2019 Annual Ministry Impact Report
MILLIONS HEARD THE GOSPEL Because of You!
BY CHAD FIX
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
For the past 102 years, God has continually used Lutheran Hour Ministries to bring messages of hope to the downtrodden, the lonely, and the lost. Decade by decade, we have risen to the pressing challenges of the times to proclaim the Savior. Each milestone required a bold step of faith to share Jesus on a global scale. And now, more than ever, this mission is critical. Today, with billions of souls in danger of entering eternity apart from Christ, the need to go out into the world and grow, nurture, and expand the Body of Christ has never been greater. LHM will not rest until we proclaim the Gospel to as many of these souls as possible, in ways they can understand.
A YE AR IN R EVIE W How Your Gifts Helped LHM Share the Gospel in 2019 Lutheran Hour Ministries witnessed exciting progress in 2019 for each of the four strategic ministry priorities outlined in our comprehensive five-year strategic plan. Following are some of the ways in which LHM was abundantly blessed by God during the last year thanks to your generous support.
While the world has changed over the last century, the power of the laity remains strong today. Thanks to the sustained, generous support of faithful individuals like you, LHM reaches increasingly disengaged audiences as well as people who have never even heard about the love of Christ. On behalf of our entire staff, I’d like to thank you for your partnership in ministry, your prayers, and your financial support during the past year. Without you, we would not be able to share the Gospel with more than 135 million people around the world each week through a variety of culturally relevant outreach programs and resources. Your gifts, prayers, and volunteer involvement allow hurting people to find answers and relief in the Gospel. Please explore this year’s ministry impact
report to see just a few of the ways God is working through you. I hope you are humbled to see how God uses our talents and treasures to make His Gospel known. With your continued partnership, we can make an even greater difference in the lives of the lost and the hurting. I hope you will continue to join us in mission and ministry as we advance our efforts of Bringing Christ to the Nations— and the Nations to the Church. Thank you so much for your faithful support. I look forward to being with you in the mission field.
Your Partner in HIS Mission, KURT BUCHHOLZ PRESIDENT & CEO, LUTHERAN HOUR MINISTRIES
ENERGIZE, EQUIP, AND ENGAGE Laity for Outreach Our Spiritual Conversations Starter Kit provided thousands of individual Christians, groups, and congregations a one-stop solution for learning about our Spiritual Conversations in the Digital Age offerings produced from research conducted in partnership with Barna Group. The monograph published from this research was named the Resource of the Year for Evangelism by Outreach Magazine in its March/April 2019 issue. The acknowledgement by this widely respected Christian publication is a testimony to the timeliness of the research as well as its relevance to a wider Christian audience. After a successful year of resource development, presentations, and conversations around Spiritual Conversations, we released the monograph for our second year of partner research with Barna Group under the theme of Households of Faith. This research looked at Christian households in America and how the ever-changing household (the nuclear
family is not the norm anymore) interacts with the people under that roof and how faith is talked about and shared between household members. Our LHM Learn platform (lhm.org/learn) added several new outreach resources to its learning library to help individuals reach out with the love of Jesus Christ in their everyday lives. At any given time, around 2,000 active users are participating in the dozens of courses available under five categories: Christian Foundations, Cultural Concepts, Everyday Insights, Outreach Essentials, and Spiritual Reflections. Our successful Online Mission Trip transitioned to a new program called Gospel Adventures. The first year’s theme, Passport to Peru, offered an interactive website with videos, daily curriculum, theme music, and optional game and snack activities, all under an overarching biblical theme. Nearly 850 teachers, parents, and other educators registered for this year’s adventure—which means more than 35,000 elementary and middle school students saw firsthand how the Gospel is shared in another part of the world.
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