Project ID:  PA0001-65804

LCMS mission work in Panama began with service to military personnel during the Canal Zone era, as early as 1941. The ministry expanded and led to the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Panama (IELPA). 

An Alliance Missionary from Brazil, Rev. Raphael Voigt, joined Rev. Dr. Arthur and Deaconess Eva Rickman, LCMS missionaries, in Panama in 2021. Rev. Voigt serves as a church planter and revitalizer in Los Andes. Likewise, Rev. Rickman serves Redeemer in Balboa, where the refurbished sanctuary welcomes members and visitors from the community. They join a small handful of national pastors. 

In 2024, the Rev. Demetrio Perez and his wife Nuria, a deaconess student, returned from studies at Concordia the Reformer Seminary in the Dominican Republic to support the ministry at Redeemer and other churches in Panama. The IELPA continues to identify prospective church workers and provide pastoral formation through Concordia the Reformer Seminary.

Six 2022 deaconess graduates serve their congregations with outreach activities, teaching women and children and caring for their neighbors through acts of mercy. The harvest truly is plentiful in Panama. We thank God for His mercy in raising up faithful Church workers and supporters who provide for their needs. 

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Panama Mission

Checks should be made out to Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod or LCMS

Memo Line: PA0001-65804

Mail to:
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Mission Advancement
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-6861
FORO Contact:
arthur.rickman@lcms.org