Many pastors, deaconesses and lay leaders strongly believe in mission to their home communities — whether here or around the world. Many return home to share God’s love in Christ and to enhance or begin ministry work in these places.
To celebrate our church leaders who believe “you can go home again,” this newsletter shares the following stories:
- The Rev. Delwyn Campbell returned to his hometown of Gary, Ind., after four decades to serve as pastor at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and to minister to a struggling urban community in this city;
- The Rev. Blaise Marin, pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Tulsa, Okla., traveled to his home country of Haiti to minister to the people of his father’s church following a devastating earthquake in January 2010;
- Deaconess Rahel Musa and her husband returned to their home country of Eritrea to establish a seminary and to assist women and the poor; and
- The Rev. Dr. Victor Belton returned “home” to his alma mater, Concordia College—New York in Bronxville, N.Y., to serve as campus pastor and vice president of leadership.
In addition, read about the 2017 LCMS Lutherans in Black Ministry Family Convocation, scheduled for July 12–16 at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel in Birmingham, Ala. Everyone is invited to this homecoming and faith family reunion, and registration is still open.
LCMS Black Ministry welcomes articles highlighting events, programs, activities, mission and “best practices” to share with other LCMS congregations in TimeLine. Please send your articles to the Rev. Dr. Roosevelt Gray Jr. at roosevelt.gray@lcms.org by June 30 for the third quarter 2017 newsletter.
Learn more about LCMS’ Black Ministry.
Subscribe
For a free subscription, register for a myLCMS account and choose “TimeLine Newsletter.” If you already have an account, update your newsletter subscriptions in your profile.
You may also call the LCMS Church Information Center at 888-THE-LCMS (843-5267) for assistance with registering.