LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 7

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MISSIONS, EVANGELISM, AND SOCIAL MINISTRY 7

India

The India Evangelical Lutheran Church, partner church of
the LCMS since 1989, is the outgrowth of mission work begun
by the LCMS in 1895 in South India. To this day the Lord
continues to bless the preaching of His Word, the administra-
tion of the sacraments, and the pastoral care in many IELC
congregations in the villages and towns of South India.
Organizationally and administratively, however, the IELC
has had difficult problems which have not been resolved. Both
the IELC and the LCMS as partner churches have wrestled
with these problems. The BFMS, through special assignment
of a team to meet with IELC representatives, developed and
offered a Protocol Agreement which is intended to restore
confidence by IELC churches in their administrative structure
and leadership, to achieve reconciliation, and to effect a sense
of renewal throughout their whole church. The problems are
not peculiar to the IELC but are of the type that have affected
other churches in India as well.

Nevertheless, even in the midst of such difficulties, the
Gospel of Christ prevails, and there are open doors through
which His message can be taken. Discussions are underway
concerning the possibility of beginning new work in Bombay’s
major suburb, New Bombay. and farther to the east among the
Maharati-speaking people.

The Christian Arts and Communication Services (CACS)
continues to work as the excellent mass media arm of the
churches in India. Through a variety of forms such as drama,
cinema, radio, TV, etc., it presents the Gospel of Jesus Christ to
large numbers of people. CACS, situated in Madras. also
conducts rallies and uses tracts, Bible correspondence lessons,
and cassettes in its work. CACS is a joint project of the IELC,
the LCMS, and the International Lutheran Laymen’'s League.

Japan

The effort by the Japan Lutheran Church, begun in 1976, to
become independent and self-supporting has been fairly well
accomplished. The church leadership is stimulating interest in
opening up new opportunities for evangelism and outreach.
This renewal emphasis is beginning to highlight the interde-
pendence aspect of the strong sense of partnership that has
continued between the JLC and the LCMS.

Plans are in the making for team ministries in Fukushima
Prefecture and the Tohuku (northeastern) area of Japan, as
wellasin Niigata Prefecture. The strategy for expanding their
evangelistic work will be mapped out along important rail
lines, which in Japan so conveniently connect major popu-
lation centers.

Greater attention will be given to evangelizing young
people and to establishing campus ministries. The Volunteer
Youth Ministry program (VYM), sponsored by the Board for
Youth Services through the Board for Mission Services, is well
supervised in Japan by the JLC. These short-term volunteers
from the LCMS are based in Japanese congregations. Through
English teaching and other activities they serve as a connect-
ing link between churched and unchurched.

The growth rate of the Japan Lutheran Church continues to
be slow asit is forall Christian churches groups at work in that
country. We thank the Lord. however, for the faithfulness of
this small but spiritually strong partner church. which is
determined to communicate the Gospel of Christ to the un-
reached in their land. As a sign of their commitment to the
Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions, two important
projects, after years of hard work, have finally been completed.
The one is the publication of a thoroughly modern, accurate
translation of the Book of Concord into Japanese. The other is
the publication of a Hebrew-Japanese lexicon. Both works are
important contributions to solid theology and Biblical study
which will benefit not only Lutheran churches but all of
Christianity in Japan for many years to come. The Lutheran
Hour, a variety of radio and TV Christian programming. plus
Bible correspondence courses each in their way present the
Gospel of Christ and its meaning for life and eternity.

Korea

The Lutheran Church in Korea traces its beginnings to the
mission work started by the LCMS in 1988. The strategy of the
mission at that time was to function as a support ministry to

undergird the Christian witness of other churches already
established in Korea. This was done through an emphasis on
mass media (Lutheran Hour, Bible correspondence courses,
Christian periodicals, literature, etc.).

The Lord blessed the preaching of His Word. The Lutheran
Church in Korea has become a vigorously growing church
which has in recent years shifted its emphasis to church
planting and church growth. The LCK is promoting outreach
on the basis of a carefully developed and detailed 10-year plan.
This plan, adopted in 1978, calls for the establishment of 21
new congregations by 1988. The Lord has richly blessed the
preaching and teaching of His Word. Church membership has
doubled between 1975 and 1980. Eight of their 12 young congre-
gations have already become self-supporting. The Bible corre-
spondence program has had more than 600,000 enrollees since
its beginning in 1960. It continues to reach more than 20,000
enrollees per year. There is still an open door for the Lutheran
Church in Korea. This continuing growth calls for the training
of an adequate number of church workers. The Lutheran
Theological Academy had been in operation for this purpose
since 1966.

The commitment and determination of the LCK was put to
the test during this past biennium when the government of
Korea suddenly announced a new set of legally required high
academic and facility standards for all private schools in
Korea and a deadline for meeting those standards. Schools
which could not meet the standards would be shut down.

The future direction of the work of the Lutheran Church in
Korea was at acritical crossroad. This young church rose to the
occasion with the help ofits partner. the LCMS. Their carefully
developed plans, together with the assurance of financial help,
were ably presented by LCK and LCMS representatives to high
officials in the Korean government. Out of more than 100
private schools that submitted applications, the seminary of
the LCK was one of only seven to receive approval.

Here again. we see the hand of God at work in the church.
No plan, no matter how elaborate, could have won approval
without a guarantee of necessary funding and assurance of
meeting the prescribed standards by the deadline. Land in
Korea is expensive. Construction of a campus with buildings to
meet government specifications and yet serve the purpose of
the church seemed an impossibility. How wonderful that at
this time in history God's people in the LCMS had responded so
generously to Forward in Remembrance.

At the request of the Board for Mission Services. the Board
of Directors of the Synod authorized the purchase of the new
Luther Seminary site at Shingal, Korea (outside of Seoul), for
$472,000 from FIR funds. The Lutheran Church—Canada has
also asked to be a part of the Korea Seminary project and has
allocated $1,000,000 Canadian (ca. $750,000 U.S.). This has
enabled the Board of Directors to approve $924,510 U.S. of FIR
funds (category III, World Missions: subcategory d, Prepara-
tion of National Clergy) for sitedevelopment., the multipurpose
main building, and government-required recreational facili-
ties. Luther Seminary, as it is now known, has survived a
crisis. Now by the grace of God it can experience a transforma-
tion in plant and program as an accredited institution to meet
the needs of the Lutheran Church in Korea for well-trained
pastors who are to be an important part of the 10-year plan for
mission outreach and church growth.

Part of their plan emphasizes the need for the LCK to
become self-supporting. Through growth in understanding of
total stewardship. Christian giving is steadily on the increase.

The Lutheran Church in Korea has made a significant
contribution and impact on Christianity in Korea through the
introduction of the Bethel Bible Series training courses in the
Korean language and through the continued effort to translate
and publish Luther's works, of which two volumes have been
completed. and work has been begun on a third volume. The
Bible correspondence courses of the LCK are well known and
widely received in Korea.

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea achieved nationhood status in 1978,
and as a nation it is functioning well. In this context the
Gutnius (Good News) Lutheran Church (GLC) is achieving
stability as a church and planning further expansion of its