Helping Asian leaders remain faithful and fruitful amidst challenges

Dear Christian Friend,

How would you feel if you lived in a country where December 25 was treated like any other day? Pastor M faces challenges like this regularly. He is a Lutheran pastor who lives in an Asian country where few people know that Christmas is about the arrival of the Savior. He says, “Christians are a minority in our Muslim-majority country. But because of the CELC, we do not feel alone.”

Formed in 1993, the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC) is a place where Pastor M and members of other churches can express their oneness in faith and confession and be strengthened by the Word of God. WELS Commission on Inter-Church Relations (CICR) works to maintain and support relationships among these 34 CELC church bodies throughout the world.

Pastor M’s church has attended one of the triennial CELC global conferences, but he has found special blessings in regional gatherings with his fellow believers. Meeting in Asia helps to keep a focus on Asian issues like ancestor worship and polytheism. They also network with other Lutherans. For example, Pastor M introduced a member from his church, who was working in Taiwan, to a local Lutheran pastor.

This is happening more and more. WELS ministry in Asia now serves people in at least a dozen countries. The church is growing quickly, but it faces many pressures. Civil unrest is common. Christianity is often suppressed. Churches have even been burned. Our Asian brothers crave fellowship and encouragement from the Scriptures and fellow Lutherans.

Pastor M is working hard to gather as many CELC Asia leaders as possible in June 2025. Together they will study God’s Word, encourage each other, and talk about sharing the good news of Jesus in their country and culture. He serves because he has seen firsthand the spiritual benefits of the CELC. “When our church joined CELC Asia in 2015 and then in 2018, we came back home and shared all the blessings we received. Our brothers and sisters were encouraged because they have fellowship with brothers and sisters in many other Asian countries. It is a joy and blessing for us to host the CELC event for the first time and welcome our brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Your gift to WELS Commission on Inter-Church Relations will help these Asian leaders with limited financial resources to attend CELC Asia. It enables a pastor who is a former Buddhist to join and share his story. It helps another leader attend who faces increasing physical danger because he confesses his Lutheran faith. A young pastor who toils alone in another country says, “I am so excited to be able to see all our Lutheran brothers and sisters from Asia during the CELC Asia conference. We will have a great chance to discuss questions like ‘How can we share the heavenly message with others in our country and culture? How can we plant and nurture the church with the Means of Grace?’”

God’s people in Asia are bringing the true message of Christmas to fellow Asians. Your support will encourage and strengthen them, despite the difficulties, to remain faithful to the Savior’s Word and to become more fruitful in their ministry.

In Christ,
Rev. Rob Siirila
Retired East Asian missionary
Advisor to the CELC Asia planning committee

Prayer: Lord Jesus, what a special blessing to be united with church bodies of various sizes around the world through shared confession of faith based on your true Word. Thank you for the WELS Commission on Inter-Church Relations, which maintains and supports relationships with the 34 Lutheran church bodies of our fellowship around the world. We ask you to continue to enrich this fellowship through the encouragement that comes from the study of your Word, prayer, and regular gatherings of church bodies. Amen.