By Laura Owings
Every country in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Asia region has its own history, culture and personality. Lutheran deaconesses throughout Asia share a common thread: a passion to share the Gospel with others through Christ-centered education and acts of mercy.
The LCMS and the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP) are working together to provide broader and deeper theological training for current deaconesses in the Philippines through bi-annual intensive courses.
In Nov. 2023, the first intensive course took place. 25 active deaconesses were invited to attend. The event was so well-received that the LCP leaders requested invitations also be extended to Sunday school teachers for future seminars.
With this positive feedback in mind, the second intensive course was held July 29–Aug. 2, 2024. More than 100 deaconesses and Sunday school teachers gathered to learn about teaching the Christian faith to adults and children.
The Rev. Paul Nelson, Deaconess Sandra Rhein, and Lutheran Education Coordinator Mindy Thews were the instructors for the seminar, which was held at St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Baguio City, Philippines. Each of the instructors taught for two-hour increments each day. The primary topics included Luther’s Small Catechism, the proper roles of men and women in the church, and how to teach Bible lessons for Sunday school using the lectionary series also used in the LCMS.
There was such great enthusiasm for the seminar that all the attendees stayed at the host church for the week and even slept on the pews. Women from within the congregation also supported the event by coming to the church every day to cook meals for everyone who participated. The Lutherans in the Philippines showed a hunger and excitement for the theological training these seminars provide.
“[We] were amazed at their eagerness to learn,” Rhein said. “They were always seated and ready to learn when we arrived in the morning, and it was hard to get them to take breaks!”
Rhein serves as a missionary in Asia, where one of her primary roles is to develop and implement deaconess training. She also incorporates Lutheran hymnody and music in her sessions as a crucial element of the rich history of scriptural teaching through song.
For the Sunday school portion of the seminar, Thews demonstrated lessons for teaching children Bible stories that align with the lectionary series. Her goal was to provide materials that are low-cost, easy to access, and can be adjusted to fit a variety of ages, group sizes or time constraints.
Deaconesses and teachers are actively working together to spread the Gospel throughout Asia with spiritual care, acts of mercy, and Christian education for adults and children alike. Equipped with God’s Word, they are doing the important work of reaching the lost and bringing up children in the Christian faith who may then grow up to become pastors, deaconesses and teachers to serve in the church for future generations.
“This is only the beginning,” Thews said. “I see this as our foundation so that we can bring resources to our partner churches and enrich what they’re already doing.”
Leaders within the LCP and the LCMS Asia region hope these intensive courses will help lay the foundation for a formal deaconess program at the seminary level for Lutheran women in Asia. The next deaconess intensive course is scheduled for later this month and will focus on Lutheran hymnody and liturgy.
