Church planting. It’s in the very lifeblood of the LCMS — and in the November issue of The Lutheran Witness.
Like Christians in every place and throughout all time, Lutherans understand well — as the Rev. Dr. Quintin Cundiff, director of LCMS Church Planting, points out — that the church “is not simply the result of mission. It is also the launching point for more mission.”
Cundiff’s article, “We Plant — God Gives the Growth,” lays the theological foundation for all that comes after it in this issue:
- The Rev. Dr. Lawrence Rast Jr. offers a retrospective on the history of LCMS church planting;
- The Rev. Adam Lehman explores why and how LCMS missionaries plant churches internationally;
- The Rev. Dr. Heath Trampe takes a close look at how pastors and laypeople work together to multiply outreach; and
- The Rev. Dr. James Baneck revisits the life and zeal of early circuit rider (and later Synod president) Friedrich Pfotenhauer, shedding light on what it means for today’s church workers to be “set apart for church planting.”
“What,” asks Baneck, “was behind Pfotenhauer’s missionary zeal and church planting? Faith in Christ and love for his neighbor.”
So it is today also, as the Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison emphasizes in his “From the President” column: “I certainly wouldn’t call it wrong to say, ‘I want to share my faith with you.’ But what exactly do we desire to share? … When I confess I have faith, I am confessing I have Jesus. … Faith simply lays hold of Jesus and all His gifts. If I say, ‘Can I share my faith with you?’ I mean: ‘I want to share Jesus with you.’ The content of faith is not me and my work, but Jesus.”
Browse web-exclusive content, read a selection of features from the print magazine or subscribe to read entire issues at witness.lcms.org.
Posted Nov. 6, 2026
