Our mission focus is: “Spread the Gospel. Plant Lutheran churches. Show mercy.” Here in Germany, the Gospel changes the lives of many Iranian and Afghan refugees. They arrive at the doors of our partner churches and ask to learn more about the saving faith in Christ. So we respond by teaching and baptizing as Jesus commands us. Christians long to gather around Word and Sacrament to hear the Good News, so we offer services in the Persian language every Sunday. But we need more native-speaking pastors who plant Lutheran churches to nourish the faith of new believers. Therefore, my fellow faculty members at Riga Luther Academy Seminary and I prepare men and women from a host of countries for ministry. They, in turn, help us to translate important resources for use in worship and teaching into their local languages. For example, we have just completed the translation of the Augsburg Confession into Farsi, which did not exist before. And in Italy, two young Italian men who studied with us at Riga Lutheran Seminary were recently ordained (s. more below).
When working with refugees, there are many opportunities to show mercy. We accompany our church members to asylum interviews and court hearings with the German government. There are employment and housing concerns, family and relationship issues. You will be encouraged to know how God is working, especially in dark times and difficult circumstances. A key figure in this endeavor will be a communications coordinator to further improve our conversation with you all—our many supporters (also of the other missionaries)—and with our fellow missionaries. The person recently appointed officially for this most important task is none other than my wonderful wife, Lula. She has decades of experience in business strategy and information technology, and has provided IT support for our mission work here from the start, as a volunteer. All of this is made possible by your prayers and generous support. Thank you all for keeping the Tiews going out here on the mission field, and praise God for the many ways in which He is blessing His work that we are privileged to do.
May Christ bless and keep you!
Pastor Christian Tiews and Lula
The Tiews in Germany 