From January this year, the Lutheran Church in Singapore (LCS) assigned me to Trinity Theological College (TTC). It is a college governed by the Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran and Presbyterian Churches in Singapore. There are two language departments in the school, Chinese and English. I am teaching in the English department as well as offering pastoral […]

From January this year, the Lutheran Church in Singapore (LCS) assigned me to Trinity Theological College (TTC). It is a college governed by the Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran and Presbyterian Churches in Singapore. There are two language departments in the school, Chinese and English. I am teaching in the English department as well as offering pastoral care to students in a family group within the Chinese department.

I am teaching two subjects this semester. The first is Worship and Liturgy; the second is Lutheranism, which is compulsory for current Lutheran students of TTC. Furthermore, those parish workers and pastors who are not Lutherans but are called by the LCS will have to attend this class as well. I am co-teaching these two subjects with Rev. Dr Jeffery Truscott. He is a Lutheran missionary assigned by ELCA to the school for the last twelve years. Since I am new to the school, I was given a lighter load by co-teaching with him. I am currently also preparing a course for the next semester on the “Reformation’s Ah-ha!”

Along with teaching, I have been assigned to Bedok Lutheran Church in Singapore to assist their senior pastor in the pulpit ministry and in Christian education. This is a homecoming for me as I grew up in this parish and was their pastor before I left for doctoral studies in Australia. I am happy to be involved in the pastoral ministry of the church.

A new work that I am involved in is the area of inter-church dialogue. This year being the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the LCS invites the Roman Catholics in Singapore to a dialog and to jointly commemorate the Reformation. I look forward to increasing our mutual understanding and finding new ways forward together.

On the home front, my wife is back to teaching and my two younger children are settled back into the Singapore school system but the elder two continue their studies in Australia. I am grateful that our children get to experience life and schooling in Australia and get to experience the wider and bigger church family we have in Christ.

The Lord leads us to walk through many different open doors as we follow him. These last few years had been an adventure for us and we have lots of growing up to do together as a family. We are grateful to our church and the pastoral students and their family at ALC for journeying with us. I am especially thankful to God for Daryl and Shirley Shoesmith as well as Lucas and Beth Matuschka for looking after my two elder daughters in ALC as they are half-way through their schooling.

This story was also published in the March 2017 edition of Border Crossings, the magazine of LCA International Mission.

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/