Contents

The Local Congregation
Is The Hope Of The World

by Larry Merino

Summary:
The laity in local congregations have a tremendous opportunity and the ability to share the gospel with large numbers of lost people from many nations who are arriving in North America. Larry Merino provides a challenge to pastors to recognize the gifts of the laypeople and to equip them for this important ministry. He issues a similar challenge to laypeople to get spiritually prepared for the work.

Author:
Rev. Larry Merino, PhD, is the executive director of Harvest Mission International, Inc. (HMI), a cross-cultural mission education and consultancy group. Dr. Merino serves as a mission consultant to churches, mission organizations, and mission agencies throughout the United States and in Europe. Rev. Merino has a particular interest in developing strategies for reaching “resistant” people groups. Prior to developing the work of HMI he was a parish pastor at New Life Lutheran Church, Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Christian Friends of New Americans

by Allan Buckman

Summary:
The local outreach efforts of cross-cultural lay missionaries are making an impact on global missions. Allan Buckman offers an example of a local mission society where lay missionaries are actively involved. He also offers training ideas, trends and implications for congregations that want to be prepared for the local-global mission field that has come to the very doorstep of the Church.

Author:
Dr. Allan Buckman, served as a missionary in Nigeria, and also served LCMS World Mission as Africa Area Secretary, and as Director for World Areas. Now retired, he serves part time as LCMS WM Mission and Ministry Facilitator. He holds an M. Div.from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, an M.A. in Anthropology and Linguistics from UCLA and a D.Miss. from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California. Dr. Buckman and his wife Carol, have three children.

Everyday Missionaries

by Jeanne Burger

Summary:
God uses ordinary people to share the gospel with every nation. But in order to be effective, everyday missionaries must clearly understand that the mission to reach lost people belongs to God. Jeanne Burger shares her personal story of transformation into an everyday missionary, illustrating the process of change that can mobilize God’s people for missions.

Author:
Jeanne Burger is a freelance writer and everyday missionary who lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she attends New Life Lutheran Church. She is co-author of The 4 Jolts of Culture Shock: A Missionary Training Manual for the Mission Field in Your Own Backyard, for Harvest Mission International, Inc. Jeanne is also a registered nurse and teaches nursing for Indiana Wesleyan University.

Thinking Clearly About God’s Mission

by Larry C. Merino

Summary:
The solid theological foundations that can strengthen cross-cultural mission work are well within the grasp of the laity in our churches. Larry Merino uses a Lutheran perspective to show the person who has a “heart” for missions how to get the “head” for missions as well by recalling familiar teachings of the church.

Author:
Rev. Larry Merino, PhD, is the executive director of Harvest Mission International, Inc. (HMI), a cross-cultural mission education and consultancy group. Dr. Merino serves as a mission consultant to churches, mission organizations, and mission agencies throughout the United States and in Europe. Rev. Merino has a particular interest in developing strategies for reaching “resistant” people groups. Prior to developing the work of HMI he was a parish pastor at New Life Lutheran Church, Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

A Ministry Of Friendship To Those At Our Doorstep

by Carl Selle

Summary:
Campus pastors, local congregations, and individual Christians working together have the potential to reach the nations of the world with the love of Jesus Christ through outreach to international students. Carl Selle illustrates the needs and opportunities among international students in the United States and provides practical steps and mission strategies for building friendships and sharing the Gospel.

Author:
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod missionary Carl Selle served international students at universities in southern Michigan from 1992 to 2000. He developed a model for outreach on campus and simultaneously challenged Lutheran Christians to reach out in hospitality and friendship to those who study here. Currently he wears two hats; campus pastor in Stevens Point, WI, and LCMS World Mission resource for work among international students.

Why Won’t THEY Change?

by Leta Brown

Summary:
Often, perhaps unconsciously, we expect foreigners to our land to become like us and adjust to our ways of doing things before we feel comfortable welcoming them into our communities, our lives or our churches. Leta Brown challenges this expectation with an eye-opening response and moves the reader towards alternate responses that create mission opportunities.

Author:
Leta Brown is a graduate of Concordia University, Ann Arbor. She teaches Language Arts in the middle school at Grace Lutheran School in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Leta is currently working on her Master’s Degree in Reading at Concordia University-Wisconsin. She has been involved in overseas ministries to Qingdao, Shangdong Providence, China and also to Novosibersk, Siberia, Russia in addition to studying abroad in Austria. Leta currently serves the Lutheran Educator’s Association as a member of the Mission Minded Educator’s Network.

Enlisting, Equipping, and Sending Mission Teams

by Michael Gibson

Summary:
Are you eager to get members of your church involved in short-term mission trips, but find
yourself stuck at the idea stage because you don’t know the steps for moving forward? Michael Gibson draws on considerable mission trip experience to provide readers with a practical guide for each step of planning from mission design to post-trip events.

Author:
Dr. Michael Gibson has served Mount Olive Lutheran Chruchsince March 1987. He is a 1984 Master of Divinity graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Seminary, Pasadena, CA in 1996. He is the author of several books, serves as a conference speaker and church consultant on the topics of evangelism, leadership, worship, and church growth, and provides ministry training opportunities in Hong Kong and China.

Reaching Hispanic Immigrants for Christ

by Eric Moeller

Summary:
In previous centuries the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod became one of the fastest growing church bodies in America because it successfully reached out to the large waves of immigrants. Eric Moeller makes the case that carrying this tradition into the 21st century means we will make it a priority to reach out to Hispanic immigrants and incorporate them into our churches.

Author:
Rev. Eric Moeller M.A., M.Div., Ph.D. serves as Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN. He has served as a missionary in Panama. His teaching experiences include: Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Northwestern College, Orange City, IA, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Religion at Concordia Austin, and Assistant Professor of Sociology at Concordia River Forest. Eric and his wife Irma have three children, Carlos, Guillermo, and Daniela.

A Harvest Moment Among Muslims

by Randy Duncan

Summary:
Author Randy Duncan poses a significant question for our times, “How can we communicate
the Gospel of Jesus to a Muslim in truth and love?” In this article he offers some insights, challenges, and practical advice that will help laypeople find answers to this question and ways to minister across cultures to Muslim people.

Author:
Rev. Randy Duncan is the pastor of Living Word Church in Plymouth, Michigan. Pastor Duncan is the founding missionary of POBLO — People of the Book Lutheran Outreach (a mission society reaching the Muslim population), has worked in outreach to Gypsies and Muslims for 18 years and has planted nine churches in Michigan, Indiana and West Africa. Pastor Duncan and his wife Jennifer have three children.

You Brought Us The Greatest Gift

by Jeanne Burger

Summary:
When Christians think about how they can reach people with the Gospel, they often think only about their side of the picture: what they should say, how they should say it, what they should do to win people to Christ, and so on. In this article, Jeanne Burger takes the reader behind the scenes and into the minds and hearts of the ones being reached through a cross-cultural witness. The result is an eye-opening new perspective for the missionary.

Author:
Jeanne Burger is a freelance writer and everyday missionary who lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she attends New Life Lutheran Church. She is co-author of The 4 Jolts of Culture Shock: A Missionary Training Manual for the Mission Field in Your Own Backyard, for Harvest Mission International, Inc. Jeanne is also a registered nurse and teaches nursing for Indiana Wesleyan University.

Using Small Groups & Personal Retreats To Develop Missionaries

by Brenda Jank

Summary:
Regular extended time alone with God can refresh and empower God’s missionaries for their work in his Kingdom. Brenda Jank considers the value of personal retreats and provides practical ideas on how lay-people can actually carve out special time to be attentive to the voice of God and the plans he has for their lives.

Author:
Brenda Jank is a DCE (Director of Christian Education) with a degree from Concordia University-Nebraska. She coordinates the personal retreat ministries of Camp Lutherhaven in Albion, Indiana where she’s lived and served with her family for 13 years. As a writer, speaker and everyday missionary, Brenda relies on personal retreats to refresh and refuel her every step of the way.

You Can Tell Them At Your Door

by Laura Burger

Summary:
Christian laypeople at various stages in life, who share a common desire to reach lost people from all cultures, are finding ways to reach refugees and immigrants living nearby. Laura Burger shares the stories of several of these everyday missionaries to illustrate for the reader the simple, yet significant way God is working through ordinary lives to accomplish extraordinary things.

Author:
Laura Burger is a freelance writer, an executive assistant and an everyday missionary living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she attends Southwest Lutheran Church. She is involved in Hispanic ministry and volunteers as a tutor for an ESL class. Laura has a BA in Fine Arts from Indiana University.

A Personal Mission Plan

by Larry Merino and Jeanne Burger

Summary:
Experience indicates that everyday missionaries who make realistic plans and communicate them to family members and friends are much more likely to sustain their mission work for the long-term. Larry Merino and Jeanne Burger provide practical tools, along with inspiration and spiritual guidance, that will help the reader create a meaningful and personal mission plan.