Our first missionaries to Africa, Berge and Herborg Revne, left the United States in 1918. It was not until 1923, however, that our missionaries were given official approval to begin mission work in Cameroon and Chad. Dozens of Lutheran Brethren missionaries have served in Cameroon over the years and at one point in our history there were more missionaries in Cameroon than on the other three fields combined. The Church of the Lutheran Brethren of North America has committed a lot of people and resources to the ministry in Cameroon over the years.

The Cameroon Church became the independent Church of the Lutheran Brethren of Cameroon in the early 1960's when political independence encouraged the same for all indigenous groups in the country.

In 1992 the North American and Cameroonian Churches signed an integration document that effectively closed the "mission" as a formal entity and brought all ministries under the Cameroonian Church. Five years later, in 1997, the last missionaries from our Church in North America left Cameroon.

Our relationship to the Church of the Lutheran Brethren of Cameroon is one of sister Church to sister Church. We are fully independent of each other. Where we share vision we seek to partner together. For instance, we have a shared vision of reaching unreached Muslims for Jesus Christ. We have partnered to train and send their missionaries to Muslims. We share a vision for training the next generation of pastors, missionaries, teachers and leaders and so we continue to partner to train these people in targeted and significant ways. We continue to pray for and encourage the Church in Cameroon as they work to be the Church that is sent into the villages, towns and cities of their region of Cameroon.

Another area where we share a common vision is in the sending and receiving of short-term mission teams to plant churches. For several years, we have been seeking an avenue whereby we could address the needs of our congregations in North America that includes sending members on short-term mission teams to a Lutheran Brethren ministry field.

What you will read through the pages of this issue will describe how God worked through a team of 20 of your fellow members and friends of our Church in North America in partnership with our brothers and sisters in Cameroon to reach their neighbors with the gospel of Jesus Christ and to plant a church in two neighborhoods.

Matthew Rogness
Executive Director
Lutheran Brethren World Missions