Meeting Congregational Companion Partners in Person Solidifies Relationships

By Susan Fanucci, member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, East Bethel

A few years ago Our Saviour's Lutheran Church of East Bethel, signed-up to become a companion partner with a Lutheran church in Nigeria through the Companion Synod Program. However, these partnerships really did not solidify until people from both congregations met face-to-face.

Donna Nelson and I volunteered to go, break the ice, meet our companion Lutherans and experience a couple weeks of life in Nigeria. The first evening of our 10 days in Jos, four church elders and the pastor of our companion church, Majami’ar Almasihu of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria, came to meet and welcome us and to share with us the itinerary they had planned for our visit. During the course of the next six days we were showered with the warmth of new friendships, honored as important guests and came to love the wonderful Nigerian people.

Evangelizing is extremely important to the Nigerian churches, and our partner congregation goes out to two different villages to preach the Good News. We spent two mornings visiting these villages. The poverty in the rural areas is overwhelming, with no electricity or clean water. We hiked a quarter of a mile to the river where the drinking water is scooped up, the clothes are washed and the cattle come to drink.

Sanitation is a major issue with no toilets or out houses in the villages. Grain for cooking is still ground by hand with a rock, then cooked over an open wood fire. Animals are herded and guarded by children and adults. The modern world has just passed these people by. Lack of health care, clean water and education are huge issues.

The villagers are either “traditionalist” (tribal religions) or Muslims if they have not accepted Christ. As an example of the traditionalist beliefs, if a mother dies during child birth, the new baby is believed to be evil and caused the death of the mom. When the mother is buried, the baby is buried alive with the mother. True stories like these cut to the heart of the matter of why evangelism is so important to Nigerian Lutherans—and should be to all of us.

In Nigeria, evangelism begins by entering into a relationship, bringing food, clothing and health care to the villagers. Then when the time is right (this could takes months or years), the elders and pastor talk about Jesus’ saving grace. The relationship is cemented by first serving their needs, then preaching the Gospel.
 
The Sunday we were with our companion congregation, it just happened to be their annual Harvest and Thanksgiving service. We could surely learn something from our Nigerian partners about rejoicing and praising God in church. The service lasted three hours and forty minutes, and included music by three choirs as well as dancing while taking the offering up to the front of the worship space. Everyone takes their own offering up multiple times and gives money, produce, and even a chicken. There was a rousing forty minute sermon on stewardship. (Yes, I timed it!) 

The Companion Synod Program linking Minneapolis Area Synod congregations with Nigerian Lutherans is a great way to meet on equal footing, learn from each other and work together to further the work of our Lord.