LOCAL MISSION PARTNERS

"\Go therefore and make disciples of all nations."  Matthew 28:19-20

The Nations are Here!

The Lutheran Church is changing to reflect the rich and diverse population living and worshiping in the Twin Cities area: 

• St. Paul has more Hmong people than any other city in the United States.
• Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic community in the United States and in the Twin Cities.
• The University of Minnesota has more Chinese students than any other university in the United States.
• At least 5,000 (maybe as many as 15,000) Native Americans live in the East Metro.
• Youth and people seeking employment are special cultures that need our attention.
• Many other cultures live in our neighborhoods and communities.

Local Mission Partners is a program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that encourages ministries to build relationships with each other around:

***Prayer: Pray for Partners in weekly worship; at council and team meetings, in personal devotions.

***Presence: Share each other’s joys and concerns; worship, work, play and meals together; encourage one another. The relationship is reciprocal. Each congregation has gifts to give to the other and ways to receive from the other.

***Presents: Volunteer their time and work of their hands; provide needed tangible items such as musical instruments, office equipment, lawn mowers, or Sunday School materials; offer financial gifts which may purchase signs, create publicity brochures, enable the ministry to afford a musician, help pay the rent, or contribute to program support.

Partnerships create energy, provide for peer-review and stimulate creativity in reaching out to people in every one of our communities.

Christ the King has four Local Mission Partners:

HMONG CENTRAL LUTHERAN CHURCH

Hmong Central Lutheran Church, 301 Fuller Ave., just west of the state capitol in St. Paul, is the largest Hmong Lutheran congregation in the world, and has about 170 in Sunday worship. Special events during the year (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hmong New Year, Valentines' Day, Graduation, and Easter) all provide excellent fellowship and outreach times for the congregation. Hmong egg rolls are a favorite at Christ the King: At 4 a.m., the second Sunday of each month, youth and the young adults of Hmong Central begin preparing six to seven hundred egg rolls. By 8:30 a.m., the smell of egg rolls greets Christ the King members and guests as they come to worship. By the end of the third service, all the egg rolls are sold at $1.00 each. Funds raised have sponsored Hmong youth and young couples on mission trips, retreats and the refurbishing of the youth room.

Every spring, Christ the King hosts the annual Hmong Fellowship Dinner. Last year Pastor William Siong told us of growing up with his animistic shaman father and his hope of introducing his father to Christ the King. William believes meeting Pastor Paul Larsen and the people of Christ the King might help his father more seriously consider Christianity. Each year’s program includes Hmong music and dance along with a special musical group from Christ the King. Hmong foods, highlighted by Hmong egg rolls again, delight the approximately one hundred people who attend.

PUEBLO DE FE (COMMUNITY OF FAITH)

Pueblo de Fe (Community of Faith) is a Latino ministry in West St. Paul. Ministering to a highly mobile population, a Latino pastor leads ten to twenty families in Spanish Sunday worship. On the first Sunday of each month, a bi-lingual worship is provided for English speaking guests. Christ the King members from time to time help with teaching Sunday School and providing food for fellowship potlucks.

Last summer, Christ the King hosted a car wash to help raise funds for our Latino friends to go to Bible Camp. Pueblo de Fe has often provided Latino music for Christ the King worship services.

HOSPITALITY CENTER FOR CHINESE

Hospitality Center for Chinese: It’s mission is to “share Christ’s love through hospitality to Chinese students, scholars and their families.”  China House is strategically located on Cleveland Avenue across from the University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus.  HCC offers classes in English conversation, American cooking, driving practice, and Bible studies.  Through Christian friendship and practical services such as their furniture distribution to newly arriving students, HCC has brought the Good News to hundreds of Chinese people.

Each winter, we co-sponsor a fellowship meal for Chinese students and their families. We interact with our Chinese friends by sharing food, conversation and prayer. Members of Christ the King have been host families for newly arriving students, served on the HCC board and done fix-up projects.

REDEEMER LUTHERAN CHURCH

Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1800 Glenwood Ave. N., Minneapolis, is a multi-cultural worshipping community which reaches out to its neighborhood with various community services. Among them is the Peace Palace, an adjacent building with athletic, computer, recording facilities for community youth and adults to enter into positive creative relationships and activities. We have helped them with computer and photography equipment. We helped furnish an apartment for families needing temporary housing.

Each year, we provide a luncheon for the Christmas Store, an event that provides low- cost donated gifts which community members can give to their families. Each summer, we volunteer at their Community Block Party when they provide a picnic highlighting a roasted corn-on-the-cob, hot dogs and all picnic goodies. Hip hop and African American music is featured.

St. Paul Area Synod Local Mission Partners also include:

• Minnesota Faith Chinese Lutheran, 2323 Como Ave., St. Paul, an outgrowth of the Hospitality Center for Chinese with outreach ministries in Circle Pines and Woodbury
• One in the Spirit American Indian Ministry, east St. Paul, an inter-tribal, ecumenical, Word and Sacrament ministry
• VIBE (Value, Invest, Build, Equip) Urban Youth Ministries for congregations who need to share youth ministries
• Daily Work, 105 University Ave., St. Paul, providing job seeking skills for the unemployed and under-employed
• Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 285 Dale St. N., St. Paul, a vibrant, multi-cultural congregation of 330 baptized members located in the Summit-University community.

Local Mission Partners share their story on a special Sunday every year

Each year at Local Mission Partner Sunday, we highlight our ministry by bringing in an outstanding preacher from one of our partners. In 2010, Local Mission Partners brought Pastor Kathryn Tiede of Living Waters Lutheran Church in Lino Lakes. Using the theme, “Children of the World”, we celebrated God’s ministry with children of every nation

Local Mission Partners joins in our Community of Nations Block Party

Each September, all our local and global partners share in a festival of cultural food, games, music and worship. Our focus is to celebrate diversity and outreach in our congregation, community and worldwide ministries. Hundreds of people enjoy an afternoon of pure delight in the gifts God has given us in the nations of the world!

Why do we work with these ministries?

1. To join them with Prayer, Presence and Presents in their difficult struggle to begin and renew vital ministries. We have visited all of them and have given more than $10,000 in each of the past several years.

2. To get their help in building multi-cultural mission awareness, fellowship and education among Christ the King members. In these Partners, world mission has come to our doorstep. While we are extremely supportive of Global Missions, our work is to join in the mission in our local community. As the Twin Cities and New Brighton become more diverse, Local Mission Partners can help Christ the King to become more inclusive and reach the mission field that is ours today and will be increasing in the years to come.

Christian theologian, Emil Brunner, said: “The Church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning!”

There is a real need for partnership with in each of these ministries.

We are grateful for the support and interest developing at Christ the King for this vital work. For more information, please contact our team: Pat Blake, Terry Briggs, Dale Erickson, Betty Funk, Bob Meyer, Neal Mortenson, Candi Phelps, Kristin Salzman, Karen Richards and Vern Rice-Chair, 763-785-4013 (vernrice2000@yahoo.com). 

GUIDED BY THE GOSPEL: GATHERING • GROWING • GIVING