LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 20

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20 MISSIONS

mission school is doing fine (104 enrolled) and beginning of 1972
the Lutheran High School opened its doors for the first year with
an enrollment of 70 teen-agers. A mighty surprise!

We are privileged to report that the Lutheran Concordia
High School (Instituto Concordia) opened at Concordia Semi-
nary at the beginning of 1971 with 14 enrolled and in 1972 went
up to 44. The “Instituto Concordia” is the feeder for our Theolog-
ical Concordia Seminary, and offers our church a much brighter
future. Also our Preparatory School in Obera, Misiones has a
more promising future now. The “Colegio” is working with a
kindergarten and Christian day school, and will thus be able to
be a larger feeder for our seminary.

Major Problems

We have more than enough problems also. Among them we
find the shortage in “full-time” workers to gather in the harvest
of the Lord. We need a dozen more which signifies in round
figures 20 percent of our present total of “full-time” workers.

Another problem is the galloping inflation, under which we
are suffering especially in Argentina. This inflation has had and
still has a drastic influence in the financing of our mission work
and our ministerial educational program, demanding in national
currency almost 100 percent more funds.

A third serious problem is the heavy shortage in Christian
literature needed in the homes and in the church work in gen-
eral and in visual education material and equipment. Finally
we need halls and chapels, since we still have over 50 stations
without a chapel or even a hall. Eighty percent of the rest have
nothing more than a rather primitive chapel.

Plans for the Future

Among the plans for the future our top one is inspire and help
missions and parishes to be far more active and become more
fully responsible in their discipleship. Work needs to be done in
organizing Bible classes and better Sunday schools, developing
activity among the youth, and training of lay leadership.

We do not find the words to express our appreciation and
thanks for the very generous financial assistance our brothers
and sisters in U.S.A. are continually granting us and thus
inspiring also our members to be more generous in their offer-
ings for the Gospel work of Jesus Christ. May the Lord continue
to bless them all in a rich measure.

Jorge P. Horn, President. Argentine District

13. Brazil District of The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod
Major Developments

Frontiers in Missionary Strategy by C. Peter Wagner has
the following to say about evangelism opportunities in Brazil:
“One conclusion . . . is that, as long as a significant portion of
Brazilian factory workers have not yet come to Christ, here is a
whitened field, an area which should receive the highest evan-
gelistic priority.” Even before receiving this report, the Board
of Missions of the Brazil District resolved to enter the great
metropolitan area of Sao Paulo and that of Rio de Janeiro. In
January of 1973 five graduates of last December entered the field
in Sao Paulo to expand the parishes to nine in the city, and we
are planning another five in 1974. Sao Paulo, a city of approxi-
mately seven million inhabitants, will be the largest city in the
world in a few years.

Besides the expansion planned in the cities of Sao Paulo and
Rio de Janeiro our church has also expanded its work in the
State of Mato Grosso. Four years ago the first missionary of our
church went into this state, a state twice as large as Texas,
one of the wide-open frontier states of our country. Today we
have five missionaries in this state. These last 4 years have seen
an expansion into new states and cities by the missionaries of
the LCMS. Belem do Para now has two men, who also are ex-
ploring mission opportunities along the Trans-Amazonic
highway.

Plans and Hopes for the Future

Another thrust is being planned into mission work among
the Indians of our country.

The board is also planning to divide some of the large
parishes of our church. By dividing parishes we hope to do more
intensive work in these areas where the church has been hold-
ing the line.

The District’s Board of Missions is working on a plan to direct

the course and plans of the mission work in Brazil and foreign
countries. A second missionary has been sent to Portugal and
the president of the church visited Mozambique at the call of
some Christians who had been in contact with the Lutheran
Church in Portugal.

A number of books have been translated into Portuguese
and printed during the past years. The major work that is now
undertaken through a grant from Aid Association for Lutherans
is the translation and publication of the Confessions of our
church into Portuguese. The Rev. Prof. Arnaldo Schueler is
dedicating 18 months of his time to research and translation of
the Confessions. At present the thrust of the publications and
literature board is towards publishing books to help our laity
grow in sanctification.

The Board of Directors of the District has launched a cam-
paign to work for financial independence by 1978. In order to
accomplish this goal it will be necessary for much stewardship
work to be undertaken in the parishes and also to have invest-
ments to help underwrite the cost of the seminary and pre-
theological training schools. Over half of the subsidy received
from the LCMS has been spent for theological and pretraining.

It was with gratitude to God that our treasurer reported an
increase in giving for District purposes during the year 1972
over 1971. The increase was from Cr.$108.428.99 in 1971 to
Cr.$144.575.63 in 1972. The goal set for 1973 is Cr.$250.000.00
(Cr.$6.00 equals U.S. $1.00).

Of the parishes in Brazil, 120 are self-supporting and only 39
are subsidized. However, the support sent by the parishes to the
District is still too low, mainly due to increased cost of local con-
gregational support.

Elmer Reimnitz, President. Brazil District
14. Conference of Lutheran Churches in Venezuela
Major Developments

God has richly blessed us in Venezuela during these two
years by showing us new opportunities for proclamation and
service. In general we have tried to achieve two objectives:

1. The missionary proclamation of the Good News with the
expressed purpose of winning souls for Christ.

2. The training of Venezuelan Christians for the work of
evangelizing and shepherding Venezuelans.

God has opened new doors for us into the whole area of
missionary proclamation. In October 1971 our reorganized
division of mass media broke through to the Venezuelan public
with the first 30-second spot television announcement ever
filmed and produced in Spanish. It was seen in all parts of
Venezuela on television and in dozens of theaters in remote
villages. By means of simple story pictures a Venezuelan news-
boy had taught a people how to pray the Lord’s Prayer. Follow-
ing this success the same department launched an entirely new
experience in Christian radio broadcasting. Now, the new
format of Christ for the Nations is heard 5 days a week through-
out Venezuela and in other countries of Latin America.

Missionary proclamation has not been limited to radio
programming. Enterprising national and missionary personnel
have utilized a variety of means to penetrate their areas with the
Gospel. A new worship center with multiple uses has been
opened in San Felix de Guayana, the rich iron smelting city of
Venezuela. Further to the south, in the rich farming area now
being opened up, Venezuelan preachers have carried the mes-
sage of God’s love to remote villages with quaint names like
Mina Baja or Las Babas (The Alligators).

Others have seen new opportunities for proclamation in the
teeming barrio-ghettos surrounding the capital city, Caracas.
New penetrations have been made into massive population
concentrations by means of a small volunteer medical ministry,
an expanded film ministry, and a small new ghetto school
established to serve the hill dwellers of Caracas as an extension
of Colegio La Concordia — now celebrating 20 years of Christian
service to Venezuela.

At the same time that new thrusts of proclamation have been
carried out, increased attention has been given to equipping the
saints to witness and serve. In 1970, Theological Institute Juan
De Frias was opened with the purpose of training laymen by
means of theological education by extension. We praise God that
some men have had the opportunity to study well-prepared
courses treating biblical interpretation, church history, the
theology of the Lutheran Confessions, and pastoral theology.
Venezuelan theological students have grown in their ability to