Winter ‘Engage’: Christ’s light during trials

Damage from Hurricane Helene is seen in North Carolina in November 2024. The Winter 2025 issue of Lutherans Engage the World includes a story about the hurricane response. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

“I know that God works His greatest good when everything seems to be falling around us,” said the Rev. Kevin Loughran, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, St. Petersburg, Fla. Grace’s church and school building suffered significant damage when Hurricane Milton blew through the area on Oct. 9. The very next morning, more than 40 volunteers from the church, school, community and even farther afield arrived to help.

The Winter 2025 issue of Lutherans Engage the World highlights a few of the ways that God comes to His people even at their lowest point, whether that’s after a natural disaster, while serving time in prison, or while seeking asylum in Germany. So far, hundreds of Persian migrants who are hoping to receive asylum in Germany have found forgiveness and salvation in the Gospel of Jesus Christ thanks to the dedicated efforts of a handful of German pastors and LCMS missionaries. And these migrants can’t help but tell their friends.

The issue also includes a story about a new Lutheran school in Branson, Mo.; how LCMS Ministry to the Armed Forces supports both military chaplains and military personnel in living out their faith; and thoughts from international church leaders who recently attended a gathering hosted by LCMS Church Relations.

The Winter 2025 issue began arriving in mailboxes in late December. Read it online or sign up for a free subscription at engage.lcms.org.