MISSION NEWSLETTER
Every other month our CLC Board of Missions updates us with recent news from various mission fields.
The front page of the lutheranmissions.org website states well our primary goal on the Board of Missions. “We are here to speak the truth of the Gospel. We believe that it is our loving duty to God and our fellow men to promote and spread this same message to every corner of the globe, in order that all men might hear, believe, and receive salvation.” We accomplish this through our support of our overseas missions and our five domestic mission congregations. We also seek to equip all of our CLC congregations to carry out this mission in their own local setting. This is the primary work of the Committee on Domestic Fields (CDF).
At the end of 2019, the CDF shared an eight-part series in which they used the catechism as a manual for congregational evangelism. This year, they completed a “Starting a Preaching Station” checklist to help those congregations who are thinking about or are in the process of starting a preaching station.
Most recently, they have produced a Bible study video series on the Great Commission. The series is designed to be shared in five sessions. There is one video per session, with discussion questions paired with each video. Each video is roughly thirty minutes in length and addresses a specific topic involving mission work in light of the Great Commission. Following each video, the pastor or lay leader guides the group through a fifteen-minute discussion using the questions provided as a framework.
The five topics are
1. A Gospel Commission,
2. One Body,
3. Strengthening from Within,
4. Big Picture Mission Work, and
5. Bringing the Message Home.
This series has been shared with the pastors of the CLC to assist them in encouraging mission work in their congregations.
Also this fall, the CDF released a Mission Festival packet with a prepared bulletin including a service liturgy, Scripture readings, and even a sample sermon. They are also working on putting together guidelines for starting a congregation and are looking to revamp the domestic missions website.
The members of the CDF are Pastor Mark Tiefel (chairman), Pastor Tom Naumann, Pastor David Ude, Nathan Noeldner, and Tim Schaser. Much of the work the CDF has done can be accessed from the CLC domestic missions website: http://us.lutheranmissions.org. We thank the CDF for their work and pray that the Lord would bless all of our congregations as we seek to carry out our role in the Great Commission.
Rob Sauers is pastor of Luther Memorial Church in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and a member of the CLC Board of Missions.