In Isaiah Chapter 54 the prophet delivers a message of hope and encouragement to the Jewish nation. In spite of their faithlessness to the Lord and His judgment that was coming, God would restore them as His own people. Then there would come a time of great blessing and growth. Figuratively speaking, they would need a bigger tent to accommodate all the people. “Let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords!” Isaiah proclaims.
It is by God’s grace that our little CLC has experienced this kind of explosive growth. Yes, our own membership in the USA has been in a mild decline for some time. However, we have been “lengthening our cords” in our sister churches overseas in tremendous ways. We are now in fellowship and ministry partnership with sister churches in fifteen countries. There are well over 100,000 souls in 2,400 churches, which are being served by more than 1,200 pastors. We sponsor and support five full-time seminaries, along with many part-time training programs for more than 550 pastoral students. What an outpouring this is of God’s blessings through His powerful Word! And as we have needed a larger and larger tent, God himself has been providing the canvas and cords.
KCLC conference May 2025 group
This cord-lengthening has also been taking place among our CLC affiliates in East Africa. The Tanzania Church of the Lutheran Confession now has twenty-seven congregations being served by thirty pastors, with significant growth in the past few years. The Kenyan Church of the Lutheran Confession recently received two new churches and pastors into their membership, and are actively seeking to plant new congregations. (The accompanying photos show our recent visitation to the Kenyan churches, May 16-21.) The Confessional Church of the Reformation in Uganda is still quite small, with six congregations and pastors, but they are pursuing more opportunities to bring the true Gospel to the people of that country.
Wittenberg students and dorm mother
Enlarging the tent and lengthening the cords is a joyful privilege, but it is only one part of the work before us. God’s Word through Isaiah in chapter 54 is also this: “Strengthen the stakes!” What this means for us is an emphasis on teaching true Bible doctrine. These East African countries have a majority Christian population, but there is a profound lack of knowledge about the actual teachings of the Bible. The challenge, therefore, is to train men to preach and teach with a sound Biblical foundation. By God’s grace, our seven students at Wittenberg Seminary in Arusha, Tanzania are gaining these skills. They are making wonderful progress in proclaiming God’s holy Law, His saving Gospel, and the resulting fruits of faith. We also help to strengthen each other through regular pastoral conferences, with continuing education for those men who are already serving churches. In addition, there are a number of men who are receiving theological education by correspondence.
The prayers of God’s people are crucial to the success of all these efforts. Please ask our Lord to give success to our labors, both in “lengthening the cords” by reaching souls with the Gospel, and “strengthening the stakes” through training in sound scriptural doctrine.
KCLC conference Communion worship, Pastor Calvin Luvisha preaching
“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.” (Isaiah 54:2 ESV)
is a CLC Missionary to East Africa. His home is in Arusha, Tanzania.