LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 23

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OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

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effective in restricted-access nations and diaspora communities,
including Kazakhstan and Pakistan. The Old Latin School in Wittenberg functions as the Eurasia Center for Spreading the Gospel,
hosting regional conferences and respite. It is being prepared for
continuing education events, missionary orientation “boot camps,”
and residential intensives. Additional continuing education courses
and regional conferences, such as diaconal seminars and pastoral
conferences in Palanga (Lithuania), Rome, Braşov (Romania),
Oslo, and other cities, are offered annually in partnership with
LCMS seminaries and regional theologians.

Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, medical projects and English teaching
connect people to local Lutheran congregations. Orphan care in Kazakhstan and support for Ukrainian refugees across Europe point to
the crucified and risen Christ, who gave Himself for the life of the
world. In Central Europe and Central Asia, short-term volunteer
teams from the LCMS assist with Vacation Bible Schools, mercy
clinics, clothing drives, and church renovations. In every case, mercy is offered in close proximity to the Gospel so that body and soul
are cared for together and new believers are folded into planted
Lutheran congregations.

C.1.b. Literature and Publishing

From the British Isles to Central Asia, and from the Arctic Circle to the Holy Land, the Lord continues to open doors no human
hand can. The Eurasia region gives heartfelt thanks for the Synod’s
faithful partnership that sustains this extraordinary season of Gospel proclamation, church planting, and works of mercy.

Through literature and publishing, efforts include the Persian
Project’s full Farsi liturgy, Small Catechism, and growing hymnal
(nurezendegi.org). The new confessional Lutheran congregation in
Tel Aviv is translating the Book of Concord and liturgical materials
into Hebrew. The seminal work of Romanian pastors has spread to
several other countries, including Hungary, where a new church is
being planted. In Italy, the first confessional Lutheran hymnal is
nearing completion. Many of these local projects are being replicated in dozens of languages across the region to stimulate both new
mission activity and underground believers who live in restricted
nations.

C.2. Plant Lutheran Churches
Following the apostolic pattern, the region continues to plant
and strengthen confessional Lutheran congregations. Active church
plants and preaching stations now exist in Spain (12 congregations and growing), Italy (Rome, Padua, and 5 stations), Romania
(Bucharest, Braşov, Suceava, and a station on Cluj-Napoca), Bulgaria (Sofia), Greece (Thessaloniki), Turkey (Istanbul), Moldova
(Chisenau and Cahul), Hungary (Budapest), Israel (Tel Aviv), Ireland (Cork), Pakistan (three students who will soon be ordained),
and several cities in Germany serving Persian, Ukrainian, and English-speaking communities.
Major milestones since the last convention include the February
2024 ordination of a new pastor to serve a church plant in Sofia,
Bulgaria; the May 2024 ordination of a new pastor in Moldova; and
the ordinations of Luther Academy—Riga students, who serve in
Rome. Lutheranism in Spain continues to grow, with two LCMS
alliance missionaries and the recent commissioning of eight Spanish deaconesses. Germany is experiencing rapid growth among
Persian converts, and missionaries are strategically placed to raise
up pastoral candidates to carry mission to Farsi speakers throughout the world. Ukrainian refugee ministry in Wittenberg and other
German cities provides spiritual care to established communities in
Ukrainian and Russian. English-language “expat project” congregations near U.S. military communities in Frankfurt, Kaiserslautern, and several new plants serve as a base for outreach to internationals and locals. New church plants are sprouting up in Ireland,
Poland, Hungary, and Moldova.

C.3. Show Mercy
Mercy is never detached from the Gospel but flows from congregations where Christ is rightly preached and the Sacraments are
rightly administered. Persian refugees in Germany receive church
asylum, language training, and integration assistance alongside
Baptism and catechesis. Three pro-life counseling centers in Russia—Ingria Hope in St. Petersburg and Faith and Hope in Novosibirsk, partnering with local churches—continue to offer alternatives
to abortion and care for mothers and children despite sanctions. In

D. Africa Region
The OIM Africa region spreads the Gospel, plants Lutheran
churches, and shows mercy in more than 25 countries on the African continent. Among those countries, the LCMS has connections
to more than 45 Book of Concord–confessing and conservative
Lutheran church bodies and a very small handful of less conservative Lutheran church bodies seeking a deeper understanding of
Lutheran identity. LCMS work in Africa takes place through these
Lutheran church bodies and is responsive to their priorities, strategies, goals, and objectives. The most frequent requests presented
to the LCMS seek support for the formation of church workers and
support for the showing of mercy and compassion. Through these
relationships and our mutual work, the LCMS proclaims with the
local church, Christ is risen, indeed!
The OIM Africa region is served by eight deployed LCMS
missionary families, four alliance missionaries from sister churches in Brazil and Finland, and three local workers in the regional
field office in Kenya. This may be the smallest regional team the
LCMS has assigned to work in Africa since the initial deployments
of missionaries to West Africa almost a century ago. The LCMS
remains committed to deploying missionaries to Africa to meet the
40-plus requests from the churches with whom we work (teachers,
nurses, IT specialists, theological educators, deaconesses, language
teachers, etc.); the program openings to oversee and implement
region-wide endeavors (volunteer coordinators, conference coordinators, area visitors, etc.); and the needs of the LCMS, serving
both the missionary force and the Synod at large (team chaplains,
missionary care coordinators, communication specialists, business
managers, etc.). Recruiting efforts are underway through various
channels, including direct recruitment by the OIM recruiting team,
direct mailings, and through the Synod’s publications. Read an appeal letter from Africa’s regional director in The Lutheran Witness,
November 2025.
Although the LCMS team in Africa is small, the work is expansive. The LCMS has 10 altar and pulpit fellowship sister churches on the continent: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana
(ELCG), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK), the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia, the Lutheran Church of
Nigeria (LCN), the Confessional Lutheran Church of South Africa, the Free Evangelical Synod in South Africa (FELSISA), the
Lutheran Church of Southern Africa (LCSA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Sudan/Sudan (ELCSS-S), the Lutheran
Church of Togo/Eglise Luthérienne du Togo (ELT), and the Lutheran Church of Uganda. Beyond these 10 altar and pulpit fellowship
2026 Convention Workbook