Every other month our CLC Board of Missions updates us with recent news from various mission fields.
This past year, the Board of Missions has been engaged in a concerted effort to better serve our “scattered flock”—those CLC members living at a distance from an established congregation. Spearheaded by Pastor Tim Daub’s efforts to build a comprehensive Diaspora list, the Board has been looking for “pockets” of believers where scattered members might gather together for worship.
One such pocket was recently identified in the area surrounding Des Moines, Iowa.
Pastor Paul Krause was eager to assist when Pastor Daub approached him about the potential in Iowa, noting that a family from his own congregation was residing there. He began by reaching out to the broader CLC clergy, asking for names and contact information of members living in central Iowa.
The response was significant. It quickly became apparent that there was a sufficient number of members in the area to justify an exploratory service. Lucas and Sarah Wiste, members of Trinity, Watertown, South Dakota, who live in Des Moines, graciously offered to serve as local contacts. With their help, plans were set in motion.
On Sunday, November 9, 2025, the inaugural service was held in a meeting room at the Hampton Inn in Ankeny, just north of Des Moines. Despite some snow on Saturday and a cold, windy Sunday morning, the turnout was excellent.
Pastor Krause reports that twenty-nine souls were in attendance. The group was composed of CLC members living in the area who hold membership in congregations in Sleepy Eye, Mankato, Okabena, and Morris, Minnesota; Valentine, Nebraska; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; and Watertown, South Dakota, along with a handful of non-member visitors and friends.
Attendees at an eploratory mission service in Des Moines Iowa November 9, 2025
Pastor Krause noted that it was a “shot in the arm” to see the group gather around the Word, and expressed that the group has a unanimous desire to continue meeting. Plans are already underway for a second service in the middle of January 2026, with the hope of holding a handful of services throughout the coming year.
Pastor Krause plans to work closely with this group and the Board of Missions as the opportunity develops.
A Request to Congregations:
This endeavor in Iowa highlights the importance of coordinating our mission efforts. Pastors and congregations are encouraged to continue sending information regarding their distant members to the Board of Missions.
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)
is pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Winter Haven, Florida, and a member of the CLC Board of Missions