Transcript LCMS Mission History

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
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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
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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
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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
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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 Lands
1893 - 1936
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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 Mission
Mission work began:
1845
1877
1883
1894
1895
1900
1905
1911
1913
1936
1938
1940
1941
Approximate Size of Partner Church
*American Indians
*African Americans ……………………….
Jews
*Deaf
*India
……………………….
*Brazil
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Argentina
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Cuba
*China (Independently by Arndt,
accepted officially in 1917)
*Nigeria
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Paraguay (by Argentina)
Mexico (Texas Dist.)
Panama (Armed Forces,
1980 among Panamanians)
50,000
60,000
220,000
30,000
50,000
1946 Philippines
1947 Guatemala
1948 Papua New Guinea
Japan
1950 Lebanon
Hong Kong
1951 Venezuela
1952 Taiwan
1956 Portugal (by Brazil)
1958 Ghana
South Korea
El Salvador
1960 Chile (by Argentina)
1978 Liberia
……………………….
……………………….
……………………….
20,000
3,000
75,000
……………………….
20,000
1980Togo
1983 Sierra Leone
1986 Thailand
1988 Macau
1991 Cote d'Ivoire
1992 Russia
1993 Kazakhstan
Puerto Rico
Jamaica
1995 Viet Nam
Indonesia
1996 Guinea
Benin (by Ghana)
1997 Angola (by Brazil)
1998 Kenya
Sudan
Kyrgyztan
1999 Myanmar
Spain (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
Note the trends.
(revised January 13, 2003)
78-80