Three congregations (Bethel Lutheran, Hope Lutheran Brethren and Swan Lake Lutheran) formed a cluster around the idea of adopting and reaching an unreached people group, the Bagirmi. The kingdom of Bagirmi is a predominantly Muslim area in Chad where approximately 81,000 people speak the Bagirmi language. Thanks to the efforts of these three congregations, preparations are underway by International Mission to call a missionary couple to minister to this unreached people.
We pray that this video would be an encouragement to your congregation to consider partnering with other congregations in fulfilling the Great Commission. God has brought us together as a family to minister together in ways we otherwise could not. Whether it is reaching a people group, planting a church or ministering to our youth, we hope you will seriously consider ministering together with other congregations who have similar ministry visions.
Roy Heggland, Associate for Biblical Stewardship
Remembering 9/11 - 10th Anniversary
Tim Mathiesen
Last month, as you all know, was the ten-year anniversary of the attack on the Word Trade Center.
We invite you all to pray along with us as we lift up the families directly affected by the tragedy. We especially pray for our churches on the east coast where almost everyone knows someone who lost a family member on that day. So let us all, as a family of churches, lift up all of this to God our Father who promises that one day every knee will bow and toungue confess that he is Lord. May we take comfort in that promise and rest in his peace this Sunday.
Join us at the following website as we share testimonies and Bible verses. We invite you to share your stories as well. Visit: www.clbremembers.tumblr.com You will find the following videos and more.
Regional Conventions - Summer 2011
Tim Mathiesen
This year is the first year without a national convention for the Church of the Lutheran Brethren (CLB). The CLB is now on a biennial convention schedule and each region will hold a local convention during the off year. The Eastern, Central, Western and Pacific North regions will be holding their conventions this summer! Women's Ministries will also be holding their annual convention alongside the Eastern Region convention. The Canadian and Pacific South regions already held their conventions. The link below will take you to a web page where you will find links, resources and more information about each regional convention.
The earthquake and tsunami in Japan has left hundreds of thousands homeless while the death toll continues to rise into the thousands. We as God's Church have many opportunities to support those who are suffering in Japan. This tragedy reminds us of how small and vulnerable we are as human beings. More importantly, while many have lost homes and are without food, even more people in Japan are without the Gospel. Japan is a nation where less than 2% are Christian. Our missionaries first and foremost ask for your prayers as they reach out spiritually and physically to their neighbors. Below is information that will help you stay in touch with what is going on in Japan through Lutheran Brethren missionaries and the local Japan Lutheran Brethren Church.
Latest Update:
From Missionaries Dean and Linda Bengtson (May 17th-19th): After working in Shintate for the past three weeks the doors to this neighborhood are swinging wide open! There's a new sense of hope in Shintate! Opening and cleaning the street gutters has opened this neighborhood...
It was another amazing day...we now have requests for help from 7 neighbors! And we've had chances to talk with many more! (I spent most of the day visiting with neighbors.) Today began with mucking gutters and power washing them clean, removing floors at one house, mudding out at two houses, helping a couple remove a washing machine full of two month old tsunami water (very gross job!). That was all followed by a neighborhood/volunteer lunch prepared by Mrs. Moriya and Co. & a mini concert by Miki Howard (Miki McKenzie who appeared on Nippon Television about 30 years ago. Miki is a Christian with a heart for Japanese people.).
I'm finding it amazing what God is doing in "Shintate"...we have a dream for this area to really be "Shin" (New)!
This video was posted purely for informational purposes. The CLB is not associated with Operation Blessing, but the video gives us a good idea of the disaster and living conditions. We still ask that you pray for all relief efforts in Japan
How to Give:
The Church of the Lutheran Brethren has set up a relief fund. You can mail in your donation or give through our online giving program.
Click on the link below and look for the line titled "Japan Disaster Relief."
Or mail your donation to (indicate that it is for "Japan Disaster Relief"): Church of the Lutheran Brethren PO Box 655 Fergus Falls, MN 56538-0655
Resources:
Below are several resources, including a PowerPoint presentation with general prayer requests for our missionaries as they continue their ministry in Japan. Click on the link to download the presentation for your own use. Below that, you will see an example of some of the images that we have created for you to use as PowerPoint slides in church's worship service. We have heard from some churches who have used these images to create posters and prayer cards. Click on the image to visit the CLB Network where you will find these images. We will continue to add more resources as they become available.
Dean and Linda Joshua, Christopher Dean and Linda are cooperating with Sendai area congregations in the planting of a new church in the center of the city of Sendai. They have been with LBIM since 1989.
Arnie and Bonita Arnie and Bonita are the lead couple in a partnership in a church planting ministry in Takanosu. They are using friendship evangelism and English classes to reach out into the community in order to meet people and build relationships. They have been with LBIM since 1978.
A little over 100 years ago, 5 small churches in the Midwest which shared a common Lutheran heritage, theology and practice joined together to form a synod of churches for fellowship and so that they could send missionaries to China. Through the years, God added more churches to our number so that today there are 115 churches in the US and Canada; our international mission focus has shifted to Taiwan, Japan, Chad and Cameroon; and our synod has grown to encompass a seminary, church planting, youth ministries, publishing and pastoral care.
The synod that was created by those first churches has grown to become a denomination called the Church of the Lutheran Brethren. It is easy for us (even those who have been members of the CLB all of their lives) to forget that our synod is the creation, the child, of our local churches. It exists only to serve as the representative of our local churches in carrying out the Great Commission and has no mission, goal, or reason for existence apart from our congregations.
Many of our parishioners have no idea how their local church is connected to those people from Fergus Falls, Minnesota who occasionally bring a greeting on Sunday morning during their worship services. Perhaps it’s worth repeating the Vision Statement of the CLB: “We see God stirring in our church a fresh passion to reach beyond our own comfort to all people among whom God places us. We embrace God's mission to bring the life changing Gospel to unreached people in Asia and Africa, and we sense God convicting us to more intentionally reach out to people who live in our midst in North America as well.
So when you think about the ministry of your local church, please remember that your congregation is a member of the CLB Family and the mission of your congregation includes ALL that the CLB does. As children depend on the care of their parents, the CLB looks to you for your prayer and support.
Roy Heggland is Chairman of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren Council of Directors
Christ’s Revelation, Your promised Hope
Christ’s Resurrection, Your living Hope
Christ’s Residence, Your enduring Hope
Christ’s Return, Your blessed Hope
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Dean and Linda
Arnie and Bonita
The synod that was created by those first churches has grown to become a denomination called the Church of the Lutheran Brethren. It is easy for us (even those who have been members of the CLB all of their lives) to forget that our synod is the creation, the child, of our local churches. It exists only to serve as the representative of our local churches in carrying out the Great Commission and has no mission, goal, or reason for existence apart from our congregations.
