The Office of International Mission (OIM)—in faithfulness to the triennial mission and ministry emphasis and mission priorities of the LCMS—aims to Spread the Gospel, Plant Lutheran Churches, and Show Mercy to the ends of the earth. OIM exists to recruit, fully support, and care for LCMS missionaries and, under the Office of the President of the LCMS, to serve as the Synod’s primary collaborative working interface in all international mission endeavors and to be the primary mission interface with partner and emerging-partner church bodies worldwide in accordance with . OIM further exists to prepare pastors and other church workers in international settings wherever possible, and to
Mission statement: The Office of International Mission plans, coordinates, and executes LCMS international mission and mercy work in order to expand and sustain the global confessional Lutheran community.
God has richly blessed the work of OIM with abundant gifts. The gifts of laborers for the harvest cannot be overemphasized. As the missionary population continues to grow, it also continues to mature. More than 60 percent of missionaries have accumulated more than five years of experience in the field. The blessing of this maturity is the wisdom and understanding that is passed to new missionaries on the field as they are mentored for the work to which they have been called. The gifts of financial support for the mission have supported faithful servants to Spread the Gospel, Plant Lutheran Churches, and Show Mercy. In fact, the gifts have not only supported the work but have also laid a foundation to ensure its continuation well into the future. As the of the prior convention, the OIM had enough cash on hand for five to six months of missionary expenses. Not only has God provided for the continued work since then but this balance has also grown to 12 months of cash on hand. Thanks be to God for his provision through his faithful servants in the church.
A. Overview
The mission of the church is a multi-generational effort and will not end until the Last Day. The church sees the fruit borne of the efforts of missionaries, past and present. One of these fruits is the alliance missionary project highlighted in the relationship with Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil). The alliance missionary project has as its goal to send pastors from partner churches to work alongside U.S. missionaries to Spread the Gospel, Plant Lutheran Churches, and Show Mercy. This project has been a partnership in bringing benefit to all involved. The mission of the church is not without challenges. Over the last decade, and in particular over the last few years as a result of the global pandemic, it has been increasingly difficult to move people and funding across borders. This impacts the ability of the OIM to achieve its strategic goals and to support the needs of our partners globally. This has been addressed with the addition of a Manager for Global Safety and Security and a relationship with International SOS, one of the premier entities in the world for providing proactive and reactive support for expats living abroad. Looking ahead, we see that there are likely to be many geopolitical changes and challenges that impact OIM’s strategic work. With these tools in place, the OIM is already preparing for the challenges that can be anticipated—and even those that can’t. While God has richly blessed the mission of the church with workers for the harvest, the need for more workers remains. Over
the next five years, the OIM seeks to recruit 140 workers in order to meet the requests of our partners and our strategic goals. Over the next five years, about one-third of the missionary population is eligible to retire. This, along with the plethora of new opportunities, requires collaboration with many. Thanks be to God that there has been great collaboration with many, including LWML; CUS Schools; Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne; Office of National Mission; Concordia Plans; and a great number of RSOs, congregations, and individuals. Since the last convention, there has been a significant effort on the part of the LCMS Board of Directors and the Synod’s officers to bring tools and technology to support the work of the OIM. This includes leveraging internal shared services to ensure that the work is being done in an orderly way that does not put the mission at risk. Such tools allow the OIM to do its work and have confidence that it is properly supporting missionaries, carrying out its work in compliance with U.S. and local laws, and ensuring transparency. In the years ahead, the OIM will continue the work that the church has called it to do. Delegates to the 2026 LCMS convention can expect to hear encouraging reports on new work, expanded theological education, and the translation of new resources into a variety of languages. Let us together give thanks to God for His faithfulness and provision. As the OIM continues to Spread the Gospel, Plant Lutheran Churches, and Show Mercy, you are invited to continue walking with your missionaries as they carry out the mission of the church to the ends of the earth.
B. Latin America Caribbean (LAC) Region
The OIM LAC region is comprised of Central and South America as well as the Caribbean. The mission work of the LCMS in the LAC region began in Brazil in 1900 and has expanded to more than 18 countries, continuing without interruptions for the past 123 years. Brazil is an example of a daughter church, fully matured, in that she now plants churches and forms pastors in Portuguese speaking Angola and Mozambique. These efforts have been realized through sons and daughters of the LCMS, who were and continue to be sent as missionaries to build schools, plant churches, and form national pastors and church workers. Work to establish a Lutheran church body in a specific country tends to take three generations (70 years), with missionaries constantly transitioning roles within that country until they are sent elsewhere. The Lord has provided alliance missionaries (pastors from LCMS partner churches) for over two decades to serve on our field. This initiative has expanded in the last three years. As a fruit of our work, places that were once mission fields are now partner churches. They are sending their pastors, often third-generation Lutherans, to serve as missionaries, working alongside our LCMS missionaries to Spread the Gospel, Plant Lutheran Churches, and Show Mercy.
B.1. Spreading the Gospel Teaching the Gospel is throwing the Gospel seed out far and wide. This is always at the forefront of any mission initiative that is serious and sustained. The sower must go before and with abandon sow his seed as his love is for all types of soil. This is done through a variety of mediums such as literature, professors, continuing education courses, Luther Academy, and missionary ventures.
VDMA is a digital initiative of OIM LAC to provide Lutheran literature to 400 Lutheran Latino pastors across 22 countries. Since its inception nine years ago, more than 40 books on systematics, preaching, history, exe get ics, and Bible studies, and hundreds of academic journal articles, have been provided to pastors. A team of 24 translators continues to partner with Concordia Publishing House, Luther Academy, Lutheran Heritage Foundation, and others to provide good solid literature for the church’s mission. Additionally, in collaboration with our partner churches of the Southern Cone (Chile, Argentina, and Paraguay), the Himnario Luterano was produced and financially supported by Lutheran Heritage Foundation and OIM LAC. The rights to this hymnal are with our Chilean Lutheran church partner who initiated this work. This hymnal contains all three of the Divine Services as found in Cantad al Señor and Culto Cristiano, as well as the Deutsche Messe of Luther. Additionally, all of Luther’s hymns are included as well as the liturgical psalter, Small Catechism, and a few different rites. This hymnal also passed LCMS doctrinal review. An initial printing of 20,000 hymnals saw distribution to 20 countries and 3,000 to the LCMS. A second printing of 25,000 copies is expected to be ready by June 2023, with 5,000 copies for the LCMS. A Spanish-language daily devotional called La Palabra de Dios Permanace para Siempre (The Word of the Lord Endures Forever) was launched in January 2023 in partnership with Lutheran Heritage Foundation. It includes hymn stanzas from Himnario Luterano, the daily assigned reading, a liturgical order, a daily devotion, and daily prayers. Luther Academy courses continue to be taught twice a year in Bolivia, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, and Venezuela. These continuing education courses are taught in countries where seminaries do not exist and are meant for the strengthening of the Lutheran ministerium in their knowledge of the Gospel. In the Iglesia Cristiana Ev angelica Luterana (ICEL) of Bolivia, as a result of teaching numerous Luther Academy courses since 2010 and graduating six men from our seminaries (Concordia Argentina and Concordia Dominican Republic), the OIC LAC has recommended this national church with Norwegian roots to engage in conversations with LCMS Church Relations toward becoming a partner church. Additionally, in March 2022, their remaining ministerium was ordained by our partner Lutheran church representatives of IELB Brazil, with a quia subscription to our Lutheran confessions. LCMS observers were present alongside delegates from their national convention. Formal talks between LCMS and ICEL were held for the first time in St. Louis in April 2023. An initiative called Abundant Life has been launched, which is meant to serve our OIC LAC field and partner churches in the area of marriage, family, and sexuality through materials such as devotions, workshops, and Bible studies.
B.2. Planting Lutheran Churches
The planting of Lutheran churches is done because our triune God has determined that as He has sent His Son, so He sends His Church to bring His means through the Church for the furthering of His kingdom. As the Word is proclaimed, the Spirit works on hardened hearts and works repentance and faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. Churches must be planted because this is where Jesus is found. Here He disciples His people through Word and Sacrament and sends out the baptized in their vocations as His witnesses.
Church planting in 12 countries continues to be a major focus of OIM in countries where church partners do not exist. Daughter missions of the LCMS include Belize, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, and Puerto Rico. LCMS partner churches include Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. In these countries, 45 LCMS missionaries and/or alliance missionaries are actively planting churches. Plans call for an additional 25 missionaries to strengthen and expand this effort over the next five years. One exception is Cuba, where we currently do not plant churches but provide seminary formation to men to return and serve their own people. Mission work in Spain was planted by LCMS LAC with Argentina and, in 2010, transferred to the responsibility of the LCMS Eurasia region in 2021. Currently, 45 Lutheran churches are being planted in 11 countries supported by partnerships called FOROS. FOROS exist in Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In each of these countries, the focus is on bringing salvation to every people and nation as we Spread the Gospel, Plant Lutheran Churches, and Show Mercy. Districts, congregations, RSOs, and individuals of the LCMS visit our FOROS twice a year to receive reports, attend worship, study theology, visit mission sites, and prayer fully support the efforts of our missionaries through short-term teams, vocational opportunities, and financial support. Over 200 partners attend a dozen FOROS across LAC. Exploratory work is being carried out in Colombia and Ecuador.
B.2.a. Pastoral and Diaconal Formation Where Lutheran churches are planted, the Office of the Keys is necessary. Raising up Lutheran pastors began in 1900 with LCMS missionaries founding its first LAC seminary in Bon Jesus, Brazil. A second seminary, Concordia, was built in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1948. Both seminaries continue to form pastors and deacons for their respective church bodies. A third seminary was established in Mexico City together with the ALC and LCA but concluded its joint work in the 1990s. Concordia Seminary the Reformer, Palmar Arriba, Dominican Republic, was established in 2017 by OIM LAC and concluded its sixth academic year in May 2023. She prioritizes her service as a regional seminary to the Dominican Republic, OIM LAC mission fields as mentioned above, and partner churches that don’t have a route to ordination. Currently, 15 men are studying in the four-year residential program (Greek and Hebrew included), which includes an emphasis on forming men as evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. Men are taught to plant churches by the time they graduate from the seminary. Additionally, 30 men are studying in the four-year online Formación Pastoral Hispano (FPH) program, a joint program with Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. A deaconess training program began three years ago, with 99 graduating in 2022. An additional 75 deaconess students have enrolled in the second cycle of studies, which began in January 2023. These women represent the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Thus far, at the conclusion of May 2023, thirty pastoral students have graduated for service to Lutheran churches in Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Spain. Two Haitian men joined the residential program this
year, adding another country to the already diverse student body. Residential professors come from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the United States, and Venezuela. Adjunct professors are from an additional five countries, making for great diversity in the faculty as well while professing a shared commitment to the teaching of the Gospel and the Lutheran Confessions.
B.3. Showing Mercy Mercy initiatives flow from a triune God who loves His people through the altar and pulpit. Those who have received God’s gifts then carry this love to their neighbor in need. Again, the Gospel needs to be taught. This is done through workshops that teach deaconesses and laypeople who give witness and pastors who proclaim the Gospel. Our mercy center in the Dominican Republic (an institute of Concordia Seminary the Reformer) offers several workshops for the laity, including Everyone His Witness, Ambassadors of Reconciliation, and Disaster Response. These workshops are taught across 15 countries in a repeated fashion, as requested by congregations and their pastors. The courses are primarily for the laity, to equip them to be the hands, feet, and mouths of mercy as they fan into their communities in love for their needy neighbors. Additionally, our 99 national deaconesses in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela—who work in their local congregations, Lutheran Hour offices, Sunday schools, youth groups, hospitals, food kitchens, etc.—are a force for mercy, prepared to speak the Gospel and teach the faith as they are called upon to do so in their vocations. Mercy houses in Belize, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela include Lutheran schools, group homes, a rehabilitation center for people with disabilities, after-school programs, food kitchens, disaster centers, and refuge centers. In each of these areas, we strive to share the Gospel alongside whatever kind of bodily care is provided. Due to the dire socio-economic situation in Haiti, OIM LAC has begun to support our partner church through quarterly donations to each of its six districts. Starvation is a reality for 50 percent of the population. The situation is critical. Tens of thousands are fleeing to the Dominican Republic and across the Americas. Fervent prayers are solicited. The Venezuelan exile now exceeds six million people and is the largest exodus of a people from any Western nation in the past 50 years. OIM LAC has supported the stalwart and faithful efforts of the ministry and mission of the Iglesia Luterana Venezuela (our partner church) over the past four years. This work entails bringing the board of directors of this church body to the Dominican Republic for a FORO on a yearly basis, hearing her reports, supporting her church plants, providing medicine and food, and supporting Venezuelan refugees as they connect in foreign countries with OIM and our Lutheran church partners across the region. Despite the suffering, they continue to raise up men for the ministry and had almost 40 women graduate from last year’s deaconess studies.
C. Eurasia Region
The Eurasia region of OIM is the largest of the four OIM regions of the world, comprising all of (1) Europe, (2) the Middle East, (3) the countries that made up the former USSR, (4) most of South Asia (India and Pakistan), and (5) Mongolia for its connection with Eurasia work begun in Kazakhstan (cf. no. 3). The Eurasia region is blessed to have many partner churches with whom LCMS
missionaries are able to communicate, collaborate, and coordinate in numerous mission ventures throughout this vast region. The Indian Evangelical Lutheran Church is the oldest partner and the first overseas mission of the LCMS, which began over 125 years ago. Other established church partners include the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (SELK) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (LELB). These stand out as prominent partners with LCMS OIM Eurasia, as they are larger church bodies of the region who have grown to the point of being able to carry out foreign mission work of their own in Africa, Asia, and other countries outside of Germany. Even smaller established churches like the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania (ELCL) have been active in mission in places like Japan, Belarus, and Russia. A heart for mission work is alive and well among our Eurasia regional partners, and much of this zeal has been fostered and encouraged by LCMS missionaries who have and continue to help spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ through on-the-ground gathering into the harvest lost souls by church planting, by the formation of national pastors in the fields where they work, and setting a faithful example through acts of mercy coupled with Word and Sacrament ministry and Lutheran identity. The Eurasia region has been blessed with ever more doors being opened to us by the Lord, enabling us to undertake numerous new church plants in countries and fields where the LCMS has heretofore never worked. Thanks be to God! And thanks be to God for our faithful missionaries, whom God has called into this service.
C.1. Spreading the Gospel C.1.a. Through Theological Education Bringing the Gospel to the lost is often a matter of recognizing a door being opened to us by the Lord. In a region as large as Eurasia, spanning 13 time zones, there are more mission opportunities than anyone could undertake. How do mission opportunities present themselves that drive the region to consider gospel outreach here or there? One of the main ways in Eurasia is regular and various Lutheran theological conferences held in strategic locations in the region. These are promoted through the miracle of technology, by which information can be so widely disseminated. Participants attend from far and wide. Relationships are formed, and out of this, new mission work is planned, fields are opened, and missionaries are sent. Currently, OIM Eurasia plans, supports, and/or participates in numerous and varied regional conferences aimed at enhancing theological education and pastoral formation. Since last convention, OIM Eurasia has embarked on an ambitious project of forming a regional seminary for pastoral formation. The purpose for this project stems from the need for training pastors in an institution that is decidedly Lutheran. Most of the Eurasia partner churches cannot provide a graduate level theological education for pastoral formation. The options for study are, for the most part, secular universities or ecumenical seminaries, which are actually worse, due to the heterodoxy espoused in them. EU law now makes a provision for colleges of member countries, accredited in their own countries, to receive EU-wide accreditation by offering their curriculum in English. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, when this law took effect, the Eurasia office and the bishop responsible for theological education in the LELB (Latvia) began to discuss a plan to establish such a regional residential seminary in collaboration with the Luther Academy of Riga, an already accredited
institution in Latvia. OIM Eurasia is providing the human resources and funding to add a BTh professional degree program in English (somewhat like the old BDiv offered by U.S. seminaries until the shift to the MDiv degree), which can be accredited throughout the EU. However, with the outbreak of COVID-19, the project hit a wall. The choices were (a) close down the project or (b) pivot to a hybrid program of online learning with biannual live intensive courses plus extensive mentoring of the students on their respective fields by LCMS missionary pastors or pastors of partner churches, with the goal of returning to the residential seminary concept once the pandemic would end. The choice was the latter. While online learning has its own difficulties, it has attracted more students than expected, and from areas of the region unexpected under the original residential seminary plan. While the program is still very much a work in progress, the BTh program in English has begun and has attracted students from over 12 countries of the Eurasia region. Now that COVID-19 is over, plans for the residential seminary with an online option, where necessary, are again underway. A qualified team of missionary theological educators has been called for this work and are pressing forward in training future pastors.
C.1.b. Through Literature and Publishing OIM Eurasia is also active in the translating and publication of Lutheran literature. It collaborates with Lutherova společnost (The Luther Society, a Czech NGO dedicated to promoting the theology of Dr. Martin Luther through conferences and publications of Luther’s Works and other works dealing with the theology of the Lutheran Reformation). This organization translates works into Czech and publishes several books per year, including works of Martin Luther, a Sborník (similar to the LCMS CTQ), and various articles and papers delivered at conferences organized by the Luther Society. OIM Eurasia is also involved in translating works of partner churches and their theologians, for example, works of Rev. Dr. Darius Petkunas, Ph D hab il it at us, of the ELCL (Lithuania) on the history of Lutheranism and the development of Lutheran worship practice from the Reformation through the Prussian Union. Work with the Lutheran Heritage Foundation on translations in Russian, Romanian, Czech, and other regional languages is yet another collaboration for which the region is grateful. And finally, the region is currently working on the development of the Lutheran liturgy in Ukrainian, Czech, Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, and Italian, with hopes of soon adding modern Greek.
C.2. Planting Lutheran Churches St. Paul wrote to his missionary protégé Titus: “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you” (). This is the pattern of church planting laid out in the letters of Paul and in Luke’s Acts. It is the pattern we continue to follow in OIM Eurasia. Currently, the region has missionary church planters—LCMS, Alliance, and Indigenous, both clergy and lay—in the following countries: Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Asian Georgia, Russia (now evacuated due to the Russia’s war against Ukraine), Ukraine (evacuated due to the war in Ukraine), Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Moldavia, Italy, Spain, Germany, Iceland, and Latvia. (cf. detail in.) There have been several developments that have impacted Eurasia church planting. COVID-19 put restrictions and limitations on missionaries. Some had to leave their country of service and have only recently returned. But most stayed and carried out their duties bravely and resolutely. For their devotion to duty under extreme circumstance they are all to be heartily commended. The war in Ukraine caused OIM Eurasia to require all missionaries to leave or be diverted from both Russia and Ukraine. At the same time, the outpouring of LCMS support for the multitude of Ukrainians fleeing the war into the EU has been remarkable and has been instrumental in bringing the Gospel to these people outside of their homeland. The major hubs of Ukrainian refugee work in Eurasia are in Germany, Romania, and Slovakia, but smaller efforts in cooperation with regional partners are also underway in Latvia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic. OIM Eurasia is also able to send medicine, food, and other supplies to our partner church in Ukraine for distribution among church members and their communities. The Ukrainian bishop of the ELCU, with whom OIM Eurasia cooperates, reports that in spite of the fact that many of their members have fled the country, the war has actually caused their membership in country to expand. Soldiers are receiving catechesis and Baptism on the battlefield. Laypeople are turning or returning to the church in the realization of the transit or in ess of this world. The brave pastors remaining in Ukraine have been given helmets and Kevlar body armor for ministry near the war zone. The bishop himself was saved by it after being hit in a mortar attack. It is truly awe-inspiring to see how our merciful Lord turns even such evil to the salvation of the lost.
C.3. Showing Mercy Mercy connected to Word and Sacrament ministry is an important part of the mission endeavor, even as Jesus says in connection with the Beatitudes: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (). Again, the war in Ukraine has caused difficulties in the region, but also many blessings. With sanctions on against Russia, due to its aggression, Eurasia mercy projects in Russia have become problematic. Sending support to the Hope Center of the ELCIR in St. Petersburg and to the Faith and Hope Center in Novosibirsk is difficult, if not impossible, so long as the Russian war rages on. At the same time, Eurasia mercy work has expanded exponentially due to the war. The Eurasia concept of mercy is to connect such efforts to the preaching of Christ crucified, proclaiming the Gospel of forgiveness of sins in accordance with the Scriptures and the true testimony of the Lutheran Confessions. As stated, a large mercy effort within Ukraine is reaching many in the war-torn country. Faithful Ukrainian pastors are risking their lives to connect their members and the newly catechized and baptized to Word-and Sacrament ministry. While missionaries cannot go into Ukraine, mercy projects for refugees in the EU are serving more people than ever. These projects are also strongly tied to Word and Sacrament ministry. As it has been with Eurasia work among Iranian and Afghani immigrants (former Muslims) to Germany, so it is now with the refugees from Ukraine. It is impossible to send missionaries into countries dominated by Islamic governments that deny Christian witness in their countries. Still, the Lord has opened the door to the Gospel to them outside of their oppressive countries. And now this is happening again with refugees from Ukraine. The Lord can open doors beyond our imagination. If we cannot bring the Gospel to the people, God, in His grace, will bring them to us. We only need to see it when He does it and follow His lead.
D. Africa Region
The OIM Africa Region, in furtherance of the mission emphases of the LCMS, seeks to Spread the Gospel, Plant Lutheran Churches (and train church workers), and Show Mercy across the region. Under the office of the President, we serve as the primary collaborative internal interface in all the Synod’s Africa mission endeavors and the primary mission interface with Lutheran church bodies in Africa, in accordance with the Synod’s fraternal covenant. This region carries working relationships with local church bodies, supports the ministries they prioritize within our own emphases, and embodies a loving, trusting, interdependent, and humble community of exceptional professionals who preach Christ crucified. The OIM Africa Region supports relationships with church bodies in 25 countries across the continent. Within these countries, the LCMS has relationships with some 35 church bodies—including church bodies at all stages, from very small and young to the three large church bodies in Madagascar, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. In line with the region’s strategic plan, the Synod’s resources entrusted to this work through the OIM are invested primarily in the two most frequent requests from these varied church bodies—walking with the local church body in the formation of church workers and walking with the local congregation in the showing of mercy. The LCMS, through OIM Africa Region, supports 15 seminaries in 13 countries, offering a variety of programs up to accredited master’s degrees to prepare candidates to preach Christ crucified to those communities entrusted to their care. Three of these institutions provide deaconess training programs in addition to the pastoral training programs. Each year, roughly half of the financial resources invested in church bodies in Africa are expressions of compassion and mercy in close proximity to Word-and-Sacrament ministry, with the most notable ongoing project being Christ’s Care for Children. After a quadrennium of decline in missionary numbers in the region, and the recombination of the two areas into one region under one regional director, the area is stabilizing the missionary force through a renewal of the longstanding use of Alliance Missionaries, currently sent primarily from the IELB in Brazil but also from the ELCK in Kenya. A renewed emphasis on recruiting within the LCMS is encouraging, and the region’s workers and church bodies are praying that, over the next triennium, the Synod will be able to fill the more than 40 new positions requested by those church bodies in addition to replacing missionaries who are retiring from field service. Such additional personnel will greatly expand the Synod’s ability to respond to the myriad of opportunities and requests to support the local church in preaching Christ crucified. The significant numbers of individuals, congregations, districts, RSOs, and entities of the LCMS who are operating independently of the OIM reflect the capacity of the LCMS and the eagerness of our brothers and sisters in Christ to serve His Church around the world. Such independent LCMS-affiliated mission endeavors can be God-glorifying complements to the work of the LCMS through the OIM. Unfortunately, those same independent LCMS-affiliated mission endeavors can also support heterodox groups, foster conflict within the autonomous church bodies with whom we have a relationship, or undo generations worth of work through the Synod’s mission arm and thus act at odds to our Synod’s endeavors and to the Gospel itself. The region’s missionaries continue, despite the desperate shortage of personnel, to improve and extend our ability and resourcing to cooperate, collaborate, coordinate, and communicate
with the Synod in line with the charter entrusted to the OIM that we, together, as one body, may preach Christ crucified.
early 2023), Asia Region collaboration with each school is proceeding once again.
This region deeply appreciates the resources and personnel that have been entrusted to the Synod’s work in its supportive role on the continent and encourages the Synod to continue to send missionaries and resource them and the programs and projects they engage so that we may continue to Spread the Gospel, Plant Lutheran Churches, and Show Mercy—and preach Christ crucified.
We watched with heavy hearts during this quadrennium as our long-time partners in the Japan Lutheran Church (JLC) continued down a path we could not follow. Despite conversations that started before 2009, the JLC embraced the ordination of women to the pastoral office, voting to enshrine this practice in their constitution and electing a woman pastor to serve as the vice president of their church body. The Asia Region is now pursuing new activities and partners in Japan, led by second-generation LCMS missionary Rev. Dr. Daniel Jastram. The Lord has reserved for Himself a beautiful remnant in Japan who are still interested in hearing the truth of the Word and the Lutheran Confessions. We are excited to see the various parties in cities like Osaka, Niigata, and Tokyo involved in translation, proclamation, and catechesis. Our major effort at this time is to pull together these various parties and encourage them to work together. We have already supported and seen the translation of Walther’s Law and Gospel into Japanese and are hopeful to see Chemnitz and Pieper completed in the very near future.
E. Asia Region
The OIM Asia Region was hard-hit by restrictions related to COVID-19 since the last convention, largely due to the fact that the virus originated in one of our countries. Many people in Asia still remember dealing with the SARS virus just 20 years ago, and surgical masks were already commonplace in everyday life. The restrictions in all our Asia Region countries came swiftly and absolutely, shutting borders, denying visas, closing public spaces, and eliminating travel. The OIM properly instituted a ban on non-essential travel in March 2020, but gave unflagging support and opportunity to any missionaries who wanted to return to the U.S. The vast majority elected to stay in their countries of assignment. During those restricted times, Asia Region missionaries turned their attention to projects of translation (particularly in Japanese, Indonesian, Khmer, Pidgin, and Chinese) and to helping our local partners think through a proper Lutheran response to pandemics and other such challenges. We met largely over remote electronic means, like the rest of the world. Our missionaries used generators and batteries when electric power was unavailable, and cellular signals carried intermittent voices. Missionaries did without their visits home, most without seeing family for the entirety of two years. Some had family members die in the U.S. and have yet to see the graves, since they could not return for funerals and burials. Travel restrictions also prevented our partners from receiving the expertise and instruction from visiting teachers typical for our region. Our educational programs were set back on numerous fronts since missionaries could often not visit, and we could not gather together church workers to be taught. We had to find ways of making do with the personnel we had in-country, since the opportunities to bring new missionaries into our Asian countries was curtailed and eliminated while immigration departments were shut. We are thankful that most countries in Asia have now opened up for gathering and visitation, at least with lesser restrictions. We are still limited in some places by vaccination requirements, and some COVID-19 reactions have necessitated the relocation of missionaries to new fields. We are not experiencing the freedom we did before COVID-19, but we have certainly turned corners and are joyfully ramping up activities again. Our international schools (in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Hanoi) were particularly impacted during the pandemic in their respective countries. The strategic dialogues between LCMS and school leadership teams were brought to a standstill, despite having made two distinct stretches forward. The schools were each forced to pivot to online learning, even when portions of their student body were forced out of the country with no return in sight. Each of the three schools, in addition to the pandemic, also struggled with its own contextual challenges: Hong Kong International School with the passing of the new security law, and Concordia International School Shanghai and Concordia International School Hanoi with transitions (smooth and full of blessings) to new heads of school. With the re-opening of travel in each country (as of late 2022 and
The Asia Region has continued to settle into its new regional headquarters in southern Taiwan. We enjoy an ongoing healthy and trusting relationship with the China Evangelical Lutheran Church (CELC), which was planted by LCMS missionaries decades ago. We saw our five-story headquarters building (owned by the CELC) become nearly vacant during COVID-19, with just two families remaining at one time. As 2023 gets going, we will have filled up nearly every available unit with missionaries and families. The CELC Taiwan has requested the exclusive help of the LCMS in determining a new path for their church workers, which will form servants who are more distinctly Lutheran. OIM Asia has enjoyed a good partnership not only with the CELC in this task but also with our LCMS seminaries in Fort Wayne and St. Louis. Lockdowns during COVID-19 were used for online dialogues and planning with representatives from the seminaries, their partners, and OIM Asia. The first three years will be spent taking their current church workers through a seven-course colloquy program so they are better prepared to serve their current assignments and as mentors for the first cohort of new students. Now that many restrictions have been lifted, the program has been initiated: the first course was taught in August 2022. There will be at least three more courses in 2023, all taught by Ph D-level LCMS educators and translated into Mandarin Chinese. We expect that the servants formed in this program will be a resource not only to the people of Taiwan but also to the entire Chinese-speaking world. Lutherans understand that theology and music are closely connected. As we educate Lutheran laity and workers in Taiwan, we want others to understand and appreciate that relationship as well. The year 2023 will see the Asia Region engaging with David’s Harp (david sharp music.org), based in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to establish a conservatory of sacred music connected closely to the local church. This school will be set up in un utilized space on the ground floor of our regional headquarters, which also houses classroom and library space for the theological education effort. It will foster a proper understanding of the place and power of music in the church, offer opportunity for instruction in liturgy and hymnody, and provide a place for intersection with the public. Many in Asia in general, and the Taiwanese people in particular, have an existing interest in Western classical music, often attending concerts and sending their children for instruction. We hope to make use of this interest, offering recitals, demonstrations, lectures, and lessons so more might have the Word of our Lord placed into their ears as it’s carried along on musical notes. The work of the Asia Region is focused on the goal of church planting. We continue to stand on the shoulders of previous generations of missionaries who came before us in the most historic mission fields of our Synod. Because of the work of those who preceded us, and because the Lord saw fit to bless their efforts, OIM Asia works almost exclusively through and with partner churches. So our efforts are not direct church planting by LCMS missionaries, as it was in prior days. Today we work at building up the pastors and people of the partner churches so they can do the work of church planting. We educate them so they can share, defend, and confess the faith. We equip them so their churches can have knowledgeable laity and clergy who understand and appreciate the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. We lead and support resource projects so they can have theological works in their own languages. One of the foremost resource requests from partners is for their own Lutheran Hymnal akin to our Lutheran Service Book. We are currently leading such hymnal projects in Indonesian, Chinese, and Tamil, while much of the foundational work for one in Japanese is already done. All of the above takes nothing away from the other partnerships we enjoy. Only space limits preclude the explicit mention of faithful work going on elsewhere in Taiwan and in places like Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Papua New Guinea. Your OIM Asia missionaries are busy doing the work given to them by our church and by our partners. All of it is aimed toward bringing more people to join us around the banquet table of our Lord Jesus for all eternity, washed clean in the waters of Baptism, forgiven by the Word of the Absolution, and fed by the body and blood of the Supper. The last four years have been as tumultuous in Asia as they have been anywhere in the world. Through it all, the Lord has been gracious and merciful. He has continued to bless the efforts of your Asia Region missionaries as they work to Spread the Gospel, Plant Lutheran Churches, and Show Mercy. We are not without our challenges, but we are also not without our Lord Jesus, who comes to us, meeting us in His Means of Grace. No matter what comes in this complex, confusing, wonderful part of the globe, we send out the Word, to which is attached the promise that it will not return void.
- 2 days of seminar at the Matango Seminary (regarding a theology of mercy, the acts of mercy, personal preparation, etc.); and
- 2 days of seminar with leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (regarding a theology of mercy, collaboration with partner churches in time of disaster, and responding to local disasters).
In addition to the above formal training, two Spanish-language trainers continue to provide local training across the Latin America Region in Lutheran Early Response Teams (LERT). Future training plans/goals for the next triennium: • A revision of the Spanish LERT manual to better reflect local response work in the LAC context, particularly in the area of flood response;
- A regional disaster-training conference in the Southern Cone of Latin America, with a mixed emphasis of theological and practical topics, including muck-out;
- A consecutive series of regional disaster trainings in the Asia Region, in collaboration with regional staff and multiple church partners.
F.2. Disaster Response
From July 2019 through the end of 2022, LCMS Disaster Response provided 23 grants for a total of $1,289,328.70 for projects in three regions: (1) Latin America and the Caribbean received 5 grants for a total of $722,323; (2) Africa received 13 grants for a total of $164,305; (3) Eurasia received 5 grants for a total of $402,700. The larger responses are highlighted below: • In Valparaiso, Chile, a disaster-response center, medical clinic, and Lutheran church were built to serve an under served community after catastrophic wildfires decimated over 3,000 homes. At these facilities, food was distributed to senior citizens, services such as medical and dental appointments and Christian counseling were provided, and weekly church services were conducted.
- In Haiti, three large churches in the cities of Plaine Martin, Carre Foure Duclos, and Maniche were rebuilt following a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in August 2021. Additionally, through multiple Lutheran churches, over 360,000 meals were distributed.
- In Nagercoil, India, Concordia Theological Seminary was dedicated and blessed in June 2022 after a multi year project to rebuild the campus. Over 200 pastors of the IELC and a contingent of representatives from the LCMS, including Ross Johnson, Dan Harmelink, Charles Cortright, Jonathan Shaw, Art Just, and Detlev Schulz were in attendance.
- In Balboa, Panama, the church was re roofed and the parsonage rebuilt after significant damage from Hurricane Iota in November 2020.
- In Ponce, Puerto Rico, a property was purchased to serve as a church and mercy center. This property was used for outreach and mercy work to the victims of Hurricane Maria and the “earthquake swarm” that left 8,000 people homeless in the greater Ponce region in 2019 and 2020.
F. Disaster Training and Response LCMS Disaster Training and Disaster Response have been tasked by the Synod in convention to respond, in love and with mercy, to natural and man-made disasters. Disaster Response/ Training staff provides oversight for all disaster-related activities as subject-matter experts. This is done in consultation with regional staff and through local partner and affiliate church bodies. Training in Disaster Response and mercy is provided to regional staff and partner churches to facilitate effective and timely responses.
F.1. Disaster Training Our work during the last quadrennium was greatly hampered as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020. As countries started opening up, however, we were able to schedule and provide broad training in Kenya in February 2022. Included with this event were • 2 days of missionary training (regarding a theology of mercy, general disaster-response topics, and personal safety/evacuation while in the field);
G. Ministry to the Armed Forces
The greatest blessing is that God has sent us faithful pastors to serve as military chaplains during these most challenging times, both culturally and on religious freedom. During a time when many denominations are having a difficult challenge getting qualified pastors to serve in the military as chaplains, the LCMS has been blessed! We have several who have answered the call to serve the men and women of our armed forces by bringing them Word and Sacrament ministry and showing the compassion and mercy of Jesus Christ to those whom they are “called to serve.” Yet we still need more! If not us, then who? Your Ministry to the Armed Forces (MAF) chaplains voluntarily go into harm’s way, serving in physically dangerous and austere conditions to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in season and out of season to their flock of military personnel and their families. These chaplains truly are shepherds who live, train, eat, and suffer with their flock. What a blessing God has given to His church for faithful pastors who serve as faithful chaplains in bringing the love of God in Jesus in everything they do! We ask all to continue to pray for our chaplains and their families and all who serve our nation selflessly and voluntarily. We will need to continue to receive good pastors to serve in the military to replace those who are retiring. We need to be present with chaplains who will preach the Gospel in its truth and purity to those men and women who are sacrificing so much to defend our way of life. Currently, we have 55 active-duty LCMS military chaplains. Another 104 chaplains serve in the Reserve, National Guard, Civil Air Patrol, Coast Guard auxiliary, and Department of Veterans Affairs. We also support three Directors of Religious Education (DREs). Your MAF continues to support them with prayers, pastoral care, Lutheran continuing education, religious liberty, and supplies for Lutheran worship and catechesis. We also coordinate with the Department of Defense to ensure your chaplains remain endorsed properly and in good standing with the LCMS and the Department of Defense as qualified chaplains who are free to be faithful. Our goal is to have 70 active-duty chaplains and 120 Reserve, National Guard, Civil Air Patrol, Coast Guard Auxiliary, and Department of Veterans Affairs chaplains by 2025. We continue to recruit and encourage our young pre-seminary university students, seminarians, and parish pastors to consider serving our Lord and His Church as military chaplains. The average age of the personnel served by military chaplains is 18–25 years old. It is a challenging calling; however, it is very rewarding as chaplains are always present, no matter what time or place, with these brave young men and women who serve our country so faithfully. One of the challenges for our chaplains is the cultural shift on biblical issues. Be assured that your chaplains continue to preach the Word of God faithfully where they are called to serve. They treat everyone with dignity and respect without compromising the clear Word of God or our Lutheran confession. Chaplains are still protected by law and policy of the Department of Defense to preach and teach in accordance with the tenets of their faith. While certainly living in a challenging environment, they are still free to be faithful and uphold the teaching of the Word of God and the LCMS. There is no doubt that MAF will keep an eye on this and ensure our chaplains receive the support they need, as there is a constant pressure from organizations and individuals seeking to mandate compromise and violation of conscience and religious liberty. MAF continues the Ministry-by-Mail program, where we publish over 16,000 copies of Lutheran devotional materials and resources (including Portals of Prayer and So Help Me God) per quarter and mail them to over 3,500 military and retired personnel throughout the world, as well at Veterans Affairs hospitals. Our goal is to increase that number by 1,000 each year, as we know there are LCMS members who are serving our nation in uniform who have not contacted us. We will continue to encourage parents, grandparents, local congregations, and friends to submit contact information of their loved ones serving in the military so we can reach out to them with this program as well as put them in touch with LCMS chaplains and congregations where they are stationed. We need the help of our LCMS members to send in the contact information for those who are currently serving in the military so we can support them. One key highlight for MAF centers is caring for veterans. Operation Barnabas, organized in 2007, supports not only our pastors who are also Reserve chaplains but also our Lutheran veterans in the pew and the millions of veterans who live in the shadow of our churches but never attend any church. It is estimated that there are currently more than 18 million U.S. veterans alive today from all wars. This is an unprecedented mission field and opportunity for the church. MAF is leading the way to reach veterans and all military-connected people to draw them back to the cross of Christ. Throughout the history of the Lutheran Church, God has moved His people to actively display His love for military communities. To assist the LCMS in sharing the forgiveness of sins Christ Jesus won for us on the cross, the Holy Spirit has moved us to joyfully build upon the work and strength of our church in service to the military. This effort, called Operation Barnabas, has grown into a united network of care responding to the unique needs of military connected people. The vision of Operation Barnabas is that every military-connected person lives in the hope and peace of God’s love and mercy as revealed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Operation Barnabas engages, empowers, and equips LCMS faith communities, called by Christ’s love, to provide hope, healing, and support to military connected persons living in their community. The Operation Barnabas project has made a positive difference in the lives of veterans who are members of LCMS congregations and also to the veterans in their communities. The training and networking have greatly increased the mercy and compassion of the local congregations to all military-connected people in their own congregation as well as in their community. An Operation Barnabas congregation is a place where veterans are respected for their vocation as military members and are provided hope, healing, and support in their time of need through the sharing of the Gospel and the compassion of the congregation. Currently, 636 congregations have joined Operation Barnabas, providing outreach and care to their local military-connected individuals. Many new veterans are returning to the civilian world after serving their country. We need to continue to establish Operation Barnabas congregations that will be equipped to welcome them and give them the support they need as they transition to other vocations. Our goal by the end of 2024 is to have 1,000 LCMS congregations join Operation Barnabas, either as congregations or chapters, and be a part of our network of care for military-connected people. Adopt-A-Chap is a program that connects congregations with currently serving LCMS military chaplains. Through this program, the congregation supports a chaplain during his military ministry through prayer and communication. This helps the military chaplain feel connected to the church body while educating the congregation on the challenges and opportunities of military service. Within months of announcing this program, 72 of our active duty and Reserve chaplains were adopted by LCMS congregations throughout the country. The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) in Military Chaplaincy was initiated in 2005 and is designed exclusively for our military chaplains to enable them to complete a DMin degree while remaining on active duty.
In the summer of 2019, this team developed a SAS strategic plan. During the last three years, SAS has pursued two primary goals: 1.
Immediately increase fruitful engagement between youth influence rs and youth who might embark on journeys toward professional church work vocations.
2. Significantly increase the number of individuals enrolled in church worker formation tracks at our Concordia University System institutions and LCMS seminaries to ensure that the LCMS continues to proclaim and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our congregations and communities in the coming decades.