Mission Journeys: Back up and running!

“Go and make disciples…”

That phrase has taken on new meaning this past year as individuals and churches adjusted to life during a pandemic. Many of our members will never take worshiping in their church for granted again. We pray that Easter services around our synod were filled with people singing praises to Jesus for his victory over sin, the devil, and death!

Members from Divine Savior Lutheran Church in Doral, Fla., recently visited the church in Guayama, Puerto Rico.

Mission Journeys, the WELS short-term mission trip program, is back up and running again. The first two congregations going out are Zion in Columbus, Wis., (pictured above) and St. Paul’s in Clintonville, Wis. These congregations are heading to a location south of Seattle, Wash., to assist in canvassing an area where a new home mission might be planted. All the precautions are in place, including the wearing of masks, as the teams go door-to-door. Additional teams will be heading to Idaho and Oregon this summer. If you and your congregation are unsure of traveling a long distance, Mission Journeys has domestic mission trip opportunities in the Midwest and beyond as well.

The park in Puerto Rico that Mission Journeys teams would be renovating and conducting outreach events.

International mission trips are still a year away as many countries around the world have strict restrictions upon entering. Fortunately, Puerto Rico is a part of the United States. This makes travel a possibility. Missionary Mike Hartman, team leader of the WELS Latin America missions team, has identified an opportunity to send mission teams to Puerto Rico. The initial plan is to renovate a park near the local church in Guayama and assist them in holding outreach events. Mission Journeys is looking for 12 congregations to commit to sending one mission team a year for three years. The teams will need at least half the members to have Spanish-speaking ability. We want over half of the 12 congregations to have Hispanic members and a Hispanic ministry. This would allow our Hispanic brothers and sisters the opportunity to serve on a mission trip in Latin America. God willing, these trips will begin in November 2021 and be spread out throughout the following months and years. Please add Puerto Rico and the national churches there to your prayer lists as WELS sends mission teams to partner in sharing the message of Jesus, our Savior, in a fertile field, where the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few.

Written by Mr. Shannon Bohme, Mission Journeys coordinator

For more information or questions, visit wels.net/missionjourneys or send an e-mail to [email protected].

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

[fbcomments num=”5″]