Missional

On Sunday 19 July, Bishop Emile Nkurunziza of Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in Burundi was delighted to ordain eight pastors into Word and Sacrament ministry. This brings the total number of pastors serving this rapidly growing church to 12 pastors serving in 12 parishes.

Among the 12 parishes, six parishes now have church buildings under construction: two are almost finished, one is making good progress and three have a long way to go in their construction. The other six parishes are fundraising and collecting local materials to buy land and start construction. Three of these parishes have now purchased land.

Bishop Emile expressed HELCB’s gratitude to LM-A for our support through the mission appeal. Funds we sent have helped students preparing for ordination and the fundraising to buy land for church construction.

LM-A Women of Faith Groups

Lutheran Mission - Australia earnestly seeks to enrich women’s daily walk with God by nurturing Women of Faith Groups for women of all ages. LM-A wants to foster a coming together of women in their congregations, nurturing relationships, fostering a deep sense of belonging, and cultivating connectedness as members of the body of Christ Romans 12:4-5 . God created us to be in relationship with Him and each other; what a blessing this is!

‍Women play a vital role in our Church as carers and nurturers who positively influence their families, live out their God-given vocations, and serve the wider community with compassion.

We value and affirm the many roles women hold - as wives, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, friends, and colleagues - and recognise the unique contributions they make in each sphere of life. We are committed to supporting and encouraging women as they participate and serve across their families, workplaces, and educational settings 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

During the recent International Lutheran Council World Conference in the Philippines, Pastor Matt Anker had a chance to sit down with Bishop Emile Nkurunziza from Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in Burundi (HELCB). They recorded a video interview in which Bishop Emile reported on the rapid growth of HELCB, the many projects they are engaged in and the vision for the future.

HELCB was first registered in 2017. Beginning with two congregations, they now have six congregations across every province of Burundi, and 3000 baptised members. As their government requires that churches must own their own buildings and cannot rent or borrow premises, the church has worked hard to build six churches and has two more land plots ready to build on.

Bishop Emile says, ‘So concerning the Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in Burundi, we really thank God for what he's doing. God is amazing. He is always good. All the time, God is good.’

“What a beautiful thing it is when women come together in their churches and in their homes around the Word of God! As they study the Word and journey life together, they are moved to an outward-looking lens of how they can share the gospel with others, having an impact for the kingdom.”

This is what Helen Vonow observed when the Lutheran Women in Mission come together for their 2025 Biannual Convention: ‘Growing in God’s Grace’ (2 Peter 3:18), on June 26–29, in Omaha, Nebraska.

On 7-8 June, Dr Stephen Pietsch led a wonderful weekend of learning and mutual encouragement at the ‘Before Christ and the World - What it means to be a confessional Lutheran’ Seminar, which was held at St John’s Lutheran Church in Tanunda SA. The event was attended by approximately 100 people, with a large number of people viewing the livestream.

The seminar began with an opening responsive prayer service, led by Pastor Lee van Rossen, and a warm welcome on a very cold, wet day from Pastor Mathew Ker, who acted as MC throughout the weekend.

Dr Pietsch began the seminar by exploring why Christians have confessed their faith since the very earliest days of the church, what confessing actually means, and why “confessing the faith clearly and openly teaching the doctrines of Scripture is an essential calling of all Christians, and is according to Luther, a ‘mark of the church’, that it teaches, confesses and proclaims the word of God.”

After a sumptuous morning tea, provided by Barossa Lutheran Mission who were our hosts for the weekend, participants returned for the second session, in which Dr Pietsch focused in on the Lutheran Confessions, discussing the context in which they were developed and why they continue to be the confession of the Lutheran church almost 500 years later. As Dr Pietsch explained, the Confessions “clearly express the whole witness of Scripture which is the rule and norm for our teaching and practice.” He emphasised that the Bible is the “norm of norms” - the overarching authority under which the Confessions sit.