Seeking and Strengthening Synods in Uganda

What do you get when you add together 3 Ugandan synods, 2 missionaries from the One Africa Team, and 1 representative from our WELS Commission on Inter-Church Relations (CICR)? A spiritually uplifting and productive cross-country journey!

At the beginning of April, Missionaries Foxen and Mohlke traveled to Uganda, rented a car, and struck out on unfamiliar roads to meet with representatives of two church bodies, or synods, who were seeking a relationship with WELS.

A Synod in Western Uganda

The first of these was the Confessional Lutheran Synod of Uganda (CLSU), headquartered in Ibanda in the hilly regions of western Uganda. The area was extremely pastoral, with beautifully green pasturelands and lots of cows. The leaders of the CLSU proved to be equally pastoral—very attentive to the spiritual needs of their people and eager to meet those needs to the best of their ability.

We visited a number of the local congregations and also got to see the site of their functioning seminary—a simple two rooms which housed a small library and a number of crowded bunks for students. A nearby church hall serves as their classroom.

The CLSU serves about 3,000 members with the gospel. Their seminary program has 7 students who will be graduating this December, with another 12 students ready to join the next intake.

A Synod in Central Uganda

After our time in Ibanda, we set out on the road again and headed east for 8 hours to arrive in Jinja in central Uganda, on the north banks of Lake Victoria, one of the sources for the Nile River. Here, we met with representatives from another synod, the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Uganda, or ECACU for short. Though smaller than the CLSU (they serve about 950 members), we found them to be no less eager to share the truth of God’s word with others in their communities.

A large focus of their strategy for reaching out is schools, which they organize in communities that lack them, then organize congregations out of the people making use of the schools. Their largest school serves about 300 children.

Our visits with the leaders of both ECACU and CLSU were very encouraging when it came to discussing our respective beliefs about Scripture and their focus on gospel ministry. We are looking forward to continuing discussions to see if fellowship with these synods will be possible.

The Obadiah Lutheran Synod

After our time was done with ECACU, we drove back to the airport, where I dropped off Missionary Mohlke and picked up MLC Professor Nicholas Schmoller, who also serves on the WELS CICR. The two of us then drove further east, past Jinja to Bugiri, where our brothers in the Obadiah Lutheran Synod are located.

We were meeting with them to help them organize a written confession of faith which would be used as they apply for membership in the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC), the worldwide fellowship of churches that WELS is a part of. We spent three days with Pastor Musa and other leaders of the OLS, studying Scripture and putting on paper articles of faith especially important to them for their churches, communities, and context. The Lord blessed our work and allowed us to accomplish everything in the time we had available.

So, after 16 days on the road and about 1,300 kilometers driven, what did we have to show for it? New friendships established, old ones reaffirmed, and more opportunities to marvel at the grace of Lord Jesus, who makes us his coworkers in the ministry of his gospel! May he continue to bless our work with these three Ugandan synods!

Missionary Ben Foxen lives in Zambia

Please pray for those working in fields that are ripe for harvest. Share their story, engage with future news, and receive updates. Learn more about our mission fields in Africa and how the Holy Spirit is working faith in people’s hearts at https://wels.net/serving-others/missions/africa

Building on an Age-Old Tradition

For over 100 years, WELS Congregations have been building Christian elementary and secondary schools. Many WELS members grew up learning Bible History and the teachings of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, along with reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as social studies and science. In the 21st Century, over 400 WELS congregations operate Early Childhood Educational Centers to secure our children’s relationship with their Savior.

While understanding the world around us is important, the understanding of eternal life supersedes it all. We understand that life-learning starts early, the earlier the better. The age of 2 or 3 years is not too soon to introduce our children to the teaching of salvation.

The One Africa Team is working with a group of Christians in Buchanan, Liberia, who understand the importance of educating children in the truths of Scripture. Lamb of God Lutheran Congregation is hoping to start with ABC Kindergarten. They hope that the kindergarten will quickly grow into a primary school and even a secondary school within just a few years. Pastor Toye Barnard, Lamb of God’s leader, expresses confidence that the program will grow fast.

building — Pastor Toye Barnard is the leader of Lamb of God Lutheran Church

Lamb of God Lutheran Church broke away from another group that the One Africa Team had studied with for several years. That group had decided to hold to the Pentecostal teachings of its leaders, which included a refusal to baptize infants, among other misunderstandings. Pastor Barnard and his members endured many false accusations from that other group when Lamb of God agreed to hold to the truth of Scripture and to continue studying with the OAT. A benevolent group of WELS Christians in California continues to support this budding ministry, which is focusing much attention on building a school as a foundation for their congregation.

Currently, 44 adults and 22 children worship at Lamb of God. The congregation owns three-quarters of an acre on which to build a small school near the edge of town. Principal Barnard, together with several members who are also teachers, is confident they will be able to build a large school and even a church building. They will need more land and more funds to actualize the plan. They will also need the Lord of the church to put his hand of blessing on this effort, so that his church may grow in Liberia. Your prayers and support are hugely appreciated!

Missionary Dan Kroll lives in Malawi

New Missionary

Jake Vilhauer recently graduated from Martin Luther College (MLC) and is a new missionary for the One Africa Team.

Coming out of Martin Luther College I initially planned on becoming a high school history teacher. In history teacher fashion, here’s a crash course of the last eight months of my life. I was informed that I was being considered for an international call. I accepted that international call. I graduated from MLC and announced my call to my family, who were shocked – the understatement of the year. I got married to Maddie Hockenbery on the 1st of June and shipped off to Zambia in August.

Learning Curve

Ten days after arriving in Zambia, my wife and I left for France to begin our French-speaking journey. We stayed in Strasbourg and went to French school every day, starting from scratch. Thanksgiving came quickly, and we left France to live with another missionary family in Douala, Cameroon to learn more French and to learn about West African culture. Soon we will return to Zambia and settle down in our own place.

The work that I have been able to do as a missionary with the One Africa Team is awesome, to say the least. I have worked with multiple groups of potential partners. Four seminary teachers from West Africa came to Douala and I helped them with educational strategies for the future. I have also taught online TELL classes with people all over Africa, studying the Bible in depth.

God’s Plan

There have been some challenges with being away from family, learning a new language, and learning a new culture. However, these past months have helped me to grow in my faith and learn how to work on a team. Although we are far from our families in the States, we were instantly provided with new families on the mission field. There has not been a lack of support from anyone, and I am truly grateful for that.

The past five months away from home have been a whirlwind. I never thought I would be a missionary. I would joke with Maddie about going abroad to annoy her. I had not heard of a World Missions call from MLC. People say that God hears our plans and laughs – that was true in my case. In the last year, God allowed me to graduate from MLC, receive and accept a World Missions call, get married, learn a new language, and live on three different continents. I pray that God blesses our missionary work here in Africa.

Jake and Maddie Vilhauer live in Lusaka, Zambia