LCMS Mission History

A Brief Outline

Missions Central to LCMS History

• Wilhelm Loehe• Interest in the plight of German Immigrants in

the U.S.• “The Lutheran Emigrants in North America: An

Address to the Readers”– “I beseech you for the sake of Christ, put your hand

to the work, unite for immediate action! The time for delibertation is past. Hurry! Hurry! The main thing is to save immortal souls!

Wilhelm Loehe

Training in the Parsonage

• A one year crash program begun in 1841

• “Missioners” (Sendlinge)

• “Emergency Helpers” (Nothelfer)

• Soon the concern was also for the “heathen,” Native American population

• Fort Wayne Seminary established in 1846

Purpose of Seminary?

“To educate young men for the ministry of the ‘German Evangelical Lutheran denomination among the Germans who have emigrated, or shall emigrate, to the United States, and ultimately to instruct young men in the said ministry of said denomination, for missionaries among the Indian tribes, and to grant diplomas and confer degrees in divinity”

Missions Among Native Americans

• A board for mission work among the heathen• Loehe’s plan to settle Bavarians in Michigan• 1844-45 training in Neuendettelsau• Led by August Craemer• Establishment of “Missionary Colony” near

the Chippawa Indians

Missions Among Native Americans

• Catechism translated to Chippawa

• Work suffered ups and downs

• 1858 Indians removed

• Work died out

• Money continued to come in to support work among Native Americans

Rev. Ferdinand Sievers

• Pastor of Frankenlust, Michigan

• Promoted Indian Mission

• Synodical Mission Board Member 43 years

• Need among German immigrants great

• 1877 plea in Der Luteraner

Mission among “Negroes”

• Synodical Convention, 1877, Fort Wayne

• Decision to explore work among “American Negro”

• John F. Doescher appointed

• Niles Bakke most distinguished missionary among Blacks

• 1889 - “Alpha Synod”

Rosa Young

• Booker T. Washington

• 1922 Alabama Lutheran Academy

• Today 50,000 African Americans in LCMS

• Board for Black Ministry Services

• Goal to have 100,000 African American members by 2010

Mission among Jews

• Concern of C.F.W. Walther

• Dianiel Landsmann, first Jewish missionary

Missions to Foreign Lands1893 - 1936

• India

• Brazil and Argentina

• China

• Cuba

• Nigeria

India

India

• 1893 Japanese Graduate of CTS, Henry Misuno

• Rev. Theodore Naether

• 1895 set sail for India

• Died of plague after nine years

• Today: India Evangelical Lutheran Church

• Numbers 60,000 members

H.C. Schwann, Synodical President

Brazil

• Synodical Convention, St. Louis, 1899– Franz Pieper elected president– Mission to Brazil authorized

• Christian Broders, first Missouri Synod Missionary to Brazil, sent in 1900

Cuba

Cuba

• Began in 1911

• Rev. R. Oertel

• Isle of Pines (now Isla de Juventud)

• Work among Immigrants from Cayman Islands

• Revolution of 1960

• Today, more Cuban Lutherans in U.S. than in Cuba

China

Eduard Louis Arndt

• Ejected from Concordia St. Paul in 1911

• Interest in Mission work to China

• Entrepeneurial

• Missionsbriefe

• Evangelical Lutheran Mission Society for China

• Died alone in 1928, in China

Nigeria

Nigeria

• Jonathan Udo Ekong

• Dr. Henry Nau, 1936, first Missouri Synod Missionary to Nigeria

• Work of the Synodical Conference

• In 1972 became responsibility of LCMS

History of LCMS Mission

• No up-to-date account

• Two books:

• Meyer’s Moving Frontiers

• Lueking’s Mission in the Making– Scholastic Confessionalism– Evangelical Confessionalism

After WWII

• Missions began to grow from many U.S. denominations

• Many fields were opened

• Much thought given to Mission thinking

Mission Affirmations• The Church is God’s Mission

• The Church is Christ’s Mission to the world

• The Church is Christ’s Mission to the Church

• The Church is Christ’s Mission to the whole society

• The Church is Christ’s Mission to the whole man

• The whole Church is Christ’s Mission

Other Action of 1965 Convention

• Some 15-16 boards, commissions, committees consolidated

Walkout of 1974

• Also affected Board for Mission Services

• Most of Mission Board staff left

• Many missionaries left

• Not much growth in mission work from 1958 to 1980

New Impetus in 1980

• Forward in Remembrance

• Many new missions opened

• Many things still in place– Churches– CRISP

LCMS’ Missions Today?

• Volunteerism

• Many “mission societies”

• Work done in partnership with sister churches

• Direct support

• Development of local pastorate as soon as possible

LCMS’ Missions Today?

• More congregations sending their own missionaries

• Called and ordained missionaries willing to make only a short-term commitment (2-3 years)

Key Dates in LCMS MissionMission work began: Approximate Size of Partner Church

1845 *American Indians1877 *African Americans ………………………. 50,0001883 Jews1894 *Deaf1895 *India ………………………. 60,0001900 *Brazil ………………………. 220,0001905 Argentina ………………………. 30,0001911 Cuba1913 *China (Independently by Arndt,

accepted officially in 1917)1936 *Nigeria ………………………. 50,0001938 Paraguay (by Argentina)1940 Mexico (Texas Dist.)1941 Panama (Armed Forces,

1980 among Panamanians)

1946 Philippines ………………………. 20,0001947 Guatemala ………………………. 3,0001948 Papua New Guinea ………………………. 75,000

Japan1950 Lebanon

Hong Kong1951 Venezuela1952 Taiwan1956 Portugal (by Brazil)1958 Ghana ………………………. 20,000

South KoreaEl Salvador

1960 Chile (by Argentina)1978 Liberia

1980 Togo1983 Sierra Leone1986 Thailand1988 Macau1991 Cote d'Ivoire1992 Russia1993 Kazakhstan

Puerto RicoJamaica

1995 Viet NamIndonesia

1996 GuineaBenin (by Ghana)

1997 Angola (by Brazil)1998 Kenya

SudanKyrgyztan

1999 MyanmarSpain (by Argentina)

LC-MS MISSIONARIES, 1968 - PRESENT

Year Clergy Non-Clergy Total 1968 183 168 352 1971 177 179 356 1973 142 148 290 1975 109 102 211 1977 170 1979 72 87 159 1981 64 83 147 1983 62 59 121 1986 84 67 151 1989 97 71 168 1992 71 95 166 1995 not reported 1998 not reported 2000 (clergy/non clergy breakout not reported) 106 2003 78-80 Note the trends. (revised January 13, 2003)