Surrounded with Love!

Missionary to America Del Campbell

Right after Del Campbell graduated from Concordia Seminary he set out as a missionary in America. Specifically, he was called to build a mission field in Gary, Indiana. As any new missionary, pastor and teacher, Del Campbell wanted to succeed. He felt pressure to grow St. John Lutheran in Gary, Indiana as a mission field.

The church had been established by white, German Lutherans in the nineteenth century but now reflected its African American neighborhood. St. John’s neighborhood is rich with opportunity and talent, but did not have a lot of worshippers or a lot of money. Adequate funding would ultimately depend on being surrounded by churches who believe in the mission.

A Missionary Surrounded

National executive Dr. Roosevelt Gray suggested the new missionary contact churches in the area to ask for help. Area churches literally surrounded the missionary and the old building with love and hard work. They brought the building up to code. St. John’s was surrounded by partner churches eager to give support. Especially for the elementary school which had been shuttered for a generation.

The surrounding churches and supporters funded scholarships for students. Today, more than fifty children attend the Christian school, something that would not have happened without the support of those churches. But that was not the end.

Missionary Campbell has connected with other churches and other pastors in Gary. Together they address challenges facing most urban areas: drug abuse, poverty, ignorance, crime and hunger. The pastors surround their community with hope and worked hard to give a broader platform for the gospel to do its work. Furthermore, all along Del and St. John Lutheran have been surrounded by, as St. Paul writes in Hebrews, ”a cloud of witnesses”.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…” Hebrews 12:1-2a Those “witnesses” are unseen, former heroes of faith who faced impossible challenges but witnessed the power and love of God. That same power is working today for Del Campbell in Gary, Indiana.

Missionary Travels

The majority of seminarians graduate to be pastors–they will take care of an existing congregation. Only a few are sent out as missionaries. In time, as more and more of us recognize America as a world mission field, that will change. In the video interview linked below with Del I asked, “What is the difference between a pastor and a missionary?” His response was, “A lot of traveling.”

Del’s role, the missionary role, is to surround the ministry with support from local churches. Inevitably, the missionary does end up doing a lot of traveling, visiting churches and calling on potential supporters. So far, Del’s traveling has paid off.

Too often, national and district mission agencies tell congregations they were doing mission work “on behalf of” congregations; many times this ends up being “instead of” congregations. Furthermore, missionaries are frequently sent out alone, reporting to a supervisor who is hundreds of miles away. No matter how much that supervisor cares, they can not give the support needed at the start of a new mission.

Del’s call was from the national church body, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, but he would report first of all to the local churches. This missionary carried a heavy burden: as Del said to me, “They are all watching!”

Most of all, Jesus is watching. He who stands before God on our behalf, interceding for the church and the missionary, and for you and me. Missionaries should not do their work alone. They should be surrounded.

Surrounded with Love! Listen to Rev Campbell share how the school was reopened.

Hear Rev Del Campbell's complete testimony.