves as their supervising pastor and instructor for much of their theological instruction.

Trung Le and Tao Nguyen are wonderful examples of how PSI serves our students. These men were able to remain at their homes in Boise, Idaho, and continue serving as members of Peace in Jesus Vietnamese Lutheran Church. Pastor Dan Kramer served as Trung and Tao’s primary PSI instructor for seven years. During those seven years, Trung and Tao were able to continue working at their full-time jobs in order to pay their bills. Slowly and steadily they worked through their courses, on Saturdays or evening hours, in person with their pastor and also via Zoom with a professor from the PSI team.

All of their hard work was realized when this past May, they joined the 2023 graduating class from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary at the graduation and assignment services. Trung Le now serves as the Vietnamese outreach pastor at King of Kings Lutheran Church in Garden Grove, Calif. Tao Nguyen serves as the pastor of his home congregation where he trained, Peace in Jesus Vietnamese Lutheran Church in Boise, Idaho. Praise be to God!

Your gifts to the Pastoral Studies Institute make placing men like Pastor Trung and Pastor Tao in congregations throughout the world possible by assisting with the cost of textbooks as needed and covering the travel expenses when the students gather at the seminary for winter and summer classes. Such face-to-face gatherings are invaluable as they allow our students to learn and to fellowship not with just one another, but with future and current pastors with whom they will serve in the public ministry.

Thank you for partnering with us in this important mission work with your prayers and gifts.

In the joy of serving him who saved us,
Prof. Harland H. Goetzinger
Director, Pastoral Studies Institute

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Prayer: Lord of the Church, we thank you for our synod’s strong ministerial education program that provides extensive training to our future pastors. We also thank you for the flexibility of the Pastoral Studies Institute, which trains men from other cultures to become pastors without leaving their communities. We praise you for providing a diversity of well-trained pastors proclaiming the gospel throughout the world. We pray that many more people hear your good news of salvation, repent of their sins, and trust in Jesus. Amen.

Jesus’ powerful invitation

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Dear Christian Friend,

Happy New Year in Jesus!

It’s customary to use the turn of the year to celebrate the Lord’s blessings in the past calendar year and look to our Savior for his favor in the next year. Each January WELS does the same through WELS Connection, the “Your gifts, God’s blessings” annual report, and by sending a letter like this one with the opportunity to support Christ’s gospel ministry. You are welcome to do that, but I want to focus on something even more impactful: our Lord’s invitation to ask him to send workers into his harvest field.

Jesus—who came to seek and to save lost sinners—told his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9:37,38).

Let’s take our Lord at his word and boldly ask that his gracious will be done. We think of our called worker shortage—the many congregations with pastor, teacher, and principal vacancies and the many souls at home and abroad who need to hear about Christ’s love. Let us ask Jesus to help us encourage women and men—young and old—to consider serving as ministers of the gospel. Our ministerial education schools have aging campuses requiring costly capital projects. Let us ask our Savior to move us to support capital improvements. Our synod has just begun an effort to open 100 new home missions in ten years and we are expanding our world mission efforts. Let us ask our Lord to bless our gospel outreach. And let us pray that God blesses our work to equip members for Christian living—evangelism, discipleship, stewardship, etc.

While we are at it, let’s pray that every member of our church body is enabled by the Holy Spirit to eagerly worship each week, study the Bible daily, give generously, and boldly witness Christ to everyone they meet. May the Lord open the eyes of our nation’s citizens to his saving love in Christ. May he protect and support the small minorities of Christians in countries around the world so that more people know him through their testimony.

Does it seem like we’re asking too much? Know that Jesus is already answering our prayers and doing his incredible work through us. He’s built a theological education center in Vietnam and grown the Hmong Fellowship Church from 55,000 to 145,000 members. He has prospered the online ministry of Academia Cristo to reach millions of precious souls across every country in Latin America; a synod has now started on the continent, and they have a goal of starting 1,000 gospel groups by 2028. He has increased enrollment in our Lutheran schools with more non-member families looking to us to provide a quality, Christ-based education for their children.

As we work together in 2024 let us ask our faithful Lord to hear our prayers for the salvation of souls and to ask him to use us according to his gracious will to support those efforts. If you’d like to join us in thanking him for his amazing love by offering a gift to support WELS Mission and Ministry, which is all the work we will do together as a synod this year and beyond, you can do that by clicking the button below. Thank you.

Yours in Christ,
Kurt Lueneburg
WELS Director of Christian Giving

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Prayer: We praise you, our gracious God, that 2023 was another year filled with your wonderful blessings for our synod’s work of sharing Christ’s love with others. We thank you for the dedication of a theological education center for the Hmong Fellowship Church in Vietnam, for the successful launch of WELS Home Missions’ 100 Missions in 10 Years effort, and for declaring fellowship with the Obadiah Lutheran Synod in Uganda and affirming fellowship with Iglesia Cristo WELS Internacional. We ask your Holy Spirit to guide and prosper our work for you in this new year. Amen.