Ethiopia
Lutheran Heritage Foundation:
THE WORD AT WORK
Volume 25 Number 2 ■ March/April 2018
REV. DINKU BATO ACCEPTS CALL TO LHF Rev. Dr. Dinku Bato has accepted the call to serve as coordinator of LHF’s African translation projects. “LHF is currently translating and publishing Lutheran materials in more than 25 countries in Africa,” said LHF’s executive director Rev. Matthew Heise. “As LHF’s work has expanded, it’s become clear that we need an individual to oversee and coordinate LHF’s many translation projects throughout the contiRev. Dr. Dinku Bato nent, and Rev. Bato has the unique holds LHF’s Amharic background and abilities to carry Book of Concord out this task.” Rev. Bato was born in Ethiopia and raised in Mekane Yesus, a Lutheran church body in Ethiopia with over 8 million members, where he was a campus pastor. He and his family relocated to the United States about 6 years ago to continue his theological studies, and Rev. Bato colloquized into the LCMS in June 2017.
“In 2013, my church body – Mekane Yesus – officially parted ways with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) over the issue of homosexuality,” explained Rev. Bato. “It was important to me to find a church that is Biblically sound and Christ-centered. This is how I found the LCMS.” Rev. Bato’s commitment to the traditional Lutheran understanding of Scripture dovetails perfectly with the LHF mission of translating and publishing books like Luther’s Small Catechism and the Book of Concord into the languages of the world. “Before I came to the United States in my work with campus ministries, I worked with LHF people in Ethiopia to distribute LHF materials to the students,” Rev. Bato recalled. “The catechism is one of the best things for teaching the faith, a very good theological book that’s readable and understandable on a lay level.” Another important role Rev. Bato will fill at LHF is helping to
Bato accepts call cont. on page 4
INSIDE:
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