Mission Minded
Mission Sundays
The NALC is a mission driven church and holding an annual Mission Sunday can be part of keeping your congregation mission focused. It can be a Sunday to remind your members of the various missions you support locally, nationally and internationally. It can be a time to let your congregation know what your members do to support NALC Disaster Response by making quilts and tie blankets, collecting Bibles, and packing flood buckets and school kits.
Although no specific date has been set for Mission Sunday, TWC and Mary Bates would like to suggest that you consider setting aside a Sunday in March or April.
Many churches like to display quilts and kits made over the course of the year. These can be blessed during the service. You could hold a “Stuff the Tonka” event on this Sunday or collect items for Personal Care or other kits. You could also collect items leading up to your Mission Sunday and take time on that Sunday to pack the kits. Consider setting up display tables with tri-fold boards or posters to highlight the different missions your church supports.
Having a Mission Sunday in March or April gives you plenty of time to pack up and divide your quilts and kits between your local missions, NALC Disaster Response, and Lutheran World Relief.
Your church and your women’s group can decide who and where to send your mission funds, be it a global worker, a ministry partner, a recognized ministry, or a new start up church. Follow this link to view the list of vetted ministries on the NALC website.
Our Mission Bank Partners
North American Lutheran Church - Disaster Response
What should NALC pastors or congregation leaders do when a natural disaster, such as flooding, tornadoes, and fires, strikes in the community or in an area where the congregation is able to or desires to provide assistance?
Since the NALC is a small church with widespread congregations, it is important that you contact us as quickly as possible when a disaster occurs in your area. First and foremost, if the disaster is close by, make sure you are safe. Next, contact the NALC Disaster Response Coordinator, Mary Bates (740-509-1132; [email protected]) as quickly as possible so the prayer power of the NALC can be unleashed. Be sure to also contact your Mission District to see if your local NALC Disaster Response Team can provide assistance.
NALC Disaster Response has resources and capabilities to assist in early response and longer term recovery. We can open the gates to material resources, networking, counseling, training, and volunteers.
Remember, the key is early communication! The sooner we learn of a disaster in your area, the more quickly NALC Disaster Response can respond to the needs of your community.
Find more information and resources: NALC Disaster Response
Great Commission Society of the North American Lutheran Church
What Is the NALC Great Commission Society?
The Rev. Carol Fryer, NALC Missions Specialist
And Jesus came and said to them (his disciples), “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20 NRSV).
The Great Commission Society (GCS) is dedicated to carrying out the Great Commission that we have from our Lord, Jesus Christ. In Matthew’s gospel, these are the final words spoken by Jesus before he ascends into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. Here are the disciples’ marching orders. They are also our marching orders as Christ’s “disciple making disciples” today:
Make disciples of all nations
- Baptize in the Triune Name
- Teach others as Jesus has taught us to obey the commandments of God
- Trust in Jesus’s continuing presence
