Augustana District Misson Partners

Awakening Lives to World Missions (ALWM) exists to call, equip, and to unite congregations for purposeful and practical obedience to Jesus’ call to the nations. Since 2007 we have mobilized and equipped hundreds of congregations to be personally and practically obedient to the global Great Commission.  This has been accomplished through hosting workshops and seminars, leading short term mission trips, and developing resources like the book “Igniting a Passion for Missions: A Guide for Church Leaders” and his new Harvest Focus Workshop for mission teams. This new workshop has been very helpful and very well received in evaluating and energizing teams and committees. Founder and Director Pastor Bill Moberly has been working with churches and mission teams since 1991.  For more information contact Pastor Moberly at [email protected] or visit us at www.alwm.org

ALWM also sponsors the Young Adult Missionary Internship (YAMI) ministry led by Pastor Matt Shields, an Augustana District Pastor. The Young Adult Missionary Internship is a Christian missions program designed for young adults (ages 19-25) to experience life as a missionary in a cross-cultural environment so that they can better discern God’s call for their lives.  For more information contact Pastor Matt at [email protected] or visit us at www.alwm.org/young-adult-missionary-internship

ALWM also carries out ongoing ministry in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand through ministries in those countries.  One of those ministries is Heart for Mission Laos – Thailand led by Pastor Thomas Thorstad, an Augustana District Pastor.  Their goal is to support the churches in Laos and Thailand to see the unreached people connected with the Gospel.  For more information contact Pastor Thorstad at [email protected] or visit us at  www.alwm.org/heartformission

A member congregation of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY), Bole Congregation is located in the Business District of the nation’s capital city.  It’s senior pastor is the Rev. Dr. Dawit Yohannes Wario who has had distinguished service with Tabor Congregation of Hawassa, and then Tabor Evangelical College.  Bole Congregation was founded in 2001, and in now under redevelopment in the inner city.  Intentional ministry among the city’s poor and the establishment of Outreach Posts for Gospel proclamation are the chief endeavors of their strategic plan.

Their Website is under development.

Email:  [email protected]

Camp Penuel Costa Rica is a mission extension of Camp Penuel, Ironton, Missouri. Their mission is to lead Costa Rican children ages 7-11 to know Jesus as their personal Savior. In order to offer this ministry free of charge to all children, they rely on donations and income from 67-acre farm, growing a diversity of fruits and vegetables as well as producing cheese from a herd of 15 cows.  They seek to be able to serve even more children and their families as they receive support.

Website:  www.cp-cr.org

Crusaders for Christ – Vietnam

Crusaders for Christ has been nine years in the making. It all started with a “by chance” meeting by two Christians from different worlds, 14,000 miles apart. What we had in common was our belief and love for Jesus.

Through the years, we found that we were being moved by the Holy Spirit to find ways to bring new believers to Christ in an atheist, communist nation. A nation where the Government attempted to control its citizens in every aspect of their lives for well more than fifty years. A place where missionaries were not only kept out but also killed when discovered.

After all these years we are now finding crosses being attached to homes and small churches being established. The Communist Government has finally decided that they could not stop this from happening. They have not embraced this movement, but they do not make the effort to try to stop it anymore.

That is why we are here and why we are doing the LORD’s will. The Holy Spirit is moving us to go and make disciples.  This is a missionary effort to bring new souls to the kingdom.

We pray that you will consider helping us with this effort. We are a 501(c)(3) organization that gives 100% of contributions directly towards the mission.  For more information, please contact me and thank you for considering us!

Rev. Norman Jelken

Ph. 402-215-6401

[email protected]

Pastor Tom Thorstad – Missionary to Southeast Asia. 

Pastor Tom and his family have been called to live and serve in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia. Their ministry work centers around Bible Translation and Theological Education of pastors and lay leaders who live and serve in tribal areas of the unreached people groups of Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. Over 86 % of the people in those countries are considered unreached, with no less than a .05% Christian presence and no known bible translation in their people’s language. Two of the countries his family serves are in the top 25% of most persecuted Countries in the world. Pastor Tom and Pastor Deuane (his wife) work with local churches in those countries and have a strong relationship with their church leadership in those countries.

Pastor Tom is the Director of Heart for Mission Laos/Thailand, a ministry of Awakening Lives to World Missions, A Vetted Ministry. Pastor Tom is an endorsed district pastor. His wife, Pastor Deuane, is an ordained pastor of the Lao Evangelical Church of Laos. They have three children. Pastor Tom holds an MDiv, MTh in Biblical Theology, Th.D. in Pastoral Theology, and working towards a Ph.D. in Historical Theology at the Institute of Lutheran Theology. Pastor Deuane holds an MTh and working towards a Th.D. in Biblical Theology.

Pastor Tom is faculty at the Myanmar Institute of Lutheran Theology, Yangon, Myanmar (Burma); Bangkok Institute of Theology, Bangkok, Thailand; and United Theological Seminary’s Global Lutheran House of Study, Dayton, Ohio. Pastor Deuane is the chief editor in a new gateway translation that tribal languages will use for translation in the region. In addition, Pastor Tom and Pastor Deuane work with a significant bible translation organization to support bible translation in Southeast Asia.

Learn more at Heart For Mission.

Pastor Eddy Perez studied both theology and medicine in Cuba. There he served as a doctor and then became a preacher of the gospel, having to flee his homeland in 2000 due to persecution. In 2008, he began serving at His Light Ministries – (Ministerio SU Luz), in Miami, Florida.  The church’s proximity to Cuba offers a unique ministry opportunity for their radio broadcasts to reach into Cuba via a station called Radio Luz. Often, when people move to Miami from Cuba their home church is His Light Ministries – Ministerio SU Luz because of the connection through the radio program.

Website: www.lightinmiami.org

At the heart of India Transformed! is a calling – to be the hands and feet of God’s love in one of the world’s most spiritually and economically diversified nations.

Our mission is to ignite spiritual, social, and economic transformation—empowering individuals to discover their God-given potential and live life with a divine purpose. We train grassroot leaders to share the message of faith, hope and love with their communities, we train women with vocational and life skills for a secure future and educate children to create a pathway out of spiritual and physical poverty. India Transformed!, established in 1992, is a 501 (c) (3) organization.

Learn More:  www.indiatransformed.org

Contact: [email protected]

Lutheran Bible Translators (LBT) is an independent Lutheran mission organization dedicated to helping bring people to faith in Jesus Christ. Since 1964, they have striven to do this through their missionaries and staff, who work to make the Word of God available to those who do not yet have it in the language of their hearts. Of the more than 6900 different languages spoken in the world, 66% have no portion of Scripture translated. Believing that no language or cultural barrier should exclude people from receiving God’s Word, LBT works with Lutheran church bodies and Bible translation organizations worldwide – so that every person can have the opportunity to read, hear, and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, understand God’s Word.

Website: www.lbt.org

Lutheran Church of MyanmarLutheran Christians have been in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) since the arrival of the first missionary in 1878.  In order to spread the Reformation faith, the Literature and Education Department of the LCM is undertaking the translation of Luther’s key writings into the Mizo and Burmese languages.  A vital ministry of the LCM was begun in 2016, when they founded the Myanmar Institute of Lutheran Theology, before which their pastors and evangelists were trained through other mission partners.

Email: [email protected]

The Lutheran Church of South Sudan (LCSS) is a non-profit organization meeting the spiritual and physical needs of South Sudanese refugees and displaced citizens in East Africa. Their mission is to share the hope of Christ with vulnerable South Sudanese refugees through education, training, and support. They have diverse ministries, including the LCSS Seminary and Trinity Lutheran Nursing and Business School, which graduates 300-500 students annually. For more information, visit their website shown below:

Website Address: www.lcss.church

Friends of Madagascar Mission (FOMM) is on the “Frontlines of Mission”, supporting evangelism projects of the Malagasy Lutheran Church.  There is no paid staff or property to maintain, so they guarantee that 100% of your gifts will go toward fulfilling the Gospel’s command to “Go therefore and make Disciples of all Nations …” (Matthew 28:19).  Many projects are available for congregations and individuals to support, and partners are regularly updated, through personal newsletters, emails and/or through our website.

Website: www.madagascarmission.org

“Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: To care for orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” –James 1:27  

Pastor Lucien Joseph and his wife Roussemie have been living this text since several homeless children showed up on the doorstep of their school after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti which killed 200,000 and left 1.5 million homeless. In 2014, Ministry in Mission, an Ohio based 501c3 and Recognized Service of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod stumbled into this school by day, orphanage by night refuge for children. Ministry in Mission has partnered with the Evangelical Lutheran church of Haiti since 2007. The city of Jacmel provided land for Ministry in Mission to build an orphanage. The Center of Refuge orphanage, approved by Social Services of Jacmel, was invited to live in the building. Pastor Joseph and Roussemie have continued to operate the orphanage and provide refuge for needy children ever since. Now, with the violence and political unrest in Haiti, this refuge is more important than ever. Funding is always difficult to garner but with the unrest in the country it has been devastating for the children and elderly. Jesus, of course, can do much with little. He fed thousands with just two fish and five loaves. We are being called to feed the 45 orphans at the Center of Refuge Orphanage thousands of times. We pray that it will be done to God’s glory. 

To learn more or to donate visit the Ministry in Mission website at www.ministryinmission.com.

The New Hope Mission Society is a Christian community that desires to bring the love of Jesus to the Muslim world. NHMS was formed in 2005 by members of Faith Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, MN, in response to the riveting story of Christian witness by Pastor K.K. Alavi.  Pastor K.K. is a convert from Islam and is a passionate witness to Christ in southwest India.  This ministry is now being shared with his son, Dr. Abdul Massieh, who is preparing to oversee their ministries, to include a Bible School, a Christian printing ministry and more.

Website: NewHopeMisions.org

Global Christianity is growing. Increasingly, new and fresh evangelistic outreaches emerge from capable church leaders throughout Asia, in the form of audio and video presentations. Responding to this opportunity, Project Video has created 16 audio and video production studios in eight Asian countries. By 2030, God being our provider, we hope to have 100 studios in 20 countries served by four regional training centers and project 10 million people will be impacted through this gospel video ministry.  Mission partners are welcome to help international evangelists by providing equipment and training or sending a volunteer to Asia on a short-term mission trip.

Website: www.project-video.org

Spiritual Orphans Network – SON connects Christians from North America with people in former communist countries who do not know they have a Father in Heaven who wants to adopt them to Himself or a Family in Christ who will foster them as they seek to become Children of God. We call this Connecting Spiritual Orphans to the Global Family of Christ.

Central and East European countries endured more than 70 years of imposed scientific atheism under Soviet communist rule. In the wake of the fall of the Iron Curtain multiple generations – hundreds of millions of souls – have been left as Spiritual Orphans. The concepts of knowing a Father in heaven who loves you, belonging to an extended family of brothers and sisters in Christ, extending forgiveness to others, and having the sure and certain hope in Jesus Christ have been lost.

Today, SON continues to develop and nurture international partnerships that produce a strong network of people, ministries, and resources between European, African, and North American believers. ( https://sonetwork.org/learn/where-we-serve/)

SON comes alongside an partners with ministries, congregations, para-church organizations, and schools throughout East & Central Europe, and Africa, including:

• Albanians in Action For Christ – AIAFA in ALBANIA
• Tartu Academy or Theology – TAT in ESTONIA
• Leadstar University and Cambridge Academy in ETHIOPIA
• St Gregor’s Education Center and Striki School in LATVIA
• Slovak Evangelistic Center – EVS; and Slovak Lutheran Youth – SEM in SLOVAKIA
• Joy For Ukraine and Gloria Ministries in UKRAINE

SON also has full-time Missionaries and Global Workers specifically in Albania, Estonia, Ethiopia, Latvia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. (https://sonetwork.org/partner/full-time-missionaries/)

Every year, SON offers opportunities for North American volunteers to participate as members of short-term mission (STM) teams that serve to connect people with the Gospel. SON mission teams host cross-cultural English Bible Camps for children; Life & Adventure Retreats for teens; and Bible studies for adults. Overseas teaching opportunities also exist for pastors and ministry leaders in a variety of settings and terms of service, through SON Regional Learning Center Conferences. Long-term and career missionaries are also called, equipped, and sent to serve in specific kingdom-building capacities that help empower, equip, and grow the visions for ministry of our indigenous co-workers, overseas. This is how relationships are strengthened, disciples are made, and the Body of Christ is equipped for Kingdom Building.

CONTACTS:

Pr. David Breidenbach, Executive Director – [email protected]

Angela Breidenbach, Director of Operations & Youth Education – [email protected]

Mike Wind, Director of Development & Adult Education – [email protected]

Pr. Mark Wilhelm, Director of Donor Growth & Engagement – [email protected]

The aim of the WMPL is to glorify God by bringing others into His Kingdom.  Further, The World Mission Prayer League exists to see that populations with limited or no access to the Gospel experience the love of Christ and that believers and communities of believers in the Americas and elsewhere engage in active and collaborative participation in living out their roles in the great commission.

Website: https://wmpl.org/