LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 21

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SYNOD REPORTS
students), Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ghana seminary in Accra
(8 students), Jonathan Ekong Memorial Lutheran Seminary of the
Lutheran Church in Nigeria (72 students), the Centre Luthérien
d’Etudes Théologiques (CLET—Francophone Regional Seminary)
in Togo (13 students), Coordinating Center for Theological Studies
for Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sierra Leone (9 students),
and Lutheran Theological Seminary in South Africa (as of this writing projects 20 pastoral education students and 5 deaconess students).
These seminaries, as well as pastoral preparation institutions in
Ethiopia, were also supported through short-term visits by LCMS
lecturers from the United States. Career missionaries were placed
as lecturer and director of deaconess studies at LTS in South Africa.
Scholarships to students from Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, South
Africa, and Tanzania were provided for studies at Concordia Seminary
and Concordia Theological Seminary in order to prepare professors
in African institutions to support the growing confessional Lutheran
theological awareness in Africa. The LCMS also supported a capital campaign for the building of a new seminary in Ghana that will
increase its capacity to 60 students, the building of a library at Neema
Lutheran Seminary in Kenya, and a property purchase to increase
capacity in South Africa.

Missionaries

Christian Education

Asia Pacific Region

Private Lutheran Christian education is an emerging opportunity
in Africa after a historical trend of governments assuming the education role from former mission schools. OIM placed nine teachers
and program assistants in primary schools and orphanages in South
Africa through the GEO program. The placement of a career volunteer coordinator in Ghana has prepared the way to place teachers in
the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana’s schools, also through
the GEO program.
Human Care

The LCMS provided disaster relief in Madagascar, Guinea,
Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Democratic Republic of Congo.
In addition, 1001 Orphans and Project 24 in Kenya were supported
to meet the needs of orphans in partnership with the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Kenya, and the Shongweni Orphanage project
in South Africa was supported with personnel. Other initiatives were
also supported: children’s education for pastors, cows to supplement
pastors’ income, and deaconess training. Career missionaries were
placed in Guinea for outreach into Muslim-majority communities
through community health dducation. The Lutheran Malaria Initiative
was implemented in outreach partnership with Lutheran churches in
Africa, both to alleviate the debilitating effects of malaria on populations living in malaria-bearing areas and to provide opportunity for
Christian witness in so doing. LMI began pilot operations in Nigeria
and Kenya with expansion being explored in Ethiopia and Liberia.
Mercy Medical Teams were implemented in Madagascar and Kenya.
Mission Development

Numerous partnership grants for mission development and church
planting were partner-implemented. These included support for
mission training centers for lay leadership development, continuing pastor education, and land purchases to build churches, as well
as matching grants for church buildings and motorcycles and bicycles for evangelists and pastors. Support for a Portuguese-language
church-planting and evangelist training effort in Mozambique was
implemented in partnership with the FELSiSA (South Africa), the
IELB (Brazil), and Kapasseni Project (Canada). Eyeglass clinics for
mission outreach were implemented through short-term Congregation
Connect partners in Kenya and Guinea.

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OIM currently has 16 career missionaries and 8 long-term GEO
church workers living and serving in Africa. OIM personnel are
located in Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Personnel previously serving in Nigeria were relocated to Ghana because of sectarian
violence.
Conclusion

We praise God for what He has accomplished and is accomplishing through His people in Africa. Opportunities continue to emerge
for increased numbers of LCMS personnel to live and serve in Africa
through OIM. There are numerous opportunities for mutual mission
partnership presented from African Lutherans whose churches are
growing in dramatic fashion. There are multiple opportunities to provide biblical and confessional Lutheran resources to help African
Lutherans gain theological astuteness. While these mission opportunities may be more than the resources available can fully meet, it
is indeed a privilege for the LCMS to partner with its many African
Lutheran brothers and sisters, that the Gospel might go forth in truth
and purity and that others hear and understand what Christ has done
for them and may also serve as faithful witnesses to the world.
Education

The LCMS was able to build on a foundation of good Lutheran
education ministry for expanded outreach both in cooperation with
partner churches and as stand-alone LCMS ministries. The LCMS,
together with partner churches, operates 80 Lutheran schools in Asia
Pacific that serve approximately 70,000 students in 10 countries.
Concordia International School Hanoi opened in August 2011.
There are 135 students enrolled for the 2012–13 school year, including 15 local students.
Buena Vista Concordia International School is a ministry of the
Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod in China. It opened its doors
in August 2011. LCMS teacher Dr. Kevin Brockberg serves as head
of school, and most of the teachers are LCMS-trained.
Concordia International School Shanghai celebrates its 15th
school year in 2012 with over 1,200 students enrolled in K-12. Mr.
Gregg Pinick began serving as head of school in August 2012.
Hong Kong International School now serves over 2,650 students. Mr. Kevin Dunning began serving as head of school in August
2011. Twenty GEO missionaries consistently serve in partner church
schools in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Other LCMS missionaries and volunteers serve in Lutheran institutions in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Papua New
Guinea.
Church Planting and International Congregations

Partner churches in the Asia Pacific region are very eager to see the
expansion of God’s kingdom. Steady growth has been seen in Korea,
the number of congregations having grown from 36 to 50 in the past
five years. The Lutheran Church in the Philippines has added 36 mission congregations in the past three years.
International Lutheran congregations are a growing network in
Asia Pacific. Church of All Nations, Lutheran in Hong Kong is an
LCMS congregation belonging to the Northwest District. International
Lutheran Church in Seoul, South Korea; Hanoi International Church
in Hanoi, Vietnam; and Lutheran Church of Guam are being served
by or are in the process of calling LCMS pastors.
Theological Education

Training pastors has always been a priority for the LCMS mission
effort. Presently there are four LCMS clergy with advanced degrees
2013 Convention Workbook