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.

Since Concordia Gospel Outreach launched its Food Bank Arch Book Program in 2024, it has truly come to life, now sending Christian children’s books to dozens of food banks and care programs to be distributed to families in need. Today, we’ll hear from one of our partner food banks—one based at a Lutheran church in Lake Worth Beach, Florida.

Food insecurity is a silent battle. You cannot always tell who is struggling with hunger. And too often shame is placed on those who are unable to access food and are under the federal poverty level. Frequently, it isn’t just those under the federal poverty level who experience food insecurity but instead a group known as the ALICE population: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed.

Luke 18:17 says, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” (ESV).

If you asked me about my earliest memories in the Dominican Republic (DR), I’d list being sandwiched between two then-seminary students farthest afield (Chile and Spain) in an airless backseat, a steeply inclined road with a sheer drop-off on one side, neon-colored chicks, and a little boy nestled between his grandmother’s legs in prayer posture.  

These snippets can only add up to one thing: visits.  

Every year, Concordia Gospel Outreach partners with Lutheran organizations to provide them with resources and support to continue serving their communities. These nonprofit groups span all across the country, helping to bring the Gospel and love of Christ to those in need.

Missionary Erin Mackenzie reflects on some of her most cherished roles and experiences with her Latin America and the Caribbean missionary connections—especially at the latest regional conference.

I’m sitting at Newark Liberty International Airport as I write this, en route to the U.S. for a biennial stretch of “home service.” About a week ago, I had the foresight to request a few books at the public library in the St. Louis suburb where my parents live. Real, print books. I can already hear the protective plastic coating crinkling as I crack the spine, feel the creamy paper beneath the pads of my fingers, and smell the comforting must engendered by the raw materials of bookbindery and heightened by years of metal shelving in climate-controlled air.

In recent decades, Christianity has continued to decline across the United States. Many factors go into the decreasing rate of those who have heard and accepted the Gospel message, including the secularization of society as well as the disconnect that sometimes happens between the church and underserved groups, such as single mothers and economically disadvantaged families.

During the summer of 2023, Concordia Gospel Outreach (CGO) had the opportunity to provide resources to a group of students and teachers from Lutheran High School South in St. Louis for their mission trip to the Dominican Republic. This group took children’s resources to share with the local Lutheran school, church, and seminary and to help put the Gospel into empty hands.