Walking as Partners in the Gospel

Mekong Mission Forum Says Biblical Foundation Key to Identity

Lutheran churches in Asia’s Mekong Delta are developing a stronger identity by strengthening the biblical and theological basis for diaconal and church ministries, participants in the annual Mekong Mission Forum (MMF) said.

Meeting 4-7 April in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 45 participants representing 16 member churches and mission partners discussed ways to revitalize the theological foundation of MMF’s work and enhance Lutheran identity in the region.

The meeting was jointly hosted by The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for Mission and Development (DMD) Asia desk and the MMF, a consortium of Lutheran churches and partners from Europe, the United States, Asia and Australia and the emerging churches of the Mekong area.

The MMF member churches and its related organizations collaborate through joint activities regionally. Through four days of reflection, participants gained insight into the “inspiring” ministries of sister churches.

“The dependence on the leading of the Spirit of God and the Word of God in all aspects of life and ministries of the emerging churches in the region is inspiring and encouraging and a witness to each of the partner churches,” said Glenice Hartwich, program officer for the Lutheran Church of Australia Board for Mission.

“What a privilege we have to walk as partners in the gospel.”

The MMF is more than just a network of Lutherans, added Rev. Dr Risto Jukko, director of the Office for Global Mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.

“The way the MMF has started its activities in Cambodia, with the common willingness to share resources and proclaim the liberating and empowering message of Jesus Christ in word and deed, in proclamation and diakonia, can serve as a model to all churches in Asia.

“The mission initiatives of the MMF in Cambodia are Asian, which shows how mission is today from everywhere to everywhere. Admittedly, Western churches still have a supporting role in mission in Asia, where Asians themselves know better how to do mission work,” Jukko said.

Rev. Juanito Basalong of the Eternal Life Lutheran Church in Cambodia said the meeting underscored the need to make biblical teaching foundational for programs of the Lutheran churches in the region.

“There is a strong commitment to proclaim and convey the gospel and the person of God through diakonia so that member churches are not seen as NGOs [non-governmental organizations] but as churches,” Basalong concluded.