After the death of Stephen in Acts 7, the believers were scattered and in most cases they went to the local synagogues and spoke only to the Jews about Jesus. But in Antioch there were some who also spoke to the Greek-speaking Jews. A great number of them believed and when Barnabas came from Jerusalem he marveled at the grace of God that had brought so many of them to faith. It was then that Barnabas brought Saul to Antioch to teach the people about the Lord Jesus. There the believers were first called Christians and saw the great need for the Gentiles to hear this good news also. Thus, the congregation at Antioch sent two of their own pastors, Saul and Barnabas, to preach this good news, that is, the Gospel, first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. When they returned from that first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas “declared all that God had done with them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.” (Acts 14:27)
Like the congregation at Antioch, you have seen the need of others to be taught the same good news that you rejoice in week after week. For two years you have sent your pastor to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG) to train their pastors at the seminary. There I have taught them about the Biblical text, preaching, the proper distinction between Law and Gospel, and the distinct confession of the Lutheran faith that lives in a liturgical and sacramental life. I have preached in their congregations, met the laity, and heard about the joys and difficulties of Lutheran pastors and people in Ghana. With a cost of only $5,000 you have avoided the cost of bureaucratic paperwork and simply asked that the message be preached. That money pays for the plane flight, insurance, food and lodging, and any excess (which has varied each year) is applied to the International Lutheran Hymnal Project that is so important to the Ghanaian Lutherans.
You might say we are following the example of Antioch and also the congregations of Ghana. Out of their poverty, the churches of Ghana have sent some of their own pastors to speak the good news of Jesus to those in Uganda and other African nations that desperately need to hear about the death and resurrection of Jesus. You know financial struggles of a different kind in this congregation. We have labored to maintain a school and Lutheran high school, both of which our fellow Lutherans in Ghana would love to have. While they operate schools, they do not have the Lutheran teachers available for their schools to pass on Lutheran doctrine. We have a great blessing in two schools where that faith may be handed down to the next generation. Out of our “poverty” or “financial crisis” we have actually increased our mission giving by sending our preacher to encourage them in the faith and establishing a communion fund to increase their reception of the Sacrament. Some may think this is foolish when we struggle to pay our own bills, but this has always been the practice of the Church of the Lord’s Word even as it is today in Ghana. Like Paul, I commend you for your desire to see the Gospel proclaimed to those whom you do not even know.
I will be leaving for Ghana on July 2 and return home again to preach on July 18. On the weekend I will serve as a guest preacher in some of the local congregations. Keep me in your prayers as you send me out for the sake of proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
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