One of the greatest gifts God has given me in all my years of ministry in the Church has been to be on mission with those I love. I have been so blessed by multiple relationships with men and women who I can truly call safe-place people in my life. And having those relationships has given me a place to share the issues of life and ministry I’m facing and receive help to navigate those issues in healthier and more effective ways rather ... [...]
LCMC congregations are often geographically distant from one another, which can leave pastors and their congregations feeling isolated and remote from the mutual support they need. Seeking to overcome that sense of remoteness, a group of pastors in central Nebraska and northern Kansas have been making monthly meetings a priority in our busy schedules, and our commitment to each other has led to an incredible mission outreach by our ... [...]
I love slowing down and resting in God’s presence, at times alone and at other times in the presence of others. One of the ways I experience this is in moments of worship and prayer with the community of sisters and brothers in Christ. Therefore, I am excited to announce that we will have an opportunity to do just that at our upcoming Annual Gathering & Convention. On Tuesday, October 4, we will gather at 7:00 P.M. at Hosanna ... [...]
Hosanna! Lutheran Church will be hosting a new retreat for retired pastors and spouses from August 29-31 at Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp in Milford, IA. This event will give you an opportunity to connect with other retired pastors, be inspired, and hear helpful financial information…all at a cost you can’t refuse, even if you no longer have a church paying your way! [...]
“To be human is to pray,” says Pete Greig, founder of the global 24/7 prayer movement. He continues, “Prayer is the least weird, most natural, necessary, and wonderful invitation. But no one finds it easy. I guess we all need a little help.” We all need a little help because, knowing that prayer is central to our life with God, we are prone to turn prayer into a mandatory performance. So, we try hard to do it right, ... [...]
Join LCMC Pastor and Ministry Board Member Ebassa Berhanu for a FREE webinar July 6-7, 2021 from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. CDT online via Zoom. [...]
If you have never gone on an overseas mission trip, you do not realize all that you have missed out on. A short-term focus, typically 10-14 days, and being part of Christ’s outreach abroad, is life changing. It was for me, decades ago. In choosing to go on a mission trip, a variety of reasons have been shared over the years, including these three: To help people, especially those living in incredibly impoverished areas of the ... [...]
The purpose of LCMC-Lutheran Men is to worship God by helping congregations through the money we collect from the men of our congregations plus grants provided by congregations. After much discussion, our board has decided to reorganize our funding program. Currently, we have two funds, the Loan Fund and the Gift Fund. The Loan Fund is designed to provide a no interest loan to small/mission congregations that can be used for building ... [...]
January 5-7 marked Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ’s ninth annual Three Days of Prayer event, bringing pastors and congregation members of the association together to kick off 2021 with an intentional time of prayer. In light of the circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is no surprise that fewer congregations than usual opted to host in person events. According to the results of our ... [...]
Ministry for children, youth and young adults is an essential element in the future development of our association and in the work of sharing the Gospel in the United States and around the world. With that in mind, we are so thankful for the adults throughout LCMC who are coming alongside of parents and giving of their time to share God’s love with children, teens, and young adults. As we begin to make plans for a national youth ... [...]
LCMC Conflict Coaches Training has been taking place in August and September. LCMC Coordinator for Pastoral Ministry Perry Fruhling, continues to work with potential coaches who are preparing to be available to congregations throughout the association. The training has consisted of understanding conflict from a systems perspective, learning to identify sources of anxiety in congregational conflict, and developing skills in the ... [...]
Since the COVID-19 pandemic descended upon our nation, everyone and everything has been affected, including our congregations. People have become quite creative in their response. Even though we were required to avoid meeting in public, the church did not stop being the church. Here is how some of our congregations responded to the lockdown and “sheltering in placeâ€! [...]
Greetings from Firmly Rooted Oxford, MI and Greendale, IN. What a blessing it is to be able to communicate with our brothers and sisters about the Kingdom work that is going on in our little parts of the world! Last time we gave you an update, it was specifically about the history of our church plant, the ways that we were reaching out to the community, and how God had been starting that work for years before. Dan Clites was so ... [...]
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Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Axtell, KS, a Lutheran Congregation in Mission for Christ, installed its pastor, the Rev. Cynthia Cone, at a special worship service on Saturday, August 25th, 2018 at 2 p.m. Pastor Cindy comes to Salem Lutheran through our Church’s Pastoral Call after serving as Associate Pastor at Salem Lutheran Church in Fremont, NE. She earned her Master’s of Divinity degree from Luther ... [...]
Join other LCMC youth and leaders for a week of service, learning, fellowship, fun and devotion on mission for Christ. July 14-19, 2019 a group will be serving the Lakota people of Pine Ridge, South Dakota. This trip includes construction, relational, and community opportunities for ministry. For details email sstrachan@faithabq.org. [...]
At their last meeting, the LCMC Board of Trustees decided to cancel the meal packaging event scheduled for the Tuesday night of our upcoming Annual Gathering and Convention in Des Moines. To date, we have only received just over $11,000 of our $80,000 fundraising goal for this project. We are grateful for everyone who has already contributed. All of the funds donated, as well as any future contributions, will be given ... [...]
LCMC churches and their youth have partnered on several mission trips in the past, including 2014 and 2015 in Oklahoma, and most recently 2017 in Colorado Springs. Plans are starting to shape for another great LCMC mission trip for the Summer of 2019. For details and information, please contact Scott Strachan from Faith Lutheran Church of Albuquerque NM via email at sstrachan@faithabq.org or call 505-296-0762. [...]
There are still a few more weeks to submit photos for our 2018 Annual Gathering Photo Contest. The theme of our 2018 Annual Gathering is "Growing Up", and to help illustrate this concept throughout our book, we would love to see photos of service projects, outreach events/activities/programs, mission trips, creative/artistic projects, disaster relief, or church planting efforts from any and all age groups within your ... [...]
If you are a pastor who is interested in serving in an interim ministry role during the next year, and have not yet received LCMC training, there are still a few spots open at this year’s LCMC Intentional Interim Ministry Training event. More and more we are discovering the vital role that interim ministry plays in helping a congregation transition from one ministry to another. There are a certain set of skills and ... [...]
Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ will once again be teaming up with Meals from the Heartland to help feed the hungry at both our Called 2 Follow youth event and our 18th Annual Gathering. When we hosted our 2014 Annual Gathering in Des Moines, we raised over $90,000 and packaged almost 300,000 meals with Meals from The Heartland. (Watch a video of the experience here!) In 2016, we worked with Meals from the ... [...]
Did you know that the LCMC App lets you sign up to receive news updates on your mobile device based entirely on your interests? Here's a breakdown of what's available: General Notifications: Select this option if you’d like to be notified ONLY of announcements that aren’t related to attending a specific event. Examples: New videos/podcasts Service projects Contests Major news updates from the ... [...]
Our Called 2: Follow youth event is coming to Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa from July 17-20, 2018! Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." Our youth event next summer will focus on these words of Jesus that call us out of ... [...]
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 ... [...]
Conflict occurs wherever humans gather because our needs differ. The church is no exception. In one church I served, tension arose over whether to build a rose garden as a memorial to the many members who served the church or to invest in a program for youth to draw new families into the church. In one church, tension escalated in a worship committee meeting when members were deciding whether it w [...]