As Australian Lutheran Mick Hauser reflects on his time in Papua New Guinea (PNG), many things fill his thoughts. He is married to Milka and they have a son, Kelly. And, while lecturing at the Martin Luther Seminary in Lae, Mick is also studying a doctorate part-time and preparing for ordination as a pastor. Life […]
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 […]
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 […]
Who would have thought the once-popular children’s pastime of stamp collecting was still alive? Well, not only is stamp collecting still going strong, but it continues to make a world of difference to communities around the globe through the Lutheran Church of Australia’s (LCA) Stamps for Mission program. Since its inception more than 80 years […]
‘A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us”’ (Acts 16:9). The LCA might be a relatively small church in Australia and New Zealand, but God calls us to support his mission among churches of neighbouring countries. Answering […]
The Lutheran Church of Australia has many partners around the world. Last month we saw two demonstrations of the way we share in the body of Christ for the task of Bible translation, through our links with Wycliffe Bible Translators Australia and SIL International. On 14 February, at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Aberfoyle Park, in […]
I retired from the full-time workforce in July 2016, and I had always imagined I would like to spend my retirement years undertaking some voluntary church work – “finding a place for service in retirement”. But I had no idea where this vague idea would lead me. As it happened, I was then employed for […]
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14 It is for this Word that the recently completed building in Ubuo village, Papua New Guinea, was named, ‘Oroi’io […]
When I first came to Papua New Guinea (PNG) I was gifted with some advice from a former missionary, to try and return home to Australia about every six months. This would help me stay connected with my roots and to take rest from the intense experience of living in another culture. But the seasons […]
Rev Dr Gottfried Martens is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Berlin-Steglitz, a member congregation of Germany’s Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK). Over the past 12 or so years this congregation has welcomed hundreds of converts to Christianity, mostly former Muslims living in Germany as Iranian and Afghan refugees. The Trinity congregation is focused on […]