Global Ministry and Mission

We are a church that believes God is calling us into the world – together.

 

Seventy million Lutherans do make a difference! As a member of The Lutheran World Federation, the Northwestern Ohio Synod and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are one of 142 member churches in 79 countries all over the world. We are called to walk alongside our Lutheran brothers and sisters to grow the church and to do God’s work of restoring and reconciling communities everywhere.

Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia

The Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia-Montenegro (SECACSM), a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), is the largest Lutheran church in former Yugoslavia, speaking the Slovak language. A local council governs each congregation, while the entire church is governed by a synod with the bishop as the spiritual head of the church. The largely rural membership of SECACSM is located in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, on the plains south of the Hungarian border. It was earlier a part of the Lutheran Church in Hungary, but upon the creation of Yugoslavia, it became an independent church body. Its pastors are educated at the Lutheran theological faculty in Bratislava.

Today, the SECACSM consists of 50,000 members in 27 congregations.

The main priorities of SECACSM include evangelism in congregations and on a national level, children and youth work, and media work, especially printed media.

A growing challenge for SECACSM is maintaining the Slovak identity in a majority Serbian environment. The widely-used Slovak translation of the Bible was completed in the 1970s. Close links continue with the much larger counterpart and namesake of the church in the Republic of Slovakia.

Dodoma Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania

The Dodoma Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church is Tanzania (ELCT) is one of 20 dioceses of the ELCT and is located in the middle of Tanzania.

From it’s website, the mission of the ELCT is “to enable people to know Jesus Christ and gain eternal life.  The Church is built on Jesus Christ as its foundation, is guided by the Word of God as found in the Old and New Testaments, and is strengthened by the Sacraments.  It does so in accordance with the Lutheran Confessions, which are true interpretations of the Word of God.”

The Northwestern Ohio Synod has multiple on-going missions and projects in the Dodoma Diocese.

Young Adults in Global Mission

The ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program invites ELCA young adults ages 21-29 into a transformative, year-long journey in international service. As they offer themselves in service, ELCA young adults are shaped by the witness of our global neighbors. They share in the journeys of companion churches and organizations in one of nine countries around the world.

ELCA World Hunger

Working with and through our congregations, in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Lutheran churches overseas and other partners, ELCA World Hunger is uniquely positioned to reach communities in need. From health clinics to microloans, water wells to animal husbandry, community meals to advocacy, your gifts to ELCA World Hunger make it possible for the ELCA to respond, supporting sustainable solutions that get at the root causes of hunger and poverty.

ELCA Malaria Campaign

We are in a special moment to help turn this around. Since the start of the ELCA Malaria Campaign, ELCA members and our companions overseas have already seen a reduction in the number of deaths from this preventable, treatable disease. We are a church that believes God is calling us into the world — together. Working through Lutheran partners in Africa, the ELCA Malaria Campaign is uniquely positioned to help provide mosquito nets, education, testing, medication and more to help eliminate deaths from this disease — for good.

HIV and AIDS Ministry

AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 25 million people worldwide. Millions of children under the age of 18 in sub-Saharan Africa have lost one or both parents to AIDS. The ELCA, along with the international community, has pledged both resources and action. There is cause for great hope.

Real progress has been made to:

  • halt the spread of HIV through effective prevention, treatment and care;
  • eliminate the stigma and discrimination experienced by those who are HIV-positive; and
  • reduce the conditions of poverty that contribute to the spread of HIV.

Your action makes a difference as we do God’s work in the world together.

Peace Not Walls

The ELCA is working for justice and peace in Palestine and Israel through our campaign, Peace Not Walls. Through accompaniment, advocacy and awareness-raising, Peace Not Walls connects ELCA members to our companions and promotes dignity, full respect for human rights, healing and reconciliation. With our Palestinian Lutheran companions, we also accompany Palestinians and Israelis, Jews, Christians and Muslims working together for peace with justice.

Our Ministry and Mission