Dear friends in Christ, Leadership questions never seem far off in the life of the church. Who is in charge? Whose vision will we follow? Which program, strategy, or personality will carry us forward? In anxious moments, we can begin looking for a human head or leader to stabilize things,...

Dear friends in Christ, The world uses numbers and influence to determine value, and it’s easy to measure the church by these same values. Discouragement can set in when those measurements seem small. We wonder if we matter, if the church still has a place, or if God has forgotten...

Dear Friends in Christ, If you walk through almost any older church building in our District, you will notice the signs of time. There will be cracks in the plaster or a steeple that needs repair. Tiles might be loose in spots, and a once mighty organ might need more...

  Esther T. Hartmann Jan. 13, 1939 – Sept. 24, 2026 Esther Theresa Hartmann passed away Sept. 24, 2026, at Mercy Hospital Southeast in Cape Girardeau, Mo. She was born Jan. 13, 1939, in St. Louis, Mo., to Wilhelm and Hilda Mueller Hepting. She was baptized Jan. 29, 1939, at...

  Sandra J. Nelson Dec. 13, 1951 – Aug. 15, 2026 Sandra Jean Nelson, 74, of Columbia, Mo., passed away peacefully Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, surrounded by her family. She was born Dec. 13, 1951, in St. Louis, Mo., the daughter of the late Paul and Anne (Marecek) Driska. She...

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a...