In the cool morning air in northern Thailand, a young woman looks around at green rice fields across a flowing stream, all still partly in the shadow of the forested mountains. The lush vegetation that seems intent on blanketing her Lua community village is filled with the sounds of life. Even at this height, it […]
Serving as a missionary overseas is something Pastor Murray Smith never thought he would do. But then God’s call on our lives can often surprise. Because that’s exactly what Pastor Murray and his wife Tracy are preparing for, after his call to serve as a lecturer at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea’s […]
‘Every Lutheran Church in Asia should have at least one senior pastor who has trained at Australian Lutheran College [ALC]. Then you will have someone who knows confessional Lutheran theology!’ This was the heart-felt expression of an Asian bishop during a gathering of regional church leaders in 2019. ALC is recognised by our partner churches […]
Be careful of barbecue conversations, because you never know where they might lead! Especially if you are newly retired and have an open mind about where God might be leading you. This was certainly true for retired Openbook Publishers (formerly Lutheran Publishing House) General Manager Warren Schirmer, 73, and his wife Marianne, 69, when they […]
‘I’m no longer broken!’ These words, spoken two years ago by a pastor who is a leader in an LCA partner church of 300,000 people in Indonesia, continue to touch my heart and remind me of the power of the gospel. As I began a four-hour seminar with leaders of that church, along with their […]
In 2020, amid the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP) began a mission at Tiaong, in the primarily agricultural area of Quezon Province, south-east of Manila. LCP had plans to begin its Biblical Vocational Lay Institute (BVLI) there, but a mission congregation arose first after Rev Antonio del Rio […]
Please enjoy this issue of Border Crossings and read about how God’s love is coming to life through the word-and-action gospel work of our partner churches.
Living in the physical darkness of the Indonesian rainforest and the spiritual darkness of the religion of their ancestors, the Suku Anak Dalam are a nomadic people from Sumatra who survive by hunting, foraging and trading. Otherwise known as the Sanak people, their name roughly translates as ‘people of the forest’. With no access to […]
Papua New Guinea (PNG) Christians have marked 135 years since the gospel of Jesus Christ first landed on the PNG mainland, introduced by Lutheran Pastor Johannes Flierl at Simbang Finschhafen, Morobe Province, on 12 July 1886. The written and oral histories of how the gospel spread are beyond imagination: crossing high mountains, fast-flowing rivers and […]
The Lutheran Church in Singapore (LCS) is a small church, with six congregations and a couple of thousand members. They do not break records when it comes to numbers. But God never worries about such things! Despite their size, LCS has enormous vision and commitment to mission, dedicating time and resources to outreach mission work […]