A kickoff always signals the start of a football game.  This past week (2-9 September), we kicked off a new organization in Africa. The One Africa Team brought together two leaders from each of WELS’ three partner church bodies in West Africa: Christ the King Lutheran Church of Nigeria (CKLCN), All Saints Lutheran Church of Nigeria (ASLCN), and the Lutheran Church of Cameroon (LCC).  These six men sat together to solve some very sticky issues involving budgets, curricula, and staffing of their Seminary programs. 

We set up a WhatsApp chat group to communicate throughout the week.  It was useful for communication about what we had done in the Conference Room, meals, etc. We also came to understand that we could also use this forum for a monthly meeting.  That meeting is currently scheduled for 8 am the first Thursday of each month.  Regular communication will greatly assist us in making plans and holding one another accountable so that things get done.

Our biggest topic of conversation was to gain an understanding of the One Africa Team’s vision for “Quarterly Ministry Plans.”  Much has changed since the days when missionaries resided in Nigeria and Cameroon. Due to security, WELS missionaries do not live in West Africa.  In those days our partners were quite free to come and tell us, “We need ____ to carry out our ministry.” Then the local missionary would see what he could do to provide it for them. 

Now, our West African brothers are writing their own plans. They are very clear about the programs that they are planning to implement. These plans include the purpose of the proposed program and who will be the participants and the teachers. Plans also include where the proposed program will take place, and benchmarks to gauge the program’s effectiveness.  The focus of ministry planning must remain on reaching people with the Gospel. However, detailed estimates of expenses and funding sources are important for successful planning. We now have a good understanding of what our partners need for the October-December quarter. With some minor adjustments, our partners will be ready to move forward with assistance from the One Africa Team.

We have opened a line of communication between the One Africa Team and the West African Leaders group. After the initial kickoff, the ball is now rolling.

Dan Kroll lives in Malawi and is the OAT Liaison to WELS Mission Partners in West Africa

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

You can double the pastors serving your church body in one day! Considering the current number of vacancies in the Wisconsin Synod, that claim sounds like an internet scam. But that’s what has happened to our mission partners in Nigeria.

Tried and True Teaching

Christ the King Lutheran Church of Nigeria is based in the town of Uruk Uso, and All Saints Lutheran Church of Nigeria is headquartered in Ogoja.  Until now, each of those synods has had nine men serving in the public ministry of the Gospel. After five years of study during some unique circumstances, our mission partners each received nine new pastors on 11^th June 2022.  We praise the Lord for doubling the number of pastors who will shepherd God’s people with the truth of his Word.

You may ask, “What were  the unique circumstances under which these men studied?”  For many years, the WELS has sent missionaries trained at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary to Nigeria four or five times per year.  Those missionaries reviewed what the students had learned with their previous teachers. They taught new material at the seminary in Uruk Uso. In addition, they provided direction and study materials for the coming months until the next teacher came.  In the meantime, Nigerian Pastor Aniedi Paul Udo directed their studies.

That’s how Lutheran pastors serving in Nigeria have received their training until now. But that’s not how we trained the current class of graduates.

Flexible and Faithful

WELS provided the students with food and materials to study. However, WELS was unable to send visiting missionaries due to concerns about their safety. Director Udo and I tried to communicate from time to time, but the internet was not always reliable. The two of us often felt that we were going in different directions.  It has been a crazy five years and we have all learned much.  I’d like to believe through this time of transition, our students learned about the need to be flexible and open to change. These are invaluable qualities for Gospel ministers.

Pastor Udo and I fulfilled our duties as well as we could under the circumstances. But at the end of the day, we are trusting the Holy Spirit to transform these Nigerian students into faithful servants of God.  And that isn’t unique. In all of our ministry partners’ worker training programs around the world, the success of building God’s kingdom depends on the Holy Spirit. We plant the seeds and wait for the crop – a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown (Mt. 13:8). Or even double the pastors.

Missionary Dan Kroll lives in Malawi and serves as One Africa Team’s liaison to West Africa

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