Holding to God’s Word Alone in Christ! Holding to God’s Word alone in Christ is the basis of our faith, the biblical principle for ecumenism, and the means for recognizing church body fellowship. This is not Gospel reductionism; it is God’s powerful Word conveying its own meaning, movement, and purpose. It is how the Holy Trinity works out salvation history and creates church fellowship in the Son. God the Father Almighty created heaven and earth (Gen. 1:1). The Scriptures testify that as the Spirit hovered over the waters, God spoke and by the power of His Word created light and life, flora and fauna, Adam and Eve (Gen. 1:2–31). With the fall into sin, there came two ways to understand God and His will for His people: to hear God’s Word as true and trustworthy, or by human reason and experience to fashion an alternative god and purpose. Clearly, if one believed that God created the world by His Word, it would make sense to take that Word to heart. That did not stop humanity from seeking alternative meaning and purpose by projecting human reason and experience into a garden, later into a pantheon of gods, and today into self-glory and human redefinition. Creation, brought into being by the Word, brings God’s meaning and purpose in that Word, but some take stock in their own fabricated foundation. God the Son—the eternal Word—took on human flesh from the womb of the Virgin Mary to be our Redeemer. He came to keep the Law’s requirements and fulfill the Gospel promises recorded in the inspired, inerrant Word of God. This the Old Testament prophets foretold and to this the New Testament apostles testified. As our Redeemer and out of divine love, Christ lived to obey the Law in our place, died to atone for sin, rose to justify sinners, and ascended into heaven to send His Spirit. Into the pastoral office He ordained and installed His apostles to preach the Gospel, forgive sin, administer the Sacraments, and teach the fullness of His Word (Matt. 28:17–20; Mark 16:15–16; Luke 24:46–49; John 20:21–23). The risen Christ teaches that all Holy Scripture is about the redemption He brings: “Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. … Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations” (Luke 24:44, 46–48). Nonetheless, apart from and against the Word, the Scriptures warn that some teachers shape another Christ, denying Gospel (Gal. 3:1–2) or Law (2 Peter 2:12–22) or incarnation (2 John 7) or atonement (Heb. 10:19–26). God the Holy Spirit works through the Word and Sacraments of Christ to be our Sancti fier. By these means, the Spirit creates and sustains saving faith, forgives sins, empowers the fruits of faith, unites believers to Christ, conforms them through suffering to the Son’s image, and seals them unto the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting. This work of sanctification is truly a divine gift to the individual, but not an individualistic deposit—it is the Spir-
it’s gift as He creates, preserves, and extends the holy Christian Church. The Church lives by the Word of Christ and confesses forgiveness, life, and salvation in Him: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). What holds true in the first two articles of the Creed (for creation and redemption) also holds true here in the third (for sanctification and the life of the Church): The Word conveys its own meaning, movement, and purpose. Nowhere is this clearer than in the doctrine and practice of church fellowship. The Word that creates faith is the same Word that unites the faithful. In His High Priestly Prayer, Christ reveals the Word as the divine instrument of love that creates saving faith and binds His Church together through a united confession of His Word: “Holy Father, … I have given them your word. … Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth … that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us … so that the world may believe that you sent me and loved them” (John 17:11–23). The New Testament witnesses understand church fellowship as confessional unity in the Word, which includes the Sacraments instituted by Christ’s Word. The 3,000 baptized on Pentecost “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). In St. Paul’s locus on Communion fellowship, he defines the Sacrament as “the communion of the blood of Christ … [and] the communion of the body of Christ” (1 Cor. 10:16 NKJV) and concludes, “For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. … Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?” (1 Cor. 10:17–18 NKJV). Yes, those who partake there by confess their unity in what that altar stands for. Similarly, St. Paul says that in communing, you are making a proclamation of what you believe: “You proclaim the Lord’s death” (1 Cor. 11:26). The reverse also holds: Those not agreed in the divine doctrine are not recognized for fellowship. “Watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them” (Rom. 16:17). The Lutheran Confessions follow this biblical teaching. Church body fellowship is based on agreement “in the doctrine [of the Gospel] and all its articles” (FC SD X 31), that is, in all doctrine pointing to and flowing from the Gospel. The Solid Declaration’s Comprehensive Summary (CS) explains this: “For thorough, permanent unity in the Church, it is necessary, above all things, that we have a comprehensive, unanimously approved summary and form of teaching. The common doctrine must be brought together from God’s Word and reduced to a small circle of teaching, which the churches that are of the true Christian religion must confess” (FC CS 1). The Solid Declaration understands that its own articles convey this “small circle of teaching,” in accord with the original meaning of the Augsburg Confession and the other confessional documents, and that the Old and New Testaments provide “the only true standard or norm by which all teachers and doctrines are to be judged” (FC CS 3). Church body fellowship based on confessional unity does not undercut the unity that all Christians have with the Triune God in Christ Jesus. Faith unites the baptized with Christ (unio mystica) and with each other as His Body, the one holy Christian and apostolic Church (una sancta). Church fellowship takes that unity seriously, requiring that the Gospel in all its articles—God’s means to create and sustain saving faith—be taught purely by a church before recognizing fellowship and sharing Word and Sacrament ministry, lest the Word of God and salvation in Christ be corrupted.
The Word of God is a powerful and active Word that conveys its own meaning, movement, and purpose. The Word that creates personal faith, and sanctifies and enlivens the whole Christian Church, is the same Word that unites the faithful. Holding to God’s Word alone in Christ is the basis of our faith, the biblical principle for ecumenism, and the means for recognizing church body fellowship so that the churches may rightly collaborate in Word and Sacrament ministry. No ambiguities in, additions to, or subtractions from God’s Word may be allowed. We hold to God’s Word alone in Christ!
Church Relations Overview LCMS Church Relations (CR) is part of the LCMS Office of the President. The President of Synod is the Synod’s Chief Ecumenical Officer and oversees all LCMS global ecclesiastical relations. On his behalf and based on his guidance, the CR staff provide daily strategic-, operational-, and tactical-level leadership, planning, and support for confessional Lutheran “bishop-to-bishop” relations worldwide. Rev. Dr. Jonathan E. Shaw is the CR director, Rev. Michael N. Frese is the CR deputy director, and Rev. James A. Krikava is the CR area representative for Europe and North America. The Rev. James Krikava will retire from his position as LCMS Church Relations area representative for Europe and North America on July 31, 2026, having served in this position with distinction and faithfulness since April 2024. His service to the LCMS extends back to 2014 when, having been ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Synod in 1983, he joined the LCMS ministerium through colloquy to serve as regional director for the OIM Eurasia Region (2015–22) and later as associate executive director for the Office of International Mission (OIM). Rev. Krikava’s extensive missionary experience in the Czech Republic and Eastern Europe (1990– 2006), combined with his pastoral ministry and theological education background, uniquely equipped him for fostering confessional Lutheran relationships across Europe and North America. His remarkable musical gifts—occasionally heard echoing in Wittenberg and LCMS conventions—enriched his service to the church. The LCMS gives thanks to God for his decades of faithful service in advancing church fellowship in Christ worldwide, for his wise counsel in navigating complex ecclesiastical relationships, and for his steadfast commitment to the Gospel and the Lutheran Confessions. As he reminds us, “Always more Lutheran, never less!” We commend him and his wife, Peggy, to the Lord’s continued blessing as they celebrate 50 years of marriage in September 2026 and enjoy their family of two daughters and one son, their spouses, and ten grandchildren. The purpose of CR is to advance church fellowship in Christ worldwide. Toward this end, the CR mission is to collaborate with sister churches (43) in altar and pulpit fellowship, strengthen associate churches (38) toward future fellowship, and work with other church bodies (23) for faithful ecumenism. These 104 church bodies in 73 countries represent 22 million people. For a list of these churches and a practical way to pray for them, with details on the three categories of ecclesiastical relations, see the end of this report. CR works with vital stakeholders in its mission. First are the leaders of supported sister, associate, and other church bodies, placed by God in their churches to teach the Gospel in all its articles, reflect confessional unity in historic worship, protect against false doctrine and practice, and share the diversity of God’s gifts for the common good. The OIM plants Lutheran missions and conducts missions-based theological education. Our two Synod seminaries
send theologians to strengthen sister and associate churches in confessional Lutheran theology and receive students for formation as pastors and church leaders. CR, OIM, and the seminaries are working more closely together than ever: Last December we conducted a global summit to ensure mutually supportive theological education goals in courses, educators, and objectives. The Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) conducts critical reviews and recommendations for convention approval for recognizing altar and pulpit fellowship. LCMS members, congregations, and districts provide prayers, offerings, and ministry support coordinated through CR, and work in their own backyard with the global church diaspora. Finally, the International Lutheran Council (ILC) promotes confessional Lutheranism around the world through conferences, leadership programs, and mutual encouragement. CR prioritizes three ways of ecclesiastical support: the annual International Church Relations Conference (ICRC), regional gatherings, and church body visitation. In each year of the last triennium, CR sponsored about 100 international church body presidents, bishops, and leaders at its ICRC held in Wittenberg, Germany. ICRC themes were “Confessional Lutheran Leadership under the Cross” (ICRC 2023), “Christ—The Lord of History” (ICRC 2024), and “Church Body Fellowship” (ICRC 2025). The purpose of the ICRC is to enhance unity in Christ and His Word in worldwide confessional Lutheranism through theological presentations, thoughtful discussion, edifying worship, invigorated friendship, and mutual support. International speakers, multi-lingual liturgies, and cultural/theological outings round out the ICRC experience. Each ICRC publishes a book of essays and select video presentations as sister and associate church take-home resources.1 Regional gatherings discuss church body opportunities, challenges, and partner support, and offer well-attended theological education. Church body visitations help build strong relationships, mutual trust, and collaborative plans, with time for theological dialogue and education.
Some CR Highlights by Region Europe Lutheran World Federation (LWF) 13th Assembly, Sept. 13–19, 2023, Kraków, Poland In September 2023, Dr. Shaw attended the every-seven-year LWF Assembly in visitor status. The essays, public statements, and adopted resolutions followed the LWF’s 50-year decline—its rejection of the historic Lutheran doctrine of justification and the related practice of church unity, its arc toward secular humanism, its self-definition as a practicing communion based on reconciled diversity, its confusion of the two kingdoms, and its tragic loss of the Gospel of free forgiveness of sins and justification by faith in Christ. Instead, a liberal agenda of political, social, sexual, gender, and environmental justice and reconciliation was propagated. There were some changes compared to past LWF assemblies: an increased use of Lutheran terms given new meanings, explicit condemnations of those who teach the verbal inspiration of Scripture with an intended sense, and a soft-pedaling of sexual and gender issues problematic to the Global South. Christ became the divine disruptor of the status quo, the theology of the cross became Christ taking on the vulnerabilities of the human body to suffer violence at the hands of the unjust power structures of His day, and the Gospel became the human work of serving “bodies of displaced, marginalized and excluded people around the world.”2 At the January 2024 Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort
Wayne (CTSFW) Confessions Symposium, Dr. Shaw delivered the essay “The Lutheran World Federation Today: Missio Dei, Imago Dei and the Ongoing Reformation.” The essay was subsequently expanded and published by the LCMS, with a preface by President Harrison and an appendix by the CTCR. The volume is currently being used as a study tool to assist the nine LCMS sister churches who have not yet left the LWF.3
Ecclesiology, Fellowship, and the Nordic-Baltic-Russian Churches In 2023, 2024, and 2025, CR led a number of theological dialogues among the Baltic-Nordic-Russian churches and conducted many personal visits that examined the doctrines of fellowship and ecclesiology. Two views of fellowship emerged: (1) that church fellowship is officially recognized based on agreement in the doctrine of the Gospel in all its articles, i.e., in all doctrine, pointing to and flowing from the Gospel (the LCMS and Book of Concord view), and (2) that church fellowship may be assumed and practiced where the Gospel is preached, Sacraments are administered according to Christ’s institution, historic liturgy is in use, and no impediments of scandalous doctrine or practice are known (the view of the Church of Sweden and, in some cases, of certain Baltic, Nordic, and Russian churches). These two views of fellowship interlock with two views of ecclesiology: (1) that all pastors equally possess the same divine office, call, and ordination from above (from God by His Word in Christ) and from below (administered according to the will and call of the people), and (2) that the Book of Concord preference is for episcopal (bishop) structure and that apostolic succession of both hand and doctrine is to be preferred, where possible. In extreme cases of the second view, bishops can understand their apostolic succession so as to justify (a) fellowship with non-Lutherans, and (b) ordination of non-Lutherans or of different orders of clergy in the backyard of LCMS sister churches without local ecclesiastical consent. In the last triennium and to their credit, many LCMS sister and associate churches have been involved in these discussions: Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF), Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (LELB), Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania (LELB), Lutheran Church in Norway and Iceland (LKNI), Evangelical Lutheran Diocese in Norway (DELSi N), Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria (ELCIR), Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELC), Mission Province in Sweden (MPS), and the LCMS. These are serious discussions. CR is planning a related International Church Relations Forum (ICRF) for all our European sister and associate church body bishops and presidents in the fall of 2026.
Italy In May of 2025, Dr. Shaw participated in a Lutheran symposium in Rome. Following the conference, two LCMS-trained Italian students were ordained by Bishop Juhana Pohjola (ELMDF) for the work of growing a confessional Lutheran church in Italy.
The German Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church/Selbständige Ev angelis ch-Luther is che Kirche (SELK) Women’s ordination (WO) continues to present a challenge to the SELK. The June 2025 General Pastors’ Conference voted not to implement WO in SELK now, but instead to honor the position of those who advocate for it. Thirty-two pastors signed an open letter in favor of WO. At the September 2025 national church conven-
tion, a synodical commission was appointed to deal with legal and organizational issues and the consequences of possible separation paths. Most SELK congregations cherish ecclesiastical unity over condemning WO as false doctrine and practice.
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (LELB) On Aug. 28, 2025, LELB Archbishop Jānis Vanags retired as the longest-serving bishop in Europe. Thanks be to God for his decades of confessional Lutheran service and leadership, from the days of Communism through the turmoil of WO to this day. Dr. Shaw represented President Harrison at the retirement and as Bishop Rinalds Grants was installed as archbishop the following day. Numerous LCMS clergy were present for both events. In October of 2025, Dr. Shaw and Rev. Krikava conducted theological meetings on ecclesiology and fellowship with Archbishop Grants, LELB CR Director Andris Kraulins, and Bishop Hanss Jensons.
Confessional Lutheranism in Poland Confessional Lutherans in Poland and Europe gathered for a conference, “Lutheran Confessionalism and Unionism,” Oct. 13–15, 2025, in Kraków, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Lutheranism in Poland. Sponsored by OIM Europe, Regional Director Dr. David Preus chose the location based on the Lutheran Church of Poland’s adoption of WO and an LGBTQ agenda. Polish confessional Lutherans have rejected these changes and are seeking LCMS help to start a new church. At the conference with many scholars, Dr. K. Detlev Schulz spoke on Hermann Sasse’s experience with unionism, and Dr. Shaw spoke on the meaning of church fellowship. Rev. Krikava, who had previously contacted the Book of Concord Polish Lutherans during his service as OIM Europe regional director, participated in a roundtable discussion of charting the course from unionism to Luther’s understanding of the faith.
Mission Province in Sweden (MPS) From Oct. 17–19, 2025, Dr. Preus and Rev. Krikava traveled to Gothenburg, Sweden, for the ordination of OIM-sponsored STM student Sahar Sadlovsky, soon to become a missionary in Tel Aviv, Israel. During the weekend-long event, Dr. Preus and Rev. Krikava met with MPS Bishop Bengt Ådahl and his representatives. The dialogue focused on five theological points that had been raised in CR fellowship dialogues in 2023 and 2024: (1) the MPS’s understanding of the authority and role of Holy Scripture in matters of doctrine, faith, and church life; (2) their understanding of episcopal polity and apostolic succession; (3) their relation to the Church of Sweden; (4) their doctrine and practice of church fellowship; and (5) their doctrine and practice of closed Communion. The discussion will continue at a broader CR fellowship dialogue during the 2026 Symposia Week at CTSFW. The MPS shares altar and pulpit fellowship with the ELMDF in Finland (an LCMS sister church) and DELSi N in Norway (an LCMS associate church).
Old Latin School, Wittenberg, Germany—Tour and Support From Aug. 23 to Sept. 5, 2024, President Harrison and CR staff led their second Luther land–Beautiful Germany–Wittenberg–Old Latin School (OLS) tour. Dr. Wilhelm Weber, director of the OLS Latin School, joined President Harrison and Dr. Shaw in providing historical, theological, and cultural insights. The tour ventured from the Alps to Heidelberg, from Worms and the Rhine to Eisenach and Wartburg, to Wittenberg. The tour raised $45,000 to support the OLS! Another tour is scheduled for June 1–16, 2027: email georgia.end ic ott@lcms.org for the details!
The OLS grew out of the new approach to education taught by the Wittenberg Reformers. It was built in 1564 as the city school for boys. In 2007, the International Lutheran Society of Wittenberg (ILSW) purchased the building and developed it into the International Lutheran Center at the OLS. In 2019, the ILC joined LCMS, Germany’s Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK), and Concordia Publishing House as ILSW members. The OLS provides a place for people to learn, grow, study, meet, retreat, and experience the Gospel in Wittenberg, home of the Reformation. The center is directly adjacent to St. Mary’s City Church, where the great reformer of the church, Martin Luther, preached the pure Gospel: All are saved through faith, not according to their works, but by God’s grace in Christ. The OLS holds regular Divine Services and Bible classes, and offers a confessional Lutheran interpretation of the Reformation, which otherwise would not exist in Wittenberg, the birthplace of the Reformation.
Czech Republic, Missions, and Fellowship During an OIM Eurasia educational forum held Oct. 21–26, 2025, in Wittenberg, Germany, Rev. Krikava presented a paper on language acquisition in church planting as a vital step in forming indigenous churches that seek church fellowship with the planting mission church. From Nov. 1 to 7, 2025, and during travel to Plzeň, Czech Republic, Rev. Krikava served as fac il it at or/translator for Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) President Glenn Obenberger and Rev. Steve Sparley, a member of the ELS Board for World Outreach. The ELS trip’s purpose was to determine the state of an ELS mission begun in 1990 but without missionaries since the early 2000s. Use of a Roman Catholic deacon for church services and support of an attached non-Lutheran school taught a clear lesson: Lutheran missions need Lutheran pastors. Rev. Krikava then traveled to Prague to meet with Rev. Martin Damašek, acting bishop of Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Czech Republic (ECAVvČR). Under his leadership, the ECAVvČR’s interest in pursuing church fellowship with the LCMS is gaining momentum.
Africa In the triennium since the 2023 convention, CR has witnessed the Lord’s rich blessing on confessional Lutheran churches on the African continent. From the historic fellowship recognition with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Sudan and Sudan and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Uganda, to addressing LWF aggression against confessional Lutheran churches, to expanding fellowship dialogues with associate churches, to intensifying theological education initiatives from Madagascar to Ethiopia, the Spirit’s work in creating and sustaining unity in Christ’s Word is bearing fruit among our African sister and associate churches.
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG) With confessional courage grounded in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, the ELCG withdrew from membership in the LWF in October 2023. The ELCG’s Annual Delegates Conference in March 2023 passed a resolution calling to sever the church’s relationship with the LWF and its affiliates. The resolution affirmed the ELCG’s commitment to the inspired and infallible Holy Scriptures as the source and norm of all doctrines and practices, and to the Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord as the true exposition of the Holy Scriptures. The ELCG Board of Directors affirmed that action in June 2023, and President/Bishop John
Shadrack Donkoh formally notified the LWF General Secretary of the withdrawal on Oct. 8, 2023. Also in October, Rev. Dr. Joel Lehen bauer, executive director of the CTCR, visited Ghana to make a related presentation to ELCG lay leaders, providing encouragement and theological support. Throughout the process, Bishop Donkoh and the ELCG leadership conducted their correspondence with the LWF with Christian dignity, clarity, and firmness, maintaining both theological integrity and fraternal respect. The LCMS rejoices with our sister church in Ghana for their faithful stand on God’s Word and looks forward to continued fellowship in confessing Christ crucified.
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK) In August 2025, CR attended the ELCK’s general pastoral and bishops’ workshop, delivering theological presentations on unity in Christ’s Word and the LWF today. The instruction proved well-received through lively discussion, thoughtful questions, and the ELCK’s scheduled reconsideration of LWF membership at their next national convention. During this visit, CR also met privately with bishops from nine other confessional Lutheran church bodies, strengthening fellowship bonds, faithful confession, and mutual encouragement amid contemporary challenges. These leaders included Archbishop Joseph Ochola Omolo (ELCK, Kenya; host); Bishop John Donkoh (ELCG, Ghana); Bishop Christian Ekong (LCN, Nigeria); President Denis Ra koto za fy (FLM, Madagascar); Bishop Yohana Nzelu (South East of Lake Victoria Diocese, ELCT, Tanzania); Rev. John Gwandu, representing Bishop Nicolaus Nsan gsn ze lu (Mbulu Diocese, ELCT, Tanzania); Rev. Silvanus Msuya, representing Bishop Daniel Mono (Mwanga Diocese, ELCT, Tanzania); Rev. Jackson Mushendwa (Western Diocese, ELCT, Tanzania); Bishop Selestine Se buri koko (LMA-STH, Rwanda); and Rev. Mussie Alazar (EELC, Ethiopia).
Lutheran Church of Uganda (LCU) The LCMS recognized altar and pulpit fellowship with the LCU at the 2023 convention. The LCU traces its origins to missionary work from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK), with Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG) and LCMS collaboration. Initially established as the Lutheran Church Mission Uganda (LCMU), the church body reorganized as the Lutheran Church of Uganda in 2015, with Rev. Charles Bameka elected as bishop in 2015 and consecrated in 2017. Bishop Bameka’s leadership has consistently emphasized strong education and Word and Sacrament ministry as the church’s central calling. In December 2023, following reports requiring clarification, Rev. Frese attended the LCU’s regular synodical convention in Jinja, Uganda, to observe firsthand the church body’s governance and electoral processes. The convention proceeded with transparency and proper ecclesiastical order. Elections were conducted with integrity and according to the LCU’s constitutional procedures, and Bishop Bameka was reelected. Present as fraternal observers were Archbishop Joseph Omolo (ELCK, Kenya), retired Bishop David Tswaedi (LCSA, South Africa), and President John Shadrack Donkoh (ELCG, Ghana), who served as founding pastor of the LCMU. These sister church leaders familiar with the LCU’s history witnessed the lawful proceedings. Regrettably, internal tensions resulted in a division within the LCU in late 2023. Rev. Benson Barhuka, dean of the Southwest Deanery, and his son Enoch Barhuka, both educated in South Africa, departed from the LCU along with several pastors and recent graduates from Lutheran Theological College Uganda. They estab-lished a separate church body, the Confessional Lutheran Church Synod in Uganda, reportedly registered with the Ugandan government. The division appears rooted in regional tensions, as well as disagreements regarding theological education and seminary governance. In 2022, Enoch Barhuka had established a seminary in the Southwest Deanery without Bishop Bameka’s authorization, contributing to the eventual separation. The LCMS continues its support for the Lutheran Church in Uganda through LCMS missionaries, educators, and LCMS congregations. The LCU is a treasured sister church and remains committed to confessional Lutheran identity grounded in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, focusing its ministry on proclaiming the Gospel and administering the Sacraments throughout Uganda.
Malagasy Lutheran Church (FLM) The FLM represents one of CR’s most significant engagements in Africa during this triennium. This Lutheran church body, located primarily in southern Madagascar, comprises 8,500 congregations with approximately 5 million baptized members and 1,500 active pastors. FLM history dates to Norwegian missionaries in 1867, with the church officially established in 1950. The LCMS has actively supported the FLM through OIM and CR collaboration. In April 2025, President Harrison, CR, and CTCR representatives met with FLM President Rev. Dr. Ra koto za fy and other FLM leaders at the International Center for theological dialogue. The meeting focused on better understanding the history and practice of the FLM lay office of mpiandry (shepherd/exorcist). Building on this productive exchange, CR and OIM are collaborating with FLM leadership to provide successive LCMS theological educators at SALT (FLM’s Graduate School of Theology) for fifteen months (2026–27). Instruction will focus on the Book of Concord, Lutheran dogmatics, and Lutheran church history, with emphasis on the inspiration, inerrancy, and sufficiency of Holy Scripture. After this intensive period, CR and the FLM will reevaluate theological education needs. The LWF has openly criticized the FLM’s confessional Lutheranism although the FLM is currently a member.
Ethiopian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC) The EELC, though smaller than the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY), demonstrates clear confessional Lutheran identity. With 120 congregations, 30 preaching stations, 60 pastors, and 27,000 communicants, the EELC continues strengthening its theological foundation through sustained engagement with the LCMS. In March 2024, CR visited Ethiopia for theological dialogue with EELC leadership. The leaders expressed their need for enhanced pastoral training, theological resources in Amharic, and support for their seminary and boarding school. Following this dialogue, Rev. Michael Frese presented at the July 2024 general church assembly with 140 pastors, evangelists, and lay leaders present. His presentations on “Lutheran Identity: Scripture, Worship, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper” addressed fundamental confessional commitments and were enthusiastically received. These engagements have led to theological education plans that include an emeritus EELC church body president currently pursuing doctoral studies at CTSFW, the EELC seminary president participating in CTSFW’s Faculty Development Program (scheduled for Spring quarter 2026), and the Amharic Book of Concord and Amharic hymnal (produced with LCMS assistance) being distributed to each pastor for thorough study. This church body remains
completely committed to growing as a confessional Lutheran church, and CR fellowship dialogue continues with this promising associate church.
South East of Lake Victoria Diocese (SELVD) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) Years of theological support from CTSFW professors and OIM missionaries have moved the SELVD into confessional Lutheranism. SELVD Bishop Yohana Nzelu himself has exercised significant confessional Lutheran influence beyond his diocese and into the ELCT, a very liberal, LWF-affiliated church. Many other ELCT diocesan bishops are turning to confessional Lutheranism in Tanzania and beyond. In March 2024, CR conducted a theological dialogue with SELVD in Tanzania, exploring the diocese’s relationship with the liberal national ELCT. Leaving the ELCT would bring serious financial and political difficulties for SELVD. SELVD’s under-standing is that the ELCT has no ecclesiastical authority or influence over it in doctrine and practice, but only in kingdom of the left governance regarding legal identity, property, and cooperation in eternals. Yet to be discussed is the ELCT perspective in these matters. Potential paths forward include changing the SELVD constitution to safeguard its confessional commitments and to establish it as an autonomous church body with processes for recognizing fellowship with other confessional Lutheran churches. At the May 2025 SELVD-LCMS dialogue at the International Center, President Harrison, CR, and CTCR discussed with a six-member SELVD delegation their significant strides in confessional Lutheranism under Bishop Nzelu’s leadership. SELVD church leadership also met with their LCMS counterparts for church body familiarization, theological understanding, and substantive exchange of perspectives on church body identity and fellowship. These dialogues continue as both church bodies work toward faithful confession of Christ.
South Africa In August 2025, CR visited all three LCMS sister church bodies in South Africa—the Free Evangelical Lutheran Synod in South Africa (FELSISA), the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (LCSA), and the Confessional Lutheran Synod of South Africa (CLSSA)— for familiarization and theological education planning. Dr. Shaw brought LCMS greetings to the FELSISA national convention, and Rev. Frese preached at a FELSISA congregation. The visits strengthened fellowship bonds, enabled collaborative planning, and demonstrated the vitality of confessional Lutheran fellowship across national and linguistic boundaries. Throughout Africa, CR’s work during this triennium demonstrates the Spirit’s faithfulness in creating and sustaining confessional Lutheran churches united in Christ’s Word and gathered at His altar. Challenges remain real—pressures toward WO, the allure of LWF financial support, and critical shortages of confessional theological educators. Yet Word and Sacrament, theological education, fellowship dialogue, and the mutual conversation and consolation of the brethren reveal the Lord’s patient, persevering, and powerful redemptive love in Christ.
Asia Lutheran Mission—Australia (LM—A) CR and OIM have continued support of confessional Lutheranism in Australia from the preceding triennium. In January 2024,
CR hosted a fraternal theological dialogue with an LM—A contingent led by LM—A President Matt Anker. President Harrison led the LCMS contingent; also present were CR, First Vice-President Peter Lange, and leadership from OIM, CTCR, both LCMS seminaries, LCMS Church Planting, and St. Catharines Seminary. President Anker presented on the theological crisis in Australian Lutheranism, sharing LM—A’s Confessional Statement and Theses of Agreement. Confessional members within the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) stated their deep concerns about the LCA’s theological direction regarding biblical authority, WO, seminary training, and adherence to the LCA’s constitution. The dialogue included joint study of the Book of Concord on unity in Christ, confession, and the Lord’s Supper, brainstorming on LM—A seminary education options, and strategic planning. The LCMS expressed complete support for the LM—A. The Oct. 4–7, 2024, convention of the General Synod of the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand (LCANZ) made the final decision to pursue WO through a “one church with two different practices of ordination” model. The LCANZ argued that Scripture is insufficient to decide the question of WO, fundamentally undercutting biblical authority while claiming this represented only a change in practice, not doctrine. Following this decision, LM—A held its official launch Nov. 23, 2024, with Dr. Shaw addressing the gathering. The following day, Rev. Antonio Reyes, President of the Lutheran Church in the Philippines, installed Rev. Matt Anker as LM—A president. The LCANZ subsequently ordained two women as pastors on Apr. 13 and 17, 2025—the first such ordinations in LCANZ history. Since its launch, the LM—A has been blessed by its faithful confession. October 2025 statistics reflect 600 baptized in 15 new church plants, 13 LCA congregations in the process of joining or likely to join, and 17 pastors on the clergy roster, with 11 more in the colloquy process. Plans are proceeding for the LM—A’s constituting synodical convention in August 2026. CR has continued to engage with theological education in Australia, and the CTCR’s Dr. Lehen bauer has led presentations on confessional unity at the altar in August 2025. CR convened fellowship dialogues in October 2024, October 2025, and January 2026. Significantly, the CTCR voted on Oct. 7, 2025, to recommend recognition of church fellowship between the LCMS and LM—A (see end note 5). God continues blessing faithful confession of His Word in Australia through this emerging church body.
India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC) From Sept. 22 to Oct. 3, 2024, President Harrison, CR, the chief mission officer, and OIM leadership attended the centenary celebration of Concordia Theological Seminary, Nagercoil, India (CTSN). President Harrison became the first LCMS president to visit the IELC since President J.A.O. Preus 60 years prior. After the centenary celebrations, the delegation conducted a productive, three-day planning meeting with IELC President Balasingh, the IELC’s three district presidents, and its chief financial and administrative officers. Discussions addressed the IELC’s continued membership in the LWF, key theological topics, and the critical need for financial transparency in seminary operations and church governance. The next year brought unexpected challenges. Internal discord developed within the IELC regarding the exercise of church body authority and leadership at CTSN. Dr. Luther reminds us in his Large Catechism’s explanation of the Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, wherever God’s name is hallowed and His kingdom advances through Word and Sacrament, the devil attacks the church
and “strange things” happen. The Office of the President, CR, and OIM continue supporting confessional Lutheran elements within India as they navigate these internal difficulties.
The Indonesian Lutheran Christian Church (Gereja Kristen Luther Indonesia, GKLI) In November 2023, CR visited Medan, Indonesia, to re initiate fellowship dialogue with the GKLI, discussions that had ceased in 2019 due to concerns in doctrine and practice. The visit revealed significant progress toward confessional Lutheran teaching over the intervening years, though practical challenges remained, including the difficulty of procuring wine for the Lord’s Supper due to Indonesia’s Muslim-majority context and prohibitive tariffs. In its November 2024 follow-up visit, CR led theological education for all GKLI pastors and met with GKLI leadership. The GKLI has 48 pastors (15 serving as missionaries with 10–12 church plants each) and a seminary with a seven-year pastoral formation process (four years of seminary, three years of vicarage). GKLI recognizes distinct offices of evangelist, elder, and teacher in their congregations. The church body has abandoned WO and moved steadily toward confessional Lutheranism over 20 years. The GKLI maintains membership in the LWF, though their bishop and church leadership expressed openness to withdrawal in a patient, churchly manner. In September 2025, CR led a general pastors’ conference for all GKLI clergy, addressing the theology and practice of the Lord’s Supper, closed Communion, and church fellowship. All pastors affirmed support for the confessional Lutheran understanding of church fellowship based on the authority of Holy Scripture and a quia confessional subscription. Three matters require attention: (1) developing general lay understanding of the distinction between personal preparation for, and confessional unity celebrated at, the Lord’s Supper, (2) severing ties with the LWF, and (3) addressing the substantial number of women elders serving in congregations. Fellowship dialogue continues as the GKLI demonstrates genuine commitment to faithful Lutheran confession and practice.
Lutheran Church in Korea (LCK) The November 2023 CR visit to Seoul built on the fraternal theological dialogue on WO conducted in January 2023 at CTSFW. During the November visit, Dr. Shaw met with President Eun Seob Kim, the newly appointed interim seminary president Dr. Jun Hyun Kim, and other church officers. Discussions addressed leadership challenges from a lawsuit filed by a breakaway faction (which the courts dismissed) and worked toward building stronger relationships of trust with Korean leadership. The November discussions also reinforced gains from the January dialogue, in which LCK and LCMS leaders had addressed the rising challenge of WO in the LCK. That forum led to the production of a book of essays there presented, Women’s Ordination through the Lens of the Apostles’ Creed: A Fraternal Dialogue of the Lutheran Church in Korea and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.4 The book documents the 2023 Fort Wayne dialogue and provides substantial theological resources for Korean pastors and other church bodies worldwide wrestling with the false doctrine and practice of WO. Plans advanced for translating and publishing the January 2023 essays into Korean. The November 2024 LCK pastors’ conference marked a significant milestone as pastors received for the first time the Korean translation of Women’s Ordination through the Lens of the Apostles’ Creed. At the conference and at LCK’s request, CR led presentations on WO, the LWF, and the practice of Confession and
Absolution. Private meetings with President Kim emphasized the LCK’s rejection of WO, identified the need for a bilingual lecturer in the Lutheran Confessions at Luther University (which houses their seminary), and discussed aspirations for expanding secondary education and seminary outreach.
Engagement with faithful Japanese Lutherans committed to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.
In September 2025, CR met with President Kim and the LCK executive board on strategic direction, and with LCK pastors on pastoral leadership regarding fellowship as confessional unity, the Lord’s Supper, and the LWF. Shortly thereafter, President Jong-Ho Won was elected as LCK president. He immediately requested continued CR assistance regarding theological and liturgical formation and continuing education for his pastors and the church. Because many LCK pastors do not possess an adequate grasp of the Lutheran Confessions, theological and liturgical education will remain a critical need in the years ahead.
The recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship with the Christian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bolivia marks one of the most significant developments in South American church relations during this triennium. This small but vibrant confessional Lutheran church body represents the fruit of over 12 years of theological education and collaboration involving LCMS CR, OIM, LCMS seminary professors, and the Centro de Misericordia Seminario Concordia el Reforma dor (CMSCR) in the Dominican Republic.
Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod (LCHKS) At the invitation of President Allan Yung, CR Director Dr. Shaw conducted a familiarization visit to Hong Kong and preached at the annual LCHKS convention, April 23–29, 2024. President Yung was reelected to his tenth consecutive three-year term, marking nearly 30 years of faithful service as president of this sister church of the LCMS. Discussions focused on the extensive state-supported social and educational programs run by the church, but in which the state does not allow Christian expression. Opportunities for Word and Sacrament ministry were explored.
The Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP) At President Antonio del Rio Reyes’ invitation, CR Director Dr. Shaw visited the LCP April 29–May 2, 2024. He was honored to tour various congregations and LCP offices and teach and preach at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Baguio. Conversations explored LCP-LCMS church relations and the possibility of developing an English-speaking joint seminary program in Asia that could serve multiple confessional Lutheran church bodies in the region and strengthen theological education across national boundaries. CR attended the ILC World Conference in September 2025, held in Bohol, Philippines. During the conference, meetings with sister church presidents and bishops addressed ongoing fellowship questions and theological education. Honest discussion within the ILC conference revealed two understandings of church fellowship: the one recognized based on agreement in the doctrine of the Gospel in all its articles, the other assumed based on Lutheran commitments to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments where no known moral or theological impediments exist. (See details above, at “Ecclesiology, Fellowship, and the Nordic-Baltic-Russian Churches.”) This distinction requires further attention in ILC gatherings and bilateral dialogues.
Confessional Lutheranism in Japan Following the 2023 Synod convention resolution that the LCMS could no longer recognize altar and pulpit fellowship with the Japan Lutheran Church (see end note 6), CR has worked to invigorate confessional Lutheran presence in Japan. In November 2023, Dr. Shaw accompanied OIM missionary Dr. Daniel Jastram and met with confessional Lutheran leaders outside the JLC structure. The goal is to build relationships and a shared resource framework to enhance confessional Lutheran witness in Japan. The LCMS continues supporting this work through missionaries, through partnership with Pastor Manubu Wakabayashi, and through ongoing en-
South America Iglesia Cristiana Evangélica Luterana Boliviana (ICEL)
Following initial fellowship dialogue in 2022 and President Limberth Fernández’s first presentation to the CTCR in 2023, CR conducted a second fellowship dialogue in April 2024. The LCMS delegation—Dr. Shaw (CR), Dr. Lehen bauer (CTCR), Rev. Frese (CR), Rev. Mark Braden (fellowship committee), and Rev. James Sharp (OIM)—engaged with five ICEL church leaders in substantive theological discussion. The dialogue demonstrated ICEL’s solid grounding in confessional Lutheran theology and practice. Of particular significance was ICEL’s constitutional revision to reflect a quia subscription to the entirety of the Lutheran Confessions as faithful witnesses to the inspired, inerrant Holy Scriptures, which serve as the sole authority for church body doctrine and practice. This represented a maturation in confessional commitment beyond many established Lutheran church bodies. In February 2025, President Fernández presented to the CTCR for the second time, answering questions about ICEL’s constitution, theological education, and pastoral formation. The CTCR unanimously recommended recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship via Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2 (b) (2), which provides for “formal recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship between the Synod and a small, formative, emerging confessional Lutheran church body,” subject to endorsement by the subsequent Synod convention. Following consultation with the Praesidium, President Harrison officially recognized fellowship with ICEL on May 4, 2025. On May 24, 2025, Dr. Shaw presented the letter of fellowship to President Fernández at the OIM symposium in the Dominican Republic. With presidents from LCMS sister churches throughout Central and South America gathered at CMSCR, Dr. Shaw and President Fernández celebrated the Lord’s Supper together for the first time—a profoundly moving expression of unity in Christ’s body and blood. ICEL comprises 16 congregations and missions, 11 pastors, and 972 members. The church body is bilingual: 40 percent Spanish-speaking concentrated in Bolivia’s cities and 60 percent Quechua-speaking concentrated in the rural highlands. All ICEL pastors are ordained with a quia subscription oath. The church recognized church fellowship with the IELB (Brazil) in 2004 and became a full member of the ILC in 2022.
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (IELB) The IELB continues as the LCMS’ oldest and largest sister church, established as a church in 1904. Throughout this triennium, the IELB has provided crucial support for confessional Lutheranism throughout South America. IELB Vice-President Rev. Airton S. Schroeder conducted the historic ICEL (Bolivia) ordinations in 2022, with IELB and ICEL already in church fellowship.
The 1980 LCMS-IELB protocol document received practical application through a working agreement signed in June 2022 for clergy calls between the two church bodies. This agreement puts pulpit fellowship into action, addresses ministry needs of the Portuguese-speaking diaspora in the United States, and honors the calling authorities and processes of both church bodies. It became the model for the LCMS Council of Presidents policy on calling pastors between the LCMS and church bodies in fellowship with the LCMS. President Geraldo Schüler continues to provide indispensable bishop support for church bodies nearby and in the region.
Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile (ILCC) In April 2024, Rev. Frese visited Chile to extend spiritual care and counsel on behalf of the Office of the President. He ministered to ILCC pastors, offering spiritual care in areas devastated by wildfires. Mercy flows from the Gospel. He also gave a theological presentation at the ILCC’s general pastors’ conference in Santiago. He focused on the use of Luther’s Small Catechism in preaching.
Regional Coordination and Theological Education CR’s collaboration with Rev. Ted Krey, OIM regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), has strengthened throughout the triennium. The May 2023 OIM symposium for Central and South American church leaders, held in the Dominican Republic, included a dedicated church relations day addressing protocol agreements, faithful confession, and emerging needs flowing from church body relationships. This pattern of coordination continues, with CR and OIM working closely to support regional theological education and church development. The May 2025 symposium at CMSCR in the Dominican Republic provided another opportunity for regional church body presidents and bishops to gather for mutual support, theological instruction, and fellowship. The celebration of newly recognized church fellowship with ICEL powerfully demonstrated the bonds of confessional unity among Lutheran churches in the LAC region.
North America Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC) The work begun between the LCC and the LCMS in 2022–23 to empower missions and ethnic ministry in Canada continued in the past triennium. An LCMS-LCC pastors’ conference met June 24–26, 2024, at Mount Carmel Retreat Center, Niagara Falls, Ontario, to “Strengthen Fellowship and Mission in Canada.” Rev. Dr. Thomas Winger, president and professor at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, St. Catharines, led a biblical and confessional study of God-given unity and the harmony for which we strive. Dr. Shaw then facilitated an assessment of LCC, LCMS, and joint organizational strengths and weaknesses, with a review of environmental opportunities and challenges, to facilitate a unified approach for ethnic ministries and mission starts. To put this unified approach into action, an Annual Koinonia Coordination Meeting (AKCM) was then convened, with LCMS and LCC church leaders crafting a list of objectives with points of contact. Progress for working together in missions and ethnic ministry will be reviewed at the next joint pastors’ conference and AKCM scheduled for Oct. 19–21, 2026, again at Mount Carmel Retreat Center. The LCC and LCMS have also collaborated in supporting LM—A (Australia). Each church body has provided theological education support in Australia and seminarian support in their church body seminaries for LM—A students studying for the pastoral ministry.
The American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC) During the past triennium, the LCMS has tried to address certain fellowship doctrine and practice problems with the AALC. Issues have included the LCMS commitment to its in-residence seminary formation, not accepting the AALC’s unaccredited, distance-learning seminary for LCMS seminarians. More difficult have been AALC actions regarding LCMS clergy and an LCMS congregation removed for cause by the LCMS but taken directly into the AALC without ensuring LCMS consultation that would address “all matters at issue,” as required by the 2009 operating agreement. Earnest work began at a Jan. 31, 2023, AALC-LCMS meeting, continued with LCMS district president assessments, and led to a comprehensive AALC-LCMS meeting March 18–19, 2025. The joint team adjusted the 2007 AALC-LCMS protocol document to preclude such future fellowship violations and clarify seminary requirements, but nine months later AALC leaders declined that adjusted protocol. The LCMS desires to maintain the bonds of fellowship—unity in the Gospel in all its articles, including the doctrine and practice of church fellowship. CR plans to meet one more time with AALC representatives prior to the 2026 Synod convention to resolve these fellowship issues. Lord, have mercy.
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) and Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) Informal discussions between leaders of the LCMS, WELS, and ELS began in 2012 and have been held on an annual basis, with the most recent discussions in December 2025. The meetings have dispelled many caricatures regarding the different churches and helped to identify what currently unites and divides them. All three synods have encouraged future meetings by national convention action. Topics discussed in the recent triennium were the New Testament role of deacon, our respective responses to cultural issues, woman suffrage and responses to WO, and the three perennial issues: the office of the pastoral ministry, church fellowship, and the role of women. The December 2025 meeting was characterized by friendship and trust, the norm for these conversations. The doctrine of fellowship held center stage as participants examined the cause of the breakup of the Synodical Conference through the lens of the 1961 Report to the Overseas Brethren. Meeting participants also proposed to begin a series of free conferences as a step toward formalizing these joint conversations into the future. In June 2025, CR representative Rev. Krikava attended the annual synodical convention of the ELS. The LCMS was given a warm reception with many positive comments on the theological direction of the Harrison administration. Support to Bethany Lutheran College was an important topic. The convention also resolved to call a missions director who would send ELS missionaries into international fields (currently, there are none). In July 2025, Rev. Krikava attended the biannual synodical convention of the WELS, with the LCMS again lauded for its current theological direction. On the last day of very positive sessions, President Harrison was able to visit. The WELS president asked President Harrison to greet and address the convention. After his speech, he received a spontaneous standing ovation.
Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) Since 2010, various LCMS and LCC theologians have met with ACNA theologians annually, either by Zoom or in person. The goal has been to examine with clarity and honesty where we agree and disagree theologically (with this disagreement precluding foreseeable fellowship), seek to grow in mutual understanding, and produce occasional statements to confess biblical truths to an increasingly secular world. During the present triennium, these meetings have continued, generally with a Zoom session one year and an in-person meeting the next. Because Anglicans do not subscribe to the Lutheran Confessions, and because some ACNA bishops ordain women, church fellowship is not realistic. Past discussions have included the history of the churches, understandings of authority and ministry in the church, the doctrine and practice of the Lord’s Supper, and issues related to marriage and human sexuality. In 2012, a joint statement on marriage was prepared and published by the church bodies. Recent meetings have produced a paper on “faithful ecumenism,” a respectful, honest approach to differences in theology and practice. The in-person meeting scheduled for late April 2026 in Dallas may forward this paper to church body heads for consideration. Other meeting topics for the triennium include a three-fold office of ministry and anthropology/creation.
Anglican Province of America, Anglican Church of America, and Anglican Catholic Church (APA/ACA/ACC) An initial meeting between theologians and leaders of the LCMS and the APA/ACA/ACC occurred in May 2024 in the LCMS International Center. These Anglo-Catholics hold a high view of Scripture that does not permit the ordination of women. They approached the LCMS as a biblically based, confessional Lutheran church, desiring to understand it better as a first ecumenical step. Anglicans present were the Rt. Rev. Brian Marsh (Ecumenical Officer for the ACA and the Traditional Anglican Church [TAC]), the Rt. Rev. Patrick S. Fodor (St. John’s Cathedral, Quincy, IL – ACA), the Rt. Rev. Paul Hewett (Cathedral Church of the Epiphany, Columbia, SC – ACC), and the Most Rev. Mark Haverland (Archbishop of the ACC, St. Stephen’s, Athens, GA – ACC). LCMS participants included President Harrison; Dr. Shaw, Rev. Frese, and Rev. Krikava (CR); Dr. Lehen bauer and Dr. Serina (CTCR); and Dr. Harmelink (CHI). Topics included background on the history of the churches and their understandings of theological authority and church fellowship. A follow-up meeting is planned for 2026.
North American Lutheran Church (NALC) Representatives of the LCMS, LCC, and NALC have continued their dialogue, established in 2011, meeting twice yearly (once via Zoom and once in person) throughout the triennium. LCMS representatives included CR, CTCR, and CTSFW faculty. During the April 2024 meeting in Ambridge, Pa., the NALC reported establishing a Lutheran faculty at Trinity School for Ministry, an Anglican institution that also trains women for the pastoral ministry. While a spectrum of opinion exists within the NALC regarding WO, they are currently preparing an official document explaining their position. A November 2026 in-person meeting is planned to discuss that document and address the doctrine and practice of WO directly. Although altar and pulpit fellowship with the NALC is not possible due to fundamental confessional differences, particularly regarding WO and biblical her men eu tics, the conversations advance mutual theological understanding, practice faithful ecumenism, and enable collaboration on joint moral statements addressing religious freedom and the God-given value of human life. These con versa-
tions have also shown value in discussing international church relations challenges, as LCMS sister and associate churches frequently work in similar geographical areas as NALC sister churches.
Ecclesiastical Relations of the LCMS The LCMS enjoys ecclesiastical relations with 103 church bodies in a total of 73 countries representing 22 million people around the world. The purpose of LCMS Church Relations is to advance church fellowship in Christ worldwide. The LCMS recognizes a single form of church fellowship—altar and pulpit fellowship— but has three categories of church relations or engagements with church bodies. The LCMS has 43 sister church bodies—those with whom the LCMS is in altar and pulpit fellowship (united in the confession of the Gospel in all its articles). The LCMS collaborates with sister churches, sharing Christ’s Word and Sacraments worldwide and building each other up in unity of confession, worship, and works of love. LCMS members are encouraged to attend a sister church’s Divine Service when in country, announce themselves to the pastor, and may request to be communed. The LCMS has 38 associate church bodies with whom it is working toward and praying for altar and pulpit fellowship. The LCMS seeks to strengthen mutual understanding and faithfulness with associate churches through visitation, theological dialogue, theological education, and mercy ministry. LCMS members are encouraged to attend associate church divine services when in country but should not commune. The LCMS also relates with 23 other church bodies, working toward faithful ecumenism. The goal is to examine with clarity and honesty where we agree and disagree theologically (with this disagreement precluding foreseeable fellowship), seek to grow in mutual understanding, and produce occasional statements to confess biblical truths to an increasingly secular world. The church bodies below (see “Praying for the Churches”) are listed by category and generally in alphabetical order by country. If you would like further background or contact information about a specific church body, please email the LCMS Office of the President, Attention: Church Relations, michael.frese@lcms.org or georgia.end ic ott@lcms.org.
Praying for the Churches Dr. Martin Luther urged that prayers be offered for the Church throughout the world, that the Gospel might be purely preached and the Sacraments rightly administered according to Christ’s command and institution. Listed below is a schedule for remembering our LCMS sister, associate, and other churches before God’s throne of grace. LCMS congregations are encouraged to offer petitions for these churches in the Sunday Prayer of the Church; individuals are also encouraged to pray for them at home. A sample prayer follows: Almighty God, You have called Your Church to witness that in Christ You have reconciled the world to Yourself. Grant that by Your Holy Spirit we may proclaim the good news of Your salvation throughout the world so that all who hear it may receive the gifts of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. We especially pray for: [select based on church body category: sister, associate, or other] • Our LCMS sister churches, [names and countries]. Bless them with Your Word of grace and truth, strengthen the faith of the baptized, bestow peace throughout their congregations and ministries, and as we together share Christ’s saving Word and Sacraments, build us up in unity of confession, worship, and works of love; through Christ, our Lord. • •
Our LCMS associate churches, [names and countries]. Empower your Word in its truth and purity, and remove all obstacles to fellowship so that, one day, recognizing unity in the Gospel in all its articles, we might with great joy celebrate fellowship at pulpit and altar; through Christ, our Lord. The churches, [names and countries], with whom we work toward faithful ecumenism. Bring the light of Your pure Word where articles of doctrine divide us, prevent error from taking root, and grant patience for faithful witness; through Christ, our Lord.
Numbers correspond to weeks in the year, with two church bodies remembered each week in prayer. Prayers may start at the beginning of the calendar year or Church Year, or at any time. The important thing is to pray for God’s promised blessings in Christ.
Sister Churches, In Altar and Pulpit Fellowship (43) 1.
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina, IELA Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belgium, ELKB
2. Christian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bolivia, ICEL5 Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil, IELB
3. Lutheran Church—Canada, LCC Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile, ILCC
4. Evangelical Lutheran Free Church in Denmark, ELFCD Evangelical Lutheran Church of England, ELCE
5. Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, ELMDF Evangelical Lutheran Church—Synod of France, EELSF
6. Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church, SELK (Germany) Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana, ELCG
7. Lutheran Church of Guatemala, ILG Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti, ELCH 8.
The Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod, LCHKS India Evangelical Lutheran Church, IELC
9. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Almaty, ELCA (Kazakhstan) Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya, ELCK
10. Lutheran Church in Korea, LCK Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia, LELB 11. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia, ELCL Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania, LELB 12. Lutheran Synod of Mexico, SLM Lutheran Church of Nigeria, LCN 13. Lutheran Church in Norway and Iceland, LKNI Gutnius Lutheran Church, GLC (Papua New Guinea) 14. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Paraguay, IELPA Lutheran Church in the Philippines, LCP
Confessional Lutheran Church of South Africa, CLCSA 18. Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Sudan, Sudan, ELCSS/S Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church, CELC (Sri Lanka) 19. China Evangelical Lutheran Church, CELC (Taiwan) Lutheran Church of Togo, ELT 20. Lutheran Church of Uganda, LCU Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine, ELCU 21. American Association of Lutheran Churches, AALC (U.S.) Lutheran Church of Uruguay, ILU 22. Lutheran Church of Venezuela, ILV
Associate Churches, Working toward Church Fellowship (38) 22. Lutheran Mission—Australia, LM—A6 23. Lutheran Church in Africa—Synod of Benin, ELA—SBE Evangelical Lutheran Church of Burkina Faso, EELBF 24. Lutheran Church in Africa—Synod of Burundi, ELA— SBU Cambodian Lutheran Church, CLC 25. Evangelical Lutheran Church in East Congo, CELCE Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Church in the Congo, EELCC 26. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Congo, EELCCo Lutheran Church in Africa—Synod Cote D’Ivoire, ELA— SCI (Ivory Coast) 27. Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Czech Republic, ECAV Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, SCEAV (Czech Republic) 28. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea, ELCE Ethiopian Evangelical Lutheran Church, EELC 29. The Lutheran Church of The Gambia, LCG Evangelical Lutheran Church of Guinea, EELG 30. Bible Faith Lutheran Church, BFLC (India) Manipur Evangelical Lutheran Church, MELC (India) 31. The Indonesian Lutheran Christian Church, GKLI West Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church, WJELC 32. Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan, ELCRK Lutheran Church Concordia, LCC (Kyrgyzstan) 33. Malagasy Lutheran Church, FLM (Madagascar) Confessional Lutheran Church—Malawi Synod, CLC—MS 34. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia, ELCM Lutheran Church Synod of Nicaragua, ILSN 35. Evangelical Lutheran Diocese in Norway, DELSIN Evangelical Lutheran Church of Panama, IELPA
15. Portuguese Evangelical Lutheran Church, IELP Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church, SELC (Russia)
36. Evangelical Lutheran Church—Peru, IEL—P Lutheran Mission in Africa—Synod of Thousand Hills, LMA—STH (Rwanda)
16. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria in Russia, ELCIR Free Evangelical Lutheran Synod in South Africa, FELSISA
37. Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church—Sierra Leone, CELC—SL Evangelical Lutheran Church of Spain, IELE
17. Lutheran Church in Southern Africa, LCSA
38. South Sudan Evangelical Lutheran Church, SSELC
Mission Province in Sweden, MPS 39. Confessional Lutheran Church in Switzerland, CLCS South East of Lake Victoria Diocese, SELVD-ELCT (Tanzania) 40. Lutheran Church of East Africa, LCEA (Tanzania) Istanbul Lutheran Church, ILK (Turkey) 41. The Lutheran Ministerium and Synod, LMSUSA (U.S.)
Other Churches, Working toward Faithful Ecumenism (22) 42. Evangelical Lutheran Synod, ELS (U.S.) Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, WELS (U.S.) 43. Bangladesh Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church, BNELC Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belarus, IELCB 44. Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in Burundi, HELCB Confessional Lutheran Church of Colombia, ICC 45. Church of Faithful Confessing Lutherans in Congo, CFCLCO Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, EECMY 46. Gambella Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ethiopia, GELCE Evangelical Lutheran Conference and Ministerium of Kenya, ELCMK 47. Himalayan Evangelical Lutheran Fellowship, HELF (Nepal) Evangelical Lutheran Church Society, DELK (Norway) 48. Norwegian Lutheran Mission, NLM Lutheran Church of Rwanda, LCR 49. Lutheran Church in Singapore, LCS Lutheran Church of the Republic of China, LCROC 50. Lutheran Church of Australia, LCA Japan Lutheran Church, JLC7 51. North American Lutheran Church, NALC (U.S.) Anglican Church in North America, ACNA (U.S.) 52. Anglican Catholic Church, ACC (U.S.) Anglican Province of America, APA (U.S.) Jonathan E. Shaw, Director
Endnotes 1. ICRC 2023, resources.lcms.org/multimedia/international-church relations-conference-2023-video-presentations/. ICRC 2024, resources.lcms.org/multimedia/international-church relations-conference-2024-video-presentations/. 2. The Lutheran World Federation, “Study Guide,” LWF Thirteenth Assembly, Kraków, Poland, September 13–19, 2023, p. 21. 3. Jonathan E.
Shaw, “The Lutheran World Federation Today: Missio Dei, Imago Dei and the Ongoing Reformation” (LCMS, 2024), resources. lcms.org/reading-study/church-relations-the-lutheran-world-federation today/. 4. Jonathan E. Shaw, ed., Women’s Ordination through the Lens of the Apostles’ Creed: A Fraternal Dialogue of the Lutheran Church in Korea and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, rev. ed. (LCMS, 2024), resources.lcms.org/reading-study/lcms-church-relations-booklet-womens ordination-through-the-lens-of-the-apostles-creed/. This book is available in English, Korean, Japanese, Russian, and German.
5. In accordance with Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2 (b) (2), the Synod President recognized LCMS-ICEL altar and pulpit fellowship on May 4, 2025, after consultation with the Praesidium and the CTCR’s vote on Feb. 27, 2025, to recommend recognition of church fellowship between the Synod and ICEL. Fellowship recognition under this bylaw is subject to the endorsement of the subsequent Synod convention, the 69th Regular Convention of the LCMS, scheduled to take place in Phoenix. 6. In accordance with Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2 (b) (2), the CTCR voted on Oct. 7, 2025, to recommend recognition of church fellowship between the LCMS and LM—A. The Synod President deferred action on the CTCR’s fellowship recognition recommendation until the LM—A is formally constituted in convention, scheduled for Aug. 28–30, 2026, and takes up this fellowship issue. 7. At the 68th Regular Convention of the LCMS, in Milwaukee, the Synod passed 2023 Res. 5-07, “To Recognize That the Synod Is Not in Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with the Japan Lutheran Church.” Within the resolution, the Synod committed to JLC discussions, should the JLC so desire, based on reconsidering its practices of WO, open Communion, etc.