Thanks to our colleagues at the LCMS International Center in St. Louis for the front page article of our near departure… www.lcms.org

Also thanks for the nice blog post from Rev. Gregory Williamson, the new Chief Mission Officer of the LCMS.

Our departure is very soon. (Maybe January 20th?) We are moving and packing the last things, while also making support-raising visits in Indiana (Deborah) and Florida (Carl at LHM ROC) this weekend. So our schedule has been very busy.

Prayer Requests

• That South Africa Visa processing and support-raising continue in their positive direction.
• For good transitions for each of us:

• Ted will be entering his new school in South Africa into 7th grade. We pray he will learn the new school environment and make new friends!
• Deborah wants to be a good support and instructor as she directs the 1st cohort of full-time, residential deaconess students at Lutheran Theological Seminary. (The residential deaconess training is a brand new endeavor for the Lutherans in South Africa and for LCMS missionary work!) Some of the students will be from other African countries, so we want them also to feel welcome as strangers in a new country.
• Carl has several courses to prepare and teach right away and needs the Lord’s wisdom and guidance so that the courses are a blessing to the students. He also will be assisting Bishop Weber as needed with activities in the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa. Pray for a good start of Carl’s work.

Financial Support

We continue to need to raise support in the coming weeks and months. Many gifts and pledges have enabled us to move to South Africa, but our long-term stay depends on building a strong  base of donors. It is never too late to give financial support!

• Online giving at this link or see our page at www.lcms.org/rockrohr
• You can call  in a gift or pledge at 1-800-433-3954  or 1-888-930-4438 (ext 2)
• Or send a check or money order made out to LCMS World Mission, indicating “for the Rockrohrs” on the memo line of the check.     LCMS World Mission  P.O. Box 790089   St. Louis, MO 63179-0089

The menu on this website leads to a number of resources to learn about and to support our work in South Africa. Keep checking back at www.rockrohr.net, we will keep you posted with new events!

Thanks for all your support! Carl 

Our January 2012 Rockrohr News and Notes is now posted. It is four pages long this month, with two major themes. 1) The growth of Christianity in Africa with the need for solid theological education. 2) LCMS missionary funding information. In other words, how Deborah and I are funded.

This newsletter may be considered a primer in these two areas which are often misunderstood or not known at all: that Christianity is very vibrant and growing in Africa, and that LCMS missionaries are responsible to raise and maintain our own funding. I try to address some basic facts in this issue.

Here is a fact I share in the newsletter that I don’t think many people realize:

There are now more Lutherans per capita in the continent of Africa than in North America (USA, Canada, Mexico)

Lutherans in Africa = 1.89% of the population

Lutherans in North America = 1.66%

Here is the math:  19,408,688 Lutherans in Africa ÷ 1,022,234,000 total population in Africa * = .0189 = 1.89%

7,638.087 Lutherans in North America (USA, Canada, Mexico) ÷ 459,868,757 total population = .0166 = 1.66%

Actually the percentages of Lutherans in the population are probably even a bit further apart in Africa and North America, the Lutheran membership numbers are from 2010 while the population numbers of the USA and Canada are 2011 estimates.

* Yes, students, Dr. Rockrohr doesn’t encourage Wikipedia as a primary source. But check where the linked footnotes are from.

Enjoy the read! Carl

Dr. Michael Rodewald, LCMS Regional Director for Africa, has written a very nice post outlining the importance of the work of Lutheran Theological Seminary in Pretoria, South Africa.

The number one request from the leaders of emerging Lutheran church bodies is for help in better understanding their Lutheran identity. As these western Lutheran mission/daughter churches grow more mature and expand, they plant additional churches often referred to as Africa-initiated Lutheran churches (AILCs). Many do not have adequate access to local formal theological education programs and currently must depend upon other institutions such as LTS as they develop their own.

The article is at http://blog.lcmsworldmission.org/2011/12/16/south-africa-seminary-graduates-two-pastoral-candidates-for-uganda/

I encourage you to read it! Carl

Our December Rockrohr News and Notes is available for download on our newsletter page! Please forward our newsletter to anyone you think might be interested to learn more about our work! Carl

“Teaching the Faith,” a PowerPoint video presentation of Carl and Deborah’s work in South Africa has just been posted on a new South Africa Mission Videos page. The presentation introduces the Rockrohr family, some points of the growth of Christianity in Africa and some goals of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Pretoria where Carl and Deborah will be working. The presentation points out the exciting new work of Lutheran Theological Seminary in which Carl and Deborah are involved. The teaching is based on the presentation Carl and Deborah have been giving during their support raising in Fall 2011. 35 minutes long.

Another 3 1/2 minute introductory video of Carl and Deborah is also on the page. Carl

Two new documents to help keep you posted on our missionary work!

• The Lutheran Witness published a nice article on Deborah and Rev. Tony Booker. Download the article here.
• Our Rockrohr News and Notes October Newsletter.

Thanks for your support! Carl

The missionary work in South Africa is a featured article in the LCMS Harvest News – Fall 2011 (see page 6). Carl

Download South Africa article here (1 mb pdf file).

Download entire Fall 2011 issue here (6 mb pdf file).