Faces of the Church in the Northern Diocese, ELCT
Northern Diocese, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania is a large, robust, fast-growing church with a dynamic history. Lutheran mission work in Tanganyika began in the late 1880s.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanganyika was officially formed in 1963 by the merger of seven churches, each of which had been established by Lutheran mission work from Europe or the U.S.A. After the political union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, the Church acquired a new name: The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). The ELCT is led by a presiding bishop and 20 diocesan bishops.
The Northern Diocese ranks among the fastest growing Christian churches in the world with over 320,000 members. Bishop Dr. Martin F. Shao presently leads the Northern Diocese, which has 153 parishes. Many parishes with 2,000 to 4,000 members are led by a single pastor and lay evangelists.
As the name suggests, the Northern Diocese reaches out to serve people in the northern Tanzania regions of Kilimanjaro and Karatu. Its ministry of sharing the Gospel of Jesus through word and deed encompasses education, health care, programs for people with physical disabilities and evangelism.
The Northern Diocese and the Nebraska Synod share a deep relationship as “companion synods.” A companion synod relationship is part of a dynamic ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that links ELCA synods with synods and churches all over the world. This companion synod relationship seeks to embody the accompaniment model for mission.
Accompaniment, which literally means “walking together,” is a mutual relationship between companion synods and churches who walk together in service to God’s mission. Through this relationship, the Northern Diocese and the Nebraska Synod nurture and strengthen one another for life and mission within the Body of Christ.
Nebraska Lutheran ties with Tanzania go back to 1922 when Pastor Ralph Hult arrived in Moshi, Tanganyika, as the first American Lutheran missionary in that country. Born in 1888 near Kearney, Pastor Hult grew up at Bethany Lutheran Church of Axtell and served as a Lutheran missionary to both the Sudan and Tanganyika.
Prior to the beginning of the companion synod relationship in 1993, Tanzania and Nebraska shared significant longtime historical connections, especially through the many missionaries who served in Tanzania.
To learn more about our companion synod relationships and how you and your congregation can be more deeply involved, please contact Pastor Martin Russell in the Nebraska Synod office by phone at 402.896.54311 or by e-mail.