The Mid-South District - LCMS

The Mid-South District’s International Mission Partnerships

In the 1990s, the Mid-South District began to explore partnerships that would provide opportunities to actively share the Gospel in mission fields far from the borders of its own three-state region. The District’s first international mission partnership was finalized in 1995 to provide support for ministry in the west African country of Côte d’Ivoire.

Through the partnership, the Mid-South District provided financial support for the work of missionaries in the region and was also able to connect local LCMS members with opportunities to serve through mission trips to the area. The partnership was maintained for several years and served as a foundation for additional international support arrangements in the District’s future.

Since entering into its first international mission partnership in the mid 1990s, the Mid-South District has been blessed to have similar arrangements with Lutheran ministries in Tanzania, Haiti and Madagascar. In addition to helping share the Gospel in these far away places, the partnerships have allowed the District to support pastoral training opportunities, secondary Lutheran education and daily meals for school children in areas with scarce nutrition resources. The District’s international mission partnerships have been an important part of its 60-year history—and will continue to be a vital part of Mid-South District ministry for many years to come.

In 1996, Mid-South District representatives traveled to Côte d’Ivoire to meet people impacted by the work of LCMS missionaries. Over 100 active Lutheran congregations had been established in the area over a 3-year period.
In 2007, a Mid-South District mission team journeyed to Tanzania to work in a medical clinic and share the Gospel. Over 600 Tanzanian people were baptized during the visit! Shown here are Tanzanian pastors (L to R) Ezyran Ng-weshemi, Earnest Ambarang’u and Yohana Nzelu with Mid-South District Director of World Missions, Bob Allen.