Planning church events is no small feat—whether you’re organizing a bake sale, fundraiser, rummage sale, community event, food drive, or holiday celebration, there’s a lot that goes into putting on a successful event. 

If you had told yourself ten years ago where you’d be today, would your old self believe it? Maybe you never expected to have a large family, but here you are. Maybe you never expected to be in the same old job, but here you are. Maybe you never expected to be in a nursing home, but here you are. Maybe you never expected to live in this city, or state, or even country. But whether we planned for it or not, here we are in this season of life. 

Since its beginning in 2024, the food bank Arch^® Book program from Concordia Gospel Outreach (CGO) has been picking up speed. This grassroots effort to share Christian children’s books at food banks nationwide has expanded to hundreds of locations. One of them is based at a Lutheran church in southwest Iowa.

Most Lutherans are no doubt familiar with the story of Martin Luther’s Gospel breakthrough, when he was led by God’s grace to rediscover the marvelous message that righteousness before God is not earned but simply received. Salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone is rightly and wonderfully the heart of Lutheran teaching.

How often do you think about your thoughts? Hmm, let me think about that.

Thoughts matter a great deal to God. The Bible says, “the word of God is living and active, . . . discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Psalm 139:2 says, “You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You discern my thoughts from afar.” Jesus says in Matthew 15:19 that “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” And we confess every week in church that we have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed.

A quarter of a century ago, a small group of God’s faithful planted a new Lutheran church in the quiet town of Queen Creek, Arizona. With only one stoplight and a modest middle school that could double as a worship space, the town seemed like the perfect place for a Lutheran presence. The congregation was hopeful, their vision clear.

On May 16, 2025, a devastating tornado struck the St. Louis area and left substantial destruction in its wake. Bethlehem Lutheran Church in North St. Louis stepped up immediately following the storms to serve their community and offer encouragement to neighbors whose homes were severely damaged or destroyed. Concordia Gospel Outreach (CGO), CPH’s charitable arm, brought Christ-centered resources into the community to bring the comfort of the Gospel as cleanup efforts began. 

The day I was baptized was a cold day in December. It was five days before Christmas and nearly 17.75 years after my earthly entrance. My pastor helped me to keep the Fourth Commandment by honoring my father and mother’s wishes to have a “private” Baptism, with just close friends and family in attendance. My sponsors are my youth group leader and my friend’s mom. That day was all sorts of things, and I felt all sorts of feelings—but the biggest one was peace. Most people I sit with in the pew don’t remember their baptismal day, and my children won’t remember theirs either. Because I remember mine, I want each of you to remember and celebrate yours and your children’s. 

It was almost eerie. It’s attributable to none other than the Holy Spirit, but it was uncanny the way every experience I’d ever had and every person I’d ever met prepared me to a T for the career missionary role I was interviewing for in early 2017.

Ten years ago, my mom and I were tying pieces of silky purple ribbon to the top of dozens of lovely wedding bulletins. It was a few weeks before my wedding, and she and I had had so much fun getting everything ready for the big day. After all the months of planning, it was starting to all come together.