Tag Archive for: Together10012024

Christian Aid and Relief responds to Hurricane Helene

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Hurricane Helene roared ashore on the evening of Sept. 26 bringing a huge swath of destruction in her path from the Big Bend region of Florida all the way to southern Appalachia. The death toll from this terrible storm stands at 120 and is rising. Millions are still without power or water.

WELS Christian Aid and Relief has been in contact with district leaders and pastors in the impacted areas to ascertain needs. I am pleased to report that none of our churches experienced major damage and none of our members lost their lives. However, many experienced extensive damages to their properties. Some even lost their homes entirely. Many of our brothers and sisters are in need.

I am working with our pastors to provide immediate financial assistance to those who need it. In addition, our assessment team will soon visit congregations in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee to assess needs before potential deployments to the region.

Many of you have reached out to ask how you can help. Currently, the best way to help is to give a donation through our disaster relief fund. You can do that by visiting wels.net/CARgift. You can also send a check to the following address:

WELS Christian Aid and Relief
N16W23377 Stone Ridge Drive
Waukesha, WI 53188-1108

Thank you for your compassion, support, and generosity.

In Christ, our compassionate Savior,
Pastor Dan Sims
Director, WELS Christian Aid and Relief

Update from South Atlantic District President Rev. Charles Westra

Thanks to all of you for your prayers for our brothers and sisters affected by Helene. Our prayers continue for the many affected.

At this point, we still have no reports of loss of life among our WELS congregations. Many of our congregations celebrated “Michael and all angels” last Sunday. We give thanks to our God for his protection among us.

Pastor Paul Zell in Hendersonville, N.C., shared that communication has been very difficult because cell service is spotty at best. He has spoken to most of his members, and all are safe, but there are many in the greater Asheville, N.C., area that are still missing. Widespread flooding and mudslides were a severe threat. Many members suffered significant damage to homes and property. WELS Christian Aid and Relief representatives will be in Asheville on Saturday to do assessment and begin the coordination of assistance.

Pastor Jonathan Neumann in Martinez, Ga., told me this morning that they are on day five without power. A shortage of drinking water is also a problem for many. Extensive cleanup is needed on the church property. Many members have suffered significant damage to homes and property. WELS Christian Aid and Relief will be on site there early next week.

Pastor David Priebe shared that six families at Bay Pines, Fla., have been displaced from their homes on the barrier islands due to the storm surge. Most of the damage was confined to the narrow strip of Pinellas County along the beach. Three families from Living Savior in Valrico, Fla., also suffered significant damage to their homes. Pastor Priebe also reported that two families from Peace in Trinity, Fla., lost all the contents of their homes.

 

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Together Video – October 1, 2024

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A new home mission in the greater Houston area was just approved by the WELS Board for Home Missions. Rev. Nathan Sutton, district mission board chairman for the South Central District, discusses the next steps for the core group and the greater culture of mission-mindedness in the South Central District.

 

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Preparing new home missionaries

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“May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands” (Psalm 90:17).

For millennia this has been the prayer of God’s people; any success in our mission efforts comes only because of God’s favor and blessing. Now, in year two of the 100 Missions in 10 Years initiative, we give great thanks to the Lord our God for his many blessings:

  • With the addition of one new start (Cypress/Waller, Texas) and one enhancement (Barre/Montpelier, Vt.) in September, the Board for Home Missions has approved a total of 16 new missions and 18 enhancements toward the goal of starting 100 new missions and enhancing 75 ministries from 2023–2033.
  • All ten new mission starts approved in 2023 have a home missionary, and three of the six new mission starts approved in 2024 have a home missionary.
  • Of those 13 home missionaries, 8 pastors accepted calls from the field to new home missions and 5 Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary graduates were assigned.
  • New missions in Marquette, Mich.; North Collin County, Texas; and Wichita, Kan., launched weekly Sunday worship in September.
  • Generous gifts to Home Missions in September will enable Home Missions to approve 10-plus new home missions in 2025.

As Home Missions plants new churches throughout North America, we take great care in preparing new home missionaries. This past August, seven home missionaries and their wives attended the Church Planter Intensive at Carbon Valley Lutheran, Firestone, Colo.

View photos from the Church Planter Intensive in Colorado

WELS Home Missions - Church Planter Intensive - August 2024

I was able to attend the training and see firsthand the blessing it is for new missionaries. They learn not only the essential aspects of church-planting but also the systems and processes that will help prepare them to launch and establish a new mission. By the time the missionary goes home from the Church Planter Intensive, he has a basic ministry plan for the next 18 to 24 months. Each missionary is also paired with a coach, who is a church planter himself. During the next two years, the coach and missionary meet monthly. The coach helps the missionary troubleshoot issues and challenges that arise and provides encouragement and accountability.

The Church Planter Intensive and coaching program have been well received by many home missionaries. I give great thanks for the many experienced missionaries who have helped make the program what it is today.

In the end, why do we do all this? “Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:14). As a result of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have peace that the world is seeking but is only found through Christ. Through the work of our home mission congregations, more people are finding this peace as we see the Lord blessing our efforts. We thank God for this. As we continue our work together as a synod, our prayer continues, “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.”

Rev. Mark Gabb, administrator, WELS Home Missions

WELS 100 missions in 10 years

“It was amazing. It was the greatest thing . . . just to know that Jesus still loved me and still cared about me and wanted me to be part of his family again. That meant the world to me.”

The 100 Missions in 10 Years effort is all about sharing the kind of peace that only Christ offers. Sean O’Doherty found that peace at Cross of Christ, a home mission congregation in Nampa, Idaho.

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Three home missions launch weekly worship

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Three home missions launched weekly worship services in September: Divine Savior—North Collin County, Celina, Texas; Anchor Church, Marquette, Mich.; and Victory, Wichita, Kan.

“A grand opening is important in the life of a mission church because it signals that from here on out you are fully operational for worship,” says Rev. Joseph Lindloff, home missionary at Anchor Church. “It’s like the gun going off at the beginning of a marathon. It signals that we can now get to work reaching one soul at a time as a full-fledged church, bringing people regularly into the house of God and before the means of grace. What a joy that we get to do this work, joining Jesus on his mission!”

Divine Savior—North Collin County, Celina, Texas: Seventy-one people attended the launch service on Sept. 8. Divine Savior’s core group has been meeting for planning and Bible studies since 2021; it was approved as a mission site in 2023. Celina, a northern suburb of Dallas, is the fastest growing city in the United States.

Following the launch service, the real work begins, says Rev. Caleb King, home missionary at Divine Savior—North Collin County. “The reality is we’re a church of about 25 adults and a handful of children. We could sit and ‘play church’ and think that we made it, or we can recognize that the launch was a great milestone but not the mountain peak. The next step, then, is to continue to engage people one by one with the gospel so that they can know the Savior who changes their life; to care for individual souls in ways that the rest of the world doesn’t.”

Anchor Church, Marquette, Mich.: On Sept. 15, 75 people (including 20 visitors) attended the grand opening under the theme “Hope in Christ, Firm and Secure.” Approved as a mission site in 2023, Anchor Church has a 24/7 ministry space in downtown Marquette where it hosts community service events, Bible studies, youth ministry, and now weekly worship.

Lindloff says that the community has been welcoming to the concept of a new church: “We are right where we need to be, downtown in the heart of Marquette, serving it spiritually and physically.”

Victory, Wichita, Kan.: Started as a home mission in 2022 as part of a multisite effort for Messiah, Wichita, Kan., Victory launched worship at its second location on Sept. 15, with a full day’s worth of events. More than 100 people attended, including 15 first-time visitors.

While the festivities and food were a hit, the message is what made an impact. Rev. Jacob Jenswold, Victory’s home missionary, shares this reaction from a visitor who hadn’t been in church for months and had never been in a conservative Lutheran church. “He told me, ‘This felt different. The service felt more focused, like everything came back to God’s words for me. I like that. I want to come back for that.’ We will see if he comes back for that, but that’s what we are going for! Jesus for you!”

All three missionaries are thankful for the continued support of Home Missions and WELS members. “Our mission’s work and ministry wouldn’t be possible without you,” says King. “You may never meet a person that is impacted by the work you support. But you will meet them in heaven someday. . . . Keep us in your prayers as we hold on to God’s promises in his Word.”

WELS is committed to starting 100 new missions in the next 10 years. Learn more about this initiative at wels100in10.net.

 

 

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New director named for WELS Church Extension Fund

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Mr. Brian Roser has been named the new executive director of WELS Church Extension Fund, Inc. (WELS CEF). Roser started in the position in July 2024, after the retirement of Mr. Scott Page.

Roser brings a wealth of experience to the role, having served in both the corporate and non-profit worlds in the past. His prior banking experience included management roles in client relations, consumer lending, and loss mitigation. He also served as executive administrator for Lutheran Association for Church Extension, Inc., for six years. Roser has been with WELS CEF since 2016, working as a loan manager.

Roser says that he appreciates being part of the mission of WELS CEF, which is to support the spreading of the gospel primarily by providing loans and grants to WELS Home Missions congregations. “When you work in the corporate world, it’s a job to support yourself. Working in the non-profit world has a whole different feeling. It becomes a part of who you are,” he says. “There’s a higher meaning to it than just a job. I feel blessed to be working for WELS.”

An active member at Star of Bethlehem, New Berlin, Wis., Roser hopes to build on his years of serving as a church volunteer to help him communicate and work through the process with church treasurers and building committees. “I just pray that I can use whatever skills God has given me for the good of the church,” he says.

WELS CEF helps provide financing to mission congregations so they can purchase land and either build or renovate a worship facility. It also works with established congregations on building projects as funds are available. Loan demand has been high the last few years, according to Roser, with more than $40.8 million of loans disbursed for new construction, facility expansion or purchase, or land purchase in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024.

Almost 2,800 WELS members, congregations, and affiliates have entrusted WELS CEF with $111 million in member investments. Operational surpluses over the years have enabled WELS CEF to provide $48 million in matching grants to mission congregations and $15.8 million in special grants to Home Missions since 1993.

WELS mission congregations recognize the significance of WELS CEF in getting a building project off the ground. Started as a mission in 2018, Sure Foundation, Brandon, S.D., recently broke ground on a 7,500 sq. ft. facility, which includes a worship space that seats 200, a gathering space, a multi-purpose room, a kitchen, and two classrooms. WELS CEF provided the congregation a grant and loan to purchase land and then another loan to build the church facility. “I appreciate the work of CEF because it allows us to do something that we would never otherwise be able to do—have a permanent space,” says Rev. Craig Wilke, pastor at Sure Foundation. “In our context, a permanent space is a big deal. And while a building will not convert souls, it will give us more opportunities to preach the gospel and connect with people.”

Learn more about the work of WELS CEF at wels.net/cef.

 

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