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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1969, Page 18

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

15 MISSIONS

to return to Calabar in the Southeast State.

Work was resumed in the Ogoja area in August 1968,
when missionaries returned to the four language areas
they had served prior to the outbreak of the war. As of
March 1969 there were 12 missionary families in Ogoja—
10 evangelistic missionaries, one nurse, One missionary
serving in the area of maintenance and logistics. The
main thrust of the work in Ogoja is the development of
literacy materials, literature programs, Bible translation,
and the training of evangelists so that the impact of the
Gospel can be brought to bear on the lives of the more
than 200,000 people in the area.

Dr. Robert Stade, having completed his work in Edin-
burgh for a doctorate in Islamics, returned to Nigeria in
early 1968 to take up his position as director of the Pierre
Benignus Study Center of the Islam in Africa project in
Ibadan.

e. And the Future. War brings about changes in the
lives of people, changes in the life of a nation. Nigeria
can never be the same country it was before its civil
conflict. The church is faced with a great challenge to
be an agent of reconciliation in a time of bitterness and
suspicion. The lives of millions of people have been
affected by this war, and the church especially must be
sensitive to the needs of these people. The ministry of
the church must be flexible to meet changing needs.

The ELCN, “‘on its own” after the expatriate mission-
aries had been evacuated, has achieved greater maturity.
This new self-reliance and initiative must be recognized
and allowed to blossom now as missionaries return. Ex-
patriate personnel need to give particular emphasis to
the redevelopment of theological and teachers training
programs as well as to lay institutes to further equip
national church leaders. Work in Bible translation, Chris-
tian literacy, and adult education must also be speeded
up to enable the church to be more effective in its out-
reach among people of many tongues.

10. Middle East: Each in His Own Tongue

A crisis situation continues to exist in the Middle
East as well as in Nigeria. Arab-Israeli tensions remain
at fever pitch with both sides maintaining a war-alert
status and engaging in retaliatory measures. Yet even in
crisis the Word is being proclaimed and heard.

a. Disruption and Continuation. War broke out inthe
Middle East on June 5, 1967. Upon the advice of the U. S.
embassy the two Missouri Synod missionary families
and other Americans in the area were evacuated to
Geneva. Mr. Moris Jahshan (an Arab national who serves
as director of the Middle East Lutheran Ministry’s radio
studio) was also out of the Middle East at the outbreak
of the war, attending the Lutheran Hour branch office
managers’ conference in the U.S.

The Christian church in general was looked upon with
great suspicion during these first days (because of the
church’s identification with the West, which in turn was
identified as pro-Israeli). However, there was no disrup-
tion in the MELM’s communication of the Gospel. The

competent MELM Arab office staff continued the Bible
correspondence courses and the monthly devotional
program over radio Beirut. On July 20, missionaries Stell-
ing and Hilgendorf were able to return to Beirut, Lebanon,
with their families. Soon it beeame apparent how God in
His wisdom uses a climate of crisis to prepare the ground
for the sowing of His Word: hundreds of new people
enrolled in the correspondence courses in the months
after the war, as Arabs, Christian and non-Christian
alike, began seeking answers in their insecurity to the
deeper meaning of life, seeking more information about
Christianity.

b. Mass-Media Outreach. The total enrollment of the
Bible correspondence course now exceeds 50,000 with
approximately 12,000 active students. An attractive new
course for children, based on stories dealing with animals
in the Bible, has been well received. Another course
geared mainly to Muslims is being developed, based on
parables in the Bible. A quarterly newsletter, to which
correspondence students contribute, has been inaugu-
rated as a means of exchange between students. This
publication has been very enthusiastically received.

Because of the war the MELM has not been able to
open the Lutheran Hour production studio in Jerusalem.
Construction has been completed, but the equipment has
not been installed. Discussions regarding the possible
use of the studio have been held, but no conclusions have
as yet been reached. In the meantime Mr. Jahshan heads
up the MELM’s radio ministry in Beirut.

It is hoped that in the early part of 1969, Christian
programing will appear on the Amman, Jordan, televi-
sion station. An agreement has been reached with the
station for the use of a 13-week series of “This Is the
Life” films. Discussions are also under way for the pos-
sibility of using French sound track on “This Is the Life”
films in Beirut.

c. New Personnel. In September 1968 a young Lu-
theran couple went as Prince of Peace Volunteers to
work as teachers at the Schneller School outside Beirut.
Schneller vocational schools have been operating in the
Middle East for many years, providing Christian training
for Arab children.

In September 1968 the Lutheran Church in America
seconded one of its seminary graduates to the MELM for
a 2-year assignment. After full-time language study the
young man will work with the MELM staff in its approach
to the Muslim.

The MELM carries on a ministry supportive to the
existing churches in the Middle East. Rather than estab-
lish another church or organization, the MELM seeks
to help the ancient churches of the Middle East in their
outreach to the Muslim. From its office in Beirut the
MELM witnesses to nominal Christians and non-Chris-
tians alike through its radio ministry and Bible corre-
spondence courses. The staff makes periodic trips to
countries in the Middle East and meets with church
leaders in order to determine the church’s needs and
how the MELM can help to meet them.