WHY DOES AFRICA NEED CATECHISMS?
ETHIOPIA
9 million Lutherans 6,000 pastors (1: 1,500)
TANZANIA NIGERIA
2.5 million Lutherans 1,200 pastors (1: 2,083)
7 million Lutherans 3,500 pastors (1: 2,000)
MADAGASCAR
4 million Lutherans 2,500 pastors (1: 2,500)
$24 ,07 5
Imagine if your pastor could provide a worship service, baptisms and Holy Communion for your congregation only once every month or two. There would be no way he could provide Bible study or other instruction classes. This is the situation faced by most pastors in countries like Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Madagascar, where each pastor serves upward of 1,500 people. “Given these circumstances, Luther’s Small Catechism sometimes replaces the work of the pastors in their absence,” explained Rev. Dr. Dinku Bato, who was a youth minister in Ethiopia before accepting the call to be LHF’s coordinator for African translation projects. “The pastor goes to 9 or 10 churches and mainly preaches. He can’t teach and do confirmation classes in all those places, with perhaps 150 people in class. LHF’s catechisms are vital! They faithfully teach in the languages of the people when pastors cannot.”
HOLDING UP THE PROPHETS’ HANDS:
YOU CAN HELP WITH THE LHF MATCH! Has it been over a year since you’ve sent a gift to the LHF mission? Or have you never been a part of LHF’s work? NOW IS THE TIME to make your move! A faithful supporter of the LHF mission is once again offering the “LHF Match,” a dollar-for-dollar matching program where any individual, church or organization who hasn’t donated to LHF in the past 12 months or more will have their new gifts matched. (Note that the maximum individual gift for this matching program is $5,000 and grants and bequests are not eligible.) This means that your $25 gift becomes $50 - 10 books for Sunday school children in Ethiopia. $200 becomes $400 for printing 80 catechisms to introduce former Buddhists in Thailand to the Savior Jesus! To date, more than $24,000 of the $165,000 total gift has been matched. “If you’ve already made a gift toward LHF sometime in the past year and are therefore ineligible for this match, I encourage you to forward this information to your family and friends, even your congregation’s mission committee,” advised Rev. Dr. Matthew Heise, LHF executive director. “The Holy Spirit works powerfully through your gifts!”
LUTHERAN HERITAGE FOUNDATION 51474 Romeo Plank Rd. ■ Macomb, MI 48042 ■ 1-800-554-0723 ■ info@LHFmissions.org ■ www.LHFmissions.org
4
“The Word at Work” is the official publication of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Permission is hereby granted to excerpt from this publication for not-for-profit purposes. The Lutheran Heritage Foundation is a Recognized Service Organization of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces confessional Lutheran materials throughout the world so that people can be brought to Christ. LHF is not subsidized by the LCMS or any other church body. It is entirely supported by individual donations and grants. (“Word at Work” staff: Rev. Dr. Matthew Heise, executive editor; Jennifer Bagnall, managing editor and graphic design)
