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In Forward in Christ, we report the news but aren’t always able to follow up. “Where are they now?” is our way of giving you the rest of the story.
In May 2022, Forward in Christ reported on Missionary Luke and Jennifer Wolfgramm being forced to leave Russia, due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. They settled in Albania where they began focusing on their work of partnering with WELS’ sister churches in Europe.
So where are the Wolfgramms now?
Luke now serves as the WELS Europe Team leader, working with a dozen sister churches already established throughout Europe (see sidebar below). Each of these churches has its own history. The church in Germany has congregations nearly as old as WELS. Others trace their origins to WELS or Evangelical Lutheran Synod mission work. All share our faith and desire to reach the lost.
“One of the big goals in Europe is aggressive evangelism,” says Luke, “but we don’t need to start gospel outreach from scratch. We can partner with our sister churches. Let’s work together to proclaim Christ to millions from many nations and tongues.”
Luke’s work focuses on three areas: serving as the face of WELS in Europe, leading seminary courses for students and continuing education for experienced pastors, and strengthening fellowship ties through webinars, in-person workshops, Bible study, mentoring, prayer, and friendship.
Luke remembers from serving in a small Russian church body how isolated you can feel. “We had God’s Word of course, but we lacked gifts that God gives to his larger body,” he says. Working together with other church bodies can broaden perspectives, offer new ideas, and provide encouragement. “To share our gifts is good, enriching, and empowering. So let’s work together and build each other up.”
Relationships with these European church bodies are nothing new; WELS has worked with many of them for years. But now Luke lives and serves in Europe alongside these church bodies while Europe mission team stateside representatives offer support and encouragement to individual church bodies, ensuring “nobody falls through the cracks,” says Luke. Two new WELS missionaries are also working to plant a church in London.
The Wolfgramms soon will be moving to Leipzig, Germany, which will serve as a central base of operations for travel throughout Europe. Luke also will be working closely with Holger Weiß, the rector of the seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church in Leipzig. Their goal is to make seminary training more available for students throughout Europe, which may include offering more classes in English, Europe’s common language. He and Weiß also will be presenting at a two-week Summer Quarter in Ljungby, Sweden, this June, providing continuing education for pastors in Europe.
“We are all the body of Christ; we need each other,” says Luke. “It’s a wonderful thing when we can work together to encourage each other and proclaim Christ.”
Read more about creating strong relationships with WELS’ sister churches in Europe at wels.net/building-fellowship-in-europe.
WELS’ sister churches in Europe
Concord Evangelical Lutheran Church—Russia
Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church of Albania
Czech Evangelical Lutheran Church
Confessional Lutheran Church in Latvia
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church—Germany
Lutheran Church of Portugal
Lutheran Confessional Church—Finland
Lutheran Confessional Church—Norway
Lutheran Confessional Church—Sweden
St. John’s Evangelical Congregation in Finland
Ukrainian Lutheran Church
Learn more about each sister church at celc.info.
Author: Forward in Christ
Volume: 110, Number 05
Issue: May 2023
