Building foundations might not necessarily be an activity on the calendar of the women’s fellowship meeting. And they may not easily make the connections to building relationships in Myanmar, Indonesia or Papua New Guinea each time they give, make, bake or buy something at the trading table at their Lutheran Women of Australia (LWA) meeting. […]

Building foundations might not necessarily be an activity on the calendar of the women’s fellowship meeting. And they may not easily make the connections to building relationships in Myanmar, Indonesia or Papua New Guinea each time they give, make, bake or buy something at the trading table at their Lutheran Women of Australia (LWA) meeting. However when they support the programs of LCA’s work overseas, they help to build up foundations of faith in the lives of people in these countries and beyond.

Through their support for the LCA scholarship program, they are providing the opportunity for men and women from our overseas partner churches, to study at Australian Lutheran College (ALC), Adelaide. These scholarships are given for periods of three months to three years (depending on the type of scholarship), and enable our brothers and sisters in the faith to be built up in their understanding of Lutheran theology for their teaching, preaching and publishing of Christian material in their own countries.

This year, LWA’s support through the LCA has provided scholarships for provided scholarships for pastors and leaders as far away as Myanmar, Indonesia, Singapore, and as close as Papua New Guinea.

In 2014, one of the people they supported was Rev Dr Martongo Sitinjak, director of post graduate studies at the seminary of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) church in Siantar, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Dr Martongo came to Adelaide on a sabbatical scholarship. During his time in Australia, Dr Martongo conducted research in the Lohe Memorial Library, interspersed with theological discussions with lecturers past and current, with the view to gaining a deeper understanding of hermeneutics from a Lutheran perspective.

His research will be published by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) National Committee, Indonesia, for teaching amongst the pastors and leaders of the 13 Lutheran synods represented in Indonesia, and for helping to build the foundations of Lutheran identity in these churches in the largely Muslim country of Indonesia.

The scholarship program LWA support is not only about reading and writing. Through the visits to the congregations, schools and diaconal organisations in the LCA, Dr Martongo and other recipients also have the opportunity to meet Australian Lutherans in their various congregations and ministry contexts.

This is a two way exchange where we build each other up in the faith, as we learn from each other.

We thank the Lutheran Women of Australia for their partnership in the gospel, as they help to build strong foundations in the faith, through their support of the LCA scholarship program.

If you would like to know more about opportunities to personally support a scholarship recipient in your congregation during their stay in Australia, or ways in which you can financially and prayerfully support LCA International Mission’s scholarship program, you are invited to phone Nevin on (08) 8267 7300 or email nevin.nitschke@lca.org.au

Read more stories about LCA International Mission scholarships at https://www.lcamission.org.au/category/stories/scholarships/