25 years ago, on December 17, 1900, five congregations gathered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and made the decision to form the Church of the Lutheran Brethren. 

The command to go and make disciples hasn’t come to an end. Today we are called to “Go” and reach people with the gospel.

As we discussed God’s calling on my life, I remember him asking me, “Do you think you might be a church planter?” I had never planted a church, so I didn’t know how to answer him. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought, “Maybe I am.”

God has encouraged the hearts of people within our congregation that he is at work. More than that, God has shown us that he will even use us to be part of this bigger mission.

When we began talks and prayers for beginning a new work for the Kingdom of God, we didn’t have any idea what some of the unintended positive consequences might be. Little did we know (but should have) that God would do more than we ask or imagine.

Get to know Lutheran Brethren Seminary’s Fall 2025 Incoming Students.

Meet the Waldie family, LBIM’s most recent missionaries called to Chad! Todd and Leah have four children and currently live in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where they are members of Bethesda Lutheran Brethren Church.

LBIM is excited to share the news of the recently completed and printed resource entitled Les mains à la charrue! (Hands to the Plow!).

This past June, our Grace Hill team began planning for public worship services. In East Boston, buildings with enough public space to host a service are few and far between. 

This experience of church planting has truly been the most challenging ministry season I’ve ever had; God has to work in my heart on a daily basis to remind me that this is his mission and his church. 

Church planting might feel like a calling for a prestigious few, but it is what we are all called to, and it is what we are all already doing. This isn’t a matter of spiritual fortitude, but of perspective. I am a church planter, I just didn’t realize it.

November/December 2025 issue of Faith & Fellowship

Why does the CLB pursue mission endeavors in places unreached with the gospel? It’s a matter of family! Not just the family in Christ many of us have been privileged to know over the years, but the brothers and sisters we don’t know yet. 

The Church of the Lutheran Brethren, through her international missions department, have always prioritized sending missionaries to serve in unreached places and among unreached peoples. Even considering the discouraging reality of the status of the Church and mission in Japan, it did not seem right that LBIM should shrink back from this mission, but rather should lean into it, and further invest in it.

Since LBIM began its mission in Japan in 1949, we at JLBC have received the blessing of the gospel through many missionaries. Together with these missionaries, the Japanese Church has built its foundation.

Since LBIM began its mission in Japan in 1949, we at JLBC have received the blessing of the gospel through many missionaries. Together with these missionaries, the Japanese Church has built its foundation.

Since I studied at Lutheran Brethren Seminary, I have never forgotten the love we received. If it weren’t for your love, I might have burned out along the way. But when I thought about your prayers, I was able to stand up again and again. Now, after all this time, I am grateful that, once again, I have the opportunity to work directly with the CLB.

We had heard about how God was at work in Red Deer, and we wanted to see it for ourselves. We also wanted to be part of what God is doing, but we did not know how that might happen.

This past July, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit a church plant, The River, in Red Deer, Alberta, with a group of people from my home church, Good Shepherd, in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. God softened my heart through these children and opened my eyes to see what childlike faith looks like.

From March to June, regional conventions were held across North America, bringing CLB regions together for business proceedings and times of fellowship.