Have you ever taken apart an old-fashioned mechanical watch and marveled at all
the tiny gears and wheels that interconnect to make the watch work?
On behalf of Luther Academy, Dr. John Bombaro and I flew to Islamabad,
Pakistan, last month. Our assignment was to teach the Pakistani students of the Luther
Academy basic doctrine of the ancient Christian faith—in a ten day
intensive. But to our surprise, our Luther Academy students were joined by 19
Pentecostal pastors, fascinated by Lutheran Christianity, who are converting to
Lutheranism, along with their congregations. These men had been contacted and
invited by our wonderful LCMS missionaries in Pakistan, Rev. Jay and Mrs. Julie
Dass (themselves closely connected to Luther Academy).
These 19 pastors and their congregations are a subset of 200 Pentecostal
congregations, all of which desire to become Lutheran. Why? Because they have
come to realize that only Lutheran Christianity provides the true and faithful
teachings of the ancient Church. Every other denomination other than Lutheran
Christianity either adds or subtracts central teachings from Scripture and thus
differs from what we know about Christianity from the New Testament.
This exciting development in Pakistan means that, God willing, we will gain well
over 100,000 new Lutherans in Pakistan in the next few years. Converting
Pentecostal Christians is, of course, not the focus of our missionary work. It simply
means that we will have over 100,000 more people on the ground who will help us
share the Gospel with their Muslim neighbors, of which there are over 230 million
in Pakistan.
Praise God for Luther Academy in Riga and for Rev. and Mrs. Dass, our
missionaries in Pakistan. The Lord seems to be using us all as He grows His
Kingdom. What a privilege to be His little “gears” and “wheels,” as we watch His
work unfold!
Rev. Dr. Christian C. Tiews
Director of Internships and Visiting Lecturer of the English Study Stream
Luther Academy, Riga
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