2015–2017 Mission Grant: LCMS Global Seminary Initiative — International Student Scholarships, $100,000 fully paid
WOW! What an awesome God we have! The Global Seminary Initiative (GSI) was provided a $100,000 grant from the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) which was matched by a separate challenge grant making the total $200,000 for scholarships. With the help of the Holy Spirit that could mean twice as many pastors!
The Global Seminary Initiative was started in 2013 by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod at convention and has only begun to return graduates to their native countries. The end result of these scholarships can take many years to develop but already students are anxious to finish schooling and return home to share the Gospel. One student from Madagascar speaks of men he knows from India and Saudi Arabia who also want to become pastors. In Madagascar, the Lutheran Church has about 4.5 million members and is opening at least one new church a week. Can you imagine — one new church a week? With this kind of growth the need for pastors is tremendous. This student, with his training in our seminaries, will definitely be a candidate to train others who also want to be pastors.
Another scholarship recipient, Sergi Maschewski, trained at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2000 and returned to his native Ukraine where he has now been elected bishop of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine and is seeking altar and pulpit fellowship with the LCMS. It is difficult to imagine how many lives these two men will change and bring to Jesus. As women of the LWML we are blessed through their accomplishments.
For more information about this mission grant, view the individual mission grant page here.
