Mission

"And the gospel must first be preached to all nations." ~ Mark 13:10 

Charity prays for Christians under persecution, especially our sisters and brothers in the Sudan, Egypt, Indonesia and China.  As part of the body of Christ, Charity tithes to support the following Christian missions and evangelical service organizations:

EEMN - Pastor Bob & Karen Nordvall

Recently commissioned as National Coordinator for Eastern European Missions Network, Rev. Robert D. Nordvall, formerly senior pastor at Charity for 25 years and his wife Karen are back in the mission field. To contact Pastor Bob for speaking engagements, preaching, visitation to your congregation, or leading short mission trips:  pastorbob@eemn.org or call 701-391-0182

Prayer request from Pastor Bob about his recent mission to Estonia (August 2010):

  • Praise God for a successful and joyful Language Camp week.
  • Thank God for a growing and challenging group of students.
  • Thank God for the blessing of His Spirit working in the lives of several who welcomed Christ into their lives.
  • Pray for spiritual revival in Estonia, which is a troubled nation because of alcohol.
  • Pray that many will return to spiritual priorities and meet Christ along the way.
  • Pray for pastors who minister in congregations, many of whom have their own significant problems.
  • Pray for the spiritual life and faith of pastors who serve in a time when liberal trends world-wide challenge the life saving Gospel.

Thank you for all your prayers! Pastor Bob

About EEMN

  • EEMN began in 1992, in the wake of the fall of communism.  EEMN is an evangelical, inter-Lutheran mission organization incorporated and recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
  • EEMN seeks to mobilize American churches, connect them with ministries abroad, and equip them to serve during this time of opportunity and need.  EEMN’s network supports many partnership ministry opportunities.
  • EEMN’s highest priority is to help train a new generation of Christ-centered, Bible-based leaders committed to the fulfillment of the Great Commission and the rebuilding of their church.
  • EEMN works in close relationship with indigenous believers, often Lutherans, in Belarus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine and Turkey.  Bible Schools, seminaries, lay training, evangelism, discipleship, church planting and prayer are the tools for developing this long-term rebuilding.

Freedom Fellowship

Harvey and Patti Schmeichels show us a type of ministry that is rare. Why? Because instead of going to a place in need and just staying for a day, a week or even a few years, they live and work in the community they serve. The Schmeichels, including Tricia and Landen, their children, live in McLaughlin, SD, about 90 minutes south of Bismarck. A weekday businessman, Harvey pastors an interdenominational congregation and is “on call” for all sorts of people in need in the community. On Sundays, he is the pastor, bringing a message of hope in Jesus. Patti serves a meal to the hungry kids before Sunday School (10 AM Bismarck time.) Mid-week, there are Bible studies and a Wednesday night outreach to the youth. They also provide a food pantry and a clothing ministry (always needed are tot-, kid- and teen-sized socks and underwear; new items are a treat!)  As you might guess, they need a lot of prayer in this overwhelming situation. They also would appreciate any volunteer help. Would you be willing to travel down on a Sunday morning with a roaster oven full of hot dish or other food? You will be blessed as you work alongside this dedicated family!

Address: PO Box 362, McLaughlin, SD 57642

The Kraft Family

Nicolas and Shannon Kraft are working in Bolivia through the World Mission Prayer League to Bolivia. This organization asks everyone who supports the Krafts to surround them in prayer as well.  The Krafts thank you for all your prayers. They have seen God at work in many ways. For example, during their last furlough, Nick was given a free tutorial by the producer of the Barney show on how to improve the TV and radio shows that Nic uses for youth outreach. The Krafts’ gifting lies in youth ministry, so they also work in direct contact with the young people of Caranavi, Bolivia. One of the difficulties that they face is the level of spiritual warfare in a culture rife with superstition. They also have had training in ministry with marriages, and have a team that offers classes to strengthen homes.

The Ose Family

Steve and Robin Ose are now living in the Twin Cities area, due to concerns about their son Stevie’s education. He was born extremely prematurely, and it is a miracle from God that he is alive and has no major birth defects. However, he has been diagnosed with a mild form of autism, and God has been good to provide him with excellent services there. Jonathan, their second son, is in pre-school. God also does not waste any of our life’s experiences, and the years that Steve and Robin spent in East Asia are now being used to witness to the hundreds of students from that region who are attending the University of Minnesota. Steve is also attending the Master’s Institute, an alternative seminary on the North Heights campus. Please pray that the Oses are able to gather enough funding to meet their needs in our more expensive part of the country (think snowboots, etc!). Also pray that the Lord opens many doors and they are able to be used of God in a mighty way.

Lutheran Association of Missionary Pilots (LAMP)

A ministry that provides Gospel witness and love to the peoples of the remote far north in Canada and Alaska. The ship, MV Christian, is a "floating church" and VBS center.

Lutheran Bible Translators

Here is a group of people that take Jesus’ command, “Go and teach all nations!” seriously. They know that the best way to let folks know the Good News of salvation is to give them the Bible in their heart language, and teach them to read. Working tirelessly, often in extreme conditions, these translating teams usually have to spend years learning the target language, translating the New Testament into that language (which usually has never had a written language component), and then teaching literacy to that group of people. Those of us who can travel for hundreds of miles in any direction and never have to rely on another language, who take literacy for granted, whose houses are full of books in our mother-tongue, who can easily buy a Bible we can read, have no idea of what it is like to hold the Word of God in our language for the first time! Pray for wisdom, patience, safety and health for these precious translation workers.

Contact: . www.LBT.org

Lutheran Bible School

What happens when a nation is denied Bible teaching for 40 years under Communism? Hunger! This innovative, growing and quality ministry has graduates fanning out far from its location in Martin, Slovakia.

Lutheran Hospital of Edeja - Dr. Elson

The Ejeda Lutheran Hospital in southern Madagascar has been an outpost for the Gospel for decades. Recently, Charity contributed a substantial sum toward the purchase of a 4WD that goes out from Ejeda into rural villages to do clinics and give pastoral care. The mission of this health care facility is to minister not only to the desperate needs of this impoverished area, but to be an evangelical witness to each patient and their families. Even a short visit with Dr. Elson and his wife reveals that they have the gift of evangelism and the will to use it for Christ’s glory. 

Contact:
Roger Ose Ministries
6824 South 10th Ave.
Richfield, MN 55423-2501   janet_ose@hotmail.com

Charity’s Mission to Mexico

March 2009: Have you been hearing how dangerous the drug war situation is in Mexico? It means that we need to urgently lift up our sister LCMC congregations and pastors in Monterrey. Pastors Enrique, Juan, Victor and Perla each shepherd small but growing churches about two hours south of the border from Laredo, Texas.

The greater Monterrey metropolitan area is home to well over 2 million people, so you can see that this is a daunting mission task. Without prayer to God to send laborers into the fields that are white unto harvest (Luke 10: 2) and the work of the Holy Spirit, these brave servants of ours would be overwhelmed. They so appreciate our prayers and the encouraging visits such as the time our Charity youth went to help with VBS in 2007.

Why is their ministry so hard? It is in no small part due to the spiritual darkness of the people. Many are very nominal members of the church, and believe that baptism is like a magic ritual that insures they will get to heaven. Syncretism, or the mixing of Christian belief with old superstitions, infects people’s souls. Add to that an extreme veneration of Mary that borders on idolatry and robs people of any relationship with Jesus. To the casual observer, it would seem that the majority religion, Catholicism, looks familiar but the Latin American twists make it nearly unrecognizable to us.

Please pray that this “hard ground,” this gigantic city and this dangerous locale be a place where the Gospel can be preached with power. Pray that people’s eyes will be opened. Pray against discouragement and tiredness, and for adequate support from and good fellowship with American congregations. Pray that lay leadership will be raised up, and that this summer others will come to help with VBS. Gracias!