Benediction Lutheran Church is a multi-cultural church and ministry setting serving those of American, French African, German and Hmong ethnic groups. The church located on the northwest side of Milwaukee sees itself as a Fellowship of Christians, Grounded in the Scriptures and Centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

One of their current outreach initiatives that has been ongoing for three years involves the support of the annual trip for youth up to the north woods, along with helping to fund a youth intern from Concordia University. The interns teach the youth Bible class, a few confirmation classes and assist with Sunday School. They learn to give reports at church meetings, make calls, and visit the several services here each week, along with serving as a lector. This training helps them get ready for their first call upon leaving school. 
Several of the youth who attended the youth retreat in the past are now leaders of the Christian groups at their colleges, and one is serving in the role of organist at Benediction.

Bethlehem is a congregation located near the downtown area of Milwaukee striving to seek and save the lost in a community hit hard by poverty and housing issues. Working with a staff of volunteers, Pastor Micah Wildauer (who also serves a sister congregation in a nearby neighborhood - Hope) sees endless opportunities for bringing the good news of salvation through Christ in a variety of ways.

Located in a neighborhood with many children and families struggling to make ends meet, Bethlehem seeks to bring care to both body and soul of these children. One of Bethlehem's initiatives this year, supported by the Mission Society, is to provide an atmosphere for extended learning after school. This service will be offered to members and community neighbors alike, monitored by Bethlehem members with a desire to improve the educational standing of advantageous children. Connected to this, Bethlehem is hoping to connect a music tutoring program. Seeing that many children are not exposed to instruments or music lessons in schools, Bethlehem is an ideal place to combine music training with learning beautiful Lutheran music. When the time is right, participants will have the opportunity to display what they have learned to the community.

Located on the southeast side of Milwaukee close to Cudahy, this church family hosts and is the sponsor with Trinity Freistadt in Mequon, the ministry of outreach to the Karenni. This ethnic group, which originated in Burma, has come into the Milwaukee area seeking opportunities for education and employment. A small group of Karenni are housed near Lutheran Chapel of the Cross and the members have welcomed them into fellowship with both a weekly service done in their native language along with ESL classes every other week. The mission society supports this outreach program to the Karenni with the hopes that this ministry will continue to grow and prosper.

Covenant Lutheran is a church that is centered on Christ and believes heavily in the importance of reaching out to those who don’t know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. As part of mission societies outreach initiative program they utilize a program called Faith Legacy. It is a program that brings together families with children of similar ages to meet and discuss the faith of their families in an informal, comfortable and non-threatening way. A DVD promoted program helping parents talk about and discuss what they can do to make faith an influential, everyday subject in their homes, not something just to be saved for Sunday mornings. This program has an added blessings and that is connecting families with each other and growing in relationship with one another.

“Joy in Worship, Priority of Prayer and Refuge for Life” This tag line of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church web site expresses the faith, assurance and attitude that has propelled this congregation to put first the commitment and joy to outreach as the Great Commission compels us to go. One of the outreach initiatives that is supported by the mission society is a course that the membership uses called Alpha. What Is Alpha? Alpha is an opportunity to explore the meaning of life in a relaxed, friendly setting. The Alpha course usually meets once per week for 10 weeks, and includes a one-day or weekend getaway with teachings on the Holy Spirit. Each session, people enjoy great food, laughter and learning in a fun and friendly atmosphere where no question about life or God is seen as too simple or too hostile…questions like—Is there a God? Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where am I going? . This course has propelled membership to go beyond themselves and sometimes get into situations that may seem uncomfortable to be in, as they reach out to others with the gospel. Alpha is for anyone…anyone who thinks there may be more to life than meets the eye. People attend from all backgrounds, religions, and viewpoints. They come to investigate questions about the existence of God, the purpose of life, the afterlife, the claims of Jesus and more. Some people want to get beyond religion and find a relationship with God that really changes life. Others come for the close, long-lasting friendships that are built during the Alpha course. Many guests have never been to church, others may have attended church occasionally but feel they have never really understood the basics of the Christian faith. Everyone is welcome

The Ebenezer Community is God’s instrument of outreach on the near South side of Milwaukee. This mainly Hispanic area is an under-resourced community and in need of many basics of life and reassurance that God loves them. Their mandate as disciples of Christ is to seek and baptize the lost, encourage those with faith to grow and to demonstrate God’s love for everyone to see.

One the ways that they do this is through “The Soup for the Soul soup kitchen” which has been going on now for a little over 4 years and funded thru a variety of partners in ministry including the outreach initiative program. Their model has given birth to the Bethany Lutheran soup kitchen now in its second year.  The completely volunteer staff made up of friends of Ebenezer and Hales Corners Lutheran are blessed to be able to serve in this capacity with their main goal of being able to connect others with Christ and the grace that is theirs thru Him.

Pastor Vic Fischer and the men and women at Gospel have a passion for working with those who have given of their service to support the freedom that both you and I experience each day of our lives here in the United States . Many of the veterans that they see are those who they meet at the Vet’s Place in Milwaukee or at the VA hospital. Pastor Vic and his members help to support and encourage these men, by offering them their time and their ear, listening to them while also helping to bring food, clothes, Bibles and other needed resources in appreciation for the sacrifice that they gave. They also would like homemade pies. Many of these men are disabled from their war efforts and greatly enjoy the time that is spent by Pastor Vic and his members. Their efforts are supported through the mission society’s outreach program.

Grace's mission is to "embody the love of Christ in all we do. This means we will proclaim the Good News of God's grace,  teach His Word, and grow as disciples of Jesus Christ in service with and for others" This mission was very evident at Grace the week of June 20-23rd as Grace hosted their 7th year of VBS for the surrounding community. Their theme for this year was Big Jungle Adventure: A Faith Journey With Jesus and they saw an outpouring of love, concern and caring from both our teenager and adult staff as they witnessed their love and faith in our Savior. "This mission society outreach sponsored event allows our youth to especially get involved with the ministry of the church and the reason that we are here" says Michelle Lenski, coordinator for the VBS this year. "It's a good approach for these teens to experience first hand how their faith can be put into action and how the Holy Spirit comes alive in the ministry in which we serve."

As an older church in the heart of Milwaukee, Hope stills has a uniqueness all its own as it houses several ethnic ministries within its walls. Serving both African and Asian Immigrants thru a food pantry and clothing bank program, along with working alongside Hmong Hope Lutheran Church, Pastor Micah Wildauer has his hands full with a variety of other aspects of his ministry there, including serving sister congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran.  Recently, Hope hosted its second annual Holy Smokers event, partnering with Grace Lutheran, Menomonee Falls Men’s Ministry. This outreach initiative brings a 15 foot long trailer with a meat smoker and grill to feed those in the neighborhood for free on a Saturday afternoon during the summer. Pastor Wildauer, spending time in the foothills near Austin, Texas understands the importance of mixing well-smoked food with fellowship and says it is a winner. Not only do those who stop by the church get to enjoy some very tasty food, but they also get an introduction to the activities at Hope. Each year, this event brought in over 200 people from the neighborhood to whom Hope was able to offer follow-up visitation along with an invitation to Sunday services.

This French African Ministry is one of the ethnic ministries of Bethlehem Lutheran Church and in May of 2011 was chartered as a congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Pastor Kasongo Gui Kabeo was ordained and installed in August of this year after completing his training at Concordia Seminary. The congregation includes members from other African Countries (non-French speaking) and other American brothers and sisters.  The church facilitates initiatives aimed at building strong families and the mission society has been instrumental in providing funding for such programs as their yearly Vacation Bible School (VBS) and Marriage enrichment seminar. This year’s VBS had 26 children attend from a variety of communities across Milwaukee.

Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church is an urban congregation in the heart of the city of Milwaukee. For more than 85 years Mt. Calvary has been ministering to the Sherman Park community of Milwaukee through Word and Sacrament ministry and Day School Christian education. That vibrant ministry continues today with traditional worship as well as a brand new Sunday worship service called “Mosaic Praise.” Mosaic Praise uses contemporary, Gospel, ethnic, and praise music to create a unique worship experience designed with our urban community in mind.

Beyond that, Mt. Calvary has begun a number of new outreach ministries. Mt. Calvary C.A.R.E.S. (Cleaning and Rehabilitating Existing Structures) is an outreach initiative sponsored by the mission society that provides simple renovation and updates to central city homes in desperate need of such. Members and other volunteers of the church partake in rebuilding and rehabbing the structures. This time that they spend getting to know the families and their situation is invaluable, as we build their congregation. It also provides a great opportunity to show the love of Christ in action.

Situated in the Washington Heights neighborhood, Mount Olive Lutheran Church has been bringing the Good News of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ to the surrounding community for over 110 years. The strong traditional roots of the church are reflected in liturgy and music and are shared through a radio ministry of almost 66 years. Regular worship services are held Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings.

Breaking from what many churches do during the summer, Mount Olive’s outreach initiative efforts have added an additional Wednesday evening worship service and fellowship time called “Recharge.” The summer worship series is held at 6:30 p.m. through August 17th. This year’s theme is “Finding What We Need to be Sufficient,” which focuses on how Jesus Christ is the answer to all of our unfulfilled desires and the answer to our search for meaning in our lives.

Northwest school continues to grow and as part of their growth they have added new classrooms which will allow them to serve even more students this fall under the choice program. “Service to others” is what Northwest is all about and this fall students in the upper grades will be given an opportunity under the mission society’s outreach initiative program to serve others and share their faith with residents of designated nursing homes. This will be done in several ways as they partake in singing and speaking with residents along with presenting small gifts which will be made by the students. Their goal is to let these valuable seasoned citizens know that they are cared about along with giving words of encouragement, support and comfort.

The SOS (Strength of Savior) Center focus on the values that Christ has taught us by His life here on earth. The importance of Service? by committing to serve God by helping others, the importance of Faith? in which we illustrate by the words and actions that communities are uplifted when Christian values are taught and practiced, and the value of Peace? by committing to provide an atmosphere of peace and love at the Center at all times. No more is this apparent as when you visit the SOS Center and their After School Program which serves a maximum of 35 students each school year. The mission society is one of the providers that support this ongoing and necessary program that helps students with their homework and keeps them focused on staying in school and helps to give them a solid educational foundation.

In the quiet residential neighborhood just west of Milwaukee sits the Ravenswood community in Wauwatosa and the site of St Mark’s Lutheran Church. Chartered in 1955, this congregation has served their surrounding community joyfully through their pastoral and lay leadership spreading God’s word and offering opportunities to connect with Christ and grow in their relationship with Him. One of the ways that the mission society supports their efforts this year is thru the offering of free computer classes as one of their outreach initiatives. These classes open up opportunities whereby both members and the community can get together and keep updated on the latest intricacies and workings of the internet, operating systems and software.

The mission of St. Martini Lutheran School is to provide a safe Christian school focused on educational success, leadership development and spiritual growth. Over 240 students will be starting this fall at the newly remolded school which added several classrooms and remolded their lunchroom. One of the ways that the school and church has worked together and which is supported by the mission society’s initiative program is Family Worship Nights. This monthly event attracts more than 200 people and includes a meal, gym activities and worship. Staff members enjoy the opportunity to spend time with school families in an informal spiritual and social setting. The Family Worship Night program was featured on the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod’s Ablaze web site, alerting a national audience to this outstanding example of Christian outreach. The school, under the auspices of LUMIN has a vision for serving urban communities, an energy for action and a track record of accomplishments.