New Latin America Mission Team

Missionary Wagenknecht & Pastor Jorge

WELS World Missions is announcing changes to its work in Latin America. All WELS missionaries serving in Latin America, including those who are members of the Latin American Traveling Theological Educators, will now be part of one Latin America mission team.

As Rev. Larry Schlomer, administrator of WELS World Missions, explains, “The flexibility this group will have allows our missionaries to be deployed where they are needed most and to be redeployed when the assigned tasks are done. This one Latin America mission team can provide exploration of areas and contacts, church planting, an evangelism push, evangelism training, lay leader training, pre-seminary and seminary education, and whatever else can be useful and effective for each unique situation. Missionaries can be deployed for years at a time or serve a country with short visits and encouragement.”

Several factors contributed to this change in mission planning, including the growing maturity of national church leaders in WELS missions in Latin America, fluctuating security concerns in certain areas, and a reduction in missionary manpower.

Schlomer notes, “For several years WELS mission work in Latin America has covered the training and support of national workers in many different countries. Our Latin American Traveling Theological Educators have traveled to Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and there are now 24 national pastors and seven evangelists serving in these Latin American countries. There are also 18 more seminarians who are being trained with the current program in conjunction with the national churches. These leaders form a small army of confessional, Lutheran, Hispanic ambassadors of Christ serving in local congregations and reaching out into their communities. The growth of these national churches allows them to stand on their own with occasional visits and support from WELS.”

Missionary Nate Wagenknecht, who had served as a Latin American Traveling Theological Educator, is the first called worker to be redeployed since the inception of this new strategy for serving Latin America. Wagenknecht, who had been based in Puebla, Mexico, has relocated to Houston, Texas, to help Hispanic members of WELS reach back into their home countries with the gospel. It is estimated that as many as 2,000 WELS members are immigrants from a Latin American country.

“The friends and family members of these brothers and sisters can be the starting point for mission work in many areas of the Americas that desperately need the saving truth,” says Schlomer.

Wagenknecht adds, “We want to network better with stateside Hispanic ministries and tap into the relationships our stateside members have with their family and friends back in their home country. We also want to maintain a healthy balance between outreach—sharing the gospel with new contacts—and discipleship—helping Christians mature in their faith and service in God's kingdoms.”

If you know of a contact in Latin America who needs to hear the gospel and you would like to work with the Latin America mission team to reach them, contact Wagenknecht at 1LA@wels.net.

Source: http://www.wels.net/news-events/new-latin-america-mission-team

The Mexican Seminary Moved!

Professor Natán, Victor, Jaime, Luis, Dan, & Professor Larry

The Confesional Lutheran Seminary of the IELC in Mexico has prepared men for the public ministry of the gospel in various locations in its 20-plus year history - Torreón, Monterrey, Mexico City, Puebla, back to Torreón, then León. This summer it returned to Puebla.

Two professors from the LATTE team, together with two men who are studying full-time, moved from León to Puebla in August. The IELC decided to relocate its seminary in order to accept two more full-time students, better train a part-time student, and combine efforts with the local ministries.

By God's grace, the seminary now has four full-time students plus three men in the Certified Pastor program. One man should be ready to start his vicar year in January. We ask the Lord of the Harvest to bless the preparation of his workers. We also encourage you, God's people, to think about where our future pastors will come from. Look for children and youth who have the gifts to serve. Speak well of your pastor and the ministry to them. Encourage them to consider serving God in the gospel ministry.

Conference in Colombia

Back in April, I had the opportunity to be one of two presenters for a Pastors Conference in Medellín, Colombia. Since this was my first time ever to go to Colombia, I went a few days early in order to spend time with some of the pastors and congregation members and attend Sunday Bible class and worship. What a blessing!

Pastors Elkin, Henry, Jairo and Tonny, and the members of Holy Trinity congregation were excellent hosts. Ten pastors--eight from Colombia, one from Bolivia, and one from the Dominican Republic--together with 23 members participated in three, six-hour days of Bible study and discussion. Professor Lorenzo led a study on the Church's Concern for Marriage, and I facilitated a study on Christian Stewardship.

One of many highlights was joining together on Wednesday evening for a service with the Lord's Supper. In this service, we also formally recognized Pastor Henry's graduation from the LATTE seminary program.

Another highlight was watching the pastors--many of whom had never met before--network with each other, sharing struggles, joys and encouragement.

If God allows, we hope to conduct similar conferences regularly to strength the bonds of fellowship for our sister churches in Latin America.

Global Networking

Missionaries: Rob, Mike, Jon, Ben, Mark (back row)
Nate, Phil, Joel, & Larry (front row) & Paul-not pictured (photographer)

Previously, I've (Nate) written about a Greek instructors workshop that I was blessed to attend back in February. Improving our personal understanding of Greek and, hopefully, our teaching of Greek was only one benefit of this ten-day workshop. The other benefit was talking with brother missionaries about their fields and sharing ideas. Even though all ten of us are WELS missionaries, many of us had never met before. From the first day of planning last summer, we wanted networking to be one of the two main goals of our time together.

Since there were ten of us, we spent five evenings with two of us on the "hot seat" each night. But instead of just offering reports from each field, we started with the rest of the group telling what they knew (or thought they knew) of the field being talked about. Only after the group had exhausted its knowledge did the missionary from that field have a chance to confirm, correct, or clarify what the others had said. It was a good way to find out if accurate information is out there, and possibly what misconceptions exist between the fields.

After hearing from each field those first five evenings, we looked for themes and issues that kept coming up in the discussion. Some of the issues I expected: training nationals for ministry, trying to avoid creating dependency, telling the story of missions back home. Other themes surprised me: using volunteers to help the mission, continuing education and professional development for missionaries, and improving communication.

Whether walking in the Judean hills during our free time or sitting in one of the hotel rooms for some directed discussion together, we had the chance to discover common themes -- and share experiences of how we have dealt with them. That was powerful networking.

Go to http://greekworkshop2013.shutterfly.com to view the complete itinerary (February-March, 2013), photos, a photo book, and video of this event.

Living Greek

Back in February, nine fellow WELS missionaries and I participated in a Greek instructors workshop conducted by Dr. Randall Buth and his daughter Sharon of the Biblical Language Center. They showed us the potential benefits of teaching Biblical Greek as a living language (not just a "book language") through the TPR and TPRS techniques.

TPR stands for "Total Physical Response" where students respond to commands that require physical movement. For example, the instructor says, "κάθισον," and you sit down. The instructor says, "τι ποιεις?" (What are you doing?) and you respond "κάθημαι" (I'm sitting). You learn words by doing them rather than simply learning a vocabulary list.

TPRS stands for "Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling" where students read and tell stories--using props (a.k.a. toys) to help the hearers visualize the story--and then ask each other questions about the story. "τι εποιησεν η γυνη?" (What did the woman do?) "η γυνη εφαγεν την σταφυλην" (The woman ate the grapes).

Both of these techniques make learning fun and natural--the same way we learned our first language from our parents when we were kids! And it was all done in Greek without the need of translating into English. After just a few days, I found myself actually thinking in Greek. Now my goal is to pursue this approach further and incorporate it into my seminary classes so that Greek comes alive for our future pastors in Latin America.

Journey to Jerusalem

Exactly five weeks ago today, I was in Jerusalem.  I'll share why I was in Israel next time. In this post, I want to share pictures and some thoughts on Holy Week after actually being there. 

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (a possible and even probable site of Christ's crucifixion and burial). The tomb is still empty. Christ is risen!

Church of the Holy Sepulcher - He is not here; He is risen! 

Since Jerusalem is surrounded by valleys, you always travel *up* to Jerusalem, but that doesn't mean Jerusalem is the highest point. The Mount of Olives is actually higher, which means as Jesus approached Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives on Palm Sunday and wept over the city (Luke 19:41) he was looking down across the Kidron valley and could see the whole city in front of him. Jesus didn't cry over buildings and walls, but over the people in the city who had rejected him.  It's about people.

Mount of Olives - Overlooking Jerusalem

Jerusalem in Jesus' time really wasn't that big. You can walk from one section to another in a matter of minutes. All of the events from the Last Supper to Gethsemane to the high priest's house to Pilate's Praetorium to Golgotha happened in a relatively small area.

Close Proximity  
Gray Dome (Left) - Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  Gold Dome (Right) - Temple Mount 

My faith is based purely on God's Word, and I don't need archeology to prove the validity of God's Word for me. Yet being on site and seeing archeological discoveries helped me visualize, understand and appreciate God's Word even more.

Wishing you a joyous Easter celebration. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. He is risen indeed!

What Time Is It There?

I'm kind of embarrassed, but I missed a class on Monday morning. Normally I study Greek with Raul Monday through Friday at 7:45am. This past Monday, everything was going fine. I was up, had my bowl of cereal and cup of coffee, read my morning devotion, had time to look over my notes. I logged into Skype at 7:40, ready to teach.

And then I saw the message from Raul. It was time stamped an hour ago. He was wondering where I was for class. That's when it dawned on me, over the weekend we had ended Daylight Savings Time here in Mexico--but evidently not in Colombia.

As you know from other posts, LATTE is preparing men for the ministry in various countries of Latin America. And that means various time zones, both north and south of the equator. Normally that is not a problem, but it does make us do some interesting adjustments twice a year.

Mexico went off of Daylight Savings Time last weekend, setting our clocks back an hour. The US will end Daylight Savings Time this coming weekend, so we have been an hour apart this past week. Brazil changed their clocks two weeks ago, but since they are in the southern hemisphere, they entered D.S.T. and moved their clocks ahead. Bolivia and Colombia don't use D.S.T. and so they don't change their clocks at all.

I apologized to Raul, and we had a good laugh. Now I set my alarm clock an hour earlier and am ready to teach at 6:45 my time, 7:45 his time.

B2S

Back 2 School! Back 2 Sem! Time to buy pencils, notebooks, highlighters... and don't forget your Greek Bible!

 Mexican Seminary Students Luis and Dan

God has blessed the Mexican church with two full time seminary students who started the new trimester on August 15. Dan is a returning student, and Luis is starting his first year. We were able to coordinate some of their classes with two full time students in Colombia, too. Henry should finish his formal seminary training by the end of the year, and Raúl is finishing his first year.

As they study Greek and Hebrew, Old Testament history and the Gospels, Church History and the Formula of Concord, sermon-writing and leading worship, we ask the Lord of the harvest to bless the training of these men and then to send them out as workers in his harvest field--sharing the message that Jesus was B2S, born to save.

Click here for additional information.

Putting it into Practice

The joys of the ministry are many. For me as a LATTE professor, it is a joy to train men and women for the gospel ministry. And my joy is multiplied when I see our students put what they are learning into practice.

I am not called to be a parish pastor right now, so I am not out there directing evangelism programs for a congregation. I do not preach every Sunday or teach Catechism class to the youth. But I am training others to do that.

What a joy, then, to see God reign in the ministries of our students.  Our students are reaching out with the Gospel.  

I'd like to share a short video of Alex and Obed handing out copies of "The Promise" -- a booklet produced by our WELS Multi-Language Publications to explain God's promise of salvation.  

This video selection was recorded a few years ago in the Dominican Republic.

A Time to Review Hebrew

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. That includes a time to review Hebrew, even though it is not listed specifically in Ecclesiastes 3.

During my recent furlough, I had the opportunity to attend two weeks of intensive Hebrew review and practice at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary's summer quarter. I have always enjoyed Hebrew ever since learning it in college and using it almost every day during my time at the seminary. But, I must admit, my Hebrew has gotten a little rusty over the years.

It was so refreshing to join 28 of my brothers in the ministry (14 each week) and focus on our Hebrew skills as we translated the books of Ruth and Ecclesiastes. Thank you to Professors Paustian and Nass from Martin Luther College for their guidance! It was good to review the different forms of the verb in Qal, Nifal, Piel, Pual, Hifil, Hofal, Hitpael (and occasional Hishtafel and Pilpel) and how those forms influence the meaning and translation of a verse. I benefited from seeing newer resources available for both teaching and studying Hebrew, and I hope to pass that benefit on to our LATTE students in our studies of the Old Testament.

There is a time for everything... Now the time has come to end furlough and continue our LATTE ministry of preparing pastors for God's people in Latin America. Time spent keeping my own Hebrew skills up will be well spent as I pass these skills on to our students.

A Blast from the Past

LATTE Team (2006)

Professors Ralph,  Natán, 
Larry, Lorenzo, & Philip

The following description of the LATTE program was first written for a meeting in January of 2006. As we approach the 10th anniversary of the LATTE program's official start next year, we look back to past descriptions and accomplishments of the LATTE program. Look for more "blasts from the past" throughout the next 12 months.

In 2002, when the first warnings about budget shortfalls and cuts began to circulate, the Administrative Committee for Latin America called a meeting together with all five of its field coordinators to consider options. After discussing many opinions and reaching a consensus regarding the indispensable part of our work to continue serving our fields, even if one no longer had resident missionaries, the idea for LATTE (Latin American Traveling Theological Educators) was conceived. Calls to form part of the LATTE team were issued to the five Latin American missionaries who were then responsible for the theological education in the Spanish speaking missions we had at that time. After a series of meetings planning curriculum, course load, and course responsibility, the teaching trips began in July of 2003.

Based on input from the fields our Administrative Committee established the following goals for LATTE:

1. Maintain theological education in fields that might no longer have resident missionaries.
2. Maintain contact with fledgling national churches when no resident missionary is present.
3. Train nationals to be pastors and other trained workers for the national churches.
4. Provide "post-graduate" instruction to graduated pastors:
• continuing education to improve their ministries.
• preparation for some of them to be seminary professors, according to the needs of the national churches.
5. Visit contacts from counties where we don't have a presence to investigate the possibilities of training them to gather and shepherd their own groups, and provide such training where possible.

To reach those goals, LATTE's ministry would consist of the following ways in which we serve our Lord:

1. Establish a core seminary curriculum for all our Latin American fields.
2. Serve the various fields as requested by the national churches in consultation with their resident missionaries or the missionary contact person for the field where there is no resident missionary.
3. Make teaching visits to the several fields as necessary for teaching the curriculum.
4. Confer with the appropriate national church leaders regarding the theological education needs of the church.
5. Offer instruction on the Bible Institute level where the national church is not yet ready to assume that responsibility.
6. Offer brief seminars for graduate national pastors in subjects where they request help, and also in areas where LATTE professors or resident missionaries detect needs.
7. Visit and then teach contacts from countries where we don't have a presence.

Serving as a Missionary

Pastor Roberto completed his seminary training in 2009 and serves as a home missionary for the Igreja Luterana Brasileira - Brazilian Lutheran Church (ILB) to start a new congregation in the city of Presidente Prudente in Southeastern Brazil.

 LATTE Professor Natán & Pastor Roberto

How are you using your seminary training now?

At this moment, I am giving Bible Studies in the houses of the people, that is to say, I have different studies in some houses on different days of the week. On Sundays, I gather with my family for Bible studies, or sometimes we listen to a sermon that was recorded in Dourados, or other times I myself preach.

What are some of your joys in the ministry?

I am happy to be able to share my joy in knowing that Christ died for all of my sins, and to share salvation in Christ with other people.

Pastor Roberto Teaching a Bible Study

What are some of the challenges in your ministry?

There is always a challenge when one handles God's Word. First, our challenge is to study the Word carefully in order to be as faithful as possible. Then the challenge is to share these truths from the Word with other people.

What is your favorite Bible passage?

 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. - Romans 10:17

Professor Natán, Pastor Roberto, Pastor Elcy, & Pastor Charlie

Mining the Gospel's Gems in Greek

Back in January as we were starting new classes in a new year, I shared that I was going to teach a Church History course from Mexico over Skype with three students in Colombia.  Recently I also began teaching Greek to two of those students.  I remain in Mexico; they remain in Colombia.  As long as all three of us have power and Internet, we should be ok.

The Holy Spirit in his divine wisdom chose to inspire the evangelists and apostles to write the New Testament using the Greek language of their time.  Pastors who are called to preach and teach the gospel faithfully will want to be able to mine the gospel's treasures in its original language as much as possible.

My prayer is that as Jairo and Raúl learn Greek grammar, analyze and understand its forms, and grow their Greek vocabulary, they will come to appreciate why the Holy Spirit chose this language, which tends to be quite exact and at the same time colorful, to reveal his gospel in the New Testament.  May it lead to a lifetime of mining the gospel's gems together with faithful translation and interpretation of gospel truth.

Brazil - Update

In the southern city of Gravataí, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Pastor Elcy serves the congregation Jesus Salvador. 

About 18 hours northwest, Pastor Roberto serves as a missionary, working with a small group in President Prudente, São Paulo (SP). 

Evangelist Gilberto actively assists Pastor Charlie of Estrela de Belén in serving the congregation's needs with zeal in the town of Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul (MS).

LATTE Professor Natán serves as the WELS Friendly Counselor for the Brazilian Lutheran Church. He provides theological training for Evangelist Gilberto and offers continued education courses to Pastor Elcy and Pastor Roberto.

The Brazilian Lutheran Church (ILB) is planning its biennial convention this spring.  At the convention, delegates will ask for the Spirit's guidance as they discuss how to combat the increasing temptation of materialism and its effects on Christian stewardship in Brazil's improved economy.  They will also seek the Lord's favor to provide additional servant-leaders for the church, both among the laity and in the public ministry.  

 The ILB is a relatively small church body and growth is slow, but the recent confirmation of three teenagers and return of some delinquent members shows God is still blessing the preaching of his Word.

Retired Missionary Charlie and Beth continue to serve the ILB as active volunteers.

Seminary Training

Professor Larry, Student-Pastor Henry, Professor Natán, Pastor Israel, 

Pastor Juan, & Pastor Alejandro

This week LATTE is hosting a 5-day workshop in México; providing training to four pastors to teach seminary courses. Three pastors are from different parts of México and one student-pastor is from Colombia. 

The workshop began Monday morning at the ministry center with a joint breakfast, because two of the pastors arrived directly from the local bus station after overnight bus trips.  A devotion led by one of the pastors followed the meal. 

They begin each day after breakfast and continue until 2:00 pm.  Then the group breaks for lunch and spends the remainder of the day doing homework to present the following day.

Professors Larry and Natán are leading the workshop with emphasis on curriculum development, adult education, and online learning.

It is a great opportunity to review the basics, learn new methods, and grow in fellowship.

Puerto Rico

On the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico (PR), Pastor Manuel serves a congregation in San Juan and another in Humacao as Pastor Sergio serves the Guayama congregation.  One seminary student, Eligio, is getting close to his completion of seminary courses.  During the past two years, he has been studying online via Skype with a LATTE professor.

Professor Natán& Seminary Student Eligio at WELS Synod Convention -- July, 2011

This month, Professor Larry is teaching Eligio one of his courses on-site in Humacao, PR.

 Seminary Student Eligio & Professor Larry

This teaching trip is a great opportunity for face to face interaction between teacher and student while also providing encouragement to Eligio. Often times, seminary students in Latin America do not have fellow classmates in the same city or even country.  That is one of the many benefits of LATTE trips in letting the student know they are not alone and also a chance for the teacher to see his student 'in action' as he serves his local congregation.

At the WELS Synod Convention in July, 2011, the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church of Puerto Rico was formally recognized as an independent sister church in full fellowship with WELS.  Contact with this church will continue through the Commission on Inter-Church Relations (CICR).

New Classes in the New Year

The new year has come, and with it the beginning of new classes for LATTE.

Some students are starting an online doctrine course called Escatología--the study of what the Bible says (and doesn't say) about the end times--with Professor Lorenzo.  Another student, nearing the end of his formal seminary studies, has started an intensive four-week study of the book of Isaiah with Professor Larry.  A few will continue examining the Augsburg Confession with Professor Philip  And still others are just starting a class on the history of the Christian church.  It is my privilege to teach this class on Church History.

And I'm looking forward to it.  I'm looking forward to getting to know Henry, Jairo and Raul, three student-pastors in Colombia whom I haven't yet met face-to-face, but will soon get to know over Skype.  I'm in Mexico; they're in Medellín and Quibdó, Colombia.  We'll study together across the Internet.

I'm also looking forward to reviewing the lessons we can learn from history.  I marvel at how God has preserved his church over the centuries.  I appreciate how past Christians have fought to defend Scripture's truth against subtle false doctrines.  I learn from them how to recognize and fight false doctrine today.

The new year has come.  And as we begin a new class on Church History, we ask God to help us learn lessons from the past.

"Lord, it is good for us to be here!"

Echoing Peter's reaction to Jesus' Transfiguration (Matthew 17), a small group of pastors and evangelists of the Brazilian Lutheran Church (ILB) met on October 10 and 11 to bask in our Lord's glory through study of his Word.  Despite an 8 hour drive for one pastor and a 22 hour bus ride for another, the fellowship, encouragement and renewal in the gospel was worth the effort.  In my role as WELS Friendly Counselor to the ILB, I had the privilege to attend, and -- despite a four day delay between flights to get here -- I agree it was worth the effort.  It was good to be here!

I shared a study on 1 Kings 19:9-18, reminding us that God continues to work through his "still, small voice" in the gospel to save sinners.  Pastor Roberto, an ILB home missionary in Presidente Prudente, led us in a discussion on evangelism.  Pastor Elcy of Jesus Salvador congregation in Gravatai, guided our review of lay ministry.  And Pastor Charles of Estela de Belem congregation in Dourados, provided a summary of ILB history from 1986 to 2011 and opened the discussion for future plans under God's grace.

But just as Peter, James and John could not stay because there was still work to be done, we also "came down from the mountain" to return to our ministries -- refreshed and renewed.  For me, that means a few weeks of study with Evangelist Gilberto reviewing what the Bible says about Church and Ministry, and then guiding members of our Administrative Committee of Latin American missions on a field visit in the beginning of November.

Pastor Elcy, Pastor Roberto, Volunteer Missionary Charlie, 

LATTE Missionary Natán, & Evangelist Gilberto 

Thank you, Jesus, for our time together with you and each other!

The Five Solas of Reformation

Sola Scriptura — by Scripture alone  

• You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about [Jesus]. (John 5:39)

• From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:15-16)

Sola Gratia — by grace alone  

• So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.  (Romans 11:5-6)
• For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Sola Fide — by faith alone

• But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  (Romans 3:21-22)
• For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.  (Romans 3:28)
• Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. (Romans 4:4-5)
• Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  (Romans 5:1-2)
•  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.  (Philippians 3:8-9)

Solo Christo — by Christ alone

• These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.  (John 20:31)
• Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name [Jesus Christ] under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.  (Acts 4:12)
• God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  (Romans 5:8-10)
• No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  (1 Corinthians 3:11)
• You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  (Galatians 3:26-27)
• [God] wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.  (1 Timothy 2:4-6)

Soli Deo Gloria— glory to God alone  

• So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  (1 Corinthians 10:31)
• At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (Philippians 2:10-11)

Behind the Scenes

In the realm of WELS Latin American missions, LATTE exists as a separate "field" from the individual mission fields of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, etc.  We play a supportive role to the individual fields and national churches by assisting in the theological education of their church leaders.  So communication and coordination of plans is essential to our service.

A few weeks ago, I had the joy of participating in a three-day planning session for the ministry in Mexico. When discussing the local ministry, fellow LATTE Professor Larry and I could serve as consultants and sounding boards for various projects.  When discussing the seminary, we helped brainstorm ideas for recruiting future students, starting the new school year, and taking another step forward in the national church's development--offering workshops to prepare qualified national pastors to become seminary professors for the Mexican seminary.

As a LATTE missionary, I am not called to serve a specific congregation as their pastor. And I admit I miss teaching, preaching and administering the sacraments regularly to a particular flock.  But I truly enjoy being a part of the "behind the scenes" work of training and supporting the men the Lord provides to shepherd his people.  I pray our Savior will bless our future plans to turn them into present reality, as he knows best.