Placing a full-time missionary does not just happen. It takes planning, and it takes money. Our missionaries are reaching people with the Gospel thanks to LCMS individuals and congregations who have been part of Fan into Flame, the first Synodwide capital campaign in more than two decades.

We are living in a time of anxiety, conflict, and concern. People are anxious today about employment and job stability; about the price of gas, other fuels, and food; and about the future leadership of our country.

St. Paul asks in Romans 10, “How are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” Synod’s congregations will need around 2,700 pastors in the next 10 years, an average of 270 each year, just to fill retirement vacancies.

April marks the beginning of spring. The combination of springtime sights, sounds, and smells in God’s creation reminds us of new life and new hope.

It is critical to remember that our work in Jesus’ name has value because of His resurrection victory over sin, death, and the devil!

Because of Christ Jesus and what He did for us, God forgives our sins, which makes it not only our duty, but our privilege, to forgive and reconcile with those who sin against us.

You are reading a very special issue of The Lutheran Witness. Its focus is on people and institutions of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a world that needs so very much to hear God’s Good News.

Thinking about Christmas and Christmas gifts, the love with which they are purchased and exchanged, and the sacrifice that often is involved reminds us that these same factors are descriptive also of the greatest gift of all.

Partner church relationships promote good stewardship. Our partners continue the work we began—unencumbered by language and culture barriers that face American missionaries overseas.

Lord, reform the church. Begin with me. As we prepare to celebrate the festival of the Reformation, our thoughts naturally turn back to the circumstances that led to the event nearly 500 years ago.

“CHOSEN” was the theme of this year’s National Youth Gathering —a major purpose of which is to help our young people grow in their understanding of who they are as CHOSEN ones of our gracious God.

Of all the LCMS conventions I have attended, none has exceeded or even equaled the evangelical and fraternal spirit of this year’s gathering.