Office of National Mission

The Office of National Mission (ONM) coordinates and supports domestic ministries that serve congregations and schools through the districts of the Synod (Bylaw 3.8.2.4). The ONM will enliven, equip, coordinate, and engage congregations, schools, and recognized service organizations (RSOs) through districts in order to enhance their local and regional missions and ministries.

During this triennium, through the districts, the ONM has focused on God’s Mission Here in North America by supporting congregations, schools, and circuits to plant new congregations and schools, strengthen existing congregations and schools, evangelize the lost, retain the faithful, and care for workers (2023 Res. 4-02).

A. Worship LCMS Worship ministry nurtures a culture of confessional faithfulness, artistic excellence, and integrity in the presentation, distribution, and reception of God’s life-giving gifts in Word and Sacrament. Accomplishments over the past triennium: • Hosted the 2024 Institute on Liturgy, Preaching and Church Music with 540 in attendance. Preparations are underway for July 12–16, 2027, at Concordia University Wisconsin.

• Received a $750,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. in support of “Sing, Pray and Keep His Ways,” a five-year project devoted to nurturing child faith through Lutheran worship. Rev. Sean Daenzer, Director

B. Mercy Ministry Area The ONM Mercy Ministry Area takes up the work of LCMS World Relief and Human Care in North America. Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor, Managing Director

B.1. Deaconess Ministry LCMS Deaconess Ministry encourages and supports the formation and professional service of Lutheran women theologically trained to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ through acts of mercy, spiritual care, and teaching the Christian faith under the supervision of a pastor. There are 365 deaconesses on the LCMS roster, which represents an increase of 92 women over the past decade. Accomplishments over the past triennium: • Coordination and consultation with Synod deaconess training programs and RSO programs.

• Created a Post-certification Applied Learning and Support (PALS) program for deaconesses in the first three years after being commissioned. Twenty-four deaconesses have participated in PALS for deaconesses.

B.2. Disaster Response and Training LCMS Disaster Response provides training, resources, and financial assistance to districts, congregations, and RSOs affected by disasters. Accomplishments over the past triennium: • Over 3,200 new Lutheran Early Response Team (LERT) volunteers were trained, and over 72,000 hours were logged by all LERT volunteers.

• The Basic LERT Training underwent significant revision to make it more accessible to interested volunteers.
• Provided 111 grants totaling $3.43 million nationwide to support disaster relief and response (2023 Res. 3-04A).
• Following Hurricane Helene in North Carolina in 2024, awarded 11 grants totaling $714,000 to assist affected ministries (2023 Res. 3-04A).
• After Hurricanes Milton and Helene impacted Florida, provided 9 grants totaling $560,000 to support recovery efforts (2023 Res. 3-04A). Rev. Dr. Ross Johnson and Rev. Michael Meyer, Directors

B.3. Family Ministry The seventh LCMS mission priority is to strengthen and support the Lutheran family in living out God’s design. Accomplishments over the past triennium: • Created over 100 resources to encourage family devotions (2023 Res. 12-02, Res. 12-05) and other supports to the family.

• Developed Created Male and Female resources to address sexual orientation and gender identity; engaged youth on this topic at the LCMS Youth Gathering (2023 Res. 1-04A).
• Holding a Family Summit on Manhood/Fatherhood in spring 2026 (2023 Res. 12-05). Plans for the next triennium:
• Encourage congregations, districts, and RSOs through new and existing initiatives targeted to Tell the Next Generation.
• Continue to provide Created Male and Female resources.
• Create resources to support the family. Rev. Andrew Becker, Manager

B.4. Grant making ONM offers grants to aid LCMS congregations, RSOs, and districts to vigorously make known the love of Christ by word and deed within our churches and communities. In the past triennium, ONM awarded 74 national development grants totaling $1,626,251.67 to benefit projects throughout the U.S. Deaconess Maryann Hayter, Manager

B.5. Life Ministry Through LCMS Life Ministry, the Body of Christ comes together to value all human life—from conception to natural death. LCMS Life Ministry speaks up for life, cares for people in body and soul, and teaches about the sanctity of human life. Accomplishments over the past triennium: • •

In 2023–25, the Life Ministry matching grant program gave 61 grant awards to congregations and districts to support education, advocacy, and local pro-life human care efforts with emphasis on beginning of life needs. Estimates are that 38,100 people were served by 2,512 volunteers. LCMS grants totaling $500,496.75 were disbursed to match congregational contributions of $618,083.12 for a total of $1,115,579.87 (2023 Res. 3-01). Facilitated LCMS participation in 42 different Marches for Life at the national, state, and local level. The estimated number of participants in 2024–25 is 4,780 Lutherans.

through congregational health ministries. Accomplishments over the past triennium: • Collaboration with the LCMS Parish Nurse Council that coordinates the districts’ parish nurse leaders and health initiatives; supported the annual meeting of district parish nurse representatives. There are currently 277 parish nurses serving in 33 districts.

• Created mental health resources (see the separate Report R60 on 2023 Res. 3-03A).

B.7. Recognized Service Organizations The granting of RSO status by the Synod signifies that a service organization, while independent of the Synod, fosters the mission and ministry of the Church, engages in program activity that extends the mission and ministry of the Synod, is in harmony with the programs of the boards of the Synod, and respects and does not act contrary to the doctrine and practice of the Synod (Bylaw 6.2.1). These organizations serve nationally and internationally as they extend the mission and ministry of the LCMS by providing acts of mercy, witness, and education. There are currently 339 RSOs. Over the past triennium, 95 organizations have received status, of which 30 were new organizations applying for RSO status and 65 were renewing RSO organizations. There were 47 RSOs terminated of RSO status and four applications were denied. Deaconess Dorothy Krans, Director

B.8. Specialized Spiritual Care Ministry Specialized Pastoral Ministry (SPM) was renamed as Specialized Spiritual Care Ministry in 2023 to reflect the variety of special contexts the ecclesiastically endorsed roster ed church workers serve in, such as civilian chaplaincy roles, counselors, and clinical spiritual care educators. These workers bring the love of Christ through compassionate spiritual care to individuals in hospitals and health care facilities; long-term care facilities; senior communities; prisons; law enforcement, fire, and rescue agencies; disaster response; and workplaces. Accomplishments over the past triennium: • Ecclesiastically endorsed 25 church workers.

• Three calls issued through the Board for National Mission.
• Launched Lutheran Visitation Education, a distinctly LCMS training program for roster ed church workers that is recognized as a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) equivalent course.
• Distributed 34 Prison Ministry kits to inmates and LCMS prison chaplains for visitation, services, and pastoral care.

Plans for the next triennium:

• Published podcast episodes, conference sessions, and resources to respond to human trafficking (2023 Res. 3-02A).
• Continue to train workers through Lutheran Visitation Education annually.
• Held a conference in 2025, conducted web in ars, provided training, and published new resources (2023 Res. 3-01).
• Provide resources and training for Prison Ministry with the generous support of the LWML (2023 Omnibus Res. A).
• Consulted and collaborated with the Commission on Theology and Church Relations to address abortion and use of fetal tissue in vaccines (2023 Res. 11-04). Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor, Director

B.6. Health Ministry LCMS Health Ministry works to support and promote Christ-centered health and wellness of body, mind, and spirit

Rev. Brian Heller, Director

B.9. Worker Well-Being The Synod’s fifth mission priority is to promote and nurture the spiritual, emotional, financial, and physical well-being of pastors and professional church workers. Accomplishments over the past triennium: • Collaborated with Concordia Plan Services and districts to create a strategic plan that addresses the wellness of church workers and assisted with the development of a District Wellness Initiative (2023 Res. 1-06A). • •

• Created new resources and developed a pilot program to assist congregational lay leaders in creating a loving and supportive culture (2023 Res. 1-06A). Soldiers of the Cross provided $241,705 in financial assistance to 98 roster ed church workers; Veterans of the Cross provided $717,751 to 30 recipients. $474,200 in grants were issued for district programs and to RSOs, including DOXOLOGY, Shepherd’s Canyon, and Grace Point Relational Health, that provide wellness programs and services to roster ed church workers.

Plans for the next triennium: • Address the wellness needs of young church workers identified in 2024 research.

• Continue the District Wellness Initiative roll-out to all districts. Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor, Director
• As of Nov. 2025, there are 92 church plants either active or building to activity (2023 Res. 1-03A).
• Church Planting Workshops for seminarians at both seminaries (2023 Res. 1-03A).
• Work is being done to launch more education and training for church planting teams (2023 Res. 1-03A). Rev. Quintin Cundiff, Director

C.3. Discipleship Ministry LCMS Discipleship Ministry is focused on supporting congregations through their districts as they develop lifelong disciples of Jesus. Discipleship Ministry offers resources that address both the “gathering” and the “shepherding” aspects of Jesus’ Great Commission. Accomplishments over the past triennium: • Promoted witness, outreach, and revitalization through Every One His Witness and re:Vitality workshops that provide training for church workers and laypeople in strategic planning, meaningful community outreach, and ministry to inactive members (2023 Res. 6-04).

• Gathered and shared resources to aid small congregations and multi-congregation pastors and parishes with Partnership Project resources (2023 Res. 1-02A).
• The process for using the Congregational Assessment of Development/Decline Status (CADDS) self-assessment tool has been reworked to enable more widespread use as districts and congregations have increased use of this tool.

C. Witness Ministry Area The ONM Witness Ministry Area supports the local mission work that proclaims Christ in congregations and schools including urban areas, on college campuses, in rural areas and small towns, and among people of different ethnicities. Rev. Michael Meyer, Managing Director

C.1. All Nations Ministry

• All Nations Ministry equips churches to reach out to people “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev. 7:9). Whether black, Hispanic, Native American, or of another ethnicity, all people need to hear the saving message of Jesus Christ. United in Christ, LCMS members gather together in worship and reach out to more than 60 ethnic and 45 language groups in the U.S. Accomplishments over the past triennium: • Increased collaboration and wellness among leaders of ethnic ministries through the All Nations Council, through publication of an online directory and dashboard, and by providing grants for conferences and outreach (2023 Res. 1-05A).
• Provided visitation, consultation, encouragement, and support to ethnic ministries throughout the U.S. (2023 Res. 1-05A).
• Developed new multilingual materials for witness and discipleship plus a new catalog of existing materials in order to facilitate utilization.
• Plans for the next triennium:

Working with CPH for a scholarly book focused on the work of the LCMS in disc ip ling peoples of all ethnicities, languages, and skin colors (2023 Res. 11-03A).

Rev. Dr. Heath Trampe, Director

C.4. Stewardship Ministry LCMS Stewardship Ministry continues to provide workshops, conferences, and resources to help pastors and congregations teach and practice faithful stewardship in their own settings. Four pastors have been trained to be circuit and district presenters.

C.5. School Ministry LCMS School Ministry assists, equips, and uplifts school educators, district staff, and especially education executives, as well as congregational leaders so that through them children may be equipped as disciples of Jesus Christ. There are 1,664 early childhood centers, 722 elementary schools, and 114 high schools in the LCMS. Accomplishments over the past triennium: • National Lutheran School Accreditation (NLSA): 674 schools are accredited (early childhood centers, K–8 schools, and high schools).

• Conducting Genesis Project studies as requested to help congregations discern the feasibility and mission effectiveness of starting a school.
• School Leadership Development Program (SLED) has continued to form faithful, mission-driven administrators; expanded support for early childhood directors through the Early Childhood SLED initiative.
• Facilitated a special offering to support grants by Ministry Focus for student debt of Commissioned Minister—Teachers

Rev. Stephen Heimer, Manager

C.2. Church Planting LCMS Church Planting comes alongside districts and their new church plants to support church planting teams with resources, training, and tools. Eligible church plants are able to apply for grant funds made possible through the generosity of the Bolick Foundation. Accomplishments over the past triennium:

New re:Vitality workshops focused on assimilation and incorporation of members, and a workshop on outreach for churches with schools.

R1.2.2

(2023 Res. 12-03A). • Lutheran school curriculum standards for core subject areas have been created and distributed (2023 Res. 12-01A).

• Increased consultation services and resources for classical Lutheran schools, micro schools, and Lutheran home school cooperatives. Vacant

C.6. Youth Ministry LCMS Youth Ministry faithfully leads, serves, resources, and networks youth and adults—working through districts and congregations—with Christ and His gifts at the heart and center of everything. Accomplishments over the past triennium: • LCMS Youth Ministry hosted the LCMS Youth Gathering July 19–23, 2025. Almost 1,300 LCMS congregation were represented as over 19,000 youth and adults met in New Orleans, La., under the theme “ENDURE,” based on Heb. 12:1–3. Over 1,000 program planners, volunteers, exhibitors, speakers, and special guests provided planning, program elements, and support.

• “Youth Lead” (formerly Lutheran Youth Fellowship) held the annual leadership training in 2024, 2025, and 2026 in St. Louis, Mo. Around 350 youth and adults attended these four trainings.
• In November 2023, the LCMS received a $250,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment to support efforts to help member congregations utilize effective ministry practices with youth.
• LCMS Servant Events hosted by Synod camps and congregations provided opportunities for young people to serve in the name of Jesus and build relationships and skills. Rev. Dr. Mark Kiessling, Director

C.7. Campus Ministry LCMS Campus Ministry works through LCMS U, an initiative to connect and support Lutheran students as they head off to college and face countless challenges to their biblical worldview, doctrine, ethics, and practices. Accomplishments over the past triennium: • Held two campus ministry staff gatherings since the last convention, engaging a total of 92 participants.

• Awarded eight grants to eight ministries so far this year, totaling $15,220. Daniel M. Galchutt, Executive Director

Office of International Mission The death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ for sinners is not merely the cornerstone of our faith—it is the very foundation of the Church’s mission. Because Christ lives, we proclaim His triumph over sin, death, and the devil to the ends of the earth. This proclamation is not by human creation, but by divine commission, entrusted to the Church through the Word and Sacraments. Because Christ lives, the Church lives. And because He reigns, the Church is sent—to baptize, to preach, to teach, to administer the Sacraments, and to plant. We who confess the one true faith—rooted in the Holy Scriptures and articulated in the Book of Concord—go forth not with our own message, but with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This Gospel mission is never abstract. It takes shape in congregations—faithful assemblies gathered around the Means of Grace, where sinners are forgiven, saints are nourished, disciples are made, and the Church is built. The Office of International Mission (OIM), under the guidance of the Board for International Mission and the leadership of the Synod President, carries out this Christ-given task to the nations. Its work is not driven by trends or strategies, but by the clear teaching of Scripture as it is expressed in the Book of Concord. Its goal is not merely to send workers, but to plant and strengthen faithful Lutheran churches that will endure for generations. The OIM’s threefold mission—spread the Gospel, plant Lutheran churches, and show mercy—is deeply in car national and profoundly ecclesial. This work prepares pastors and deaconesses, equips lay workers, supports theological education, and fosters long-term relationships that lead to lasting, indigenous Lutheran congregations. Our goal is not to export American Christianity, but to plant Lutheran churches faithful to Christ and His Word.

A. Because Christ Is Risen, We Plant The OIM’s stated over arching task to plant Lutheran churches is simple but not easy. To plant Lutheran churches that boldly confess Christ crucified and risen. Churches that preach justification by grace through faith. Churches where pastors administer the Sacraments rightly and preach the Law and Gospel clearly, where catechesis is deep, and where liturgy shapes and forms the faithful. Planting such churches takes sacrifice. Our OIM missionaries, in sacrificial service to the Lord and the Church, often miss family gatherings, sell all earthly treasures, and forfeit quality time spent with a dying loved one. Our OIM missionaries, both pastoral and lay, deserve our deepest gratitude and support. Today, over 100 LCMS missionaries serve in 34 countries. About half of OIM’s missionaries serve as pastors—men called and ordained to preach Christ and administer His Sacraments. The other half serve faithfully as educators, deaconesses, and skilled lay workers. These missionaries are joined by 15 alliance missionaries—workers from our sister Lutheran churches around the world who serve with us in unity of confession and fidelity to the Lutheran doctrine we hold dear. Thanks be to God for all OIM missionaries faithfully serving together for the good of Christ’s kingdom. Additional thanks are given to God as nearly two-thirds of our missionaries have served for more than five years in the field—double the average among other sending organizations. This longevity is not accidental. It is the fruit of careful support, faithful formation,

and the Church’s steadfast prayers. Financially, the Lord has also provided—our missionary support reserves now cover nearly 12 months of expenses. This blessing is largely due to the efforts of LCMS Mission Advancement and, especially, Mission Central in Iowa, whose servants donate countless hours engaging donors in support of our missionaries; all of which bears witness to the Lord’s faithfulness and the generosity of His people. The mission of the Church is not a short-term project—it is a generational task. As the Holy Spirit tarries, His Church continues to go, preach, teach, baptize, and administer His gifts, confident that our labor is never in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). We plant today so that others may harvest tomorrow. Over the last triennium, in an effort to more fully prepare our missionaries, the OIM has given renewed attention to theological education. Through OIM’s custom curriculum titled Unpacking Lutheran Mission, we’ve ensured that our missionaries and staff are formed by a distinctly Lutheran missiology—one grounded not in human innovation, but in our Lord’s command and promise: “Go therefore and make disciples … teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19–20). In response to 2023 Resolution 2-07A and in order to make disciples, OIM offers the opportunity for LCMS districts, congregations, recognized service organizations (RSOs), short-term teams, and others to participate in the Synod’s international mission work through the FORO model. Presently, every OIM region offers a FORO, and more will be rolled out in the coming years. As we look ahead, the harvest remains plentiful. The need for faithful Book of Concord Lutheran churches is urgent. Requests from our sister churches are growing. To meet these needs, OIM is preparing to expand our net missionary corps to 150 over the next three years. This is no small goal. But neither is the task small. The call to plant Lutheran churches must be met with doctrinal integrity, pastoral formation, a faithful and well-catechized laity, and robust support from God’s people. We are deeply grateful for those who walk alongside us—our seminaries, Concordia universities, districts, congregations, the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, the Office of National Mission, Concordia Plans, RSOs, LCMS Foundation, the Lutheran Church Extension Fund, and countless individuals. The boards and officers of the Synod have given sound guidance and accountability to ensure this work is carried out in good order and with transparency. As we gather in convention, we give thanks—not for numbers or reports, but for Christ’s steadfast faithfulness. Every congregation planted, every new believer baptized, every catechism translated, every font, altar, and pulpit established—these are signs of the Lord’s living and active Word at work through His Church. Let us go forward together—pastors and laity, congregations and districts, auxiliaries and units—committed to the faithful planting of Lutheran churches, where the pure Gospel is preached, the Sacraments rightly administered, and our confession of Christ rings clear for all to hear. Let us continue to spread the Gospel, plant Lutheran churches, and show mercy. And let us do so with joy, confidence, and boldness, for Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

B. Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Region The LAC Region is comprised of Central and South America as well as the Caribbean. This year, we celebrated our 125th year since starting mission work in Brazil. Missionary church planting has led to the LCMS having 10 partner churches in our region, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Bolivia, Venezuela, Mexico, Haiti, Guatemala, and Uruguay. After 14 years of working closely with the Iglesia Cristiana Ev angelica Luterana Boliviana (ICEL), altar and pulpit fellowship was declared by Rev. Dr. President Matthew C. Harrison in St. Louis in May 2024. Our missionaries directly support church planting in 10 countries or are a step removed by preparing pastors for these church plants. While we plant churches, we do not create national churches. Our work is to throw out the seed with reckless abandon, purposely and intentionally gather in those who respond to the Gospel around Word and Sacrament, as that is where Jesus has promised to be and give of His life-giving signs and gifts for the forgiveness of sins. The Lord of the harvest has continued to provide alliance missionaries, particularly from our partner church of Brazil (IELB), for which we are grateful. An alliance missionary is a pastor from a partner church who is called and sent by our partner church to work alongside LCMS missionaries in the planting of churches under our supervision and support. We are grateful for these dedicated men and their families, who faithfully teach alongside our LCMS missionaries.

B.1. Spread the Gospel The Gospel always seeks free course, and serious missionary efforts are always intentional and involve the throwing out of the Gospel in a variety of fashions, which include literature, continuing education courses, Luther Academy, and other missionary ventures. VDMA (Verbum Domini manet in aeternum, the Word of the Lord endures forever) is a digital initiative of LCMS Mission LAC to provide solid Lutheran orthodox literature to pastors in 22 countries. To date, there are 420 pastors and seminarians who receive free theological works in Spanish and Portuguese in exegesis, practice, history, and doctrine. More than 54 books have been released to Latino seminarians and pastors, whereas previously, Latino pastors only had an average of three Lutheran books. A team of 35 translators and editors continue to translate and provide these resources under the capable leadership of Deaconess Cheryl Naumann, who has ably directed this initiative at the behest of the VDMA committee for the past 10 years. Partners include Concordia Publishing House, Lutheran Heritage Foundation, Lutheran Academy, and many others. Though these books are sent digitally, LCMS Mission also sends physical copies to 40 libraries across North America, as well as South America, in the hope that students and the like will find these and be exposed to good Lutheran theology. Many of these VDMA books can be found on Amazon for a minimum price of $1 to $3, and more than 2,500 such books have been sold across a dozen countries, making excellent Lutheran literature available to anyone interested. We are thankful to report that all eight volumes of the Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics series are now in Spanish; two are in Portuguese, with another three in production. We are also thankful for the ebook of our new Spanish hymnal, Himnario Luterano, which can be purchased online via Amazon and used on one’s tablet or cellphone,making this hymnal, the use of which the Synod encouraged in the last convention (2023 Res. 4-04), even more versatile, especially in mission settings where it is difficult to make accessible physical books across Latin America. Luther Academy courses, in coordination with executive Rev. Dr. Bennett and Rev. Carlos Schumann, also continue to be taught yearly across the Americas. In the last triennium, 34 theological conferences have been held involving 19 countries and more than 600 pastors and seminarians across 15 countries.

B.2. Plant Lutheran Churches The planting of Lutheran churches is the primary focus of LCMS LAC, as we are committed to bringing to the people in the countries that we serve the fullness of the Gospel as confessed in our liturgy, creeds, Law and Gospel preaching, pastoral care, Small Catechism, and instruction in Christian righteousness. Church planting continues, as in the last triennium, in Belize, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, and Puerto Rico. Our missionaries also assist in planting Lutheran churches in Mexico and Uruguay. At the time of this writing, 50 LCMS and alliance missionaries are actively planting Lutheran churches. In 2025 alone, we have seen 12 new missionaries join the work in LAC, which is the largest influx of missionaries in one year in the past six years. Twelve districts, perhaps hundreds of congregations, RSOs, Rev. Dr. Ross Johnson of Disaster Response, and individuals from Synod visit our mission sites twice a year during FORO meetings to receive reports, attend worship, study theology, and review the work that is presented to them. In Cuba, we have seen our work expand from one pastor to three, with an additional two men currently studying, a deaconess, and five more preparing for dia con al work. We are also glad to report that the Sinodo Luterano Mexico has grown from three pastors a decade ago to 10, with another five studying and potentially another six joining the Concordia Seminary (CMSCR) in the Dominican Republic Seminary next year. In LAC, an average of 30 short-term teams support church planting. A secondary goal is to have 50 percent of our teams focus on mission education, strengthening our laity in their understanding of Lutheran missions both abroad and at home. Our capacity to handle short-term teams in proximity to Lutheran church plants through our FOROs has allowed us to see an average of 50 teams a year with 25 to 30 of those being handled by our LCMS missionary coordinators and the rest through RSO partners such as the Belize Mission Society, Ysleta, and MOST. We are grateful for these partnerships with our RSOs at our FOROs and their collaboration in placing their teams in proximity to our church plants. Special thanks to Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, for sending nearly 100 seminarians and deaconess students to the Dominican Republic for three consecutive years for mission education on short-term teams. Likewise, through an initiative by the Office of the President, 10 new district presidents were in the Dominican Republic in 2025 with Rev. Dr. Cory Rajek to learn of the work of LCMS Mission around the world and how to partner with her in her worldwide work. New Lutheran church plants in the past three years are found in Choluteca, Honduras; Havana, Cuba; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Tijuana, Mexico; Chetumal, Mexico; San Pedro Peralta, Mexico;

La Chorrera, Panama; Cienfuegos, Santiago, Dominican Republic; Salto, Uruguay; and Canelones, Uruguay. The planting of Lutheran churches requires that a missionary be prepared and supported in this task. As such, our Language Institute, which teaches missionaries Spanish and English, is in its tenth year. A missionary needs, through the Network Support Mission model, to have an average of 150 donors before deploying to the Dominican Republic for orientation. Once they arrive in the DR for orientation, missionaries engage in four months of intensive language learning, cultural adaptation, and studying of religious currents in Latin America. They also make visits, preach, and the like. Following this, they deploy to their field of service, often still learning Spanish and beginning their church-planting work. Human Care missionaries, Deaconess nurse Tirzah Krey and Deaconess nurse Jamielynn Tinkey Flores, lead the human care circle. Rev. Dr. Jonathan Naumann and Rev. Dan Conrad, both veteran pastors and missionaries, serve as chaplains to our English- and Spanish-speaking missionaries and serve as professors at CMSCR. This human care circle advocates for our missionaries, helping them obtain visas, housing, and access to medical services, helping them with finances, helping them find education for their children, and the like. Our average tenure of missionary service in LAC is 6.9 years, potentially the highest average achieved in the past 20 years. The human care circle continues to directly contribute to the longevity of missionaries continuing to serve in LAC. LCMS Mission LAC Human Care also supports a once-a-year missionary conference, which this past year was held in St. Louis in recognition of the LCMS mission work that began in Brazil in 1900 with missionary Mahler. Concordia Historical Institute partnered with the LAC region under the banner “Remember, Repent, Rejoice” and has upheld Brazilian missionary work in its main exhibit for 2025–26. All of our missionaries were made CHI members. Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly dedicated its spring issue to missionary essays. Additionally, Krey and Naumann published a missionary book of eight historical essays of LCMS LAC work in her mission fields. We are grateful to Altenberg and historic Trinity in St. Louis for allowing us to use the two chalices that were brought from Germany with the Saxons for our Divine Service in those churches as we visited our American Lutheran roots and studied with Rev. Dr. Lawrence Rast the early church planting efforts of LCMS and the founding of her seminaries.

B.2.a. Theological Education CMSCR is in its ninth year of existence. Forty-four men have graduated from our residential and online (Formación Pastoral para Hispanoamérica, FPH) programs, and via colloquy since its inception. In May 2026, we anticipate the graduation of 13 pastoral students. Twelve men are currently in the pastoral residential program, which teaches men to be evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. In this four-year program, men study Greek and Hebrew and receive four classes in the Lutheran confessions. Additionally, 16 men are currently in the FPH online program, which is also a joint program with the Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Specific Ministry Pastor Program in Spanish/English. In July 2026, we await with joy the graduation of our first seven men from the FPQ program in Bolivia, which is in the Quechua language. We anticipate 10–12 new men entering in our residential pastoral program this September 2026. Our ninth annual symposia is focused on church planting, in which Rev. Dr. Detlev Schulz’s book Mission from the Cross will be presented in Spanish, and church planters from LAC and missionaries alike will participate.

In this past triennium, we graduated 50 deaconess students from our second cohort, bringing our total to 146 graduates from the three-year program. Sixty-nine dia con al students from 11 countries have completed their first year of studies. This year, we launched our Phoebe Academy in three countries, which focuses on encouraging deaconesses in the Word, fellowship, and dia con al work. The goal is yearly to offer courses, Bible studies, workshops, and special studies as requested in different church bodies and mission fields. A Lutheran teacher program is being built and, Lord willing, will be launched in this next triennium to bolster Lutheran identity in our schools across the region. LCMS Mission and the Lutheran Church Extension Fund, in coordination with Rev. Kevin Robson and Rev. Bart Day, have partnered with Concordia Seminary, Argentina, to remodel a portion of their seminary to expand their capacity to receive students and to rent a portion of their property, enabling the seminary to support an additional professor. Currently, the LCMS Mission endorses the salary of one professor at Concordia Seminary, Argentina. These remodels will contribute toward the seminary’s goal to pursue accreditation for its pastoral students for the first time.

B.3. Show Mercy Our Mercy Center in the Dominican Republic (an institute of CMSCR) offers 10 workshops for the laity. New workshops are on Stewardship, Marriage, and the Himnario Luterano. These workshops are taught across the region and in 15 countries, as requested by pastors or partner churches, with an average of 15 workshops offered each year. These are meant to help laypeople be a force for mercy in their homes, workplaces, and communities. Our deaconess graduates work with Lutheran Hour Ministries, Sunday School, Lutheran schools, after-school programs, Vacation Bible School, and youth programs. They also work at hospitals, conduct home visits with elderly people, visit group homes for people with disabilities, and help out at soup kitchens and any other places where the marginalized are found. Mercy houses in Belize, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela include Lutheran schools, group homes, after-school programs, food kitchens, and disaster-relief centers. In each of these areas, the Gospel is offered alongside bodily care. Haiti continues to be a challenging situation with a weak government in place. Our Haitian Lutheran Church continues to serve its people in dire circumstances, and LCMS Mission strives financially to support the six districts there twice a year. The Venezuelan exile now exceeds 8 million people and is the single largest exodus of people from one country in the Western hemisphere since World War II. LCMS Mission continues to support the faithful work of its partner church in Venezuela by forming pastors, preparing deaconesses, and working with the board of directors of the Iglesia Luterana Venezuela (ILV) in its ministry and mission needs through the FORO in Venezuela. We strive to connect Lutheran immigrants with our LCMS missions around LAC and assist these refugees as they settle in their new countries. We continue to work with our partner church in Chile to send tens of thousands of dollars in medicine to Venezuela through Lutheran communities and their neighbors throughout the year.

C. Eurasia Region The Eurasia region of the Office of International Mission remains, geographically, the largest of the four global regions, encompassing all of Europe, the Middle East, the countries of the former Soviet Union, Mongolia, Pakistan, and Israel. In 2025, the region was served by 28 missionary families (up from 25 in 2024), two alliance missionaries, and a growing network of indigenous pastors and deaconesses working with 14 sister church bodies in altar and pulpit fellowship and numerous emerging confessional Lutheran groups. Key long-standing sister churches include the Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Germany, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England (ELCE), the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (LELB), the Evangelic A.2 al Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, the Evangelical Lutheran Church–Synod of France, and several others. The LCMS enjoys a mutually productive partnership with sister churches in theological education, church planting, and mercy. The strategic plan continues to be shaped by the three pillars that have guided the work for more than a decade: spread the Gospel, plant Lutheran churches, and show mercy. Church planting remains the keystone, for the planted congregation is the place where the Word is preached in its purity and the Sacraments are faithfully administered and from which mercy flows to the neighbor. This approach ensures that efforts are rooted in the Lutheran Confessions, as churches address challenges like sanctions, refugee crises, and restricted access while advancing proclamation.

C.1. Spread the Gospel The Lord is fulfilling this promise in dramatic ways across Eurasia. Over 2,000 Persian (Iranian and Afghan) converts have been baptized in Germany in recent years, with Trinity Lutheran Church in Berlin-Steglitz now numbering approximately 1,600 members, 80 percent of whom worship in Farsi. Complete Farsi liturgy, catechisms, and hymnody are available online (nu rez ende gi. org) and are used even inside Iran. Ukrainian refugees (over 1 million in Germany alone since 2022) receive Word and Sacrament care in Wittenberg and other cities, with services and catechesis in Ukrainian and Russian. English-language “expat project” congregations, or “home missions abroad,” serve military communities and internationals while reaching locals, particularly near U.S. bases in Frankfurt, Kaiserslautern, Spangdahlem, and new plants. In restricted access Central Asia and the Middle East, dedicated missionaries proclaim Christ at some personal risk, using relational approaches like English classes and other aids to communicate the Gospel.

C.1.a. Theological Education Translation of confessional Lutheran resources into Farsi, Hebrew, Italian, Romanian, Russian, Greek, Czech, and other languages continues at an accelerated pace, placing the unique message of Christ crucified and raised for our justification into the hands and hearts of people who have never before had access to it. Missionaries of the Eurasia region are collaborating in the development of a software index system for translations of the Book of Concord and other Lutheran resources across 21 languages. The Riga Luther Academy (in partnership with the LELB) serves as the primary engine for pastoral education. Its hybrid English-language Bachelor of Theology (BTh) program—combining online coursework, biannual residential intensives in Riga and Wittenberg, and on-field mentoring by LCMS missionaries—now serves 44 pastoral candidates from more than a dozen countries. This program is effective in restricted-access nations and diaspora communities, including Kazakhstan and Pakistan. The Old Latin School in Wittenberg functions as the Eurasia Center for Spreading the Gospel, hosting regional conferences and respite. It is being prepared for continuing education events, missionary orientation “boot camps,” and residential intensives. Additional continuing education courses and regional conferences, such as dia con al seminars and pastoral conferences in Palanga (Lithuania), Rome, Braşov (Romania), Oslo, and other cities, are offered annually in partnership with LCMS seminaries and regional theologians.

Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, medical projects and English teaching connect people to local Lutheran congregations. Orphan care in Kazakhstan and support for Ukrainian refugees across Europe point to the crucified and risen Christ, who gave Himself for the life of the world. In Central Europe and Central Asia, short-term volunteer teams from the LCMS assist with Vacation Bible Schools, mercy clinics, clothing drives, and church renovations. In every case, mercy is offered in close proximity to the Gospel so that body and soul are cared for together and new believers are folded into planted Lutheran congregations.

C.1.b. Literature and Publishing

From the British Isles to Central Asia, and from the Arctic Circle to the Holy Land, the Lord continues to open doors no human hand can. The Eurasia region gives heartfelt thanks for the Synod’s faithful partnership that sustains this extraordinary season of Gospel proclamation, church planting, and works of mercy.

Through literature and publishing, efforts include the Persian Project’s full Farsi liturgy, Small Catechism, and growing hymnal (nu rez ende gi.org). The new confessional Lutheran congregation in Tel Aviv is translating the Book of Concord and liturgical materials into Hebrew. The seminal work of Romanian pastors has spread to several other countries, including Hungary, where a new church is being planted. In Italy, the first confessional Lutheran hymnal is nearing completion. Many of these local projects are being replicated in dozens of languages across the region to stimulate both new mission activity and underground believers who live in restricted nations.

C.2. Plant Lutheran Churches Following the apostolic pattern, the region continues to plant and strengthen confessional Lutheran congregations. Active church plants and preaching stations now exist in Spain (12 congregations and growing), Italy (Rome, Padua, and 5 stations), Romania (Bucharest, Braşov, Suceava, and a station on Cluj-Napoca), Bulgaria (Sofia), Greece (Thessaloniki), Turkey (Istanbul), Moldova (Chisenau and Cahul), Hungary (Budapest), Israel (Tel Aviv), Ireland (Cork), Pakistan (three students who will soon be ordained), and several cities in Germany serving Persian, Ukrainian, and English-speaking communities. Major milestones since the last convention include the February 2024 ordination of a new pastor to serve a church plant in Sofia, Bulgaria; the May 2024 ordination of a new pastor in Moldova; and the ordinations of Luther Academy—Riga students, who serve in Rome. Lutheranism in Spain continues to grow, with two LCMS alliance missionaries and the recent commissioning of eight Spanish deaconesses. Germany is experiencing rapid growth among Persian converts, and missionaries are strategically placed to raise up pastoral candidates to carry mission to Farsi speakers throughout the world. Ukrainian refugee ministry in Wittenberg and other German cities provides spiritual care to established communities in Ukrainian and Russian. English-language “expat project” congregations near U.S. military communities in Frankfurt, Kaiserslautern, and several new plants serve as a base for outreach to internationals and locals. New church plants are sprouting up in Ireland, Poland, Hungary, and Moldova.

C.3. Show Mercy Mercy is never detached from the Gospel but flows from congregations where Christ is rightly preached and the Sacraments are rightly administered. Persian refugees in Germany receive church asylum, language training, and integration assistance alongside Baptism and catechesis. Three pro-life counseling centers in Russia—Ingria Hope in St. Petersburg and Faith and Hope in Novosibirsk, partnering with local churches—continue to offer alternatives to abortion and care for mothers and children despite sanctions. In

D. Africa Region The OIM Africa region spreads the Gospel, plants Lutheran churches, and shows mercy in more than 25 countries on the African continent. Among those countries, the LCMS has connections to more than 45 Book of Concord–confessing and conservative Lutheran church bodies and a very small handful of less conservative Lutheran church bodies seeking a deeper understanding of Lutheran identity. LCMS work in Africa takes place through these Lutheran church bodies and is responsive to their priorities, strategies, goals, and objectives. The most frequent requests presented to the LCMS seek support for the formation of church workers and support for the showing of mercy and compassion. Through these relationships and our mutual work, the LCMS proclaims with the local church, Christ is risen, indeed! The OIM Africa region is served by eight deployed LCMS missionary families, four alliance missionaries from sister churches in Brazil and Finland, and three local workers in the regional field office in Kenya. This may be the smallest regional team the LCMS has assigned to work in Africa since the initial deployments of missionaries to West Africa almost a century ago. The LCMS remains committed to deploying missionaries to Africa to meet the 40-plus requests from the churches with whom we work (teachers, nurses, IT specialists, theological educators, deaconesses, language teachers, etc.); the program openings to oversee and implement region-wide endeavors (volunteer coordinators, conference coordinators, area visitors, etc.); and the needs of the LCMS, serving both the missionary force and the Synod at large (team chaplains, missionary care coordinators, communication specialists, business managers, etc.). Recruiting efforts are underway through various channels, including direct recruitment by the OIM recruiting team, direct mailings, and through the Synod’s publications. Read an appeal letter from Africa’s regional director in The Lutheran Witness, November 2025. Although the LCMS team in Africa is small, the work is expansive. The LCMS has 10 altar and pulpit fellowship sister churches on the continent: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK), the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia, the Lutheran Church of Nigeria (LCN), the Confessional Lutheran Church of South Africa, the Free Evangelical Synod in South Africa (FELSISA), the Lutheran Church of Southern Africa (LCSA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Sudan/Sudan (ELCSS-S), the Lutheran Church of Togo/Eglise Luthérienne du Togo (ELT), and the Lutheran Church of Uganda. Beyond these 10 altar and pulpit fellowship

sister churches, there are an additional 35 church bodies currently identified as theologically compatible with the LCMS, a few new church bodies in the process of forming, conservative districts and dioceses of larger Lutheran churches that have a breadth of theological expression, and even a couple church bodies not theologically compatible with the LCMS but deeply interested in learning about Book of Concord Lutheranism. Among all these relationships, the LCMS Africa team seeks to spread the Gospel, plant Lutheran churches, and show mercy such that the call Christ is risen, indeed! goes out far and wide.

D.1. Spread the Gospel The OIM Africa region supports spreading the Gospel throughout the many church bodies it works with. The endeavor is multifaceted, broad, and strategic. Collaborations with church bodies, RSOs, districts, congregations, auxiliaries, system schools, and other institutions provide the opportunity and the necessary resources for the Gospel message to reach the un reached. Church bodies like The Lutheran Mission in Africa—Synod of Thousand Hills (LMA-STH) in Rwanda began radio programming supported by LCMS grants during COVID-19 lockdowns. This Book of Concord church body recognized an opportunity to use radio programming to reach not only their members across the country but also the un reached. Since 2020, the clergy of the LMA-STH have hosted a live 30-minute weekly radio program, which includes Scripture, a devotion, and engagement with the audience by taking calls on-air. Through this program, the church spreads the Gospel of Jesus Christ across the radio station’s nationwide audience of millions, proclaiming, Christ is risen, indeed! Through the regional translation committee, opportunities to translate evangelistic materials, children’s books, and theological resources are prioritized based on the strategic emphases and areas of mission focus. These projects are coordinated with Lutheran Heritage Foundation, an RSO that closely collaborates with the LCMS OIM Africa region on translation projects. Through this partnership over the past triennium, with funding from the 2023 National Offering, the region supported the following translations projects and printing runs: the Small Catechism En chi rid ion in Swahili (East Africa) and Kuria (Kenya); the full Small Catechism with questions and answers in Swahili (East Africa), Lulogooli (Kenya), and Moba (Togo); the Large Catechism in Tonga (Zambia); the Smalcald Articles in Tshiluba (DRC), Kinyarwanda (Rwanda), and Rundi (Burundi); the Apology of the Augsburg Confession in Dholuo (Kenya), Luba-Lulua (DRC), Tshiluba (DRC), Kinyarwanda (Rwanda), and Rundi (Burundi); the Book of Concord in Malagasy (Madagascar); A Summary of Christian Doctrine in Swahili (East Africa); Pastoral Care Companion in Swahili (East Africa); Jesus Never Fails in Kuria (Kenya); and A Children’s Garden of Bible Stories in Ateso (Uganda).

D.2. Plant Lutheran Churches Most of the church bodies collaborating with the LCMS are experiencing rapid growth, with congregations springing up due to migration of Lutherans to new areas, engagement with Lutheran media, or intentional church planting strategies. Those congregations quickly appeal to their church officers for a pastor to be assigned to them, presenting a significant challenge to the churches with whom the LCMS works. This is a good problem to have. There are so many congregations being established so quickly that there aren’t enough pastors to care for them all! Most pastors in the Lutheran churches in Africa oversee between five and fifteen

congregations each, visiting their congregations as they are able to, although the challenges of travel and the cost of travel prevent frequent visits in many contexts. Church leaders in the region recognize that where the Word is proclaimed—Christ is risen, indeed!— and the Sacraments are rightly administered, a church is planted in the full and beautiful embodiment of Christ. Lutheran church leaders across Africa recognize the LCMS for its clear Gospel proclamation, sound theology, and commitment to thorough church worker formation. Consequently, for many Book of Concord Lutheran church bodies, the LCMS is an important resource when they seek assistance in the formation of church workers. Those church bodies request residential missionary theological educators, short-term professors, textbooks from Concordia Publishing House, assistance in developing curriculum, support in building their seminary campus, and contributions toward their seminary’s operating costs or scholarships. The LCMS OIM Africa region currently supports 14 Book of Concord residential seminaries that are owned, operated, and administered by one or more of the church bodies LCMS works with. Collectively, these seminaries have hundreds of students in programs of pastoral and deaconess formation at certificate and diploma levels: the ILCA’s Concordia Seminary in Cabinda, Angola; the ELCE’s Beleza Training Center in Eritrea; the EELC’s Asella Lutheran Theological Seminary in Asella, Ethiopia; the ELCG’s Lutheran Theological Seminary in Sasaabi-Accra, Ghana; the EELG’s Lutheran Center for Theological Studies (CLET) in Gueckédou, Guinea; the ELA-SCI’s Lutheran Center for Theological Studies (CLEET) in Toulépleu, Ivory Coast; the ELCK’s Matongo Lutheran Theological Seminary at Neema Lutheran College in Chabera/ Sondu, Kenya; the LCN’s Jonathan Ekong Memorial Lutheran Seminary in Obot Idim-Uyo, Nigeria; the EELC’s Lutheran Center for Theological Studies (CLET) in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo-Brazzaville; the FELSISA-LCSA-Bleckmar’s Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane-Pretoria, South Africa; the ELCSS-S’ Concordia Lutheran Institute on the Holy Ministry in Yambio, South Sudan; the ELCT South East of Lake Victoria Diocese (SELVD)’s Shinyanga Confessional Lutheran College in Shinyanga, Tanzania; the LCEA’s St. Peter’s Lutheran Theological Seminary in Himo, Tanzania; and the ELT’s Lutheran Center for Theological Studies (CLET) in Dapaong, Togo. These are full residential seminaries operating in English, French, Swahili, or Portuguese, many of which are accredited and the majority of which offer three full years of pastoral formation with Greek and Hebrew. The region also supports specialty programs that provide a route to ordination through intensives, including the ICCM’s Theological Education Program in Villa de Senna, Mozambique; the CELC-SL’s Christ Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary in Jembe-Bo, Sierra Leone; and the ELCT-SELVD’s Bishop Emmanuel Makala Training Center outside Shinyanga, Tanzania. Finally, the region supports bachelor students studying through Riga Luther Academy in Latvia and graduate programs in the EECMY’s Mekane Yesus Seminary in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; FLM’s Martin Luther University/ SALT in Fianarantsoa, Madagascar; Concordia Seminary’s online master of arts in theology program; and Concordia Theological Seminary’s Gothenburg master of sacred theology program. Beyond forming pastors for new church plants, the OIM Africa region supports the congregation’s building of their church structure through the Africa Tin/Chapel Roofs project. Although congregations are often able to collect sand, make mud bricks, collect firewood, fire their bricks, collect foundation stones, and fundraisea bag of cement at a time for mortar, they can get stuck at the point of purchasing trusses and tin sheets for roofing. The roof is almost always the most expensive part of the church building. When a congregation has built the walls of their church building up to the point where a roof can be safely and securely attached to the structure, they make a request through their church body for assistance in roofing their new building. In the last triennium, the LCMS has supported roofing projects in Guinea, Rwanda, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Ghana. In specific contexts where a family is unable to purchase Bibles due to lack of availability, the OIM Africa region supports the purchase and delivery of Bibles. For example, refugees who are living far from their home country in refugee camps and settlements are not able to purchase heart language Bibles in the camps. The LCMS purchases Bibles in those languages and transports them to the camp or settlement for use by the church and its members. OIM Africa has also supported the purchase of Bibles for specific outreach programs, including prison ministry. The OIM Africa region supports the purchase of motorcycles for pastors and evangelists to reach new mission areas where churches are being planted. In combination with OIM Africa’s short-term teams focused on door-to-door visitation, such access and efforts support the work of planting Lutheran churches. Under the umbrella of Africa Luther Academy, conferences for church workers provide the opportunity for pastors or deaconesses to gather for time in the Word, encouragement, and collaboration with lectures presented by professors from a Book of Concord seminary, church officers, missionaries, LCMS seminary professors, or LCMS pastors. This triennium, the Africa Luther Academy program included the following courses: “Worship, Hymnody, and Liturgy” in Rwanda, Togo, Francophone Africa, and the DRC; “Reconciliation Through the Lens of the Small Catechism” in Rwanda; “Law and Gospel” in Zambia and Benin; “The Office of Pastoral Ministry” in Rwanda; “Preaching” in Zambia; and “Her men eu tics and Homiletics” in Kenya. These conferences address theological topics with practical application, intended for participants to be edified, engaged, encouraged, and to have both content and confidence to immediately bring their experience to bear in their communities, proclaiming, Christ is risen, indeed! In support of the planting of churches and formation of church workers for those churches, the OIM Africa region has established four new FOROs around the work of Lutheran Theological Seminary in Pretoria, South Africa; the Confessional Lutheran Church-Malawi Synod; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Eritrea; and LMA-STH in Rwanda. 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 attend our annual FOROs to receive reports, attend worship if the FORO is gathered around an altar and pulpit fellowship sister church, study theology, visit mission sites, and prayer fully support the efforts of these church bodies and our missionaries through short term teams, vocational opportunities, and financial contributions. These FOROs join other collaborations in the region in support of specific projects, including the Agricultural Consultancy project, which rotates through countries on a three-to-five-year cycle and an advocacy group supporting the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya’s Project24/Christ’s Care for Children: Kenya programs. In the next triennium, the region expects to establish FOROs in Tanzania, Liberia, Guinea, Mozambique, Ghana, the Ivory Coast,

Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Togo.

D.3. Show Mercy The OIM Africa region supports church bodies across the region in showing mercy to their communities, just as our missionaries each show mercy in their own contexts. In extreme situations of natural disaster, for example, the region collaborates with our experts in LCMS Disaster Response to support recovery efforts through local congregations. In some cases, support must extend from the initial response to sustain community members to the next harvest season. In the last triennium, the region supported responses to typhoons, floods, fires, and famine. In all of these cases, the response is administered through the local church body and its congregations, with church members and church officers intentionally engaging the community with mercy in close proximity to Word and Sacrament ministry to ensure that temporal needs are not supplied at the cost of eternal salvation but that they give an opening for the proclamation Christ is risen, indeed! The OIM Africa region supports the long-term development of agricultural systems through the long-standing Agricultural Consultancy team, a team of LCMS volunteers who are experts in farming and small business management. Through community engagement and a well-refined technique of bringing the community’s own expertise to bear, the volunteers advise the community on long-term, inexpensive, and sustainable techniques to improve crop yields or adapt to environmental changes. Lessons build on Scripture, include opportunities for the pastor to address the participants, and are hosted by the local congregation, bringing this mercy project into close proximity to Word and Sacrament ministry. The OIM Africa region supports the showing of mercy through long-standing projects directed toward preventing and treating malaria. In the last triennium, projects directed toward malaria were implemented by churches in Madagascar, Tanzania, and Nigeria. In each case, these projects involved congregation members, pastors, and church officers who could point to Christ and to the church in the midst of addressing the suffering, grief, and loss caused by malaria. The OIM Africa region supports water projects on Lutheran church plots and at Lutheran schools. Projects are proposed by the local church body according to what is most appropriate for their context and include shallow (hand-dug) wells, bore-hole (drilled) wells, rainwater collection systems, and waste/septic systems. Locating these community resources at the congregation or at the local Lutheran school brings community members into engagement with Word and Sacrament ministry at the local congregation. The OIM Africa region supports the training of deaconesses through seminaries in several countries, including the notable program at Matongo Lutheran Theological College at Neema Lutheran College in Chabera/Sondu, Kenya, the seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya. This program receives deaconess students from neighboring countries and prepares them for mercy service. In the next triennium, deaconess programs are expected to be started in at least two other seminaries on the continent. Finally, the LCMS invests deeply in the Africa region’s flagship mercy project, Project24/Christ’s Care for Children: Kenya. As of the end of 2025, the program supports 252 vulnerable young people in primary school at nine Project24 boarding facilities across Kenya. These children receive holistic care and are active members of the local sponsoring Lutheran congregation. The local pastor regularly engages them with catechesis, and their daily routines

include morning and evening devotions recognizable in Lutheran homes around the world. On school breaks, children return home to their families, extended families, or clans and share their faith. As children graduate from primary school, they receive scholarships to attend boarding secondary schools, attend an intensive pre-college Luther academy between secondary school and college, and finally receive scholarships to colleges and vocational schools, retaining their tight connection to the program and the spiritual care provided by the church all the way through to adulthood. The program supports 305 students in secondary schools and colleges. Sponsorships by LCMS members, congregations, and other entities have enabled expansion of the program this year to bring more vulnerable children into close proximity to Word and Sacrament ministry so that they may proclaim with us, Christ is risen, indeed! Beyond these programs, the OIM Africa region supports ministry to persons with disabilities, Word and Sacrament ministry to refugee populations, medical costs for church workers, construction of parsonages and seminary buildings, ministry to prisons and hospitals, and an extension of Christ’s Care for Children to a newly expanded site in Mwadui, Tanzania. Through all these projects, the church shows mercy.

E. Asia Region The preaching of Christ crucified and raised from the dead in the Asia region began in the late 1800s, when missionaries arrived in southern India. Over the last 130 years, hundreds of churches have been planted across southern India, and in September 2024, 100 years of pastoral formation was celebrated at Concordia Theological Seminary in Nagercoil, India. The work that began in the southern tip of India has expanded north, east, and south. The Office of International Mission – Asia Region now serves the subregions of East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania, which inhabits approximately 4.8 billion people, representing roughly 60 percent of the global population. Presently, 21 OIM missionary families and one alliance missionary serve across 20 countries in Asia, and the LCMS gives thanks to God for the growth, faithfulness, and collaboration of its seven sister churches (IELC in India, LCHKS in Hong Kong, GLC in Papua New Guinea, LCP in the Philippines, LCK in South Korea, CELC in Sri Lanka, and CELC in Taiwan) in the work of spreading the Gospel, planting Lutheran churches, and showing mercy.

E.1. Spread the Gospel The prophet Isaiah writes that the Word of God never returns empty, always accomplishing the purpose for which it was sent (Isa. 55:11). Across lands where Islamic calls for prayer blare over megaphones, the sound of monks chanting emanates from Buddhist temples, smoke rises from the offerings burned in small cans along the streets, and prayers are offered at family altars in homes, missionaries in Asia trust Isaiah’s Word. Through evangelism, translation, continuing theological education, music, and Christian education, missionaries spread the Gospel, knowing that the Lord is faithful to accomplish His purpose(s) through missionary work. Since the last Synod convention, Asia region missionaries have developed and offered sacred music courses and workshops that strengthened the worship life of local congregations and brought non-Christians in contact with the Gospel in song through special concerts and festivals. Sunday School curriculums with associated crafts have been developed and distributed to sister churches for use in Christian education programs. Annually, six to eight theological conferences are held in numerous countries to support pastoral ministry so that pastors and their congregations can faithfully minister in their communities and extend the proclamation of Christ through the planting of churches.

E.2. Plant Lutheran Churches The LCMS’ mission history in Asia is rich with stories of missionaries arriving in and planting Lutheran churches in countries where no Lutheran (and few Christian) churches existed. While most of the current church planting is done by sister church bodies, OIM Asia is still actively planting churches and looks to expand that work. In the next triennium, OIM Asia plans to plant congregations near where LCMS expats live and work. This includes support for LCMS members and families teaching at international schools in East Asia. This also includes planting churches near active U.S. military bases in Guam and Japan, which not only provides pastoral care and Word and Sacrament ministry to LCMS members in the armed forces but also establishes permanent confessional Lutheran congregations to serve the local community. Asia region missionaries will continue supporting developing and sister churches as they plant and sustain Lutheran congregations through pastoral mentoring and theological education. The Lutheran Church of the Philippines (LCP), the fruit of LCMS mission work, is actively planting churches on the northern islands of the Philippines while the Tagakaulo Lutheran Church of Christ in the Philippines (TLCCP) continues planting congregations in Mindanao, even as it matures as a church body. Through pastoral mentorship and formal theological education in seminary formation, OIM Asia is actively assisting the LCP and the TLCCP extend the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout this archipelago with 14 church plants. Elsewhere in the region, missionaries are either planting or supporting the planting of congregations in Japan (four church plants), China (one church plant), Cambodia (27 preaching stations), and Australia (15 church plants).

E.2.a. Pastoral Formation The planting of Lutheran churches necessitates the formation of pastors to preach the Gospel and rightly administer the Sacraments. OIM Asia supports the pastoral formation in four languages: English, Tamil, Pigeon, and Mandarin. Concordia Theological Seminary in Nagercoil, India, has 95 seminarians studying English and preparing to serve Tamil-speaking people around southern India. Lutheran Theological Seminary in Baguio City, Philippines, has 18 students studying to serve as pastors, deaconesses, and church planters across the Philippines. In the uplands of Papua New Guinea, several Bible colleges feed students into Timothy Lutheran Seminary. Presently, 37 students are studying to serve as Pigeon-speaking pastors across Papua New Guinea. In September 2025, the China Evangelical Lutheran Church in Taiwan launched their church worker formation program with its first cohort of four students to provide church workers for the Mandarin-speaking world. In addition to supporting and strengthening these seminary programs, the Asia region will work to expand opportunities for pastoral formation. The Lutheran Theological Seminary – Australia is in development and hopes to have 10 students studying to be confessional Lutheran pastors and church planters to serve across the continent of Australia.

To support pastoral formation and church planting, the Asia region has continued translating materials. Since the 2023 convention, volumes from Chemnitz’s Works, The Lutheran Difference, and Luther’s Small Catechism have been translated into Japanese. Volumes from Luther’s Works as well as works by David Scaer, C.F.W. Walther, and William Weedon have been translated into Mandarin. Several resources, most notably the Baku Ibadah Luther (Indonesian hymnal), have been translated into Indonesian.

E.2.b. FOROs To support the planting of Lutheran churches through the spreading of the Gospel and pastoral formation, the FORO model of mission support is being established in Asia and will expand. The first FORO was held in the Philippines in early March to support and strengthen the work of Lutheran Theological Seminary in Baguio City, which serves the Philippines but also serves as the pastoral formation for several nations in Asia. The groundwork for FOROs in Australia and Japan was also laid in early 2026 to support church planting and the formation of church planting pastors in those respective nations. OIM Asia’s goal is to have six developed FOROs in the next triennium.

E.3. Show Mercy Mercy is always connected with the Gospel and flows from congregations where Christ is rightly preached and His Sacraments are rightly administered. In Taiwan, multiple English Bible camps are offered to connect the Taiwanese to the local Lutheran congregation. In Cambodia, deaconesses were brought together for a continuing education conference to strengthen their service to the community. Across Asia, where typhoons and other natural disasters struck, the church came alongside the suffering with the Gospel of Christ crucified and raised from the dead. As the Asia region continues to spread the Gospel, plant Lutheran churches, and show mercy in the most populated area on the planet, the Asia region extends deep gratitude to the Synod’s prayers, partnership, and ongoing support as well as our mutual confession of faith that Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

F. Disaster Training and Response Since January 1, 2023, LCMS Disaster Response has supported work in 12 countries across three regions (Asia, Latin America, and Africa), providing $1,082,873 in grants to assist sister churches following natural disasters. These grants primarily supported the rebuilding of Lutheran churches and schools, church worker homes, and community homes and the provision of food, water, and essential relief supplies after natural disasters.

F.1. Disaster Training Two major projects in Brazil and Chile exemplify the continued implementation of 2023 Res. 3-04A, which directs the Synod to continue producing disaster-response training, resources, and grants. Together with similar work in Asia and Africa, LCMS Disaster Response has strengthened sister churches, provided relief to suffering communities, and expanded the global Lutheran mercy presence during times of crisis.

F.2. Disaster Response Significant work was carried out in Latin America following two major catastrophes in centers of Lutheranism. In Brazil, historic floods in 2024 severely affected the Rio Grande do Sul region. LCMS Disaster Response funded three major grants totaling

$405,000 to help Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil rebuild eight churches, reprint essential confessional materials destroyed in the disaster, and support a nationwide disaster-response training conference attended by more than 200 pastors and laity. These efforts strengthened the IELB’s capacity to serve more than 2,200 affected Lutheran families, many of whom lost homes, church buildings, and livelihoods. In Chile, catastrophic wildfires devastated Viña del Mar, destroying more than 12,000 homes. LCMS Disaster Response supported the Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile with two grants totaling $310,000. These funds provided construction materials to rebuild 100 homes, sustained a Lutheran psychologist offering trauma counseling, supported ongoing food distribution (over 30,000 meals given), and funded full-time pastoral care, children’s ministries, and volunteer construction teams from across Latin America. The project demonstrated a strong Lutheran mercy witness and served more than 8,000 people through preaching, teaching, and spiritual care.

G. Ministry to the Armed Forces In a world that often feels shrouded in darkness—where cultural winds howl and threats to religious freedom grow louder—God has not left His people without witnesses. He has raised up faithful LCMS pastors to serve as military chaplains, carrying the unstoppable, life-giving message into the hardest places: Christ is risen, indeed! While many denominations struggle to find qualified pastors willing to wear the uniform, the LCMS has been richly blessed. Dozens have answered the call to go where their flock goes—into training, into danger, into austere and lonely places—to preach in season and out of season that the tomb is empty and Christ lives. Our chaplains eat the same food, endure the same dust and cold, bear the same risks, all to shepherd souls with Word and Sacrament, showing the compassion of the risen Christ, who once said, “Peace be with you,” even while bearing His wounds. Yet the harvest is great, and the workers are still too few. If not us, then who will send shepherds to serve those who selflessly serve our nation (and their families)? We need more voices boldly proclaiming that death has been swallowed up in victory, that sin no longer has the last word, that because Jesus lives, every battlefield grave will one day give up its dead. Right now, 51 faithful LCMS chaplains serve on active duty, and another 65 ministers serve in the Reserve, National Guard, Civil Air Patrol, Coast Guard Auxiliary, and Veterans Affairs (VA)— plus 2 directors of religious education. They stand protected (for now) by law and Department of War policy to preach the Gospel in its truth and purity, without compromise, treating every soul with dignity while refusing to bend the knee to the spirit of the age. In an environment that daily tests conscience, they keep lifting high the cross and the empty tomb: Christ is risen, indeed! Your Ministry to the Armed Forces surrounds them with prayer, pastoral care, Lutheran continuing education, and fierce advocacy for religious liberty. We fight to keep them endorsed, equipped, and free to be faithful. Our goal: 70 active duty and 120 Reserve/Guard/ VA chaplains by 2027—so that no service member or veteran ever lacks a pastor who will look them in the eye and say with unshakable certainty, Christ is risen, indeed! Every quarter we mail over 17,000 pieces of solid Lutheran devotional material—Portals of Prayer, So Help Me God, and more—to more than 3,500 warriors, retirees, and VA patients around the globe, because man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God—and that Word made flesh has risen from the dead. Christ is risen, indeed! Our LCMS Operation Barnabas project is the church saying, “We will not forget our veterans.” Over 18 million American veterans walk among us; many sit silently in our pews or live in the shadow of our steeples, wounded in body and soul. Through 637 (and soon, Lord willing, 1,000) Operation Barnabas congregations, we are training the Church to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to declare that the same Jesus who conquered death is mighty to save every veteran from despair, addiction, and the lingering echo of war. Adopt-A-Chap links congregations directly to deployed or serving chaplains so that even in the loneliest outpost, a pastor knows his church back home is praying, writing, and standing with him as he proclaims the resurrection hope. And through the Doctor of Ministry in Military Chaplaincy, we sharpen these shepherds so that they can feed the flock with deeper wisdom while never leaving the battlefield. This is the mission: that every warrior, every veteran, every military family would hear and know the shout that changed the world forever—Christ is risen, indeed! And because He is risen, there is hope beyond the grave, healing beyond the wound, and a peace the world cannot give. Pray for our chaplains. Adopt a chaplain. Join or start an Operation Barnabas congregation. Send us the names of your sons, daughters, grandchildren, and neighbors in uniform. Because the tomb is empty, the mission is urgent, and the victory is already won. Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Cory J. Rajek, Executive Director