This past February, 65 people from 20 congregations and mission stations gathered in Springfield to discuss mission opportunities in the region through ministry partnerships. They represented rural and city, small and large churches, pastors and laity, all putting their hands together in prayer seeking ways to engage their communities. The...
Last month, we wrote about how pastors can embrace stewardship with their congregations. As a follow-up, we spoke with Rev. Nathan Meador, Senior Pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Plymouth, WI and the Assistant Coordinator of Stewardship for the Office of National Mission-LCMS. Rev. Meador says the first step...
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. —1 John 1:8-9 Our lives are lived in a most uncertain world. We grow accustomed...
It’s not easy to juggle a church work career, family obligations, and unexpected life events. That means if finances are a source of stress, you’re hardly alone. Most people learn how to manage their personal finance through old-fashioned life experience. It’s deceptively easy to slip into bad habits or to...
Growing up in a military family means many things, including getting familiar with the unfamiliar. When kids from military families enroll in Our Savior Christian Academy, some of them have moved as many as 13 times already. Many times, they’re new to the Midwest, though they may have lived on...
In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. —Luke 6:12 After Jesus healed a lame man on the Sabbath, the reaction of the Pharisees and scribes, writing, “they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what...
In the spring of 2018, a few people noticed a slight dip in the ceiling of the sanctuary of Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Charles. The past year had marked the congregation’s 150th anniversary, which coincided with the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The spot on the ceiling was barely...
News of an impending blizzard seemed to hit everyone’s phones at once. While the storm had been predicted, it had gathered speed and was barreling down on Concordia, MO earlier than expected. Some of the mourners who had been attending a funeral at Saint Paul Lutheran Church chose to leave...
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” —John 1:29 Instant replay in sports enables officials, commentators and fans to see the plays from every conceivable angle. In some cases, God’s Word affords us similar concepts....
When you think of Sunday School programs, do you imagine classrooms filled with grandparents? At King of Kings Lutheran Church in Chesterfield, they host quarterly Sunday School classes designed for families to attend with all generations. Grandparents learn alongside teenagers, and parents learn alongside young children. The congregation designs these...