# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1847 11 04_S36
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

In our days the Lutherans of Germany have established mission stations in America, Asia, and Australia.

It is now up to us, brothers, to bring the Gospel to the heathen. The Lord has led us here with a gracious hand and has done much good for us here. He has granted us, in our new homeland, ecclesiastical freedom, temporal peace, and welfare. And over and above all this, he has gathered us here with great mercy, and has once again raised up, among the German nation, the lampstand of pure doctrine. Yes! he still walks blessing through the wide lands, uniting the hearts of believers in the love of the truth, and founding here and there lasting altars for the pure Christian confession. Truly, we are too small for all this mercy and all this faithfulness. Let us thank the Lord for it with works of faithful love. Since, then, we now have the time, let us joyfully and willingly fulfill the Lord's command, which he also speaks to us: "Teach all nations!"—and impart to the heathen the goods of eternal life which he so richly bestows on us here.

As to which heathen we must bring the Gospel to, there can indeed be no doubt. They dwell on our very borders, still sitting in darkness and error; they are the fellow inhabitants of this land who wait for us to break for them the bread of life: the heathen Indians who inhabit the vast West, from the borders of Missouri to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. To them belongs our nearest help. Who does not know their tear-worthy fate? Pursued with bloody wars, seduced into the vices of civilized nations, they have been driven from the ancient homeland of their fathers—and they do not know the way to the eternal homeland. We dwell in their land. O let us not pass by their misery. Their souls are without life, for they are without God's Word. Thus they languish away, and, what is most dreadful, they neither feel nor know it. But their silent misery cries louder to heaven than the loudest complaint, and calls also to us: "Come over and help us, that we may not die the eternal death."

But how are we to help? Where shall we get missionaries and financial means? Brothers! The Lord, who commands us, "Teach all nations," also says, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matt. 28:18), so that in this matter we may rely not on ourselves, but on the riches of his help and grace. For he is also the God of the heathen; he has redeemed them with his precious blood, and has promised them that they will walk in his light, Isaiah 60:3. He shall reign from one sea to the other, and from the river unto the ends of the world. All kings shall worship him; all nations shall serve him. Ps. 72:8, 11. Therefore let us ask the Lord to send laborers into his harvest, offer him our gifts with a joyful heart, and support the mission with counsel and deed to the best of our ability; then we may hope that the Lord will bless our service and also convert the Indians to himself.

But when will a holy zeal for the Lord's cause awaken among the German youth of America? Up to now it is transient wealth that they pursue, or the defense of their earthly fatherland, to which they sacrifice themselves. Alas! the world finds a thousand busy servants ready to risk life and limb where its own advantage and honor are at stake. But where the service of the Lord and his Church is at stake, no one listens and no one gives it a thought. Wretched money holds captive the heart and mind of all. But now, in view of the distress of the heathen, and of our sacred duty to help them, the Church calls upon all capable boys and young men, ever more loudly and urgently, to examine themselves as to whether they find in themselves gifts and a calling to enter the service of the Lord. To be sure, the calling of a missionary requires special natural gifts and gifts of grace. But may the Lord, out of his fullness, himself raise up, equip, and send his messengers—those who renounce the world and its lust, and who do not love their lives even unto death. For no earthly reward awaits them here below; but crowns of unfading glory and coronets of heavenly splendor beckon to them. Yet the Lord shall indeed also have the strong for his spoil, those who, in his strength, possess the boldness and wisdom to break new paths for the kingdom of God and to plant the banner of the cross in the distant heathen lands. There it is a matter of uniting a sanctified spirit of enterprise with manly boldness, in order, with the weapons of spiritual knighthood, to destroy the hostile schemes and strongholds of Satan, and to win new victories for the Gospel, that it may run and be glorified even to the farthest sea.

As to how mission work is to be carried out among the Indians, experience has already decided the matter. It is done most effectively through mission colonies. We picture the manner of it as follows. A missionary, who is adequately certified by a recognized, orthodox ecclesiastical body, makes known that, with God's help, he intends to lead a mission colony among the Indians. There gather around him men and young men of the Lutheran confession, who call him to be their preacher and pastor. Thus they go forth and found a colony at a suitable place. The missionary preaches the Word of God to the heathen, while the colonists, through the example of a Christian walk of life, contribute their part toward accustoming the Indians to an orderly way of life.

It may be left to the joint deliberation of all active friends of missions to determine where the mission should first turn—whether to the Missouri Territory or to Oregon. But it is already the wish of many that the West be kept in view. For German emigration flows westward; therefore the hope is not unfounded that mission colonies established in the West will also serve to provide pastoral care to the Germans settling there. In any case, however, we must pay close attention to every indication of the Lord, who will show his messengers the right road and the right goal.

May these remarks not appear presumptuous. We know that the mission is in the hand of the Lord, and his thoughts are not our thoughts. With these outlines we wish only to sketch the picture of the mission to be begun, as it hovers before the minds of many among us. The next thing, however, is that each one, for his part, pray for the mission, contribute his gift to it according to his ability, and also awaken interest in it among others. The German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States likewise states in its constitution that it intends to strive for the spread of the kingdom of God through mission work. The undersigned Mission Commission, elected by it, therefore declares itself gladly ready to render, as far as lies in its power, every service to all friends of Lutheran missions that serves the purpose of the mission. The best thing, of course, is if the cause of missions everywhere becomes a living concern of the congregation, and if the sermons, too, treat of it in due course and lay it upon everyone's heart. Mission hours are certainly very useful for spreading the necessary acquaintance with the history of missions. It is to be hoped that mission festivals will also arise, to enliven zeal and joy for the work of the Lord. But where there is love for the poor heathen, it will itself find the best means and ways to be active in relieving their misery. May the whole Evangelical Lutheran Church of North America rise up as one man to pay its debt to the heathen and bring them the Gospel.

For it is no human motive, however well intended it might be; it is the command of the Lord himself that drives his Church to break out beyond its borders and proclaim the Word of God in foreign tongues. She, indeed, can only pray and labor in hope; it is God who gives the increase, and that he will give it he has promised: his word does not return empty. Therefore, in God's name, let the hand be put to the work, the eye, full of compassion, be fixed on the distress of the heathen, and the heart be lifted up in prayer to the Lord, from whom our help comes. However small the mission may begin, however slight the success may be, that must not trouble us: our calling is, above all things, to be faithful, to care faithfully for the conversion of the heathen according to our strength, gifts, and ability; for everything else the Lord provides. So then let our loins be girded, and our lamps burning. Let us not walk in vain through this vale of tears, brothers, but dig wells there, so that the heathen too may drink of the water of life, and their souls may be healed. And let us hold fast to this fair promise which the Lord has giv—