IMMANUEL ABLAZE!

Ablaze!
“They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’ They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon’”"—Luke 24:32-34.

UPDATE:

ABLAZE! is our effort to proclaim Christ's love to 100 million unreached or uncommitted people by 2017, the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. 

Sharing the Good News of Jesus is at the heart of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20a.) These were among the last words Jesus spoke before He ascended to heaven. As Lutherans, God has given us a great doctrine/understanding of His Word as related to the means of grace. We believe that conversion takes place through the power of the Holy Spirit, using God’s Word and the Sacraments. God has called each of us to mission involvement through our own conversion as His redeemed, forgiven people. We now have the privilege of sharing the Good News of Jesus with others.

 LCMS World Mission places strong emphasis on witnessing to “unreached” or “uncommitted” people—those who are not already believers in Jesus Christ.

• “Unreached” people are those who have never heard a clear message in the name of Jesus. Asia, Africa, and the former Soviet nations are still home to many unreached people who have never had access to the Good News of Jesus.
• “Uncommitted” is a term used for people who have been exposed to the Word, who have had an opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus, but who do not have faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. “Uncommitted” people live mainly in such areas as Europe, Australia, North America, and South America.

The figure of 100 million was chosen intentionally after much research, prayer, and deliberation with our missionaries and mission partners. In our Lutheran understanding of conversion, God does the work of converting the unbelieving heart through His Holy Spirit. By setting this goal, we are not limiting the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, the Holy Spirit will determine how many people will be touched by the Gospel through our efforts, but we will be faithful sowers of the seed and will hold ourselves accountable to sowing the seed of the Gospel in the hearts of at least 100 million people in North America and around the world by 2017.

Ablaze! is not a program or a campaign. It began as a mission vision with the hope of starting a mission movement. Each participating congregation, group, mission society, partner church, individual, etc. is challenged to pray about its own particular situation and the part of the mission endeavor it can impact and to design its own strategy to contribute to reaching 100 million people. LCMS World Mission is asking the church to develop mission models that work and can be shared with others. Ablaze! is not an answer…it’s an invitation!The

ABLAZE initiative at Immanuel launched September 22-24, 2006 with various festivities:Ice Cream Social (Sept. 22), 24 Hour Prayer Vigil (Sept. 22-23), Worship and Rally (Sept. 24) 3,500 people gathered for the District Wide Ablaze Rally.  $6,234.72 was collected in offerings - plus a $5,000 matching gift from Thrivent Financial -- totaling over $11,000 for missions in Northern Illinois.  Some 900 Groups Ablaze small groups are now meeting in homes throughout Northern Illinois

For more on the ABLAZE! initiative in the Northern Illinois District just click on the ABLAZE logo at the top.   For more on the ABLAZE! initiative in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, click on the ablaze logo below.

Join us for Immanuel ABLAZE!  

Caring & Sharing since 1850,
the mission of the family of God at
Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Mokena is to effectively teach the Word of God,
promote spiritual growth of the Christian family,
and continuously reach out with love and service.