The Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC/Kenya) approached The Lutheran Church of Central Africa (LCCA/Zambia) with a formal request to establish formal church relations.  On a prior visit to Zambia in 2015 the chairman of their Synod, Pastor Mark Onunda, invited the LCCA to come and start the process.  The LCMC had left the fellowship of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya (ELCK) for compromising true confessional Lutheran doctrine and practice.   The LCMC desires to join in fellowship with a confessional Lutheran church body in Africa.

LCCA/Z members made their first visit to Kenya in October 2016.  Pastor Merven Shanzala and Missionary Daniel Sargent made a second visit to Kenya in October, 2017.   One Africa Team is working with the LCCA/Z to make these trips possible.

The purpose of the most recent visit was to present lessons on “Church Fellowship” and “A Confessional Lutheran Look at Pentecostals.” The meeting took place at Kadongo Parish in Kisi Province.  After the lessons an older gentleman by the name of Richard Ajure got up before the congregation to make a comment on the teaching lessons he had just heard.  He told the group that he joined the Lutheran church in Kenya in 1948, at which time the church was called the Swedish Lutheran Mission.  In 1968 he graduated from Bible school to serve as an evangelist in the church.  He said the Swedish Lutheran Mission used this catch phrase all the time: “We are true friends of the Bible.” He told the group his beloved church body, now called the ELCK, is no longer a “true friend of the Bible.”  Then he added, “Today the true friends of the Bible have come back to us.” Others who were present then began to comment that they also want to have a true confessional Lutheran fellowship with the LCCA and like-minded Lutherans.

Missionary John Hartmann and Pastor Simon Mweete from Zambia joined us as we met with the LCMC Synodical Council in Nairobi to discuss some doctrinal issues in their constitution.  The group discussed the doctrine of the Divine Call and the doctrine of Church and Ministry.  We agreed on a road map for discussing issues that are still unclear.  We then invited the LCMC to send a team of pastors to Zambia in April 2018 to continue fellowship discussions.

The LORD is truly blessing this work.  Keep the LCCA and the LCMC in your prayers as they work towards establishing formal church relations.

Missionary Daniel Sargent serves in Zambia

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

Once you’ve become a friend of Africa, you’re a friend for life. Today’s post is written by Noah Schroeder, a college student who recently held a video game fundraiser for our mission in Zambia. His story reminds us of our Lord’s words, “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Mt. 10:42)   

Noah’s Story

I attended Wisconsin Lutheran High School (Wisco) and was selected to go on a mission trip to Zambia after my junior year of high school. I went with 5 other students and Mrs. Karen Kilchemann as the chaperone in August of 2013 to do a Vacation Bible School at the church by the LCCA seminary in Lusaka, as well as teach lessons at other LCCA churches and schools and a couple of bush churches.

Chris Pluger, a former teacher at Wisco, and his son were our guides for the trip. At the time of my visit Chris was translating the Bible into the Nsenga language and living in the town of Petauke, in the Eastern Province of Zambia. We were in Zambia for a total of two weeks, and they are some of the most memorable and impactful days of my entire life. It was very busy, hectic, and stressful at times but this trip was one of the most incredible things I have ever done.

The Zambian people were incredible. Their joy and love was pure and truly amazing. It was special to see that I had brothers and sisters in Christ all the way across the world. However, the experience that touched me the most was participating in the week long Vacation Bible School held at the church located on the campus of the Lutheran Church of Central Africa (LCCA) Seminary. It was a lot of work, and we were constantly adjusting our lesson plans. We had close to hundred kids show up every single day, and getting to know them and teach them about God was the most rewarding week of my life.

It was a great week, but I wanted to do more. Many of the kids that we were teaching were very poor and did not have any shoes. As I was leaving Zambia I promised myself that I would not forget my experience and if I could, I would help in the future.

I am currently enrolled as a senior at Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC) in Milwaukee, WI. This fall I’m taking the COM 333 Leadership and Communication course. Our big project this semester is to run an event that benefits a cause. Zambia made such an impression on me that I took advantage of the opportunity to give back.

On November 16, 2017 I hosted a video game tournament at our school. We had Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, lots of cookies and brownies, and two TVs set up for the FIFA18 tournament, but more important than scoring goals on the screen was our goal of helping the churches and schools of the LCCA in Lusaka, Zambia. We raised a total of $217 as a result of our efforts! Many thanks to WLC for their support.

My experience in Zambia was a great blessing to me and the happiness and kindness of the Zambian people is something I will never forget.

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

I first met Missionary Daniel Kroll when my wife and I returned to Lake City, Minnesota following five years of service to the Lord as a planned giving counselor for the Arizona-California District of WELS. Dan and Karen had recently been recalled from Africa because of budget shortages. He was now serving as my Pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church of Lake City. Just a short time later I was elected Chairman of that congregation, so he and I worked hand in glove. Little did I know we would repeat this experience years later in Cameroon.

Through my 40 years of teaching in WELS schools prior to Planned Giving work, I have always been interested in the missionary work WELS does in Africa. I have heard story after story about groups of people eager to hear the good news and the joy they have when they hear it. It did not take a lot of persuading to convince me when Missionary Kroll asked me if I would be interested in teaching at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Kumba, Cameroon. My only hesitation was I did not wish to go to Cameroon alone for seven weeks. When Dan told me he also had plans for my wife Johanna to teach, the deal was done!

In June of this year (’17) I had a heart attack. A few days later I had triple-by-pass surgery. We put the whole Cameroon trip on hold for a while, waiting for several doctors to give us the “thumbs up.” I was very dutiful with the physical therapy following surgery. God blessed those efforts with good reports and those “thumbs up.” So, on Sunday, October 22 we boarded an airplane in Minneapolis, Minnesota and just about exactly 24 hours later got off a different plane in Douala, Cameroon.

After 20 years of teaching experience, Johanna now teaches a basic Grammar course and Music. I teach World History and Human Biology. We both delight in instructing the ten young men God has placed at our Bible Institute. I am impressed with their diligence and their willingness to learn. Their love for their Savior and the desire to share His Word are both clearly evident. In just a short time (on December 15) our Cameroon Connection will come to an end as we journey home to Minnesota for Christmas. I will always carry the friendship of Dan and Karen Kroll in my repaired heart. It will also have room for ten young Pastors with big smiles. I would love to return to Cameroon in 2021 when they graduate. Soli Deo Gloria!   

Harry and Johanna Mears are serving the Lord in Cameroon 

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