All Nations Council holds first meeting

From left, the Rev. Juan Zamora (LCMS Hispanic National Convention president), the Rev. Dr. Samuel Deressa (associate professor of Theology and the Global South at Concordia University, St. Paul), the Rev. Dr. Terrence Chan (Multi-Asian Gathering) and the Rev. Stephen Heimer (manager of All Nations Ministry) chat during the LCMS All Nations Council at the LCMS International Center in St. Louis on Nov. 19, 2024. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

By Cheryl Magness

On Nov. 19, 2024, the first-ever gathering of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) All Nations Council was held at the LCMS International Center in St. Louis. The All Nations Council, part of LCMS All Nations Ministry, is a gathering of LCMS leaders whose work has a specific focus on multiethnic ministry in the United States. Almost all the invited organizations were able to take part in this first gathering. The organizations — a total of 10 attended this initial gathering — chose their own representatives to send to the council.

After an opening devotion by the Rev. Stephen Heimer, manager of All Nations Ministry, and a welcome from LCMS Office of National Mission (ONM) Executive Director Rev. Daniel M. Galchutt, representatives took turns introducing themselves and the ministries they serve. The Rev. Chris Ng of Chinese Lutherans in Mission Building (CLIMB) noted that those who serve in ethnic ministry can feel “very isolated” but that gatherings such as this one help address that isolation. “Being part of the council here is a great joy.”

The Rev. Dr. Terrence Chan of the Multi-Asian Gathering, a meeting of various Asian ministries that come together once a year during the Multi-Ethnic Symposium at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, expressed a similar sentiment: “This event is wonderful to bring people together … to meet and learn from each other.”

After introductions, the group broke for daily chapel, after which Heimer gave a presentation on the purpose and goals of All Nations Ministry, a relatively new division of the ONM created to foster collaboration and integration among all ethnicities into the larger work of the LCMS in the United States.

The ministries, while exhibiting a rich diversity of contexts, languages and gifts, share some similarities in the kinds of needs and challenges they encounter as they seek to spread the Gospel and provide Christ-centered human care to those they serve. As the council spent time in conversation over the course of the day, a variety of topics arose, including the challenge of identifying and finding resources, improving communication and networking, best practices for multilingual ministry, identifying and obtaining funding, decision-making and conflict resolution, retaining youth and passing on the faith, nurturing Lutheran identity, and more.

Heimer also introduced participants to two new online resources: an All Nations Directory, created to support collaboration among LCMS ethnic ministries, with various options for sorting according to language, ethnic focus, location and more; and an All Nations Dashboard, which provides at-a-glance numerical information, trends and links to much of the organizational information found in the directory.

As the day wrapped up, participants contemplated next steps, discussing how often to meet, possible locations and times for meetings, and suggestions for others who might join the conversation.

In his opening devotion at the beginning of the meeting, Heimer had read from the first chapter of Acts, in which the apostles ask Jesus, before His ascension into heaven: “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Jesus answered them: “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1: 7–8).

Heimer — who served for 28 years on the Texas/Mexico border — said that All Nations Ministry has long been, and continues to be, an enormous need in the church. “I am so pleased to see what is happening in ministry among people from every heritage, fulfilling in this nation the commission Jesus spoke to His disciples.”

Posted Jan. 30, 2025