Rev. WM Eddleman (rear) and school children are pictured on Dec. 1, 1927, in front of Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church in Birmingham, Ala. (Courtesy of Concordia Historical Institute)

In an essay titled The History of LCMS Mercy Work with African Americans, the Rev. Dr. Roosevelt Gray explores the legacy of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod using mercy work as a means by which to share the Gospel with African-Americans.

Gray, the director of LCMS Black Ministry, goes through the history of how the Synod’s mission work had at its very foundation an emphasis on preaching the Gospel through the mercy ministry of educating blacks.