SAHUARITA, ARIZONA MISSION
Vicar Steve Patton was assigned to the Lutheran Church of the Risen Savior and began his work there in August. Steve is a Mission Track student of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Mission Track students are trained to be mission planters. Steve will spend one year as a vicar at Risen Savior where his duties will gradually change over the year from being a student to beginning his work as a mission planter. After his vicarage year, God willing, he will be assigned as the pastor and mission planter of the Sahuarita Mission. Three different Bible study groups are meeting during the week and the mission has rented space at a local banquet hall. $60,000 has been given to this mission from the Heart's Ablaze offering.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA MISSION
Rev. Tom Engler accepted the call to serve as Coordinator for Missions for Greater Philadelphia. He will be working in the area of cross-cultural outreach seeking to plant new churches in the Philadelphia area. Tom previously served as a missionary to Korea from 1994 to 2001, and as pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church and St. John Lutheran Church, in Havertown and Springfield, Pennsylvania. $20,000 per year for three years has been committed to this ministry from the Hearts Ablaze offering. The Eastern District and LCMS World Missions are also partners in this effort to start new churches in the Philadelphia area.
PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH, O’FALLON, MISSOURI
Our new mission in St. Charles County west of St. Louis has now become a congregation. On Easter this year they worshiped for the first time in their new temporary building. Pastor Jim Prince writes, “It’s been an exciting summer at Peace and we’re looking forward to an even more exciting fall. It’s hard to believe that this time last summer we were averaging about 45 in Sunday worship over at the Hilton Garden Inn. Now, we are pushing 75 each week! If the truth be known, we really didn’t expect to continue growing through the summer. In fact, after our wonderful opening services during holy week in our new building, we honestly were prepared for a typical summer slow down. Hah! Shows what we know! Thankfully, God has a plan far greater than ours and we’re continuing to grow. We’re looking forward to a real boost in our weekly attendance this fall as folks come back from their summer travels. Wouldn’t 100 be cool?
The most exciting ministry we’re pursuing right now is our New Neighbor Outreach program. Believe it or not, 100 new families move into our ministry area (Peace + 3 miles) each month! Through a program developed by Lutheran Hour Ministries, once a week we receive the names and addresses of these new neighbors. Our goal is to send them each a welcome to the neighborhood postcard from Peace Lutheran Church. Following up we will visit each home personally to introduce ourselves and give them a welcome basket filled with some goodies and useful information about the area. It’s what the Welcome Wagon used to do. We think it’s an awesome opportunity for the Church.
Our first adult new information class is going well as we have a number of previously unchurched and dechurched attendees. This fall we hope to receive a number of new people into membership and are praying for several baptisms, as well.
We continue to thank God for your wonderful support. Thank you for all the ways you lift us up with your generosity and prayer. Pray that the Lord of the harvest will continue to bless His vineyard here in South O’Fallon, in your area, and throughout the world.” $50,000 has been given to this congregation from the Heart's Ablaze offering.
NOVI, MICHIGAN MISSION
As much as there was a strong desire to begin mission work in this area we have decided to look at mission opportunities in other areas. We are praying that God will provide us with the right person, the right place and the right plan to utilize the remaining Hearts Ablaze offerings to start a new mission within North America.