Go. Teach. Baptize. Ministry in Motion.
The essence of the Great Commission is action. This is what God expects of us as His disciples.
Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 28:19 KJV)
Go, Teach, and Baptize! Don’t just sit there … do something!
Lutheran Indian Ministries is a ministry in motion! The summer months were busy as our ministry staff hosted, supported, and guided teams of volunteers who took God’s encouragement to GO, TEACH, and BAPTIZE, quite literally, in the villages of Alaska and on the mesas of New Mexico.
GO!
VBS at Navajo. The children learned about Baby Moses and his trip down the river.
Seventy-one Diné children attended Vacation Bible School at LIM’s Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Navajo, New Mexico. This groundbreaking VBS was led by Tim Norton and a team of volunteers who made the trip from Topsfield, Massachusetts.
TEACH! BAPTIZE!
LIM’s Teen Camp in Fairbanks spent the week sharing the love of Jesus Christ with 24 Inuit and Athabascan teens from villages throughout the interior of Alaska. Six teens (young adults) were BAPTIZED into the faith during the week! Throughout the summer, teams of volunteers from across the United States funneled through Dave and Rosemary Sternbeck’s home as they deployed to remote villages in the Alaskan bush to share God’s Word with Native children. Dozens and dozens of Alaska Native children attended VBS this past summer!
Our Indigenous ministry staff is able to help, encourage, train, and sustain these teams of volunteers because of your support to this important ministry. Clearly, your gifts touch the hearts and lives of God’s Native people.
And … there’s more ministry in motion!
• We are excited to celebrate the completion of the Haskell LIGHT facility in Lawrence, Kansas. This is the only Lutheran campus ministry to Native Americans that is Native-led and located near a government or tribal-run Indian school in the United States.
• Tim Norton and Clarence DeLude continue in their studies that will lead to ordination. Both spent time on the campus of Concordia University in Irvine this past summer as part of their academic studies.
• This month, Rick McCafferty, Rev. Dave Sternbeck, and Tim Norton along with Navajo Native, Claire Kee, will participate in a week-long group of events and sessions on the Navajo Reservation that will help Navajo tribal members to work through and deal with issues such as alcoholism, abuse, and suicide.
• The LIM offices relocated to a space that will better enable the organization’s administrative staff to support and serve the ministry staff of Lutheran Indian Ministries. The new offices are just a couple of miles west of the old one, but this move reflects the increasing needs of the ministry as we follow God’s call and vision to reach more Native people for Jesus now and in the future.
We give thanks to God for the goodness and mercy that He has shown Lutheran Indian Ministries. As you can see, we are busy … just as God commanded us to be! He has called us to take action in the cause of Christ to GO, TEACH, and BAPTIZE Native peoples, and we are answering His call.
With your gift to Lutheran Indian Ministries, you are joining us as a partner in this great endeavor. In order to continue to grow and fulfill our mission to:
Proclaim Jesus
Disciple Native people to become spiritual leaders
Support healthy Native communities and cultures
We need your continued support!
Won’t you please take action today with a gift that will celebrate what God has done, and what God is doing, through Lutheran Indian Ministries?
Your support of our work means so much to us. Your gift gives wings of flight to that transformation of lives that can only take place by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is winning hearts for Jesus through your support and partnership with Lutheran Indian Ministries. Thank you for your prayers and assistance. It is our prayer that God will continue to bless you!