what we believe

Our Mission: to train and equip indigenous leaders and to work with them toward self-sufficiency. We have pastors and leaders in each country who are committed to making disciples, in what can be very difficult circumstances. But we know that the best people to tell others about Jesus are people who already live there, understand the culture, speak the language, and love the nation.


Our training takes different approaches in each nation but the goal is always the same: make disciples who will make disciples. The most effective evangelism is done by people who will empower others to tell even more people, family, and friends. We focus on Biblical knowledge, theological integrity, pastoral skill and effective communication. Pastor Tom LoVan communicates with our leaders regularly by phone and internet, and travels to Southeast Asia almost every year to meet with our pastors and leaders face to face. Pastor Vander Tuig has been to Southeast Asia five times over the last 15 years.


Our work is guided by the teaching of I Peter 3:15. "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect". We desperately want all to know the grace, mercy, freedom and love of Jesus.


One of the ways we do this is by earning the right to tell them about the One who is offering them Life. We distribute food to the hungry, we deliver medical supply kits, we dig wells and we offer financial assistance as we are able. Now, during the pandemic of Covid-19 this has become even more effective as the need is great, and often overwhelming, and in many cases the governments are without resources.


The second part of our mission statement is our ultimate goal, and we have much work to do: to work with them toward self-sufficiency. One of the most promising models is the work being done by Pastor Samuel Chim in Cambodia. Samuel has about 5 hectors of land on which is raised a crop that grows naturally in the region. It is much like our soybeans, that can be used to make almost anything, and is a good source of protein for food. If Samuel could acquire another 45 hectors of land, he could minimally support the 15 pastors he now oversees. This would not provide anything like a full-time salary, it would only supplement the pastor's income so that their ministry could expand.

affiliation

Lutheran Asian Ministries is affiliated with Lutheran Congregations in Missions for Christ (LCMC) and holds the same statement of faith as LCMC.


Their statement of faith can be found here and is stated below.


We believe, teach, and confess the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe, teach, and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and the gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe in him.

  • Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate, through whom everything was made and through whose life, death, and resurrection God fashions a new creation.
  • The proclamation of God's message to us as both law and gospel is the Word of God, revealing judgment and mercy in the person and work of Jesus Christ through whom God was pleased to reconcile all things to himself.
  • The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God. Inspired by God's Spirit speaking through their authors, they record and announce God's revelation centering in Jesus Christ. Through them God's Spirit speaks to us to create and sustain Christian faith and fellowship for service in the world.

We believe, teach, and accept the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the sole authoritative source and norm of our proclamation, faith, and life.


We accept the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds as true declarations of the scriptural faith we believe, teach, and confess.


We believe, teach, and accept the Unaltered Augsburg Confession and the Small Catechism as true witnesses to the Word of God, normative for our teaching and practice. We acknowledge that we are one in faith and doctrine with all churches that likewise accept the teachings of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession.


We believe, teach, and confess the other confessional writings in the Book of Concord namely, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise, the Large Catechism, and the Formula of Concord, as further valid expositions of the Holy Scriptures.


We believe, teach, and confess the gospel, recorded in the Holy Scriptures and confessed in the ecumenical creeds and Lutheran confessional writings, as the power of God to create and sustain the priesthood of all believers for God's mission in the world.