Iglesia Cristo WELS Internacional (ICWI), a Spanish-speaking church in Latin America, has officially applied for membership in the CELC. This church was formed in 2021 by fourteen congregations—all WELS missions—from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Bolivia, and Venezuela. It is a landing place for congregations that grow out of Academia Cristo, a multi-faceted program of Bible instruction and church planting in Latin America. 

According to the CELC membership guidelines, a church seeking membership in the CELC should do the following:

• request membership through a letter to the CELC President,
• obtain a recommendation for membership from at least one CELC church that is in formal church fellowship with it, and
• submit its constitution and doctrinal statement(s) to the CELC President at least one year before the triennial convention at which the membership request will be considered.

All of these materials have been received from the ICWI, including a membership request signed by ICWI President Henry Herrera and a letter of recommendation signed by WELS President Mark Schroeder. Any member church of the CELC that would like to see the ICWI documents should contact the CELC President, and he will share them.

In keeping with the CELC constitution, the CELC Commission on Theology will officially evaluate the membership request and will bring a recommendation to the next triennial convention, which is being planned for 2026 in Zambia, Africa.

We are thankful for the prospect of adding another church in Latin America and for the prompt application. Any other church that is contemplating membership should be aware of the steps that are necessary and the application deadline—one year in advance of the convention.  
 
Submitted by the CELC Planning Committee

The Lutheran Church of Central Africa – Zambia Synod (LCCA-Z) joyfully gathered for the installation of Pastor Chibikubantu Simweeleba as the new principal on Saturday, September 16, 2023, on the Lutheran Seminary campus in Lusaka, Zambia. Pastor Simweeleba is the seminary’s fifth principal in its nearly 60-year history. He is the second Zambian national pastor to fill this call.

Seminary Board of Control Chairman Pastor Edward Bangwe officiated at the morning service. Pastor David Baloyi based his sermon on the theme “Be Strong and Courageous!” from Joshua 1:1-9. Following the sermon, several area pastors shared their blessings and encouragement for Principal Simweeleba during a laying-on-of-hands ceremony.

A short program followed the service. LCCA-Z chairman Pastor Davison Mutentami brought the new principal greetings from the synod, encouraging Pastor Simweeleba to be among the synod’s pastors and members as an ambassador for the Seminary. The Simweelebas received well wishes and gifts from the attendees. The festivities concluded with a fellowship luncheon.

Pastor Simweeleba has been a pastor since 2009 and has served on the faculty of the Lutheran Seminary beginning in 2018. His responsibilities as principal will now take him beyond the seminary campus. He will use his experience in ministry to reach the synod’s membership as the face of the Seminary to recruit new students, to nurture collaboration with the synod’s pastors and lay leadership, and along with the seminary faculty and the Board of Control, to tailor the Seminary’s instructional program to meet the future ministerial needs of the LCCA-Z.

 

Submitted by Pastor Anthony Phiri,
Dean of the Lutheran Seminary in Lusaka, Zambia

 

 

 

 

 

 

The CELC Planning Committee has started its planning for the next triennial CELC convention, scheduled for 2026 in Zambia, Africa.

If you have any suggestions for possible essay topics or essayists, now is the time to pass your ideas along to the Planning Committee. Please email the CELC President at: president@celc.info.

Any church that would like to apply for CELC membership is reminded that all applications and supporting materials need to be received by May 2025. The Membership Guidelines can be found under Membership Guidelines on the CELC website.

We pray that God will bless the CELC with the ability to meet in Zambia in 2026, with representation from many churches. All depends on God’s grace through Christ Jesus.

Submitted by the CELC Planning Committee

 

 

 

This year twelve pastors, seminary students, and church leaders gathered at St. Mark’s congregation in Ljungby, Sweden for the European Summer Quarter. These representatives from seven different countries came to dig deeper into God’s Word, to grow in personal faith, and rededicate their hearts to service.

During the first week, Pastor Holger Weiss from Germany led a course on Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus. In these letters the Holy Spirit speaks especially to pastors:

• Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction (2 Timothy 4:2),
• And the things you have heard me say … entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others (2 Timothy 2:2)
• For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).

During the second week, Missionary Luke Wolfgramm led practical meditations on the life and ministry of Elijah. Participants came to appreciate James’ observation: “Elijah was a man just like us” (James 5:2). God’s great prophet faced temptations and struggles remarkably similar to contemporary pressures in post-Christian Europe. Nevertheless, the unchanging Lord equipped Elijah to serve his 7,000 elect. The same mighty God remains faithful to his people today.

Everyone enjoyed the studies, but nothing can compete with the fellowship participants enjoyed outside of class time. Evenings and weekends gave plenty of opportunity for discussions, collaboration, and mutual encouragement. Members of St. Mark’s congregation also enjoyed Sunday sermons from three guest preachers during Summer Quarter.

The CELC has a dozen member churches in Europe. The brothers and sisters in these small church bodies are often scattered. Congregations tend to be small. It’s easy to feel isolated.

Two weeks of hearty spiritual food and unhurried contact with brothers and sisters strengthens European fellowship and reinvigorates zeal to proclaim Christ. Please pray that God would continue to bless pastors and people through ongoing Bible study together.

Submitted by Rev. Luke Wolfgramm, WELS world missionary based in Leipzig, Germany

WELS convention in session at Michigan Lutheran Seminary

WELS’ 67th Biennial Synod Convention was held July 31–August 3, at Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Saginaw, Michigan, under the theme “Embrace the Cross—Anticipate the Crown.” Three hundred forty-eight convention delegates met in 19 floor committees to consider the synod’s work.

Delegates heard from WELS’ areas of ministry about the synod’s ministry financial plan, Home and World Missions, Ministerial Education, and Congregational and District Ministry. They also heard and discussed an essay by Rev. Phil Hirsch based on the convention theme. Worship services and devotions reflected this theme as well, focusing on the book of Revelation.

Several resolutions came out of the convention, including:  

      • Calls to action to increase recruitment of called workers and find solutions for the high level of called worker vacancies.
      • Encouragement to continue the informal conversations between WELS, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and the Lutheran Church–Missouri                              Synod.

As part of their work, delegates re-elected WELS President Mark Schroeder, who has been serving in that position since 2007, and Second Vice President Rev. Joel Voss.

Delegates welcomed several international guests to the convention as WELS declared fellowship with Obadiah Lutheran Synod of Uganda and affirmed fellowship with Iglesia Cristo WELS Internacional.

Rev. Makisimu Musa from Uganda greeted the delegates via Zoom. “To all of you, I express thanks on behalf of my church body,” he said to the delegates in his address. “May the Lord of the Church, Jesus Christ, graciously bless this new fellowship to be fruitful for church ministry in Uganda and the world over.”

Rev. Tonny Quintero, pastor at Most Holy Trinity, Medellín, Colombia, attended the convention as a representative of Iglesia Cristo WELS Internacional, a new synod formed in 2021 through the partnership of WELS’ sister churches across five countries throughout Latin America. This new church body is the landing point for new congregations in Latin America that grow out of Academia Cristo. One church in Bolivia recently was accepted into this church body; 25 more are working through the process. He concluded, “Thanks be to God and thanks to you for your work together with us in this great task that God has given us.”

Rev. Glenn Obenberger, president of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, also addressed the delegates.

For full convention coverage, including photos, live-stream videos, and speaker presentations, visit welsconvention.net.

Submitted by WELS Communication Services