Photo essay: A Confident Confession

Story by Peter Slayton, photos by Erik M. Lunsford

The LCMS has had a missionary presence in Togo, West Africa, since 1981. The first Lutheran church was planted soon after in Lokpano — a remote village nearly two hours outside the closest large city of Dapaong.

The ministry since then has expanded greatly, with the first local pastors being ordained in 2002 after their pastoral preparation at the Centre Lutherien d’Etudes Theologiques (Lutheran Center for Theological Studies), or CLET. The center, started by LCMS missionaries, has made it possible for partner church bodies all across Francophone Africa to prepare men for the pastoral ministry.

In order to spread God’s Word, the work includes literacy classes that take place in Lutheran churches with the goal of teaching people to read the Bible. Midweek Bible studies based on Luther’s Small Catechism that teach the faith to parishioners are becoming more common.

The work of the LCMS through CLET and the missionaries in Togo continues to bear fruit. From pastors to parishioners, the training made available through CLET has made it possible for more people to hear the good news of Jesus Christ crucified for sinners. As the work in Francophone Africa expands, that confident confession spreads with it.

Peter Slayton (peter.slayton@lcms.org) is manager of Social Media with LCMS Communications. Erik M. Lunsford (erik.lunsford@lcms.org) is managing photojournalist for LCMS Communications.

Posted April 28, 2017