LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 127

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Resolutions
4. Theology and Church Relations
To Endorse Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with
the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia
RESOLUTION 4-01
Overture 4-01 (CW, p. 163)
Preamble
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia (ELCL) was begun
by mission efforts of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
(LCMS), with the first missionaries entering Liberia in 1978.
Though these initial efforts were disrupted by the Liberian civil
war in the late 1980s and through the 1990s, mission efforts were
continued by LCMS missionaries with Liberian refugees who had
relocated to Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, and Sierra Leone. These refugees
returned after the conflict deescalated. Other Liberian individuals established LCMS ties through Orphan Grain Train, Lutheran
Bible Translators, and LCMS congregations who gave assistance to
Liberian refugees in the United States.
Although there have been no LCMS missionaries living in
Liberia for the last fifteen years or so, there are now 137 congregations with over six thousand baptized and confirmed members
and twelve Lutheran schools. These congregations came together
in May 2009 to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia
(ELCL) as a result of a merger of four semi-independent Lutheran
groups. The ELCL is led by Rev. President/Bishop Amos Bolay, who
graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, in 2004 with a master of theology degree. Its current ordained personnel, consisting
of thirteen pastors, have received their training at LCMS partner
seminaries in Nigeria and South Africa.
In October of 2011, President/Bishop Bolay traveled to St. Louis
to attend the LCMS International Disaster Response Conference
and to request formal discussions toward the goal of formalizing
altar and pulpit fellowship with the LCMS. In December of 2011,
the LCMS responded by sending Drs. Albert Collver, David Erber,
Joel Lehenbauer, and Michael Rodewald to Liberia for church fellowship discussions with Bishop Bolay and the ELCL’s executive
committee and church council. The ELCL representatives pointed
out that they have seen themselves as an LCMS mission church
despite the disruption in relationships caused by the Liberian civil
war and strongly desired to formalize their relationship with the
LCMS. President Bolay emphasized the strong commitment of
the ELCL to be and remain faithful to Scripture and the Lutheran
Confessions in doctrine and practice, and stated their desire for
assistance in preparing orthodox Lutheran pastors to strengthen
their witness.
Whereas, The ELCL traces its origin to the efforts of LCMS
missionaries; and
R e s olu t i on s

Committee 4 Chairman Scott Murray

Whereas, Despite the turmoil of a civil war, the ELCL has been
established as a strong, growing Lutheran church; and
Whereas, The ELCL seeks in every way to be and remain a
scripturally faithful, confessional Lutheran church body; and
Whereas, The LCMS, in obedience to God’s Word and the
Lutheran Confessions, endeavors to seek out other Lutheran
churches that believe, teach, and confess the same true faith; and
Whereas, The LCMS already enjoys church fellowship with
many other Lutheran churches throughout the world; and
Whereas, The ELCL was established as an independent
Lutheran church in 2009; and
Whereas, The ELCL formally requested church fellowship discussions with the LCMS; and
Whereas, Representatives of the LCMS conducted a formal
visit to the ELCL in 2011, finding that there is full agreement in
doctrine and practice between the LCMS and the ELCL and that
no obstacles to altar and pulpit fellowship exist; and
Whereas, At its 2010 convention, the Synod adopted Res.
3-04A “To Amend Bylaw 3.9.6.2.2 (2010 Handbook 3.9.5.2.2) re
Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with Small, Formative, or Emerging
Confessional Churches,” which recognizes that in certain cases
a streamlined approach to altar and pulpit fellowship with such
emerging churches would be beneficial; and
Whereas, The 2010 Handbook (Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2[c]) now provides
that “When a small, formative, emerging confessional Lutheran
church body (identified as such by the President of the Synod as
chief ecumenical officer) requests recognition of altar and pulpit
fellowship with the Synod, after consultation with the Praesidium
and approval by the commission, such recognition may be declared
by the President of the Synod subject to the endorsement of the subsequent Synod convention”; and
Whereas, At its April 2012 meeting, on the basis of a report
from Drs. Collver and Lehenbauer, the Commission on Theology
2 0 1 3 C o n v e n t io n P r o c e e d i n g s

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