Marv Wittenberg | The Voice of Zion April 2024 - Mission Work Field Notes Article --
Have you ever wondered what the mission work of our Laestadian Lutheran Church (LLC) is about and who performs this work? On our church website, you can see the mission of our church is as follows:
To preach the gospel of repentance and remission of sins to the people of our communities, our nations, and throughout the world so that they might become partakers with us of the grace that God offers sin-fallen man in His Son Jesus Christ.
To nurture and strengthen the faith of the believing and root our children in Christian faith in God’s kingdom.
To awaken and inspire Christian values and ethics, soberness of mind, love of homeland, and responsible citizenship among the people of our nations.
This mission touches both the unbelieving world and the children of God’s kingdom. It is the work of the heavenly Father which He performs through each member in His kingdom here on earth through the power of the Holy Spirit. The instruction from His dear Son our Lord Jesus Christ is found in the Gospel of Matthew and is known as the mission command: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matt. 28: 19,20).
The command which Jesus gave while with His disciples is still with His own today. The work of God’s kingdom in North American Zion goes forth to nations throughout the world and within our home countries of the United States and Canada. As part of our LLC central organization, members of the mission work department, mission committee and staff work to support our church mission by organizing mission trips to other countries and providing services over the internet. Ministers are sent to many countries and serve also with online services to preach God’s Word.
In addition to the services shared online, approximately 30 mission trips are arranged to countries in Africa and Ecuador each year. Nearly 60 speakers are asked to serve in this way with ministers from African countries, Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States traveling on these trips to serve God’s children in their home countries and share the message of the gospel. As service requests continue to come from new countries, God has guided and directed His living Word to reach those places according to His will and at His appointed time. This gospel work is mutually supported by our sister organizations of the SFC in Sweden, the SRK in Finland, and God’s children throughout the world, a cooperative network beyond human comprehension.
The mission work in North America also includes coordinating LLC Summer and Winter Service programs including planned congregation discussions, recorded services, online services, and evening devotions. These all help to nurture and strengthen the faith of the believers in North America and share the message of God’s kingdom to all who may hear. Through His children, God calls to the unbelieving world according to His will: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa. 55:11).
God’s children give thanks to the heavenly Father for opportunities to gather at services in the hearing of His Holy Word, to be uplifted in faith and have fellowship with one another. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 8:17).
Mission work performed by LLC is part of the mission work done by God’s mutual congregation on earth; each member serves in this work. God’s children endeavor to live as they believe, not of their own power or strength but through the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s Word says that fruits of living faith are seen by those outside of God’s kingdom: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid… Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven” (Matt. 5:14, 16). It is our prayer as believers that among the people of our nations, there could be Christian values and ethics, soberness of mind, love of homeland, responsible citizenship, and a holy fear of God. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance” (Psa. 33:12).