Christ-centered resources from Academia Cristo (Christ Academy) are reaching Spanish speakers around the world. Academiacristo.com offers free Spanish video and audio resources. Visitors can ask questions and chat online with national pastors and missionaries. In 2016. Academia Cristo Facebook videos were viewed 8.6 million times.
In 2016, the Lutheran Church of Cameroon took a big step toward becoming an independent church body by calling its first full-time Cameroonian teacher and dean of students for its worker-training program. Mesue Israel (pictured) has served as a pastor since 1999. He is responsible for teaching several worker-training courses as well as enforcing rules for campus life. The first group of students for the worker-training program began their studies in the fall of 2016. They will attend Bible institute courses for two years and then complete three years of seminary studies before being eligible for a pastoral call. Currently 10 national pastors serve 32 congregations in Cameroon.
WELS began its mission efforts in Nigeria in 1936. Currently 26 Nigerian pastors and more than 50 lay leaders serve about 5,300 baptized members in the two Nigerian sister synods. WELS supports one non-resident missionary to mentor Nigerian church leaders with the goal of helping the Nigerian church bodies become led solely by nationals.