Mothers and Daughters in Mission

Is your congregation ready to birth a “daughter”? Husbands and wives have lengthy, serious conversations about having children. This precious gift from the Lord is not something to be taken lightly. Children are a blessing from the Lord. They require responsible parents who are committed to day by day care and love. Some married couples think they will never be ready for children. Nervousness abounds when the subject matter is that of birthing and raising children.

Is your congregation discussing birthing a “daughter”? Most churches are not what we would call a “mother” church, that is, the original church in the area or the “home” church. Most of the congregations at which we worship were started by other congregations. Some of the people who sit in the pews with us used to belong to the mother congregation; the bigger, older, more stable congregation.

Mother churches are seldom in pain and hardship when they birth daughter churches. The mother gladly decided that another location for worship should be made available to the nearby community. So the mother church birthed a daughter. Mothers may sense a difference, some loss, some joy, but this process of a few people from the mother church leaving to begin a church in a new location is a wonderful blessing from beginning to end.

What is the mother church to do? Sometimes the mother church looks at her daughter and realizes it is best to stand back and watch. At other times she assists, with willing hands, money, resources, music and instruments, and advice. Every mother wants what is best for her daughter. Every church, when it sends its members to start a daughter church, wants only what is best for all who worship and ultimately join this new church.

If we look in the Books of Acts we see the “mother church” in Jerusalem hard at work, desirous to know what was taking place in another church, wanting only what was best for it. Acts 11:19-30 tells us that some in the mother church had been scattered due to persecution. As the members went on their way, the message of the risen Christ went with them. They told this message to the Jews and more; they also told the wonderful works of God to the Greeks. God blessed their labor and his message from their mouth. The “mother church” called Barnabas to go to Antioch, a Syrian city, to find out what was happening. He went and was glad, for he saw the evidence of the grace of God and encouraged them to remain true to the Lord. We might look upon Antioch as the daughter church.

Our Evangelical Lutheran Synod has a history of mother churches starting daughters. The Madison, Wisconsin area is one such example. Our Saviour's was the mother church which daughtered Holy Cross. Holy Cross grew, matured, and joined together with her mother, Our Saviors, to daughter Grace Lutheran. Grace matured, became a mother church and daughtered Faith Lutheran in Oregon, Wisconsin. Holy Cross, now a mature mother church, birthed another daughter, Abiding Shepherd Lutheran in Cottage Grove.

King of Grace, Golden Valley, Minnesota, rather recently daughtered Redeeming Grace, Rogers, Minnesota. In Mankato, Minnesota, Mount Olive Lutheran Church, the long established mother, gave birth to daughter, Peace Lutheran in North Mankato. These are just a few of the examples in our Synod of one church starting another, of the mother church birthing a daughter, and a daughter church maturing, and becoming a mother church.

The early church was on the move, spreading the good news of Jesus wherever they went. Persecution played a role and the Lord’s hand was evident in the growth of the church. So, those of you in mother churches, take a look around. Is it time to birth a daughter? More men like Barnabas, who was a genuine encouragement to the church, are needed to assist in this God-blessed event. Mothers continue to pray for daughters and assist them when asked. May God bless mother and daughter churches and use them to spread the name of Jesus, the one Savior of every nation.

Ervin Ekhoff is pastor of King of Grace Lutheran Church in Golden Valley, Minnesota and chairman of the Board for Home Missions.