From the first moment that Apollos walked into the synagogue in Ephesus, everyone could see his talent.  He was highly intelligent.  He was comfortable and confident in front of people.  His words were powerful and clear.  Best of all, he quickly proved himself to be a very committed and dedicated Christian.  Everyone could see that he had the talent and ability to be an ideal leader in the church.  All he really needed was a little extra training. 

Fortunately, there were teachers there in Ephesus who were ready and willing to give Apollos the training that he needed.  We read about it in the 18^th chapter of the Book of Acts:  “A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man and well versed in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. He spoke with burning zeal and taught the facts about Jesus accurately, although he knew only the baptism of John.  He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:24-26 EHV).

Identify and train.  Right from the beginning, the New Testament Christian church has worked to identify those who have the God-given talent and ability to serve as leaders in the church.  Then they train those men and women to do the work that God is calling them to do.

In the Lutheran Church of Ethiopia (LCE), our brothers and sisters in Christ have identified four people who appear to have the talent and the Christian dedication to serve as leaders in the church.  They have identified two young men, Ephrem Kebede Getachew and Cherinet Demeke Lemma, as possible future pastors.  They envision a young woman, Blen Berhanu Merka, as a future teacher and a program administrator for the new nursery school that the LCE is planning to open.  In addition to these three, there is Stephen Lam, a Nuer man from the Gambella region in western Ethiopia.  Stephen has been identified as a possible future pastor and teacher to the thousands of Sudanese Christians who are living in the Gambella refugee camps.

Clearly, all four of these have been blessed with spiritual gifts from God the Holy Spirit.  Their pastor, Rev. Kebede, often refers to them as “our brilliant scholars” or as “promising young men and women.”  All four of have demonstrated their Christian character and their commitment to Christ.  All they really need is a little extra training.

So where does that training come from?

Most of it will come from the LCE’s one and only ordained pastor, Rev. Kebede Getachew Yigezu.  Pastor Kebede teaches the vast majority of the courses at the LCE’s worker training school, Maor Lutheran Theological Seminary.  But that’s a huge job!  It’s much too big for just one person to do well, especially when we remember that Pastor Kebede must also be the spiritual shepherd to the LCE’s five congregations.

The Lutheran Church of Ethiopia and the WELS One Africa Team have agreed to collaborate and work together in the training of these students.  Pastor Kebede will still teach the majority of the courses, but missionaries from the WELS One Africa Team and teachers from the WELS Pastoral Studies Institute will also teach selected courses.  These classes will be taught online via Zoom.  Missionary John Roebke has begun teaching the first of these online courses beginning in May 2021. He is breaking new ground with many firsts – the first time he is teaching the Lutheran Confessions, the first time he is using Google Classroom to organize the assignments, and the first time that Maor students are using Zoom.

In Acts 18, Aquila and Priscilla identified Apollos as a potential spiritual leader for the church.  And after they had trained him, that’s exactly what Apollos would become.  “He provided much help to those who had become believers by grace” (Acts 18:27). 

Today we thank God that he has provided many qualified men and women to study for the public ministry.  May God make every one of them a blessing for his church.

Missionary Mark Panning lives in Malawi and is the OAT Liaison to the LCE

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

What do 10-year-olds in rural South Dakota know about Africa? Probably what a textbook or teacher has taught him or her. Probably that there are seven continents, and Africa is one of them. If they attend a WELS grade school, perhaps they know that there are missionaries in Africa. A 10-year-old South Dakotan would probably do better at telling you how to operate a combine than how to locate either Malawi or Cameroon on a map.

On October 31st and November 22nd, students from St. Martin’s in Watertown, SD, had the opportunity to Skype with missionaries from Africa and learn some lessons I pray will stick with them for life.

Why Africa? Why Watertown, SD? What’s the connection? How and why did a partnership developed between St. Martin’s Lutheran School in Watertown, South Dakota, and the One Africa Team?

Two months ago, St. Martin’s students wrote letters to 12 missionaries and their families across the world. Huge 25×30 inch letters were written with big handwriting and colorful somewhat messy pictures. The letters shared that students were praying on behalf of the missionaries, their families and their congregations. Students asked what life was like in their settings and shared Bible passages to encourage missionaries and their families.

We heard back from many of the missionaries. Some sent email replies. Another missionary sent a 12-minute YouTube video response. It was rewarding for students to hear back from these missionaries and their families. Through back-and-forth discussions with John Roebke, a missionary on the One Africa Team, we decided to attempt a Skype call between Missionary Roebke and the entire St. Martin’s school.

Because neither St. Martin’s nor Missionary Roebke had tried this “live audience” Skyping presentation method before, we held a test Skype call and worked through some of the technology glitches and operator error.

The day of the presentation was Reformation Day, Wednesday, October 31, 2018. (St. Martin’s has chapel on Wednesday mornings at 8:30.) After chapel, we showed a slideshow of images from Malawi and a short video of John’s security guards preparing and eating lunch. These served as background information and a “lead up” of sorts to the actual Skype call and presentation. At 9:04 am in Watertown, SD (4:04 pm in Lilongwe, Malawi), we called John Roebke. He answered. His face showed up about 12 feet tall on our two large screens in church and he greeted all of the St. Martin’s students with a “Happy Reformation Day!”

John spent 15 minutes sharing about life in Malawi: the food, the people, the place and what his ministry was like. As we Skyped I remember thinking it was incredible that we were over 8,800 miles away and yet were able to interact and hear a presentation from a real-life missionary. After his presentation, the students asked questions they had prepared. What is the weather like? (Hot.) What kinds of food do you eat? (Nsima, mangoes and pineapples) How big is your congregation? (40,000 members, because I get to help produce sermon books for all the congregations of the LCCA in Malawi) Do you ever miss home? (This is my home.)

Three weeks later on, on Friday, November 22, we were able to Skype with a second missionary and his wife who serve as part of the One Africa Team: Dan and Karen Kroll, who serve in Cameroon. Because of the tense political state in Cameroon, Cameroon was no longer a safe place to be. Instead the Krolls were staying at a house in Malawi. We were able to Skype with them and hear about how the Christians in Cameroon, who need our prayers, are still committed to sharing God’s Word during this time of political unrest.

We also heard about a day in the life of Dan and Karen. Dan shared how he gets to serve as a teacher for individuals looking to become pastors in Cameroon. Karen shared how she enjoyed serving in whatever way needed as a missionary’s wife – including everything from a morning of exterminating rats in their house to driving an ambulance in the afternoon. Additionally, Karen explained how she leads Bible studies for the wives of Dan’s seminary students.

Once again, students were able to ask questions: What is the weather like? (Hot) What is church like? (Sometimes a long distance to travel) Where is your home? (We’ve lived and served in Africa for over 20 years in Malawi and Cameroon. This is our home.)

The experience opened students’ eyes. Students were able to see and talk to a real-life missionaries in real time over 8,800 miles away. Students learned that missionaries serve in multiple ways; they not only preach, but also teach, write and encourage as a big part of their ministries. Students heard that missionaries were happy to serve in their homes of Africa, and that Africa is indeed their home.

Both John and the Krolls closed their respective Skype sessions in the same way. They encouraged the students to consider how they might serve God, not only now, but also in the future. They planted a seed for mission work perhaps somewhere down the line and urged students to think about how they might be able to share Jesus with others.

The Skyping experience was a wonderful opportunity. It provided our St. Martin’s students an opportunity to hear why and how missionaries share Jesus with others. It was free and fairly easy to organize. Students now have a few real faces and names to connect with mission work in Africa. We look forward to Skyping again and,we look forward to seeing how God blesses the missions in Africa and the students here in South Dakota.

Jonathan Niemi is the Principal of St. Martin’s Lutheran School in Watertown, S.D.

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