LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 9

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MISSIONS 9

LCMS, the Board for Missions will continue to assist the IELC
financially and to encourage its veteran partner to more
energetic planning and outreach in mission.

Sri Lanka

Population: 14.8 million; popluation growth rate: 7%.

Sri Lanka (Ceylon) is a “tear drop” island southeast of the
southern tip of India. The LCMS in conjunction with its work
in India has conducted mission work on this predominantly
Buddhist island off and on since 1927. Later the India Evangel-
ical Lutheran Church also sent national pastors to work in
Colombo.

The most successful work is in the tea estates in the hill
country outside of Colombo. This was begun by an LCMS
missionary in 1962. Today the work at six stations on these tea
estates, known as the Church Council of the Lanka Lutheran
Church, is being continued among the Tamil-speaking Indians
by two of their own national pastors. This group numbers 469
souls, 172 communicants.

In more recent years the Board for Missions made two
different attempts to begin mission outreach to the Tamil
Muslims in Sri Lanka. In both instances, for reasons of health
and other difficultues, the missionaries found it necessary to
return home. If the board decides to continue an effort to reach
Tamil Muslims for Christ, it will want to send a team of two
missionary units into this very difficult but challenging work.

Papua New Guinea

Population: 3.2 million; population growth rate: 2.5%.

The Gutnius (Good News) Lutheran Church (GLC) is the
outgrowth of the Synod’s mission efforts begun among the
Enga people in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea in 1948.
The church, of which Rev. Waema Waesa is bishop, is in
partnership with the LCMS. It now numbers about 25,000
communicants, served by 442 national workers.

Expatriate missionaries sent out by the Board for Missions
currently number 19 units. The GLC is active in medical
missions, Bible translation, education, and in training of
evangelists. It has been involved in the training of evangelists
at Timothy Lutheran Seminary in Birip, and of pastors and
teachers in Martin Luther Seminary and Balob Teachers
College, both located in Lae. As young people leave the
Highlands to find jobs in coastal cities, the GLC recognizes the
need to prepare workers for bringing the Gospel to the urban
areas.

Several GLC members are prominent in the government of
Papua New Guinea, both on the national and provincial levels.
From the time of the early missionary beginnings, the High-
landers have been introduced to agriculture, cooperative market-
ing, and economic development. The church is disengaging
itself from direct involvement in much of this kind of activity.

Of great help to the church is an expatriate layman, Mr.
Kermit Reedstrom. He left a responsible management position
in a large company in the U.S. and with his family answered
the Lord’s call when the Board for Missions extended an
appointment to him to serve the GLC as its finance officer.
Another lay couple also followed the Lord’s call to Papua New
Guinea. They are Dean O. Smith, D.D.S., and his wife Marion,
a trained dental assistant. As lay missionaries of the Board for
Missions they will serve in the hospital at Mambisanda.

The Church Council of the GLC is operating under a plan
whereby the church with adequately trained workers can
become self-supporting through a program of Christian steward-
ship. Its plan includes requesting additional expatriate mis-
sionaries. It is giving a high priority to evangelistic outreach
and to strengthening congregations and their leaders. The
Gutnius Lutheran Church is moving Forward for Christ.

Hong Kong/ Macao

Hong Kong population: 4.8 million; population growth
rate: 1.2%.

Macao population: 0.3 million; population growth rate:
2.2%

The work in Hong Kong and Macao began in 1950 when
some of the LCMS missionaries who had to leave mainland
China were reassigned in different parts of East Asia. Under
the blessing of God this work developed into the Lutheran

Church—Hong Kong Synod, the Rev. Andrew Chiu, Th.D.,
president.

_ Its more than 5,300 baptized souls in 34 congregations and.
mission stations (a growth of approximately 30% during this

__kiennium) are served by 28 Chinese pastors and 4 missionaries

plus one Volunteer Youth Ministry worker. In addition, there
are 18 LCMS teachers at the LCMS-owned and -operated Hong
Kong International School, with an enrollment of more than
1,400 students from 30 different countries. There are five
secondary evening schools (total enrollment more than 17,000),
one seminary, and nine vouth and social service centers
serving a total of more than 5,000 Chinese people.

One of the missionaries is a teacher who formerly served at
HKIS. He was reassigned by the Board for Missions to the
Hong Kong Synod to assist the Hong Kong Christian Service
Migration Services Department with programs to help prepare
the many Southeast Asian refugees encamped in Hong Kong
for entry into other countries. Under his guidance and leader-
ship many Chinese as well as English-speaking Lutherans
residing in Hong Kong had opportunity for Christian witness
to the refugees.

Another of the missionaries is a recent arrival, Mrs. Carol
Halter. She is a trained deaconess with a background of
Chinese experience in Hong Kong. The Lutheran Church—
Hong Kong Synod is looking forward to her leadership for
setting up a deaconess-training program.

One of the urgent needs for the church is adequate staffing
for their seminary. The Board for Missions is looking for at
least two theological professors with earned degrees to teach at
the seminary in Hong Kong. This partner church is placing a
high priority on Lutheran theological education for its future
Chinese pastors and missionaries. The church’s goal is an
exciting one—not only to maintain seminary accreditation,
not only to reach out to more Chinese in Hong Kong, but most
exciting of all, to venture out in mission to mainland China!
The Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod’s president, Dr.
Andrew Chiu, has already made several exploratory trips to
the mainland and has been well received by officials and
Christians in his former home town and province. What an
exciting challenge. What a direction in which to move
Forward! We thank God for this partner church and its forward-
looking vision for mission.

Japan

Population: 116.8 million; population growth rate: 0.9%.

This crowded, modern, mountainous island country (about
size of California) still identifies only about 0.5% of its popula-
tion as Roman Catholic and only 1.2’ as Protestant.

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod began mission
work in Japan in 1948. The Japan Lutheran Church (JLC—
also known as Nippon Ruteru Kyodan, NRK), Rev. Tohru
Shiba, president, is a full partner with the LCMS. The JLC in
1976 declared itself “independent and interdependent” with
the LCMS.

The Board for Missions of the LCMS continues to assist the
Japan Lutheran Church on a project basis. At the present time
this includes financial support for two expatriate missionaries
and for projects in evangelism, mass communications, youth
work, and theological education. The Japan church’s members,
which represents a 4" growth, are served by 35 national
pastors and the two remaining LCMS missionaries. Through
the Board for Missions the LCMS Board of Youth Ministry has
a team of 22 volunteers (VYM) who teach English and assist
the Japan Lutheran Church in outreach to young people in the
three major geographical areas where the JLC is at work.

The Synod also helps subsidize an international Lutheran
congregation in Tokyo (St. Paul’s) to provide English-speaking
Lutherans in the greater Tokyo area with achurch home away
from home.

In Japan there are millions who do not yet know Christ as
their Lord and Savior. We pray with our partner church that
together we may reach out to the non-Christians in that land,
pointing the way—Forward for Christ!

Korea

Population: 38.2 million; population growth rate: 1.6%.
During the past 100 years Christianity has made a consider-