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LHF Founder Looks Back on 25 Years in Mission
"It's not something I talk about very much, but as I look back on it, it's clear that the Lord had a path arranged for the Lutheran Heritage Foundation from the time I went to my first call as a Lutheran pastor," recalled Rev. Robert Rahn, who together with a Board of Directors headed by Rev. Robert Preus, founded LHF on Nov. 10, 1992.
It was a time of amazing opportunity. The atheistic Soviet Union had collapsed and for the first time in 70 years, doors were open to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people living behind the Iron Curtain.
Rev. Rahn seized the opportunity by traveling to Moscow, where he and a few friends distributed Bibles and tracts in Red Square.
"It was Reformation Day 1992, and we decided to test the degree of religious freedom in Russia," he said. "It was a smooth operation. What was most significant was that after the literature was distributed, we checked every garbage can in the Red Square area, and we didn't find a single Bible or discarded tract. Everything disappeared."
During his time in Russia, Rev. Rahn saw a hurdle to telling the people about Jesus: there was very little Lutheran literature available in the language of the people.
So from the basement of his home, Rev. Rahn started LHF, a mission organization that 25 years later would be translating and publishing confessional Lutheran literature for people in more than 80 countries and 100 languages.
"LHF's new executive director, Rev. Matt Heise, has brought a wealth of mission experience and connections to the mission, and this bodes well for the future," Rev. Rahn said.
"My vision for the next 25 years is for LHF to be at work in all areas of the world where the Truth needs to be taught and demonstrated. There's a hunger for the understanding of Scripture, and we have the materials that can fill that gap."
