Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod missionaries

What do Missionaries do?


The main priority of a missionary is to bring the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ to people who have never heard the Good News. LCMS missionaries usually share that Good News in the language of the people they serve.

When the Holy Spirit begins to gather people into Christian fellowship, missionaries assist these new Christians in forming their own indigenous church leaders.

Today, the LCMS trains, sends, and supports called and appointed career, long-term, and short-term missionaries in various countries around the world and in the United States where there are mission stations, partner churches, schools, or mission relationships.

LCMS missionary teams are made up of people who focus on planting churches, leadership formation, or some type of locally initiated holistic services in areas of health, agriculture, community development, English-as-a-Foreign-Language classes, or partner support activities.

Missionary teachers also serve in international schools where missionary children, expatriates, and national children attend. Agricultural and medical missionaries are utilized when their work will strategically contribute towards reaching and gathering communities of believers so churches can be planted.

Missionaries usually spend a good deal of time when they first arrive on the field developing language skills and learning about the culture and mastering a foreign language.

The overall LCMS mission “team” consists of ordained pastors, directors of Christian education, directors of Christian outreach, deaconesses, teachers, lay ministers, Directors of Parish music, medical professionals, agriculturalists, vicars, church work program interns, retired Lutheran laity and college graduates.

All are scattered across the globe working together with national partners to tell the Good News of the salvation that is found only in Jesus Christ.

 

Our first missionary

Rev. Theodore Naether and family
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has been involved in mission and outreach since 1851, when it established its first mission board.

In 1894, the LCMS sent its first overseas missionary, Rev. Theodore Naether and family, to India. Read more about Naether’s experience from Concordia Historical Institute

Learn about our worldwide regions Missionaries and workers directory

 

Serve now

There are more than 200 opportunities available to serve with the LCMS, ranging from one week to a lifetime.

View mission opportunities



Stories from the Mission Field



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Lutheran Witness February 2024

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The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Inc., including Mission Central (in Mapleton, Iowa), is an IRS registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity.

A contribution designated (restricted) for a specific purpose, when accepted, will be used only to fund expenses related to that purpose. Occasionally, we may receive more in contributions for a particular purpose than can be wisely applied to it in the foreseeable future or the purpose may cease to be feasible. In these situations, the LCMS will make reasonable attempts to contact contributors to apply their contribution toward another aspect of ministry that aligns closely the contributor’s goals and values. If a contributor cannot be contacted, the LCMS will use the gift to meet a similar pressing need that most closely matches the contributor's original intent.

Consistent with Synod Board policy and in recognition of a more challenging economic and philanthropic/fundraising environment due to inflationary pressure, not more than 12.5 percent of any charitable contribution will be allocated to administering gifts and communicating with contributors (compared to a not-more-than ceiling of 10.5 percent the previous fiscal year). Contributions received and accepted by the LCMS are deemed to be in agreement with this statement.

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