The International Lutheran Laymen’s League/Lutheran Hour Ministries serves as a grassroots auxiliary of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and Lutheran Church—Canada and is proud to extend the mission and ministry of these two church bodies by focusing our energies on a mission of Bringing Christ to the Nations®—and the Nations to the Church. The International Lutheran Laymen’s League (Int’l LLL) is the corporate name under which the organization does business; Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) is the public identity under which we conduct worldwide Gospel outreach. In fulfilling this year’s convention theme of “We Preach Christ Crucified,” LHM is a trusted resource in Gospel proclamation with a global network of partners. We work in areas where other Christian organizations are often not present and use local staff and volunteers who know the language and culture to create con textually relevant programs that most effectively share the Good News with individuals living in these regions.
God’s Blessings upon LHM’s Outreach in the Past Triennium As we build upon LHM’s 105-plus-year history and move forward into the mission field, great opportunities abound. • More than three billion people have yet to hear the saving message of Christ.
- Technology allows us to engage with each other more efficiently and effectively than any other time in history, especially as people crave a relationship with God and each other.
- We can use our gifts to make a real difference right where we are, among people we know and see every day. Our faith, put into action on a local level, can make an immediate and personal impact in our neighborhoods and beyond.
The following strategic priorities support our vision for the future and Christ’s call to reach the world with the Gospel.
Impacting People Globally As we navigate a shifting world culture, we know the saving message of Christ does not change, but the way we share it does. LHM continues to assess and adapt current ministry approaches while developing new ones as needed to allow hurting people around the world to find answers and relief in the Gospel. A global pandemic like COVID-19 presented enhanced opportunities for staff in our more than 30 ministry centers to expand radio and television broadcasts as well as digital approaches instead of focusing on traditional in-person ministry activities. These changes were made to not only conform with government regulations concerning quarantine and social distancing within each country or region but to also keep staff members, volunteers, and individuals reached through ministry safe. At a time when individuals around the world, both Christian and non-Christian, needed to hear Christ’s messages of hope and comfort more than ever, these modified approaches through our unique global ministry model allowed us to continue sharing the Gospel without interruption. Locally produced broadcasts on topics of interest attract a variety of audiences and invite viewers or listeners to contact the local ministry center to receive resources that address the topic from a Christian perspective. Respondents also have opportunities to take a Bible Correspondence Course and connect with a local Christian community. LHM continues our partnership with SAT-7, the first and largest Middle East and North African Christian satellite TV network, to share Christ’s love throughout the region through satellite television programming. Broadcasting in this region potentially reaches millions of viewers in more than 20 countries. In addition to the three seasons of the New Light talk show that discusses pertinent issues related to youth and young adults on SAT-7’s Arabic channel, LHM has expanded our program support on the SAT-7 PARS channel to reach Persian-speaking individuals of all ages in Central and South Asia. We also initiated a partnership with the PAK7 media ministry to support new television programming as well as the production of videos and social media content.
Holistic outreach is an effective way of demonstrating to people the love of Christ. These programs have a comprehensive impact in reaching both body and soul as a ministry to the un church ed in word and deed where both physical and spiritual needs are addressed. In African nations like Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, and Liberia, our successful holistic programs continue to reach at-risk young adults, especially women, through medical camps, prison ministry, vocational training, and spiritual guidance and fellowship.
Impacting People through Digital Engagement
In today’s digital age, people increasingly go online to learn, connect, and build relationships. The launch of THRED® in the United States several years ago served as LHM’s first significant move into this digital mission field, and our successful extension of digital engagement into places like Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia confirms our belief that we can successfully foster similar digital strategies in other areas of the world. As the digital mission field continues to grow, emerging technologies will offer unique opportunities to communicate with audiences in a broad variety of ways, with content that is specific to the individual platforms on which people are engaging. Our continued focus on digital engagement worldwide will rapidly increase the capacity for the priesthood of all believers to connect more and more souls to the saving message of Christ. Vivenciar.net continues to be an instrumental platform for reaching Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking individuals worldwide, including an increased focus on connecting with Hispanics living in the United States. More people than ever are searching online for guidance on topics like stress, anxiety, depression, fear, guilt, toxic relationships, and other relevant issues. Vivenciar.net assists these individuals through live chats, blog posts, articles, e-books, and courses. It also offers a safe space where trained volunteers can listen to what people have to say about specific situations in their lives and accompany them in these moments with biblically based support and guidance. Our new CPTLN app (Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones) continues a “by Hispanics for Hispanics” approach to connect with growing Hispanic audiences in the most culturally effective way. The app serves as a mobile hub for all LHM Spanish resources, including sermons, sermon notes, daily devotions, booklets, Bible studies, reflections, Vivenciar.net, a Bible app, and a chat function. Our successful Online Mission Trip transitioned to a new program called Gospel Adventures™ beginning in 2019. Following up on our Passport to Peru, Go Mongolia, Thailand Trek, and Zambia Bound adventures, the 2023 program is focused on the Asian nation of India. This interactive virtual experience includes a five-day curriculum, videos, theme music, hands-on activities, and more—all working together to provide participants with a deeper understanding of the work of the Gospel in their own lives and how God is at work in people’s lives in another part of the world. More than 40,000 elementary and middle school students typically participate each year, but the experience offers something for people of all ages. The Lutheran Hour® continues to expand its reach through digital means beyond traditional radio stations in North America. While it currently airs each week on more than 1,800 stations as well as the American Forces Network, the program is also available as a podcast and on new media platforms like Amazon Alexa, Spotify, i Heart Radio, Google Home, and Sirius XM satellite radio.
Impacting People Right Where They Are
The Results of God’s Blessings
God has called all of us to share His love to those around us, which is why LHM tirelessly equips believers to live out and share their faith with boldness in everyday life. In 2018, LHM embarked in an ongoing partnership with Barna Group—an industry leader for research-based insights about faith and culture, leadership and vocation, and generational groups—for a critical study of faith in America. The resulting research findings helped form an outreach philosophy to guide our initiatives and produce thoughtful products, programs, services, and curriculum that LHM provides to our constituents at low or no cost.
- By God’s grace, LHM’s programs and resources reach people around the world with the Gospel more than 163 million times each week.
- Outreach through LHM’s global ministry programs has, by the power of the Holy Spirit, netted more than 1.25 million responses and nearly 120,000 individuals referred to churches and Christian communities this past year.
- More than 50,000 people participated for the first time in Bible Correspondence Courses last year that introduced them to Jesus and biblical principles of our faith.
Evangelism has changed in the past 25 years. Technology and rapid cultural shifts, including the impact of social media, have redefined the ways we communicate. Spiritual Conversations in the Digital Age focuses on this shifting definition of evangelism and the perceptions of faith sharing from both sides of the conversation: the sharer and the hearer.
- Individuals were equipped to share their faith more effectively more than 180,000 times last year.
- More than 225,000 constituents are currently engaged with our global ministry efforts through giving, volunteering, or using our resources.
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Barna studies have revealed much about the state of religion and how faith is perceived and discussed in public. But what about how faith is being nurtured in private—with the spouses, children, parents, roommates, and even frequent visitors who spend time under our roofs? Households of Faith presents a vivid portrait of the domestic lives of practicing Christians. Better Together helped us learn more about the types of people who are taking initiative in their communities—those who gather, donate, serve, create, teach, mobilize, and innovate, alongside other passionate neighbors, to meet needs around them. Drawing from insights learned during this research, LHM established The Hopeful Neighborhood Project™ in 2021 as a collaborative network committed to improving neighborhood well-being around the world. The resources and online network equip and encourage neighbors to work together, using their gifts and the gifts of their community, to pursue the common good of their neighborhood. Encouraging people to explore, strengthen, and share their gifts is a deeply spiritual endeavor—one that churches and faith leaders are primed to support. Yet Barna research suggests that pastors and the congregations they lead often have a narrow understanding of what gifts look like, how they grow, and where they can be used. Gifted for More provides crucial information to help today’s church flourish and grow and help Christians understand and use their gifts well—inside and outside of church walls.
God has called all laypeople to be powerful witnesses for Christ with their families and communities. LHM continues to produce timely resources that offer convenient ways for people to connect with Jesus and share their faith with others. From the popular Project Connect booklet ministry with more than 50 titles to dozens of online LHM Learn courses under five faith-strengthening categories, and from Daily and Seasonal Devotions to online video Bible studies, LHM has numerous offerings to connect with people at any stage of their individual faith journeys.
Vision for the Future
Today, it is more important than ever to reach out in relevant ways to a broken world with Christ’s message of hope. With billions of people still un reached with the Gospel message, our work is not done. LHM has established a bold vision to share the Good News worldwide; therefore, we will not rest until • every person has the opportunity to hear the Gospel in an understandable way;
- those seeking are connected to a healthy Christian community where they can grow in their faith;
- every Christian is equipped to share the Gospel in word and deed; and
- engaged Christians advance this common mission as a global community.
We are called to act now! The Lord has given our ministry a unique understanding of how to reach, equip, and minister to individuals. Not only do LHM’s tools and resources help grow and nurture faithful Christians by the power of the Holy Spirit, but also they allow us to share the Gospel message with individuals who have had little or no opportunity to hear it. They bring messages of forgiveness, love, and hope found only in Jesus Christ to a world that is hungry for the one thing that is sorely needed. On behalf of all of us at LHM, thank you for your service. May God richly bless your work in the name and for the sake of Jesus! Kurt S. Buchholz, President & CEO