Africa
The WELS One Africa Team currently works with established church bodies in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, partnering in outreach and assisting with theological education programs. The team is also exploring outreach opportunities with 12 additional groups throughout the continent and following up on promising contacts identified through Multi-Language Production’s TELL program in seven countries. Nine missionaries serve on the One Africa Team, one of whom works exclusively with the TELL program.
Fast facts
- Mission partners in 8 countries
- Exploratory mission work with 12 groups in 10 countries
- 9 missionaries
- Promising contacts identified through TELL in 7 countries
Meet the missionaries
Rev. Keegan Dowling - Zambia
Missionary Keegan Dowling accepted a call to serve as a member of the outreach committee of the One Africa Team in 2022. In this role he connects with individuals and groups throughout the continent of Africa to explore possible fellowship connections with WELS, especially with those individuals and groups that are French speaking. He and his family currently live in Lusaka, Zambia.
Dowling graduated from Martin Luther College in 2002 and from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2013. He has held a multitude of jobs, from teaching in California and China all the way to flying aircraft and being an ordinary seaman on Great Lakes freighter ships. After eight years as an officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve, he received his Honorable Discharge in October 2010, with the rank of Lieutenant (O-3). He has lived in seven states and three different countries. Dowling served as parish pastor of Abiding Word, Orléans, Ontario, Canada, from his graduation from seminary in 2013 until 2022.
He and his wife, Kathryn, have four kids: Maximilian (Max), Augustine (Gus), Scheherazade (Zade), and Jael (Ellie). All six are dual citizens of the United States and Canada.
Download and read more biographies at wels.net/missionarybios.
Rev. Ben Foxen - Zambia
Missionary Benjamin Foxen serves on the outreach committee of the One Africa Team as it seeks to engage the whole continent of Africa with the gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Foxen works primarily with churches in Tanzania and Uganda. The Foxen family is preparing for a move to Arusha, Tanzania, to support that work.
Foxen graduated from Martin Luther College in 2005 and from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2010. Foxen served as a missionary to Russia from 2010-2016 and as pastor of Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Peoria, Ariz., from 2016-2022.
He and his wife Rebekah, née Laitinen, were married in 2006. God has blessed them with four children: Levi, Kirsi, Katya, and Leia.
Download and read more biographies at wels.net/missionarybios.
Rev. Joel Hoff - TELL Missionary
Missionary Joel Hoff joined the TELL Network team in September 2022 as the TELL Missionary in Africa. He partners with the One Africa Team and serves as an instructor and mentor for TELL students throughout Africa. He assists in their training, walks beside them through their courses, and encourages them as they work toward becoming TELL Bible leaders themselves.
Hoff previously served in WELS mission fields in Cameroon (2010-2013), Albania (2006-2007), and Ukraine. Stateside, he has served as pastor at Divine Peace in Renton, Wash. (2013-2018), and most recently at Trinity in Neenah, Wis. (2018-2022).
He and his wife Kate were married in 2012 and have been blessed with four children: Micah, Caleb, and Josiah, and Benjamin. The Hoffs reside in Lusaka, Zambia.
Download and read more biographies at wels.net/missionarybios.
Rev. Dan Kroll - Malawi
Missionary Dan Kroll serves on the One Africa Team as the liaison for West African partners (one in Cameroon and two in Nigeria). He also works on the outreach team with groups in Liberia and Western Ethiopia. He and his wife Karen live in Lilongwe, Malawi, as empty nesters.
Kroll graduated from Martin Luther College in 1983 and spent three years working on an evangelism program for WELS and Reformation in San Diego, Calif., before starting at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. In 1992, Kroll was assigned to Zambia. He served in congregational oversight and general church development through teaching small groups. From there they served in Lake City, Minn. (2009-2014); Kumba, Cameroon (2014-2018); and Lilongwe, Malawi (2018-present).
He and his wife, Karen, were married in 1991. They have five adult children and six grandchildren: Ezekiel, his wife Amanda, and their children Oliver and Milo (Wis.); Josiah, his wife Becca, and their children Judah, Izzy, Ezra, Joanna, and another on the way (Texas); Elijah and wife Makilah (Alaska); Jonah and wife Jamee (Fla.); and Gideon (Alaska).
Download and read more biographies at wels.net/missionarybios.
Rev. Howard Mohlke - Zambia
Missionary Howard Mohlke is the leader of the One Africa Team. He represents WELS in Africa, specifically maintaining and developing good working relationships with partner churches throughout the continent. He is also responsible for leading, managing, and holding accountable the team of missionaries who are tasked with developing and carrying out various aspects of WELS mission work in Africa. He and his wife Leslie are empty nesters, currently living in Lusaka, Zambia.
From 1991-2000, Mohlke’s first call was to be a missionary in Zambia, followed by being called as a pastor back in the United States from 2000-2017. In 2007, he became part of the Board for World Missions and continued in his pastoral and board positions until 2017, when he became Director of the Apache Christian Training School at the Native American mission in Arizona. In 2020, he accepted the call to become the One Africa Team leader.
The Mohlkes have five grown children: Elizabeth, Sarah, and Philip who went to Zambia as small children, and Timothy and Rachel who were born there. All are married and together have blessed the Mohlkes with eight grandchildren.
Download and read more biographies at wels.net/missionarybios.
Rev. Mark Panning - Malawi
Missionary Mark Panning has served the WELS One Africa Team since 2006. He teaches religion at the Lutheran Bible Institute in Lilongwe, Malawi. He also serves as the One Africa Team’s primary liaison to the Lutheran Church of Central Africa – Malawi and the Lutheran Church of Ethiopia. Prior to his time in Africa, he served for 13 years as a pastor in central Wisconsin.
Download and read more biographies at wels.net/missionarybios.
Rev. John Roebke - Malawi
Missionary John Roebke serves as the integrator of the One Africa Team. In this role, he helps team leader Howard Mohlke administer the work of the mission team. In addition, he oversees consultancy work with African national worker training programs, serves as liaison with WELS’ sister church in Kenya, and coordinates promotions for the One Africa Team through their blog and Facebook page.
Roebke served as a missionary in Bulgaria from 1994-2004. He planted a church in the Sofia suburb of Mladost and taught courses on English and the Bible. They also served in Vidin, where Roebke and a Bulgarian national vicar began work in urban and rural areas. From 2004-2008 Roebke served Peace in Wautoma, Wis., and then Lamb of God in Madison, Ala., from 2008-2017. In 2017, Roebke and his wife Nancy moved to Lilongwe, Malawi, to begin serving with the WELS One Africa Team.
Roebke and his wife Nancy were married in 1993. They have two adult daughters, Liliana and Christiana, who were both born in Bulgaria and now live in the U.S.
Download and read more biographies at wels.net/missionarybios.
Mr. Jake Vilhauer - Zambia
Missionary Jake Vilhauer serves on the One Africa Team outreach team, assisting in the work of reaching out to new contacts and developing relationships with potential new gospel outreach partners. His work focuses on French-speaking contacts. He also teaches classes and serves as a counselor for students in the TELL Network and serves as an advisor to the One Africa Team in educational matters.
Vilhauer graduated and was assigned from Martin Luther College in May 2024 with a major in secondary social studies and a minor in coaching. He married Madelynne (née Hockenbery) in 2024, and they are expecting a baby girl in November 2025. The Vilhauers started their ministry in France with a three-month immersion course in the French language, followed by an additional three months in Douala, Cameroon, using the French language. They then relocated to Lusaka, Zambia, to begin work with the One Africa Team.
Download and read more biographies at wels.net/missionarybios.
Rev. Dan Witte - Zambia
Missionary Dan Witte oversees the Confessional Lutheran Institute, the theological education arm of the One Africa Team. The Confessional Lutheran Institute offers Bachelor of Divinity and Master of Theological Studies programs in conjunction with the Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI) of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary; provides professional development courses and continuing education for African pastors; and consults on curriculum, provides training for instructors, and offers materials for various sister synod seminary programs. Witte teaches courses, coordinates visiting instructors, encourages pastors, etc. Witte and his wife Debbie reside in Lusaka, Zambia.
From 1992 to 2019, Witte was a pastor in Downers Grove, Ill.; Lakewood Ranch, Fla.; and Nicollet, Minn. He also taught Hebrew classes as an adjunct at Martin Luther College and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and was the secretary for the Psalm Committee for the Christian Worship 2021 hymnal.
Witte and his wife Debbie were married in 1992 and have been blessed with six children: Deanna, Danae, David, Daria, Donovan, and Drew.
Download and read more biographies at wels.net/missionarybios.
Red = Mission Partners: National church partners in fellowship with WELS and partnering in outreach
Blue = Exploratory missions work: Promising contacts reaching out for fellowship or other areas of assistance OR new outreach by WELS missionaries or national church partners
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