The year 1911 proved to be a milestone year for the Lutheran Brethren denomination. Pastor K.O. Lundeberg, first president of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren, was also the editor and publisher of Broderbaandet, a twice-monthly Norwegian language magazine. Tirelessly he had worked through his writing in the magazine to encourage people and congregations to partner with the young fledgling denomination, the CLB. But the work was slow. Criticism from brothers in the faith also stung. According to J. H. Levang in The Church of the Lutheran Brethren, 1900-1975, some accused the CLB of being petty. It was an uneasy and stressful time.

Broderbaandet had served as the unofficial voice of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren, although it was owned, edited and published by Lundeberg. Now he felt he wanted to step away from the magazine he had started twelve years earlier. He had incurred substantial debt in order that the magazine might be published. What should be done about this? It wasn’t right that Lundeberg shoulder this debt.

Pastor Lundeberg could have stopped publication, and probably would have. However, the Annual Convention of 1911 voted to pay down Pastor Lundeberg’s Broderbaandet debt and take over publication of the magazine. At this convention the delegates established the Broderbaandet Publishing Company, the organization authorized to publish the magazine as well as other printed materials. The CLB continued publication of Broderbaandet until 1962.

Although the CLB Annual Meeting minutes were written in Norwegian until 1942, English rapidly became, in the congregations, the language of choice by the younger generation. To communicate to this generation, the CLB in 1933 authorized the English counterpart to the Broderbaandet, naming it Faith & Fellowship. By 1945 it surpassed Broderbaandet in circulation. That same year the name Broderbaandet Publishing Company was changed to Lutheran Brethren Publishing Company, the official name to this day. While the legal name is Lutheran Brethren Publishing Company, Faith and Fellowship has been the name used on published materials since the early 1980s.

Faith and Fellowship continues its ministry of communicating the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it reaches its 100th anniversary, not only through printed materials such as Faith & Fellowship magazine, but also through the electronic media. May this never stop until the Lord returns!

Long ago Pastor Lundeberg stated four purposes in publishing his magazine: To provide spiritually hungry Christians good devotional readings; to further the cause of the “Free Church” movement; to give opportunity for readers to share their views and beliefs on spiritual matters; and to further the cause of foreign missions. While the exact wording may differ today, Faith and Fellowship and its publications and electronic media still have similar purposes. The message is timeless while the means of publishing it changes with the times.

CLICK HERE to view a timeline of some Broderbaandet and Faith & Fellowship covers, highlighting important years during the last 100 years.

Rev. David Rinden is senior pastor of Gethsemane LBC, Rochester, MN. He served for many years as Executive Director of Church Services for the CLB, and as Editor of Faith & Fellowship magazine.

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