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Ghana’s Lutherans celebrate 60 years

by | Sep 11, 2019

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana. (Photo: ELCG social media)

GHANA – The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG) celebrated its 60th anniversary during a national convention September 1-2, 2019 in Madina.

ELCG President John Donkoh during anniversary celebrations in Madina. (Photo: ELCG social media)

During the anniversary service on Sunday, ELCG President John Donkoh, elected in 2018, noted that “If you don’t know where you are from, it becomes very difficult to know where you are going.” Speaking on the history of the Ghanaian church, President Donkoh remarked, “It is said that a man got to know about Lutheranism, and he wanted a church in Ghana. He was referred to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). The Missouri Synod said, ‘You have a sister church in Africa.’ And so, missionaries from Nigeria were sent to Ghana. And that is how the Lutheran church began.”

That Nigerian mission work in cooperation with the LCMS would bear great fruit. The ELCG formally registered with the Ghanaian government in 1964. Today the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana has approximately 35,000 members in 50 congregations and 600 preaching stations throughout the country. The church has also been active in international missions: the Lutheran Church of Uganda (LCU) and the Lutheran Church in Africa – Benin Synod (ELA-SBe) are two church bodies founded through the mission work of the Ghanaian church, with the ELCG also having been active in Togo and Côte d’Ivoire.

Celebrating the ELCG’s 60th anniversary. (Photo: ELCG social media)

LCN Bishop S.O. Willie preaches during the anniversary service. (Photo: Screenshot).

To honour the work of Nigerians in helping found their church, the ELCG invited the Lutheran Church of Nigeria (LCN) to celebrate the special anniversary with them. Present as guest preacher for the anniversary service was the Right Rev. S.O. Willie, a provincial Bishop of the Lutheran Church of Nigeria. A number of other international church partners were also present for the celebrations.

The ELCG and the LCMS, LCN, LCU, and ELA-SBe are all member churches of the International Lutheran Council, a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies.

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Second Round of Classes for Lutheran Leadership Development Program

by | Jul 22, 2019

LLDP participants and their instructors at CTSFW (l-r): FELSISA Deputy Bishop Helmut Paul, LCSA Bishop Modise Maragelo, EECMY General Secretary Teshome Amenu, ELCT-SELVD Bishop Emmanuel Makala, LCSA Deputy Bishop Mandla Thwala, CTSFW President Lawrence Rast, CTSFW Academic Dean Charles Gieschen, ELCG President John Donkoh, EECMY Director of Children and Youth Tsegahun Assefa, ELCT-SELVD District Pastor Daniel Mono, and LLDP Director Naomichi Masaki.

USA – The Lutheran Leadership Development Program (LLDP) held its second round of classes July 8-19, 2019 at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana (CTSFW).

“It was a joy to be reunited here at CTSFW with our colleagues and brothers in the office from countries throughout Africa,” said Rev. Dr. Naomichi Masaki, LLDP Director and a professor with CTSFW. “We pray that their studies in this program will bear much fruit in their home church bodies”

CTSFW President Lawrence Rast teaches Lutheran history.

The first week featured a course on the History of the Lutheran Church taught by CTSFW President Lawrence Rast. This course focused on giving participants a deeper appreciation of the rich heritage of the Lutheran Church, and the tools to evaluate their own Lutheran tradition in light of the history of the Reformation. Participants also considered present day Lutheranism in the context of our changing world, both within and without the church.

The second week of classes featured Rev. Dr. Charles Gieschen, CTSFW’s Academic Dean, teaching a course on Lutheran Hermeneutics. The course provided instruction for students on how to read and understand Scripture faithfully, while also addressing the dangers of the higher-critical method and reader-oriented hermeneutics of biblical interpretation common in some parts of world Lutheranism. Among other resources, students read the book How to Read the Bible with Understanding, a publication from Concordia Publishing House (CPH).

Rev. Dr. Charles Gieschen teaches on Lutheran hermeneutics.

The students were also joined outside of class by Darin Storkson, Interim General Secretary of the International Lutheran Council (ILC). The Lutheran Leadership Development Program is a certificate program of the ILC.

Darin Storkson, Interim General Secretary of ILC, speaks with LLDP participants.

“One of the recurring requests we hear from Lutheran Churches around the world is the need for solid theological training,” said General Secretary Storkson. “The International Lutheran Council is proud to offer the Lutheran Leadership Development Program as a way of helping Lutherans around the world meet their theological education and leadership-training needs.”

In addition to classes, participants enjoyed plenty of time for food and fellowship, as well as visiting local Lutheran sites. The group also participated in the regular daily chapel services of CTSFW, where four of the LLDP participants were invited to preach. The intensive two-week period ended with a banquet featuring Lutheran choral music.

“The reaction of the participant in the LLDP remains overwhelmingly positive,” said Dr. Masaki. “They express gratitude and joy in hearing lectures that are faithful to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, and in receiving the Lord’s gifts in daily chapel and Sunday divine services. It’s wonderful to see the growing confessional fellowship and networking among participants and their churches.”

“To many, this program has been an eye-opening experience which they do not want to keep to themselves,” Dr. Masaki continued. “They request an expansion of the program. They also request that the lectures would be made available in book form as well, so that they may be more easily shared with others in in their home countries—something we are exploring with Concordia Publishing House.”

Eight students from across Africa were present for the latest round of classes, including General Secretary Teshome Amenu of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY); Mr. Tsegahun Assefa, Director of the Department of Children and Youth in the EECMY; President John Donkoh of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG); Deputy Bishop Helmut Paul of the Free Evangelical Lutheran Synod in South Africa (FELSISA); Bishop Modise Maragelo the Lutheran Church of Southern Africa (LCSA); Deputy Bishop Mandla Thwala of LCSA; Bishop Emmanuel Makala of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania’s South East of Lake Victoria Diocese (ELCT-SELVD); and District Pastor Daniel Mono of ELCT-SELVD.

LLDP Director Naomichi Masaki (bottom) and ILC Interim General Secretary Darin Storkson (third row, right) pose with LLDP participants in front of a mosaic in the library at CTSFW. This section of the mosaic shows Martin Luther posting the 95 Theses and Martin Chemnitz holding the completed Book of Concord. “How fitting it is that we all stand here together as heirs of this common and rich Reformation heritage!” said Dr. Masaki, noting that those in the picture come from many different nations (South Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Ghana, Japan, and the United States) but are united in the same Lutheran faith.

Three additional LLDP participants from the Lutheran Church of Nigeria (LCN) and the Malagasy Lutheran Church (FLM) were unable to attend the current round of classes in Fort Wayne.

The LLDPis a two-year certificate program which aims to provide Lutheran church bodies around the world an opportunity to develop leaders who are competent in both solid confessional Lutheran theology as well as practical skills in leadership and resource management. Students in the LLDP meet three times a year over two years for a total of twelve courses. Additional course work, writings, and examinations take place at a distance. More information on the LLDP is available here.

The first round of LLDP classes took place February 18-March 1, 2019 in Wittenberg, Germany. The next set of classes will take place November 18-29, 2019 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

You can support the LLDP by making a donation online. You can also make a donation by cheque to:

International Lutheran Council
P.O. Box 18775
St. Louis, MO 63118

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Supporting Theological Education in Nigeria

by | Jun 11, 2019

Students at the Jonathan Ekong Memorial Lutheran Seminary in Nigeria.

During class at JEML Seminary.

NIGERIA – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is working with the Lutheran Church of Nigeria (LCN) to support seminary education at the Jonathan Ekong Memorial Lutheran (JEML) Seminary in Obot Idim Ibesikpo, Uyo, AKWA Ibom State, Nigeria.

In a recent interview, LCN Archbishop Christian Ekong spoke of the opportunity and need for seminary education in Nigeria. “Theological education and the training of pastors remain critically important for the support, growth, and missionary activity of the Lutheran Church of Nigeria,” he said. “Our congregations and the mission field need pastors. We have many candidates for seminary admission, but we often have to delay or deny admission to qualified students because of lack of funding.”

The Sacrament of the Altar.

Grants from the International Lutheran Council will supplement student fees and make it possible for eligible men to attend the seminary for training as Evangelists and Pastors in the LCN. “I have fallen in love with these young men who have come to the seminary with such passion and commitment to preaching the Gospel of Christ in Nigeria,” said Rev. Peter C. Bender, Visiting Professor at JEML Seminary and Director of the Concordia Catechetical Academy (Sussex, Wisconsin).  “The work of this seminary is vital, not only for the LCN, but for the confessional Lutheran churches in all of Africa. The Lord has blessed the seminary with an outstanding curriculum and the unwavering leadership of Archbishop Ekong. Having lectured all over the world, JEML is worthy of the support of all who cherish the Gospel of Christ and Lutheran mission work on the continent of Africa.”

The Lutheran Church of Nigeria is a member church of the International Lutheran Council, a growing association of confessional Lutheran church bodies around the world.

You can support the training of pastors in Nigeria by making a donation online. Simply designate “Seminary Support in Nigeria” as you make your gift.

You can also make donations by mail to the following address:

International Lutheran Council
PO Box 18775
St. Louis, MO 63118

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ILC works with Nigerian Lutherans to plant churches

by | Apr 8, 2019

LCN missionary pastor, Rev. Barile Kagbor, and the mission congregation in Ugep in southern Nigeria.

NIGERIA – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is working with the Lutheran Church of Nigeria (LCN) to support mission outreach in cities and urban areas across the country.

While well-established in rural areas, the Lutheran Church of Nigeria has identified greater emphasis on urban outreach as a growing mission need. Responding to a request for assistance from the LCN, the International Lutheran Council agreed in 2018 to partner with the LCN, providing financial support for Nigerian pastors as they establish new mission plants in urban centres throughout Nigeria, including in Yenegoa, Warri, Asaba, Ekiti, Alagbole, Ugep, Bonny, and Akpet Central.

“One of the biggest challenges to the growth of the church in Nigeria is a lack of missionary pastors,” noted LCN Archbishop Christian Ekong. “Through the assistance of the International Lutheran Council, we are pleased to be able to send more workers into the mission field, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ throughout our country.”

Accomodations for Rev. Kagbor and his family in Ugep.

Grants from the International Lutheran Council will supplement LCN mission funds in order to pay rent for worship space in mission sites, as well as to pay the salaries of missionary pastors. Through this project, the LCN hopes to establish ten new congregations in urban centres over the next five years.

“It is a joy to be able to support the Lutheran Church of Nigeria as its mission field expands to include new urban centres across Nigeria,” said Darin Storkson, Interim General Secretary of the ILC. “May God bless the work of the LCN’s missionary pastors, and open hearts to receive the message of salvation with joy.”

The Lutheran Church of Nigeria is a member church of the International Lutheran Council, a growing association of confessional Lutheran church bodies around the world.

You can support missionary pastors in Nigeria by making a donation online. Simply designate “Missionary support in Nigeria” as you make your gift.

You can also make donations by mail to the following address:

International Lutheran Council
PO Box 18775
St. Louis, MO 63118

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ILC and CPH partner together to provide 17,000 catechisms to churches around the world

by | Jan 30, 2019

CPH President Bruce G. Kintz poses with boxes of Small Catechisms ready to ship around the world.

WORLD – In November 2018, Concordia Publishing House shipped thousands of copies of Luther’s Small Catechism to church bodies around the world as part of the publisher’s partnered work with the International Lutheran Council.

In total, 17,000 copies of the visual edition of the Small Catechism (with Explanation) were shipped to Lutheran church bodies around the world, including to churches in Ghana, Nigeria, and the Philippines.

“For 150 years, God has blessed CPH with the ability to help equip churches around the world with the resources they need to support theological formation and strengthen Lutheran identity,” said Dr. Bruce G. Kintz, President of Concordia Publishing House. “It’s a joy to partner with the International Lutheran Council in this important work. To God be the glory!” CPH is the world’s largest, continually-operating publisher of confessional Lutheran materials.

In addition to working together on the distribution of Lutheran resources internationally, the ILC and CPH also partner together on the Lutheran Leadership Development Program, a global initiative to train leaders for Lutheran churches around the world.

You can support the joint work of the ILC and CPH through online giving. Simply designate your gift for the Lutheran Leadership Development Program or another program of your choice.

You can also make donations by mail to the following address:

International Lutheran Council
PO Box 18775
St. Louis, MO 63118

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