We have been given all we need for faithful and effective ministry and mission in today’s world. We have been given the gospel which is God’s power for salvation (Rom 1:16). We have been given the gift of a new life in Christ (2 Cor 5:17). We have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit’s empowering presence (Acts 1:8; 2:38; 4:31). We have been given spiritual gifts through which God impacts people ... [...]
In the gospel text for January 24th from Mark 1:14-20, Jesus comes proclaiming good news. Great news. The long-awaited kingdom of God is near. Jesus comes declaring and demonstrating that a new life, a better way of living life is breaking in on the world here and now. It is a way of living life that is made possible by what God is doing in and through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; a way of living life that we can never create ... [...]
I have just returned from South East Asia and want to give a brief update. We traveled first to Cambodia, where we discovered that our mission developer there, Pastor Samuel Chim (an LCMC pastor) is doing great work for us. We have received another 15 congregations and pastors as a result of the church planting efforts of the congregations there. We now have 35 pastors and churches in Cambodia and Pastor Chim is ... [...]
The Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that we have a Coordinator for Pastoral Ministry! Pastor Perry Fruhling has accepted the position and begins January 15, 2018. Perry has served congregations in Texas (Zion Lutheran in Fredericksburg) and in Iowa (Bethany Lutheran, Thompson; Immanuel Lutheran in Independence; and St. Mark’s Lutheran, Marion). Perry has additional training and interest in ... [...]
Our 17th Annual Gathering and Convention was held in Minneapolis, MN on October 8-11, just a few weeks ago. We had just over 900 people in attendance, representing 412 of the 750 congregations of LCMC. This year for the first time we sat around tables so that participants could discuss the information presented and it was genuinely appreciated. To recognize the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s ... [...]
If you are like me, you often feel overwhelmed by all of the negative and depressing reports of world events, as they affect our mission fields. However, I just received the latest mission update from the Augustana District (AD-LCMC), and I wanted to pass along a POSITIVE news update. One year ago, the AD sent a 12 person fact finding team to visit with the Tabor congregation in Ethiopia. Out of that meeting came a partnership where ... [...]
2015. I am looking forward to a great year together. Steve Lien will continue to offer workshops on call committee coaching, Dan Clites will continue to offer workshops on the development of new ministries, and I will continue to offer workshops for congregational leadership. One of the things that we hope to be is a resource to our congregations. Other models for staffing in church bodies looks to do the work ... [...]
Earlier this month, LCMC hosted its 14th Annual Gathering in Des Moines, IA. Read on for the latest stats on this year's attendance and our service project with Meals from the Heartland, as well as up-to-date announcements on LCMC's prayer network, Board of Trustees, upcoming events and online resources. [...]
Last year, we announced to all of our congregations that one of our goals as an association for 2014 was to raise $80,000 for our 14th Annual Gathering service project with Meals from the Heartland. Today, we reached that goal! 100% of the donations that we have received will be used to purchase enough food, packaging supplies and shipping to feed 400,000 people in need, both in the U.S. and abroad. The food packages ... [...]
Over thirty years ago the Churches were attended by 26% Christians at any given Sunday. Today Barna states that number has dropped to 17.5% on any given Sunday. A few years ago the United States was declared the fourth largest mission field. Wake up America! We need to stop this decline in order to avoid following the European Nations decline of 3-5% of Churches occupied on any given Sunday. What ... [...]
I ask that you focus your attention on the immediate short term appeal from Pastor Jordon Long, President of the Lutheran Church of South Sudan (LCSS). The LCSS is a new church with no walls. Most of its members worship in tents, huts, or open spaces. and they have no educational materials written in their indigenous languages. On March 14, Pastor Jordon was able to communicate with Eric Swensson and update the ... [...]
I ask that you focus your attention on the immediate short term appeal from Pastor Jordon Long, President of the Lutheran Church of South Sudan (LCSS). The LCSS is a new church with no walls. Most of its members worship in tents, huts, or open spaces. and they have no educational materials written in their indigenous languages. On March 14, Pastor Jordon was able to communicate with Eric Swensson and update the current ... [...]
Later this month, we will be planting the first LCMC Church in all of South Africa. We will be calling Pastor Matt Shields, who is just finishing up his schooling at Luther Seminary. The church will be in a rural country school house building that has electricity, running water and an outdoor toilet. It is a gathering place for our rural farm area, is the voting polling place, and has a soccer field where nearby farmers ... [...]
As the dreaded North American Polar Vortex of 2014 swept the continent earlier this year, bringing about strong winds, record low temperatures, and even airport closures, LCMC-ers of all ages prevailed, coming together from January 7-9 for Three Days of Prayer. For the second time in the association's history, LCMC Service Coordinator Rev. Mark Vander Tuig invited members of LCMC to start off the New Year with three consecutive days of ... [...]
Many of us may be wondering about the recent court decision about minister’s housing allowances. Here is some excellent info from a denominational office (The Presbyterian Church USA). Here is what they are sending out (and it provides good answers to ‘what about my next filing?)Office of the General Assembly (OGA) has been receiving inquiries and questions regarding the November 21, 2013 decision of a federal district court ... [...]
Over the past eight years, groups of youth from Lutheran churches all over the country have gone to love the poor, serve the homeless and care for their communities; trading in their weekends and vacations of relaxing, catching up on homework, and enjoying their comfortable nights in front of the television, to take the Plunge. The Urban Plunge; forty eight hours of working with the poor; feeding the homeless, visiting the jail; and serving, ... [...]
There came a day when the Apostle Paul stiffened his back and said, “No!” His “no” was hurledat Barnabas, his partner, who wanted to take Mark along with them on the second journey tobuild up new infant congregations. (Acts 15:35-41). Paul could not dismiss the fact that Markhad bailed out in a previous mission effort. Verse 39 puts it succinctly, “And there arose asharp contention , so that they separated from ... [...]
When I was a kid, I dreamed of being an astronaut-- a bold pioneer of exploring outer space and the moon. At the time, it seemed like the coolest job ever with all its intrigue and danger. Trouble is, very few ever received the opportunity and now the whole idea of space exploration is grounded. Thanks, however, to the LCMC's heart for bold ministry, we can all suit-up and blast-off again with a God dream! As your new, New ... [...]
The congregation of Shepherd of the Falls Lutheran Church, LCMC, welcomed Pastor Susan and Rich Westland in June of this year, celebrating her installation on Sunday, August 19, 2012 at 4:00 P.M. Pastor Susan and Rich, of Bellevue, Nebraska, were called to Shepherd of the Falls in June of this year and arrived in the small agricultural town of American Falls, ID on August 3. The next day was the annual American Falls Day ... [...]
From July 20-31, 10 youth and 4 adult chaperones from Spirit of Hope Lutheran Church in Parker, CO went on a Mission Trip to Gulf Shores, AL to help Peace Lutheran Church LCMC with their Vacation Bible School and Back to School Outreach program. The people of Peace Lutheran Church have been reaching out to families in their community who have experienced difficulty due to natural disasters and the BP gulf oil spill. The ... [...]
This September, the Great Commission Lutherans of Northwest Iowa will host A Light for All Peoples!, a Missions Conference aimed at equipping pastors and church leaders with the skills to ignite a passion within their congregations for sharing God's mission beyond the walls of the church building. Keynote speakers Rev. Dr. Gemechis Buba, Ethiopian Evangelist and NALC’s leader of World Mission, Rev. Ken Kimball, Dean of the Iowa ... [...]
Article originally published to this blog on May 16, 2012. Updated information can be downloaded below.A Testimony of Faith Internationally renowned Portrait and Fresco Artist Mark Balma, best known throughout the Twin Cities for his frescoes at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis and the Cathedral of St. Paul, is donating six frescoes to St. John's Lutheran Church and the community of Stacy. The gift, according to ... [...]
Rev. Dr. Walter Sundberg, who will be one of three keynote speakers at this year's LCMC Leadership Conference next month, has published a new book. Worship as Repentance: Lutheran Liturgical Traditions and Catholic Consensus, which was released by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. earlier this month, discusses the idea that repentance is at the heart of authentic worship. The book is available to purchase for $18.00 via the publishing ... [...]
In cooperation with Habitat for Humanity, the people of Faith Lutheran Church in Albuquerque, NM have announced the building of a new home within the congregation's local community. The congregation has also recently dedicated a second campus in Rio Rancho. [...]
This past Sunday, the congregation of Emmanuel Lutheran Church of Easley dedicated their new church home in Easley, a gift, through generous members, from a provident God. After two years of faithful worship at Partee Time, a children's play area, the congregation purchased this Tabernacle, moving in just in time to celebrate our second anniversary with Divine Worship and a pot luck dinner on Christmas Eve. The building, previously serving ... [...]