wfn.org | [LCMSNews] POBLO, partners open sem in Pakistan

["LCMS e-News" <LCMSENEWS@lcms.org>]

	 <http://www.lcms.org>
e-News
	LCMS News

	PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL MESSAGE! This message comes
from a "Send Only" Mailbox that does not recognize replies.

	November 5, 2003 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 130

	POBLO, partners open Lutheran seminary in Pakistan

	By Paula Schlueter Ross

	Fifteen Pakistani students are studying to become Lutheran
pastors at a home-based seminary in Lahore, Pakistan, according to an
LCMS pastor who visited western Asia Aug. 22-Sept. 1.

	That first group of students is expected to graduate and be
ordained in about three years, according to Rev. Gary Rohwer, who works
with People of the Book Lutheran Outreach (POBLO), a U.S.-based
organization that works with Muslims in the United States and overseas.

	Rohwer traveled to Pakistan to lead a three-day seminar on
Lutheran doctrine for Pakistani Christians and church leaders.
Christians represent only about 3 percent of the country's 145 million
people, he said, and most live in extreme poverty.

	"So many of the Christians I met are really just trying to
survive," he said.

	Some 25 people attended the seminar, he said, and
"wholeheartedly embraced" Lutheran teachings.

	"What impressed them the most was that we are a Bible-based
church, and they were looking for that," Rohwer said. One man asked,
"Why hasn't the Lutheran church come to Pakistan before now?"

	POBLO is spearheading work in Pakistan, Afghanistan, northern
India and Bangladesh with the help of 10 U.S. partners, including LCMS
World Mission and Wheat Ridge Ministries. A formal partnership agreement
was approved by the entities during a Sept. 30 meeting at POBLO
headquarters in Dearborn Heights, Mich.

	Outcomes of the meeting include agreements such as:

	- Orphan Grain Train, Norfolk, Neb., will coordinate shipments
of materials, medical services and educational resources.

	- Hope Seeds, Palmetto, Fla., will provide vegetable seeds and
other materials.

	- Children's Christian Concern Society, Topeka, Kan., will
provide Christian education scholarships and assistance.

	The new alliance is an "excellent model" for future ventures,
according to Rev. Steve Hughey, director for mission response and
involvement with LCMS World Mission and organizer of the meeting. The
agreement allows partners to coordinate their efforts in a strategic
way, he said.

	Other work in Pakistan includes the establishment of a health
clinic near Shantinager, a predominantly Christian village. The clinic's
doctor is Muslim and its staff is Christian, and the clinic provides
basic health care to residents of about a dozen villages, both Christian
and Muslim, according to Rohwer.

	And, a Lutheran congregation in Lahore, established this summer
for Pakistani Christians, has about 500 weekly worshipers, according to
POBLO staff.

	Future plans call for establishing schools and offering
job-skills training.

	"Our hope is that, through education and job training ... we can
help the people out of a cycle of poverty," Rohwer said.

	Health care and education also will be supported by the
POBLO-led partnership in Afghanistan, beginning Dec. 1.

	And, the Lutheran Heritage Foundation, Macomb, Mich., has agreed
to translate and print 50,000 copies of Luther's Small Catechism in
various west Asian languages, including Urdu, Persian, Hindi, Punjabi
and Bengali.

	Work in western Asia is being funded by members of the POBLO
partnership and LCMS World Relief.

	****************************************

	If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release,
contact Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org or (314) 996-1231,
or Paula Schlueter Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org or (314) 996-1230.

	****************************************

	  This Edition of "LCMS News" e-News is provided by:

	Board for Communication Services, Division of News and
Information
Contact Editor
<http://www.lcms.org/enews/contact_editor.asp?title=LCMS%20News&editorid
=6>

		To subscribe to or unsubscribe from this Newsletter and
many others, please visit LCMS e-News <http://www.lcms.org/enews> .
		Share this Newsletter
<http://www.lcms.org/enews/forward.asp?m=1272>	with a friend.

MessageId=1272
  _____

Design ) Copyright 2003 The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod.
<http://www.lcms.org>
No reproduction without consent. All rights reserved.