Project ID: A10897-65804
Provides Theological Education for pre-seminarians
Lays the groundwork for ongoing church-plants
Strengthens the relationship with the national church
The Lutheran Church of Panama (IELPA) bears vestiges of
congregations founded during the U.S. ownership and
operation of the Panama Canal as well as congregations
planted by LCMS missionaries working throughout the
country. It consists of five congregations sprinkled
throughout the populous areas of the country served by a
number of national pastors and deaconesses. However, the
church has not established a clear route to the ministry for
its young men and women. Congregations thirst for Bible teaching.
In 2016 an LCMS missionary and his family deployed to
Panama. There he conducts classes in the congregations of the
IELPA as a teacher, educator and mentor to bolster the teaching
in the churches. He travels weekly to the congregations and
offers basic Bible classes as well as assisting national pastors.
Working with the leadership of the national church, he has
opened the doors to Bible teaching that will help to identify
future candidates for pre-seminary and seminary training at one
of our Latin American seminaries.
One of the historic LCMS church buildings in Balboa,
Panama offers a central site for future classes and provides a
place where students could be housed at low cost while
attending classes. The roof needs to be replaced before this
facility can be fully used to bring people together for training in
one central location.
Funds for this project will provide for the replacement of
the roof as well as support expenses of the pre-seminary
program. Leaders will have a means to pass the baton to future
generations of Panamanians who thirst to hear and know the
Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Theological Educator Brian Gauthier, his wife, Amanda, and his son, Ezra.
Cost Breakdown
Total: $56,818
Repair roof on church $45,455
Support a pre-seminarian $284
Panama Mission
Checks should be made out to Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod or LCMS
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Mission Advancement
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-6861
FORO Contact:
brian.gauthier@lcms.org
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