Official Workbook PDF page source text

2026 Convention Workbook 23

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, medical projects and English teaching connect people to local Lutheran congregations. Orphan care in Kazakhstan and support for Ukrainian refugees across Europe point to the crucified and risen Christ, who gave Himself for the life of the world. In Central Europe and Central Asia, short-term volunteer teams from the LCMS assist with Vacation Bible Schools, mercy clinics, clothing drives, and church renovations. In every case, mercy is offered in close proximity to the Gospel so that body and soul are cared for together and new believers are folded into planted Lutheran congregations.

From the British Isles to Central Asia, and from the Arctic Cir - cle to the Holy Land, the Lord continues to open doors no human hand can. The Eurasia region gives heartfelt thanks for the Synod’s faithful partnership that sustains this extraordinary season of Gospel proclamation, church planting, and works of mercy.

D. Africa Region The OIM Africa region spreads the Gospel, plants Lutheran churches, and shows mercy in more than 25 countries on the African continent. Among those countries, the LCMS has connections to more than 45 Book of Concord–confessing and conservative Lutheran church bodies and a very small handful of less conser - vative Lutheran church bodies seeking a deeper understanding of Lutheran identity. LCMS work in Africa takes place through these Lutheran church bodies and is responsive to their priorities, strategies, goals, and objectives. The most frequent requests presented to the LCMS seek support for the formation of church workers and support for the showing of mercy and compassion. Through these relationships and our mutual work, the LCMS proclaims with the local church, Christ is risen, indeed!

The OIM Africa region is served by eight deployed LCMS missionary families, four alliance missionaries from sister churches in Brazil and Finland, and three local workers in the regional field office in Kenya. This may be the smallest regional team the LCMS has assigned to work in Africa since the initial deployments of missionaries to West Africa almost a century ago. The LCMS remains committed to deploying missionaries to Africa to meet the 40-plus requests from the churches with whom we work (teachers, nurses, IT specialists, theological educators, deaconesses, language teachers, etc.); the program openings to oversee and implement region-wide endeavors (volunteer coordinators, conference coor - dinators, area visitors, etc.); and the needs of the LCMS, serving both the missionary force and the Synod at large (team chaplains, missionary care coordinators, communication specialists, business managers, etc.). Recruiting efforts are underway through various channels, including direct recruitment by the OIM recruiting team, direct mailings, and through the Synod’s publications. Read an appeal letter from Africa’s regional director in The Lutheran Witness, November 2025.

Although the LCMS team in Africa is small, the work is expansive. The LCMS has 10 altar and pulpit fellowship sister churches on the continent: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK), the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia, the Lutheran Church of Nigeria (LCN), the Confessional Lutheran Church of South Africa, the Free Evangelical Synod in South Africa (FELSISA), the Lutheran Church of Southern Africa (LCSA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Sudan/Sudan (ELCSS-S), the Lutheran Church of Togo/Eglise Luthérienne du Togo (ELT), and the Lutheran Church of Uganda. Beyond these 10 altar and pulpit fellowship effective in restricted-access nations and diaspora communities, including Kazakhstan and Pakistan. The Old Latin School in Wittenberg functions as the Eurasia Center for Spreading the Gospel, hosting regional conferences and respite. It is being prepared for continuing education events, missionary orientation “boot camps,” and residential intensives. Additional continuing education courses and regional conferences, such as diaconal seminars and pastoral conferences in Palanga (Lithuania), Rome, Braşov (Romania), Oslo, and other cities, are offered annually in partnership with LCMS seminaries and regional theologians.

C.1.b. Literature and Publishing Through literature and publishing, efforts include the Persian Project’s full Farsi liturgy, Small Catechism, and growing hymnal (nurezendegi.org). The new confessional Lutheran congregation in Tel Aviv is translating the Book of Concord and liturgical materials into Hebrew. The seminal work of Romanian pastors has spread to several other countries, including Hungary, where a new church is being planted. In Italy, the first confessional Lutheran hymnal is nearing completion. Many of these local projects are being replicated in dozens of languages across the region to stimulate both new mission activity and underground believers who live in restricted nations.

C.2. Plant Lutheran Churches Following the apostolic pattern, the region continues to plant and strengthen confessional Lutheran congregations. Active church plants and preaching stations now exist in Spain (12 congrega - tions and growing), Italy (Rome, Padua, and 5 stations), Romania (Bucharest, Braşov, Suceava, and a station on Cluj-Napoca), Bulgaria (Sofia), Greece (Thessaloniki), Turkey (Istanbul), Moldova (Chisenau and Cahul), Hungary (Budapest), Israel (Tel Aviv), Ireland (Cork), Pakistan (three students who will soon be ordained), and several cities in Germany serving Persian, Ukrainian, and English-speaking communities.

Major milestones since the last convention include the February 2024 ordination of a new pastor to serve a church plant in Sofia, Bulgaria; the May 2024 ordination of a new pastor in Moldova; and the ordinations of Luther Academy—Riga students, who serve in Rome. Lutheranism in Spain continues to grow, with two LCMS alliance missionaries and the recent commissioning of eight Spanish deaconesses. Germany is experiencing rapid growth among Persian converts, and missionaries are strategically placed to raise up pastoral candidates to carry mission to Farsi speakers throughout the world. Ukrainian refugee ministry in Wittenberg and other German cities provides spiritual care to established communities in Ukrainian and Russian. English-language “expat project” congregations near U.S. military communities in Frankfurt, Kaiserslaut - ern, and several new plants serve as a base for outreach to interna - tionals and locals. New church plants are sprouting up in Ireland, Poland, Hungary, and Moldova.

C.3. Show Mercy Mercy is never detached from the Gospel but flows from congregations where Christ is rightly preached and the Sacraments are rightly administered. Persian refugees in Germany receive church asylum, language training, and integration assistance alongside Baptism and catechesis. Three pro-life counseling centers in Russia—Ingria Hope in St. Petersburg and Faith and Hope in Novosibirsk, partnering with local churches—continue to offer alternatives to abortion and care for mothers and children despite sanctions. In