Tag Archive for: joint missions

Connecting people to the gospel

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“I would use the illustration of a switchboard operator from the early days of telephone communication to explain the work of a diaspora ministry facilitator,” says Rev. Neil Birkholz, WELS’ Asian ministry consultant and diaspora ministry facilitator for East Asia. “When an inquiry from my designated people group comes to me directly or to someone else in WELS, I become the middleman/operator and connect them to the right person.”

Birkholz further explains, “If someone from Korea is looking to connect their son with a WELS church in the United States, I help connect them with the local WELS church where their son will be living. If a member of my WELS church in California is returning to their home country of Thailand, I help connect them with our WELS World Mission One Team in Thailand so this member can continue to worship with other confessional Lutherans while living in Thailand.”

The role of diaspora ministry facilitator is a new one. As globalization has increased, so have global migration rates, which has opened up new mission opportunities for WELS churches. Diaspora ministry—or people group ministry— is coordinated by Joint Missions because it involves both World Missions and Home Missions. Each World Missions One Team (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Native American) has at least one diaspora ministry facilitator, which is a role that a pastor takes on in addition to his full-time call. These facilitators have experience serving the people group with which they are working and stay in touch with the World Missions One Team for their area.

“Diaspora ministry certainly makes the world feel a lot smaller,” says Rev. Aaron Bublitz, pastor at Heritage, Gilbert, Ariz., and the diaspora ministry facilitator for Africa. “Our WELS congregations have opportunities to connect to and share the gospel with people who have come here from all over the world. We then have the opportunity to connect to and share the gospel through them in many places in the world. We are helping facilitate the Great Commission we have been given to take the gospel to all nations.”

Learn more at wels.net/jointmissions, including how to contact diaspora ministry facilitators to connect people groups.

 

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True love, God’s love

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As couples prepared to buy chocolate, candies, teddy bears, cards, and roses for each other on Valentine’s Day to express their love for each other, Faith Hmong in Alaska uses this time of the year to gather couples for an evening of food, relaxation, photos, and God’s Word on the message of true LOVE.

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us.” – 1 John 4:10a

The message that evening focused on Genesis 2:17, “They become one flesh.” This reminded couples that marriage doesn’t stop after the wedding ceremony, having their first child, or being able to accomplish some of their goals. Couples must be intentional with their marriage. They can’t just show love or affection towards each other once a year on Valentine’s Day; they must show love for each other and serve each other every day to continue to strengthen a marriage, which is built on the foundation of Christ. It was great opportunity for couples to gather together and experience an evening filled with God’s Word, great conversations, and time to reflect on each other.

Faith Hmong in Alaska uses this kind of event as an outreach opportunity to invite friends, family, and neighbors to the Faith Hmong community. We also have events for kids and parents to spend time together, such as a family paint night, which is planned for next month. Coming to worship services can be a little intimidating for some, but with events like these, believers and friends can come and relax and hear about their Lord. It’s a fun way for the church members to do outreach in the community.

We have been serving the Hmong community of Anchorage since 2009 and have established a beautiful relationship with our Anglo brothers and sisters at Faith Lutheran Church. Every Sunday, our doors are open early in the morning for an English service, followed by a Hispanic service preached by Pastor Chris Ewings and Pastor Nathan Wagenknecht. Then, we end our Sunday with a Hmong service starting at 3:00 p.m., followed by Hmong Sunday School. We designate the first Sunday of each month as a fellowship Sunday for the opportunity to invite friends, families, and neighbors to attend and enjoy some snacks and conversations.

Faith Hmong continues to focus its ministry on the Hmong community in Anchorage, and God continues to bless us. We look for opportunities to share what so many people in the world are still seeking – LOVE. A love the world cannot give, but rather true love that comes only from our Savior, Jesus.

Learn more about our ministry at faithhmongalaska.org.

Written by Pastor Pao Moua, Home Missionary at at Faith Hmong Lutheran Church in Anchorage, Alaska

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Merry Christmas from WELS Missions!

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As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth, it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55: 10-11

What gifts will you get this Christmas? What gifts will you give? This time of year, we tend to focus on so many earthly things, but we know these things do not last. The truth of forgiveness in Jesus IS what lasts. He came down from heaven and lived a perfect life to give us the only thing we need: eternal life in heaven with him. This gift is ours. For free. There is no greater gift.

We here in Home, World, and Joint Missions are humbled to serve God and his family of believers. It is truly a privilege to share the message of God’s greatest gift to all believers, Jesus Christ, with all people. It is through people like YOU that God enables this work to continue. Thank you! Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we see the miracle of faith sprouting up all over the United States and world. May we all strive to plant seeds of faith and share God’s Word, because he promises it will not return empty. The Word goes out and always achieves God’s purpose.

Merry Christmas from your brothers and sisters in Christ serving WELS Home, World, and Joint Missions!

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Chinese worship launches in Coquitlam

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November was full of blessings for Abiding Love Lutheran Church, a Chinese ministry based in Coquitlam, BC, Canada. Since being assigned to serve this new mission full-time after graduating from the Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI) program in 2020, Pastor Qiang Wang and his wife Susan have been faithfully witnessing to the Chinese community in and around Coquitlam.

After two years of waiting, God blessed their efforts and Abiding Love launched public worship on November 27, 2022 (pictured above). They will continue to offer Chinese worship twice a month in Vancouver, which is central to many members of Abiding Love.

In addition, Susan’s Chinese dance group hosted a dance show at a local community center on November 26. It was the first public event held by the Chinese group since the pandemic. Members and prospects volunteered at the event (pictured right) and had a chance to get know to many other people and tell them about the ministry.

The Wangs continue church potlucks, hosting prospects in their home, offering three online Bible studies per week, and facilitating online Sunday school. You can read more about the Wangs and how Chinese ministry in Coquitlam got started in this Forward in Christ article from May 2020.

View photos from their launch, the November dance show, and other ministry activities on Flickr.

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Lighting the way through holidays

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Jesus boldly stated that “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Only through Jesus can we reach heaven and spend eternity with God. As Christians, we have God’s calling to walk together and invite others to join us on the way to paradise. The challenge, at times, is gathering a crowd to hear the Good News we have in Jesus. For Reformation Lutheran Church and School in San Diego, Calif., the hosting of traditional American holiday get-togethers has helped gather a crowd. The target audience for some of these gatherings has been Reformation’s neighbors who have come to the U.S. from other countries. The church and school have discovered that there is a strong interest in the local immigrant community to participate in American customs and holidays. Some of the Asian families living near Reformation saw the stores advertising for the Thanksgiving holiday and wondered what it would be like to participate in such a festival. When these families received Reformation’s invitation to a Thanksgiving meal, many were eager to join the gathering.

Mark Jiang leading the opening prayer

Mark Jiang is a Chinese man who connected with Reformation at a Thanksgiving celebration several years ago and reflected on the significance of such gatherings: “It’s so important for our church to host a Thanksgiving dinner. We have many Asian family in San Diego: some of these families have their children in our school, some families are new comers to the U.S. It is our duty to welcome and give God’s love to these families, not only for their daily life, but also help them to know God. God’s Word is the lamp to our path (Psalm 119:105), so we use this opportunity to connect with families around us, to help them, especially in this thanksgiving season to help our families to think of all the thanks we can give to God.”

Mark Jiang is now enrolled in the Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI) studying to be a WELS pastor. Mark counts his blessings as he remembers receiving an invitation to gather with American Christian friends for the holidays. Let us all consider how we can use opportunities like holidays to share with someone that our Savior is truly the way to their eternal life. May the Word of our God continue to be a lamp for your feet and a light for your path as you follow the Way to heaven.

Written by Rev. Neil Birkholz, North American Asian Ministry Consultant 

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Happy Thanksgiving from WELS Missions!

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Sometimes it takes a bad situation to bring out the best in us.

Medical advances are taken for granted until someone in your family desperately needs help. Peace and prosperity aren’t seen as gifts until a country is plunged into war. A roof over our heads is not given a second thought until a hurricane rips it off. Food on our plates is expected, but that expectation can melt away in an instant where drought or famine hit hard. When help arrives in a desperate situation, thanksgiving can shine. Doctors, soldiers, emergency crews, and aid workers can fill pages with accounts of people filled with gratitude when help arrives.

Help in a bad situation can bring out the best in us. This is why thanksgiving should never be far from our lips. We were all in the most desperate of circumstances. Born into a sinful world and determined from birth to rebel against our Creator, we were in the most horrible situation imaginable. We deserved to be separated from our Maker for eternity. But God intervened. He sent his Son and saved us. He redeemed the entire world from sin by his death on the cross. He proved his success, and ours, by his resurrection from the dead. It is no wonder that the Apostle Paul encourages all believers to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

We in the WELS Missions office have the great honor of seeing God’s amazing grace reach the far corners of the world. Aid for families touched by diseases, wars, disasters, and famine are always welcomed with expressions of thanks and joy from our Christian family around the world. That thanksgiving is raised to the highest heights as we rejoice with them in the greatest gifts of all: the gifts of God’s eternal grace, mercy, and peace. Thank you for helping us bring the life-giving gospel to the world. Enjoy this short video that shares how God blessed that work in 2022.

Join with us this Thanksgiving to rejoice at what God has done for us all. Rejoice that many are helped when life in this vale of tears gets tough. Shout praises to God for the blessing of being able to share this good news with the world.

From all of us in WELS Missions, we thank God for you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

WELS Home, World, and Joint Missions

 




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“One Faith, One Family.” – Hmong National Conference 2022

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What would lead people to pack into three vehicles at 11:30 p.m. and drive through the night from Kansas City to Wisconsin or catch the 2:00 a.m. red eye flight from Fresno to Milwaukee? The answer is the Hmong National Conference hosted by Trinity Hmong in Manitowoc, Wis., this past July 29-31. After canceling the last two national conferences due to COVID, about 170 Hmong brothers and sisters were finally able to gather together to celebrate with food, fellowship, and the Word of God.

The theme for the gathering was, “One Faith, One Family.” Separate breakout sessions were held in English for the teens and in Hmong for the adults.

Pastor Sam Lor of St. John’s, Minneapolis, Minn., led about 50 teens through the topic, “Cultural Identity through Baptismal Identity.” Why this subject? Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI) student and cohost, Semson Lor, said, “In the world today you can identify so many different ways. We wanted teens to see who they are in Christ.”

At the same time the teens met, Pastor Pheng Moua of Immanuel Hmong in St. Paul, Minn., was leading the adults in the Bible Study, “How to Encourage One Another.” “We are living in the End Times and it is important to motivate each other and build each other up in order to let our light shine to the world.”

All the devotions, sermons, and Bible studies of the conference reinforced the theme, “One Faith, One Family.” Pastor Ger Lor of Grace Hmong in Kansas City, Kans., stated, “Unity of brothers and sisters in Christ was what the Savior prayed among his disciples: ‘that they may all be one; as thou Father, art in me, and I in thee, and they may also be one in us.’ The gospel creates a unity of faith with our Father, our Savior and our fellow believers.”

Pastor Joel Nitz was also in attendance for the first time since he took the call to serve the Hmong in Vietnam. He reflected, “I had a wonderful experience as I connected with our WELS Hmong members in the U.S., worshiped and learned with them, and practiced my Hmong language skills.”

In addition to feeding the soul, there was plenty of food for the body. The meals reflected the different places Hmong people have called home over the decades. Laotian pho was served for lunch one day and all-American hamburgers served picnic style for dinner on another. In order to work off the extra calories, a sports tournament was held on Friday that included volleyball and corn hole.

The highlight of the conference was at the Sunday morning worship service where the group expressed their spiritual and doctrinal unity at the Communion Service.

And why travel so far? Pastor Xing Yang of Faith in Clovis, Calif., shared, “Jesus. I tell the people it is about Jesus.” The next Hmong National Conference is scheduled for 2024 in Fresno, Calif.

Written by Rev. Leon Ehlert, Chairman for the North America Hmong Committee

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WELS Missions – 2022 Impact Report

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Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. . .

Matthew 28:19

God is blessing the efforts of WELS Home, World, and Joint Missions in amazing ways! Your prayers and gifts are making a difference in communities across the U.S. and around the world; we are grateful for your generosity.

Here are some ways your gifts are being used to share the good news of the gospel.

HOME MISSIONS

  • Five new churches were approved in Windsor, Colo.; Wichita, Kans.; Canton, Ga.; Conroe, Tex; and Lodi, Wis. Home Missions also approved enhancements or unsubsidized mission status at seven other locations. Learn more at wels.net/newstart.
  • Campus Ministry provides over 30 campus ministries with financial support and assists hundreds of other congregations in their campus ministry outreach.
  • Plans and preparations are being made to plant 100 new home mission churches and enhance 75 existing ministries from 2023-2033. Learn more at wels.net/100in10.

WORLD MISSIONS

  • Two missionaries are beginning ministry in London this year.
  • Over 500 worldwide gospel ministers are proclaiming the Good News, and more than 90 additional men have graduated from worker training programs this year alone.
  • Building of the theological education center in Vietnam has begun.
  • Plans are being made to welcome a synod in Uganda and an international synod in Latin America into WELS fellowship at the 2023 Synod Convention.
  • Nine new missionary positions have been approved.

JOINT MISSIONS

  • The Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI) is working with One Teams around the world and providing theological training to immigrants in the U.S. for service to their people groups.
  • Mission Journeys provides opportunities for volunteer trips to WELS mission fields at home and abroad.

Praise God for his mercy and grace and thank YOU for your prayers and support! There is always more work to do, and we are grateful for your continued partnership. Pray for God’s blessing on his Church. Share God’s grace and forgiveness with others you meet. Ask God to give us strength to serve others with love.

Learn more at wels.net/missions and like us on Facebook at fb.com/WELSMissions

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NEW Long-Term Volunteer Opportunities

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Jesus gave the Great Commission to the Church saying, “go and make disciples of all nations.” Christians throughout the millennia chose different ways and methods to carry out our Savior’s command. Starting in Acts, churches saw the need to send missionaries to reach people with the gospel. In WELS, members partnered together to start churches throughout the United States and to send missionaries to many parts of the globe. WELS Home Missions, seeing the great need for the gospel, continues to plant new churches in hopes of the Holy Spirit reaching more souls for God’s Kingdom.

WELS Mission Journeys, under the leadership of WELS Home Missions, is starting a pilot program to give more individuals the opportunity to share their faith through a long-term volunteer opportunity. Mission Journeys wants to place mission-oriented individuals in strategic locations to assist in forming and developing quality core groups, the building blocks in starting new home missions. A core group is the local group that does the work of meeting, praying, outreach, planning, and evangelism.

We’re looking for individuals that love Jesus and can communicate that love with other people. They’ll need patience, flexibility, and a spirit of adventure. This would be a tent ministry, where the individual would have a job outside of the ministry to support themselves. This could include remote work, a local job, or some combination. Mission Journeys, as a part of this pilot project, will work with the individual for possible financial assistance in moving or other expenses.

Current opportunities include:

  • Bentonville, Arkansas: Bentonville is the home of Walmart, a corporation investing heavily in the community to provide a higher quality of life. The economy is booming for jobs in all job markets. The core group consists of four families.
  • Idaho Falls, Idaho: Idaho Falls is located on the western side of Teton National Park. Idaho Falls is a fast-growing area and a hub for the surrounding area. The core group consists of three families.

WELS Home Missions provides each location with a proven plan on starting. Each location has a home mission counselor to assist in planning and coordinating ministry ideas. The core groups also worship with a pastor twice a month. This pilot program is designed to give an individual with a heart for missions the opportunity to work on the ground floor of a mission start.

For additional information, please contact Mission Journeys Coordinator, Shannon Bohme, at shannon.bohme@wels.net or 651-324-4218.

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Faces of Faith – Contreras Family

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Salvador Contreras has always been a student of God’s Word with lots of questions. In his research online, he came across the app Academia Cristo, which is an online Bible training tool used by the WELS Latin America mission team. Through personal study and the Bible classes offered via Academia Cristo, Salvador and Natividad knew they wanted to find a Lutheran church to continue growing in their faith and bring their children up in the Word. And so they walked into our building (a home mission congregation) one Sunday last summer. Their children were baptized in July 2021, and Salvador and Natividad were confirmed in March 2022. Now our discussions revolve around promoting Academia Cristo to Spanish speakers in the Denver area so Salvador can share the same peace he has found. As the seeds are planted and watered, we have a church community ready to serve them!

From Paul Biedenbender, missionary at Christ Lutheran Church in Denver, Colo.

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Faces of Faith – Semson Lor

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I remember being in high school 10 years ago and people would ask me if I wanted to become a pastor, just like my father (Daniel Lor – Trinity Hmong, Manitowoc, Wis.). I would automatically answer “No” without giving it a second thought. This all changed when I left home and lived by myself. Suddenly everything I had learned growing up in the Lutheran church became something of the past. But as I fell into sin and personal struggles, the Holy Spirit kept tugging at my heart. I knew this wasn’t how God wanted me to live my life. As a child and a teen, I did not think much about my faith. But when struggles came, the foundations of my faith were what I could fall back on for hope and comfort. Even though I tried so hard to run away from the Lord, he was always pursuing me and being true to his promises that he had given to me in my baptism. I moved back home and became obsessed with reading scripture and studying theology and our Lutheran doctrine. I also started helping my father out at church, and I fell in love with ministry. It’s been a great blessing be able study in the PSI program. I’ve been able to learn from great teachers who are equipping me to proclaim this message of forgiveness to a world that is hurting, depressed, scared, and have no hope. They need to know that they have a Savior that lived perfectly for us so God could wash away all their guilt and sin. Though we may hurt, though we may suffer depression, though we may still be scared, we now have hope.

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Love your neighbors – of all faiths

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My wife and I spent a week with a young man and his wife who have a heart for reaching out to those of Muslim faith. During the month of Ramadan they held a party at a ministry house where they like to spend time with their Muslim friends. As you may know, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset during the 30 days of Ramadan. According to custom we broke the fast – at 8:20 p.m. that night – and everyone was given a fig to eat. We then enjoyed many special foods packed with flavor. Laughter and love filled the house. Our hosts and guests played the guitar and ukulele and sang songs until well past midnight. More than 35 guests joined us this night.

The day before this party the host asked me to have a devotion for his friends at the party. He said, “The most important thing is to tell them about the love of Jesus. It makes a deep impression – how Jesus loved even his enemies and asked God to forgive them when he was nailed to the cross.”

We had a devotion on Jesus being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and his crucifixion. Jesus was not weak – as some think. He was strong. He could have escaped. The mob fell backwards when Jesus said, “I am he.” Jesus then rebuked Peter who drew his sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest saying, “Put your sword away!  Don’t you know those who live by the sword will die by the sword?” Then Jesus picked up the severed ear and reattached it. He performed a miracle of healing for the very people who came to hurt him. We also shared some of the words Jesus spoke on the cross, such as, “Father, forgive them because they do not know what they are doing” – and how he rose again on the third day.

Then we asked, “Why did Jesus suffer and die on the cross if he had the power to escape? We explained, “It was not the nails that held Jesus to the cross, it was his love for you and me.”

The day after the party we traveled 220 miles south to one of the fastest growing cities in America. One of our WELS churches in this large midwestern city has a  center that provides care for women. We had a Henna Party from 3:30-7:30 p.m. With great skill our friend’s wife painted beautiful henna designs on the hands and forearms of all who came – describing the love of Jesus in the designs she made. The woman who has served as the director of this center for more than 25 years and the dedicated ladies who volunteer made everything run smoothly.

I was planning to “stay out of the way” but as the first people arrived, I was stunned to find many from the countries I serve on the other side of the world. My heart swelled as I spoke with some of them in their native tongue. It was a parade of nations – 75-100 ladies from places like Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Nepal, Bhutan, Assam, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru. My eyes marveled as I realized – God is bringing the nations to us! You no longer have to go overseas to share the gospel with Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. They are here! On our doorsteps!

My friend told me, “The most important thing is that you love Muslims. Really love them – even if they show no interest in Christianity. If they think you are a friend because you want them to become Christians, they will feel you are a hypocrite. Be kind to them. Spend time with them. Care about their families. Let them be in your heart – and in your prayers – and even in your living room! When you introduce them to the Friend of Sinners, be a friend!”

Written by WELS’ friendly counselor to South Asia

 

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Opportunities for Hispanic outreach

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More than 2,000 WELS members in North America report that Spanish is their first language. They worship in well over 100 congregations, with almost 20 of those having regular services in Spanish. There are a dozen congregations that do not have Spanish services but still have Spanish Bible classes every week. Every year Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary graduates men who are fluent in both Spanish and English. Over 30 WELS pastors in North America engage their communities in Spanish every day.

There is so much activity in this area that the Board for Home Missions has called a full-time Hispanic Outreach Consultant, Pastor Timothy Flunker. He has plenty to do, including the goal of assisting at least ten new congregations each year to reach out to Hispanic people in their communities.

At the same time, our mission team in Central and South America (the One Latin America Team) has developed an outreach strategy called Christ Academy (Academia Cristo in Spanish). It begins with a mobile app that offers four self-led courses at the Bible Information Class level of study. Over 500,000 people have downloaded the mobile app. The last course in this tier focuses on training students to share what they’ve learned with others. Students must complete all four courses before they are able to sign up for live classes. Over 1,300 people have signed up for live classes.

In the first level of live classes, students work through 13 Bible Institute level classes that are taught live online by a WELS missionary or national partner. At this level, a large emphasis is placed on gathering a group of people to share the gospel message. Over 400 people have completed at least one of the live classes, and about 75 of them have indicated that they have gathered a group.

The Joint Mission Council recently wondered how the Christ Academy model would work in the United States and Canada. They asked the One Latin America (1LA) Team to devise a pilot project using the Christ Academy app in a dozen existing WELS congregations in North America. Rather than adding to Pastor Flunker’s duties, they encouraged the 1LA Team to call a pilot project director from the group of men who were already involved in the Christ Academy program in Central and South America. We are happy to announce that Pastor Carl Leyrer, a veteran in the Christ Academy work, has accepted that call and is beginning his work.

We ask God’s blessings on the work of both Pastor Flunker and Pastor Leyrer.

“A la verdad la mies es mucha, pero los obreros pocos. Rogad, pues, al Señor de la mies, que envíe obreros a su mies” (Matthew 9:37-38).

“Then he said to 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.'”

Written by Paul Prange, Joint Mission Council Chairman.

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New locations for cross-cultural outreach

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One of the primary focuses of WELS Joint Missions is supporting people group ministries, where immigrants who have joined our fellowship in the United States and Canada are able to take the gospel back to friends and family in their country of origin. WELS currently supports 14 Hispanic ministries, 5 Hmong ministries, 4 African ministries, and single Korean, Chinese, Muslim, Vietnamese, and Hindu ministries throughout North America. Six additional mission churches are considered multicultural ministries, which means that more than two different cultures are being served. Many of these people group ministries have opened doors to new world mission work around the globe.

At a recent meeting, the Joint Mission Council approved financial support for two additional locations. Rev. Paul Prange, chairman of the Joint Mission Council, shares, “We are just grateful for the opportunities we have to support these fine people who are often working under difficult circumstances. Their optimism about the importance of the gospel is inspiring, and their willingness to work with us is humbling.”

New Sudanese Mission—Phoenix, Ariz.

In 2020, Rev. Simon Duoth graduated from the Pastoral Studies Institute and was assigned to conduct Sudanese outreach full time in the Pacific Northwest District. When unforeseen family circumstances forced the Duoth family to move to Phoenix, Ariz., conversations began between the Pacific Northwest and the Arizona-California district mission boards about the opportunity to plant a new Sudanese ministry in the area. Research shows that 4,000 Sudanese people live in the city. It was then discovered that a WELS church, Emmaus, was only four blocks away from a Sudanese cultural center. Emmaus’ church leadership is willing and excited to offer its church as a worship center as Duoth begins outreach.

God is also continuing to provide for Sudanese outreach in the Pacific Northwest. A member and longtime evangelist in the current Sudanese congregation located at Divine Peace in Renton, Wash., is stepping up to serve as leader of the church. He will begin training in the Pastoral Studies Institute as he leads Sudanese ministry in the area.

Mission Enhancement—Las Vegas, Nev.

The Korean Fellowship Lutheran Church, served by Korean Pastor Rev. Taesang Kim, is self-supporting and shares a campus with Water of Life, Las Vegas, Nev. Recently, Rev. Youngha Kim and his wife, Margaret, retired to the Las Vegas area. Youngha Kim was trained at Bethany Lutheran Seminary (Evangelical Lutheran Synod’s seminary) and has previously served in Korean ministry in the U.S. and in South Korea. Funding will allow the Korean Fellowship Lutheran Church to call Youngha Kim to reconnect with the elderly and retirees after the pandemic, freeing up Taesang Kim’s time to engage with Korean teenagers and young professionals.

Learn more about WELS Joint Missions at wels.net/jointmissions.

 

 

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Registration now open! Taste of Missions 2022

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Registration is now open for Taste of Missions, a hybrid event that will be held on Saturday, June 11, 2022. Join us in person at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wis., OR online to get a “taste of missions” no matter where you might be around the world.

The event kicks off with a special worship service where we plan to commission new home and world missionaries. Sample ethnic cuisine from some of our mission fields while enjoying fellowship and presentations from home and world missionaries alike. View displays, participate in outdoor family-friendly activities, and ask questions about the ups and downs of mission work during panel discussions.

Virtual attendees will be able to watch all events via livestream, view additional video updates from missionaries, and try their hand at making one of the many ethnic recipes shared on the website. View the full itinerary at tasteofmissions.com.

Registration is $15 per person, with children 13 and under attending for free. Those attending in person will receive food tickets to sample ethnic food and will have the ability to purchase additional food from the food trucks. Or attend virtually for free! Sign up today at tasteofmissions.com/register.

Register today!

See you there!

WELS Home, World, and Joint Missions

 

 

 

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Reflection in the water

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It was a long year of online learning for Brenda. The plans to attend a university in San Diego in person were altered by the pandemic. Brenda chose to return home to East Asia and attend classes online. This meant that she was often awake in the middle of the night for live classes that were taking place in California. Even with the scheduling challenges, Brenda found blessings in her situation. She was granted extra time at home with family that she would have otherwise missed. She also found time to reflect on the “family” she had grown to appreciate during her high school years at St. Croix Lutheran High School. Many of the teachers, staff, and fellow students at St. Croix had shown Christian love that left a meaningful impact on her. She recognized what a blessing it was to regularly study God’s Word at St. Croix. Brenda’s plan had been to ask to be baptized around graduation time of her senior year. But during that year the pandemic shifted her interactions with her St. Croix family to be online and she never inquired about baptism. The long, first year of university study online made Brenda eager to connect with Christians when she was finally able to travel to California.

Brenda reached out to Pastor Dave Huebner from St. Croix and asked if he knew of any WELS churches in the San Diego area. Pastor Huebner was able to connect Brenda with Reformation Lutheran Church in San Diego, where it just so happens that a number of the members are originally from East Asia. One of those members is Mark, who is currently enrolled in the WELS Pastoral Studies Institute in hopes of one day serving as a pastor. Mark and Brenda discussed the teachings of our church and eventually Brenda asked if she could be baptized. As I listened to their conversation and later walked Brenda through the process of baptism in our church’s sanctuary, it was clear that the Holy Spirit was at work. From the early years of her high school career to that moment, God had been working through his messengers and message to plant faith in Brenda’s heart. As we looked at the water in the baptismal font, Brenda and I reflected on her story and the way God had worked in her life to make His love known to her.

As the Apostle Paul gave thanks for his gospel partnership with the Philippians (Phil. 1:5) so we also give thanks for the partnership we have in our synod, specifically the partnership between our schools, WELS Campus Ministry, and our congregations.

Rejoice with us that Brenda has found a church family in San Diego where she can continue to grow in the Word. Pray for the partnership between Brenda, Reformation, and WELS Campus Ministry to bring the gospel to more students at Brenda’s university. Finally, take time to reflect in the waters of your own baptism and be reminded once again of the forgiveness and love your God has for you.

Written by Rev. Neil Birkholz, North American Asian ministry consultant.

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Save the date for Taste of Missions 2022!

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Join your brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world for Taste of Missions, a hybrid event that will be held on Saturday, June 11, 2022.

What is a hybrid event? We will be back in person conducting a one-day event at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wisconsin. However, if you are not able to be there in person, you can also join us virtually.

This family-friendly event will give all WELS members a “taste of missions”, no matter where you might be around the world. The event kicks off with a special worship service where we will, prayerfully, commission new home and world missionaries. Sample ethnic cuisine from some of our mission fields while enjoying fellowship and presentations from home and world missionaries alike. View displays, participate in outdoor family-friendly activities, and ask questions about the ups and downs of mission work during panel discussions. Virtual attendees will be able to watch all events via livestream, view additional video updates from missionaries, and try their hand at making one of the many ethnic recipes shared on the website.

Registration will open on February 21. In the meantime, visit tasteofmissions.com to view the event schedule and catch up on videos and activities you might have missed from last year’s online event.

We hope you can join us!

 

P.S. – The second annual Taste of Missions School Challenge will also open on February 21! View photos and activities from last year’s challenge and keep an eye out for future announcements at tasteofmissions.com/schools.

 

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Planting seeds of the gospel through Joint Missions

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Tom Metzger is a member at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Livonia, Mich., and serves on the Michigan District Mission Board and the WELS Joint Mission Council. In this week’s Missions Blog, he discusses his experience with the Joint Mission Council, how it has improved his understanding of mission work, and how he is encouraged through it. 

When I began my service on the Joint Mission Council, I noticed some similarities to my work in Livonia and in the Michigan District. For example, the message of the law and gospel is the same. By God’s grace, this is at the front of every meeting, program, decision, and direction of everything that we do as a synod. Because we have that special blessing, we can jump at opportunities at the Joint Mission Council level.

We are especially interested in opportunities that present themselves when immigrants become WELS members and want to take that clear message of law and gospel back to their countries of origin. There is a willingness to look at every outreach opportunity as a chance to further the message of the gospel. Every request or inquiry is treated with exhaustive study. There is always more than one way to approach an opportunity. We use the term one-off many times, signaling that there are fresh approaches and open minds. Every mission opportunity comes with unique circumstances that might not be the same with a different people groups or country.

At the Joint Mission Council we have noticed that a new mission opportunity might come from a single person or family. The seeds of the gospel being planted through this is God’s work. Sometimes, an inquiry could be a blessing to both Home and World Missions. We are eager to see what God can do. It is his church, and we are allowed to be a small part of it by his grace.

There is such a need for well-trained gospel voices in all areas of ministry. The extraordinary Pastoral Studies Institute program of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, in partnership with WELS Joint Missions, realizes this and has developed a system of educating these leaders through non-traditional means. Recruiting and training our future pastors and evangelists is important for the health of gospel outreach.

Seeing that the Joint Mission Council is in harmony with the Board for Home Missions and St. Paul’s is a great blessing and comfort for me. I can have confidence that all the ministry I’m a part of at the synod level and my local congregation are all working in the same direction.

God is at work in all the world, preparing us for that day when we will all see Jesus face to face. We give thanks that God is using us to bring more people into his Kingdom.

 

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Merry Christmas from WELS Missions!

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6 ).

Can you hear the excited children’s voices? Can you see the expectation and joy-filled faces of God’s littlest believers as they recite these familiar words? We learn in Isaiah about God’s priceless treasure given in perfect love to his children. In a world that is often filled with pain, confusion, anger, and sadness we, as believers, can hold strong to the promises of God. He sent his Son to be perfection for us and to suffer for our sins, and we thank him for this priceless gift.

Our WELS home and world missionaries and those in their mission fields wanted to share a message of thanks for your prayers, encouragement, and financial support in this special video. It is because of God working through people like YOU that we are able to share this priceless gift in 64 different countries and 132 home mission congregations across North America. We are so grateful.

Let’s raise our voices together in song as we worship the Christ child this Christmas season and thank our Heavenly Father for fulfilling the promises of old.

Together with you, we sing with joy and gratitude celebrating our Prince of Peace!

WELS Home, World, and Joint Missions


 

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Bridging the gap to the Philippines

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Maricel considers herself blessed that God has given her three children. Maricel considers herself blessed that God arranged it so that she met and married Robb after the death of her first husband. She also considers herself blessed to be living in the U.S., though she was born in the Philippines. But, her three children Drewayne, David, and Samantha are not currently living in the U.S; they are still living back in the Philippines.  Not only was she concerned about working out the details for Visas for Drewayne, David, and Samantha to join her in her new home in Green Bay, Wis., she was even more concerned that none of them had been baptized.

But it wasn’t as easy as simply bringing them to church for instruction and then setting a date for the baptism since they live in a different country. What do you do when an entire ocean is in between yourself, your kids and your spiritual responsibility? Maricel reached out to the pastor at the church she attends with her concerns. God quickly turned what seemed to be a big problem into a big opportunity once the Diaspora Ministry Facilitator was contacted. The Diaspora Ministry Facilitator is a new position entrusted with coordinating gospel opportunities by bridging the gap between prospects in the U.S. who have a connection to someone overseas with our WELS world mission teams, as well as helping Christians who have immigrated to the U.S. I, as the Diaspora Ministry Facilitator for Asia, contacted Pastor Alvien de Guzman in the Philippines to make him aware of the situation. After a few initial e-mails, contact was established between Maricel, Pastor de Guzman, and her family in the Philippines.

The date and time for the baptism were picked. Pastor de Guzman drove the three and a half hours to home of Drewayne, David, and Samantha and spoke the words “I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit” while sprinkling water on the three children. Although Maricel was halfway around the world she had the comfort of knowing that her children were receiving all the blessings that come from baptism. Pastor de Guzman was able to make contact with those living in an area he had not been able to do ministry in before.

The following Sunday Maricel and the congregation were able to rejoice together as they watched the video of the baptism during the Sunday morning church service, once again giving evidence of the truth of that God truly does love people “from every nation, tribe, people and language.”

Written by Leon Ehlert, Diaspora Ministry Facilitator for Asia

 

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Faces of Faith – Luke

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By God’s grace, Luke was born into a Christian family in East Asia. His grandparents were Christian missionaries, and both his parents were involved in gospel ministry. Luke looks back at the church of his youth and says, “God blessed me so richly there!”

After college and four years of work, Luke came to the United States in 2009 and entered a seminary training program on the east coast. In 2011 he married Wenjing, a WELS Lutheran from Minnesota. They moved to North Carolina where Luke learned two things: the importance of sound doctrine and the need for faithful pastors for Chinese churches. Luke and Wenjing and their two children moved to the Des Moines, Iowa, area in 2016 and joined Lincoln Heights Lutheran Church. A year later Luke began studying with the Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI). Throughout his studies, Luke has continued to grow in his love of sound doctrine and gospel-centered ministry. And the family has grown to five.

At the beginning of 2021, Luke accepted a part-time call to serve in a WELS-affiliated organization that is equipping ministry leaders in East Asia. Luke is scheduled to graduate from the PSI program in May of 2022. Anticipating full-time ministry, Luke says, “I feel compelled to preach the gospel. God has prepared me for serving in his glorious church.”

From Bradley Wordell, Pastoral Studies Institute professor

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What to do when they’re knocking at your door

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Nearly every day, somewhere in the world, a pastor from another denomination contacts a WELS pastor. Usually the pastors from other denominations are looking for some kind of collaboration. You might think that WELS pastors patiently explain to them what the Scriptures say about unity in doctrine before collaboration in fellowship—and they do! But some WELS pastors have added an invitation to their explanation. They have asked, “Would you like more instruction?” When the pastors of other denominations have answered, “yes,” great blessings have resulted.

The WELS Joint Mission Council (JMC) has examined the cases where the Lord has blessed contacts like this and have noticed a pattern. In the most successful cases, the WELS pastor enrolls the other pastor in his WELS Bible Information Class. That way the man finds out how everything we teach comes from the Bible. He is often exposed to clear law and gospel for the first time, with Jesus at the center of everything we teach in the power of the Word and sacraments. The Holy Spirit does his work, and the pastor from the other denomination begins to teach the truths of Scripture to his own flock. At a certain point, that pastor usually becomes a member of a WELS congregation.

A PSI training visit

At that point, the Joint Mission Council recommends that the WELS pastor enlist the aid of the Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI) of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. A member of the PSI Team interviews the pastor who was formerly a member of another denomination and determines the best course of studies so that the man can become a fully trained WELS pastor. The PSI team member also arranges appropriate contact with local district officials, Home Mission counselors, or members of World Mission Teams, depending on the background of the new man and his flock. Sometimes the PSI team member helps the WELS pastor see that the relationship should develop in a different way than planned. With their many experiences and contacts, the PSI Team members can be very helpful in planning the best use of our resources.

Because many of the pastors who contact us have networks inside and outside of the United States, the Joint Mission Council takes great interest in new opportunities for outreach that they provide. Because the world is a complicated place, the patterns often diverge here, but one similarity remains: love for the truths of Scripture, as taught by Lutherans, leads men from many diverse places to bring people to Jesus.

Written by Rev. Paul Prange, Joint Mission Council chairman

 

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Taste of Missions starts July 11

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Taste of Missions starts this Sunday, July 11, and runs through July 17! Get to know our synod’s home and world missionaries and get a closer look at their mission work through short video updates, activities and recipes for the entire family, daily devotions, and multiple live events during which WELS members can come together online and interact with missionaries. Make sure to register for this free event at tasteofmissions.com!

Here’s everything you need to know about Taste of Missions:

Join us for these live events

  • Sunday, July 11, 1 p.m. CT: Event kick-off and introduction from WELS Home and World Missions administrators
  • Tuesday, July 13, 7 p.m. CT: World Missions Q&A webinar (registration required)
  • Thursday, July 15, 7 p.m. CT: Home Missions Q&A webinar (registration required)
  • Saturday, July 17, 6 p.m. CT: Closing worship service, featuring the commissioning of five new missionaries immediately followed by a Q&A with new missionaries

Access the live events.

Watch on-demand video updates from missionaries

Enjoy daily video devotions from WELS Home, World, and Joint Missions representatives, and use the personal reflection questions provided as you consider how to be a missionary in your own backyard.

Get to know some of your synod’s 123 home missionaries and 44 world missionaries that are dedicated to sharing the gospel message around the globe in short Moments with Missionaries video updates.

Check out the on-demand videos.

Have fun with the entire family

Have you ever made Dal Bhat from Nepal? Tasted Pen Patat from Haiti? Savored Doro Wot from Ethiopia? Try your hand at making one or more of the ethnic recipes shared by missionary families and national church partners.

You can also get the entire family involved in learning about mission work through coloring pages, word searches, and more. By completing a Taste of Missions scavenger hunt (coming soon!), kids can be entered to win a Taste of Missions t-shirt, and we’ll mail all who participate a Taste of Missions sticker.

Join the activities.

Help us reach our offering goal

WELS mission work is happening in new communities in the United States and around the world every day. WELS Missions appreciates your prayers, special gifts, and congregational offerings. There is always a need to help the hurting, and together with God’s blessing, we can do more.

As part of this year’s Taste of Missions event, it is our goal to collect $25,000 in offerings to support future mission work. A generous group of sponsors has pledged to match every dollar up to $10,000! A gift of $100 will translate to $200 for ministry tomorrow, doubling your impact. This Taste of Missions offering will be divided evenly between Home and World Missions on July 31. Learn more about this special offering and how you can support it at tasteofmissions.com/give.

We are excited to join you as we connect with brothers and sisters in Christ from around the globe and learn how we can all play an important part in the gospel outreach occurring through our synod!

 

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Communicating the power of the gospel cross-culturally

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“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

Romans 10:14

When Jesus came to earth, he preached the good news. According to the four gospels, the amazing thing Jesus did during his three years of ministry were not the miracles, but the communicating and ministering done with the power of the gospel. Clear communication of the gospel is a necessity for a minister or an evangelist. When Jesus preaches the good news, he uses a simple and easy to understand way to communicate the gospel to the people to whom he is speaking.

One question we ask ourselves at Grace Hmong Lutheran Church is, “How do we communicate the gospel to the unbelieving Hmong people? Especially people who believe that inanimate objects have souls?” When Paul and Barnabas communicated the gospel in Lystra (Acts 14:8–23), they spoke to people with these beliefs in a clear and understandable way.

It is the power of the gospel that brings wonderful news to the whole world, including the Hmong community! God sent his Son into the world to die for sinners. Our sins are forgiven. That is awesome! That is the good news! That is the powerful message of the gospel God has given us, and we pray that the power of the Holy Spirt will guide us to communicate this message to others clearly and understandably. This is SO important, especially in cross-cultural ministry.

New members at Grace Hmong

This past January, 11 prospects of Grace Hmong completed the membership course and were confirmed into the Christian faith. The members of Grace Hmong or I had no power in converting these people into faith. It only happened by the working of the Spirt through the Word.

But how did we meet them so that we could share the gospel with them? It was a short conversation between one of our members and the head of their family. Then they came to our 2019 Thanksgiving Service. After the service they were invited to join the meal. At mealtime, Grace members and I had the opportunity to talk with these families about their faith and presented the pure gospel to them. They were interested! They told me that they never heard that sinners are saved through faith in Christ – they had been taught that sinners are saved only through good works. A couple weeks later, they came to our Sunday morning service and continued after that. Three months later, they decided to take the membership course.

During the membership course, they learned the theology of the cross. Every time we met, I tried to communicate the gospel in a clear and simple way for them to understand. The power of the gospel slowly penetrated and created faith in their hearts. We cleared up misunderstandings they had from the past. Now they are baptized and confirmed into the faith and are members of WELS!

What changed their hearts and turned them to the saving power of Christ? It was not the wonderful meal Grace prepared for them. It was not the money Grace spent on that day. It was not the power of the members or Pastor Lor that penetrated their hearts. It was the Holy Spirit working through the gospel.

That is why it is important for the church, the members, and the pastor to communicate clearly the simple message of the gospel. In the Great Commission, Jesus declares his authority over all things, and then he commands us to go and communicate the good news to others. Jesus wants us to share the power of the saving gospel with other people the way he taught. To God alone be the glory!

Written by Pastor Ger Lor, home missionary at Grace Hmong Lutheran Church in Kansas City, Kans.

Learn more about Hmong ministry at wels.net/hmong.

 

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And he brought him to Jesus

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What Andrew had found made everything else on the to-do list fade away. This discovery was of such importance that Andrew went right away to find his brother Peter. The discovery wasn’t a what, but a who. Andrew told Peter that they had found the Messiah (John 1:41-42). What greater thing can a person do for a sibling than to bring them to Jesus?

Bible information class in Mandarin at Reformation in San Diego

Many Chinese Christians freely use the term “brother” when they talk about a friend in the faith. When John, a Chinese member of Reformation Lutheran Church in San Diego, brought his Chinese friend Mark to a Thanksgiving church event, Mark was introduced as a brother in the faith. During the Thanksgiving event, Mark and his family enjoyed playing games with other brothers and sisters. The event was a reminder for everyone in attendance that we are always able to give thanks when Jesus is our focus. Mark’s family also heard a clear law and gospel message in Mandarin from Vicar David Choi (from our sister synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod).

Mark was eager to talk with the pastors and vicar afterward to learn more about the life of a pastor. The desire has been in Mark’s heart to find a path to study for full-time ministry. The pastors and vicar at Reformation have been able to share more information with Mark about our synod’s Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI) – a possible path for Mark to study for the pastoral ministry.

The first step is for Mark to study Reformation’s Bible information class and become a member. Thanks to translation efforts in the past, Reformation’s membership courses are available in Mandarin. Mark’s studies are well under way, and he is cherishing the time to be brought closer to Jesus.

Andrew and Peter would go on to share the truths they had learned from Jesus. They brought others to Jesus by sharing what Jesus had taught them. These brothers knew the best they could offer anyone would be to welcome them into the family of believers with the Good News of Jesus.

All of us have friends we can invite to join the family in spending time with Jesus. How might that person we invite respond when Jesus speaks to them? How might God use that person in the future to reach out to others? God continues to amaze us in the ways his gospel changes hearts and lives. May we all continue to follow Andrew’s example of prioritizing an invitation to those around us to join us as we spend time with Jesus.

Please keep Mark, John, Vicar Choi, and the growing outreach ministry to our Chinese neighbors in San Diego in your prayers.

Written by Rev. Neil Birkholz, WELS Asian ministry consultant and Associate Pastor at Reformation Lutheran Church in San Diego, CA

Learn more about Asian outreach occurring throughout North America at wels.net/asianministry.


 

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Faces of Faith – Dia

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On February 14, 2020, we hosted a Lego Night event at Christ Lutheran Church in Pewaukee, Wis. My wife Aneela and I were there to welcome any South Asian souls who might be in attendance. I didn’t see any South Asians when we got there. I was feeling a little disappointed, since no South Asians came to the last Lego Night. Suddenly I saw one South Asian father and his daughter enter. We greeted them and invited them to sit with us. Pastor Warnecke came by with a basket of small toys, and she chose a dinosaur. Soon after, we saw another Hindu family walk in. We knew this family well because we invited them to our home for dinner. I began playing with the Legos with their daughter Dia, and a few minutes later Pastor Warnecke stopped by again with the basket of toys. He offered his suggestion, but she still wasn’t sure what to choose. Finally, she picked up something which shook me from top to bottom: a small green cross. I was stunned for few seconds. When I asked her mother about it, she told me that she prays every day, calling Jesus “Jai Jai”. I also asked how she came to learn about Jesus, which I discovered was through our Lambs of Christ preschool.

Many in Pakistan began believing in Christ through school ministries such as these, and some have been killed for their faith. Please pray for the persecuted Christians all over in the world and thank God that Dia lives in a country where there seed of the gospel that has been sown in her heart can continue to grow!

From Pastor Paul, South Asia ministry coordinator for WELS Joint Missions

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Faces of Faith – Rachel

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The first time I met Rachel, it was because she wanted to know who Jesus was. She had never heard of Jesus before. Her son was in our preschool and was bringing home Bible stories. Rachel was curious, so she and I met for more than ten months to go through a Bible Basics course.

Rachel is Chinese and her entire family is Buddhist. When we met to study on the Chinese New Year, I asked her if she was going to the Buddhist temple with her family for a meal and traditional Chinese family events. She responded: “Why would I do that, pastor? I’m a Christian. I don’t have anything to do with the temple any longer.”

Currently, we are eagerly waiting to baptize Rachel and her two children. They are excited to receive the blessings of baptism, but I am confident that the Holy Spirit has worked a firm faith in Rachel’s heart! From nothing to everything—how our God works his wonders!

From Dan Burgess, missionary at Water of Life Lutheran Church in Las Vegas, Nev.

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Faces of Faith – Andre

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Our world missionaries work hard for a day when they can pass the pastoral baton to a national leader. This ultimate dream and daily prayer will soon be accomplished in Iskitim, Russia. Missionary Luke Wolfgramm has served this congregation for ten years and is now working with Andre Gydkov in the seminary training program. Andre is not just taking classes to learn how to be a pastor. He is already serving the congregation in Iskitim in many ways that are giving him experience in the tasks and functions of a pastor. The PSI is working closely with the Russian Lutheran synod to provide curriculum, consultation, and instructors to assist them in Andre’s training. The relationship between Andre and Luke goes beyond that of student and teacher or even co-workers in a congregation. They are close friends. Andre was introduced to his Savior through the WELS mission in Russia, where Luke has been his pastor and counselor for three years. Since Andre has committed to preparing for the pastoral ministry, his relationship with Luke has grown even stronger. Andre’s life before he became a Christian was difficult in many respects. Through daily support and encouragement from Luke and the other Russian pastors (Pastor Alexei and Pastor Arkady), the congregation in Iskitim will soon receive a strong Lutheran shepherd who is eager to proclaim Christ to his community.

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Love is the answer

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Haris (named changed due to the sensitive nature of his work) spearheaded an effort in a large Midwest city to distribute food and face masks in the midst of COVID-19. Haris is originally from a Muslim nation in South Asia and now lives in America. He is enrolled in our WELS Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI). Haris shares:

When the coronavirus started, I was thinking. . . how can we reach out to the large Muslim population in our community to show the love of Christ? I was talking to my friend, and he said, “I know of WELS churches that are making face masks! They will make masks for you to share with the Muslims.” So we started distributing food to our Muslim neighborhood along with the face masks. People in the community donated groceries and money to buy food. We delivered food and masks on more than 20 different occasions. People drove up in their cars, and we put the groceries in their vehicles. We also dropped off food on people’s porches. Counting only the early drive-thrus, we helped 504 families and assisted 64 families who had a family member with coronavirus.

We made so many friends, and received a lot of feedback from the community. They said, “You risked your life and distributed food and masks even in the rain and snow.” Everyone knows I am a Christian, and they know this help comes because of the love of Jesus for all people. I told the mayor of this community, “These Christians made these masks. They did this because they care for these people. The people who live hundreds of miles away don’t know who will be getting it. It is impossible. Only the love of Christ causes them to do this.”

One WELS District President wrote to the churches in his district about this opportunity. Several churches and many individuals responded. One family made 2,000+ masks for relatives, neighbors, and for Muslims in this large city. Some of the face masks had Bible verses inside the plastic bags. A pastor at one of our rural WELS churches said, “Our people understood that this was an opportunity to reach out to others in a time of crisis. They wanted to serve their fellow man and to serve Christ as he served them.”

During the pandemic, four close friends of mine (not involved in the distribution effort) died from the coronavirus. All four had converted from Islam to Christianity in the last few years and were assisting me in ministry to the Muslim community. One was a former economics professor from Asia, another was a young father with a wife and two children, another was a young man at a nearby university who assisted with apologetics (the defense of the Christian faith), and the last was a very close friend who had lost everything when she converted to Christianity. Her new family was my family. My wife and this woman were as close as sisters. While sorrow grips our hearts, we have the assurance that our friends are now with Jesus.

Love was the answer for reaching out to our community–and love was the answer for conquering death and hatred. “All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (John 13:35).

 

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Faces of Faith – Hany Guzmán

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As the morning mist mixed with the bright beams of the sun’s first rays over Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, ten-year-old Hany Guzmán would stand out on her earthen porch to greet the day. With a mug of atol de elote in her hand, she watched the cool fog slowly dissipate and the shadows silently disperse as they gave way to the scorching heat and piercing light of a Sunday morning. The sweet, corn beverage brought warmth to her body and strength for the day as she helped get her family ready for church. Slipping through the front door, she would wake her three younger siblings with whom she shared a single bed. They would march off together to attend their local congregation’s misa. Sometimes her parents would accompany them and other times they went alone, but Hany wouldn’t miss a mass for the world.

Hany and her siblings in Guatemala

Once they found their customary spot in the back of church, although the sun still shone brightly through the stained-glass windows of the cathedral, it seemed as though an even denser fog settled in. Hany and her siblings heard the priest read the Bible and give short talks about how they were to pray to the right saints to find fame and fortune, but it just didn’t seem to make sense. There was a spiritual haze that never seemed to lift, a darkness that just wouldn’t disappear. Hany wondered to herself, “Is there any way I can go to heaven?”

Five years later, darkness defined the day as Hany woke up on a frigid December morning in Anchorage, Alaska. A glance outside at the thermometer showed twenty-five degrees below zero as the first hints of daylight slowly revealed the silhouette of the mountains beneath a cloudless sky. It was Sunday morning and it was still her job to wake her younger siblings for church, but they could wait a while to brave the cold. The short trip to church was less than a block. She started to make some hot chocolate as she waited for the sun to creep over the Chugach Mountains. In a few short hours, she and her siblings would be on their way to Iglesia Luterana de Fe en Cristo. She still wouldn’t miss a service for the world.

Hany at Camp Luther in Anchorage, Alaska

Although the sun barely skimmed the tops of the peaks outside, inside her church one thing was clear—the light of the gospel had changed her life. The same sun that warmed her face in Guatemala now shone through the stained-glass windows of her new church, but here the mystery of salvation had been revealed. Here she heard the unobscured gospel that brought clarity to her mind and comfort to her soul. Hany and her sisters and brother—Brianna, Alegría, and David—found their spots in the back pew. From her vantage point, Hany could see many people she had invited to church herself. In fact, she was personally responsible for seeing her church’s catechism class grow from a dozen kids to over thirty. Later in the service, the congregation would confess its faith together using the familiar words of the explanation of the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed. “All this he did that I should be his own, and live under him in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just has he has risen from death and lives and rules eternally.” There was no longer any doubt; the darkness had dissipated and the fog had lifted. Wiping away a tear, Hany chimed in with confidence and conviction: ¡Esto es ciertamente la verdad! This is most certainly true!

Written by Rev. Christopher Ewings, home missionary at Iglesia Luterana de Fe en Cristo (Faith Lutheran Church) in Anchorage, Alaska

 

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