January/February 2026 issue of Faith & Fellowship

The Church of the Lutheran Brethren as a new spiritual movement within American Lutheranism formally came into existence 125 years ago in an obscure church basement on West Madison Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

After more than a century of uninterrupted LB mission work in Chad and Cameroon, and more than 70 years of mission work in mainland China, Japan, and Taiwan, there are now nearly twenty-five times as many Lutheran Brethren congregations and church members outside of North America as there are in the US and Canada. 

There is a growing desire and conviction from the younger generation to serve in mission―to proclaim and share the love of Jesus among all peoples. 

But I learned over time that while physical building projects were part of the mission work, that was just a small part. The real meat of the work was in building relationships. Nathanael wisely told me that I was not there to make more houses or put up solar panels, but instead to learn what it means to be a light among the Chadians. 

As followers of Jesus, we are all called to missions. We are to be Christ’s witnesses, ambassadors, and disciple-makers. The bigger question is what that mission service looks like for each of us. 

The diverse experiences of our community of foreigners mirror what many missionaries will experience abroad―especially those going to Japan. They will forever be foreigners in that land. And many of the people in our church know, in their own ways, what that’s like.

Even if only some are called to leave their home country, God calls all Christians to follow him. While many of us might prefer a detailed map or a bigger light, God provides what is necessary through his Word: a lamp for our feet and light to our path (Ps 119:105).

The first time I told anyone seriously that I wanted to become a missionary was in 2014. I was just 17, and it was the end of a three-month stay in East Asia with my aunt and uncle who were working there at the time.

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.