Shared Ministry Update:
Highway 60 Corridor

From Sikeston to Springfield, Highway 60 stretches across south Missouri, through national forests and across the Ozark mountains. And dotted along this highway are dozens of rural communities, most which lack a Lutheran church. It’s a unique situation that Faith Lutheran Church in St. Robert (over 80 miles away) saw as an opportunity to engage with shared ministry.

The Highway 60 Corridor ministry has grown over the years. Pastor John Perling of Faith, St. Robert oversees the ministry and runs Bible Studies, including in Mountain Grove and Mountain View on Highway 60. He is assisted by Online Deaconess Student Kim Bradford. Bradford lives in Mountain View and is very passionate about the Lutheran faith and sharing it with her neighbors.

Many gathered at these towns for Bible studies are not from a Lutheran background. It’s an interesting ministry approach where there’s a focus on trusting the scriptural text, seeing Christ as the focus of both Testaments, the value of distinguishing between Law and Gospel. Forming a community of believers takes time, lots of effort, and even more prayer. But the Word of God does not return empty.

The group in Mountain View anchor around a weekly Bible study meeting. They meet on Mondays at the Mountain View Public Library around supper time. There’s a community room which allows easy access. There are regularly 6-12 in attendance. And the group in Mountain Grove regularly has between 15-25 people of all ages in attendance. Groups go where the community is. Last fall, groups would meet outside at a Pumpkin Patch, or as the weather turned colder, a member’s barn. At Christmas, there was a Christmas Story potluck and Bible study on a farm in a barn surrounded by the lowing cattle.

It’s such a joy to see this ministry grow and we pray for further blessings for them!