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Serving our Ever-Expanding Overseas Mission Fields

MISSION NEWSLETTER

Every other month our CLC Board of Missions updates us with recent news from various mission fields.

We are continually overwhelmed by how our gracious God has blessed the CLC with an ever-expanding number of church bodies and contacts in our overseas fields. To meet these growing needs, we have increased the number of called servants working with these contacts and church bodies. With the increase in both areas and the identification of other needs in our foreign fields, the Board of Missions has recently created two new positions.

The first of these positions is that of Foreign Mission Coordinator. Considering his extensive knowledge of our foreign mission fields and the fact that his call requires him to make visits to many of those fields, the Board has appointed Missionary Todd Ohlmann to this role. His responsibilities are to meet regularly with our missionaries and those working with overseas contacts, coordinate the reporting and publicity of work and needs in foreign fields, filter financial requests and make related recommendations to the Board of Missions, coordinate KINSHIP funding requests and disbursements, coordinate MDF and General Budget funding requests and disbursements, coordinate the Online Theological Studies efforts, and report regularly to the Board of Missions. We pray that this position will serve to bring more uniformity in our approach to our overseas work.

The second of these positions is the Christian School Instructor Supervisor (CSIS). The primary purpose of this position is to provide instruction and encouragement to the headmasters and teachers of Christian day schools in Kenya on behalf of the Board of Missions and the KINSHIP committee. The Board has recognized the need to support these schools not only by means of financial assistance, but also by helping them provide solid Biblical instruction to the students we serve.

The CSIS will work with headmasters and teachers, and will provide ongoing training in the areas of Christian Doctrine and Christian Leadership. He will also offer support and encouragement in the areas of teaching Bible stories and presenting Gospel-centered devotions, while also providing training in teaching methods and classroom management. The CSIS will communicate regularly with these individuals using email or video conferencing, and will make annual visits. The Board issued a call to recently retired Teacher Ted Quade, and he has accepted this call.

We are thankful for the work of our two full-time missionaries, Peter Evensen and Todd Ohlmann, and our two part-time missionaries, Pastor Michael Gurath (Kenya/Uganda) and Pastor John Hein (Liberia). We also recognize that there continues to be a need for another full-time missionary. The 2018 CLC Convention authorized the Board to call a third foreign missionary, and while several developments made it necessary to discontinue the calling process for a time, the Board plans to resume calling when feasible and when travel restrictions due to the pandemic are relaxed.

We pray for the Lord’s continued wisdom and blessings as we seek His guidance in serving our brothers and sisters in Christ overseas.

Robert Sauers is pastor of Luther Memorial Church in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and a member of the CLC Board of Missions.