St. Luke's mission partner is the Lutheran Heritage Foundation (LHF). Executive Director Rev. James Fandrey, who is also a St. Luke member, (pictured right) delivered the sermon and spoke to the congregation during the Sunday School hour on LHF Missions Sunday (January 24).

Over the years, St. Luke has provided funding for the publication and distribution of many LHF Translation projects. With our help, six books have been translated and published, and another is due off the presses in the coming weeks. Click here to read a Lutheran Heritage Foundation article about our support of their mission.

Completed projects funded wholly or in part by St. Luke include those listed below:

2004: Somali Small Catechism
"Being a child of God in a country firmly in the grip of that false god, Allah, carries a price," writes Muhamed Gurhan, LHF translator for Somalia. “Somalis are probably the world’s most hostile people to the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.” But into this spiritual darkness, a light is shining. With St. Luke's mission gifts, LHF has translated and published the Somali Small Catechism, which teaches the basics of Scripture. Now, the catechism is also published online, where Somali people can access the book with less risk.

2006: Tamil 100 Bible Stories
St. Luke's Sunday school sent their mission offerings to LHF to help publish the Tamil language "100 Bible Stories", a Bible storybook for children in India. 2000 of these books were published and distributed to churches and Lutheran schools throughout India. For many children, this is the only book they own.

2009: Afrikaans Small Catechism
South Africa was a nightly feature of the evening news in the 1980s and 1990s, as the country struggled to overcome apartheid. Today, 150,000 Afrikaans-speaking Lutherans remain in the country, but they had no Lutheran materials in their own language. With St. Luke's help, LHF translated and published Luther's Small Catechism for churches there in June 2009.

2009: FON Large Catechism
In Benin, West Africa (called "the birthplace of voodoo"), it is challenging to spread Christianity in general, and Lutheranism in particular. But pastors there have a new weapon in their arsenal: Luther's Large Catechism, which is particularly useful for furthering their theological understanding.

2009: Dari Catechism and Book of Prayer
Five times per day, the devout Muslim prays to Allah. With this prayer book based on the teachings of the catechism, missionaries in Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq hope to reach Muslims with the Gospel through their respect for prayer.

2009: Thai Bible in Pictures
"The Bible in Pictures" is a comic-book style retelling of 90 Old and New Testament stories, with full-color illustrations and text taken directly from Scripture. In Thailand, the book is proving especially interesting to young children and teenagers seeking to learn more about Jesus Christ.

2010: Hmong Hymnal
More than 250,000 Hmong refugees settled throughout the United States after fleeing Southeast Asia in the 1970s and 1980s. More than 100,000 remain in the mountainous regions of northern Thailand. Lutheran churches and missionaries have reached out to the Hmong, and many congregations now have worship services in the Hmong language. This year, with St. Luke's support, LHF has produced a Hmong hymnal, which will help unify Hmong Lutherans around the world.

LHF is a mission organization that translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. For more information about the Lutheran Heritage Foundation, visit their Web site at www.LHFMissions.org.