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What students are saying about the Cross-cultural Ministry Center

At the CMC, we want to support you in ministry by refining the skills you need to serve the people you are called to. As you progress in your knowledge, you are also serving as a Vicar and applying your learning to real-life situations. Students completing four years of study at Concordia’s CMC will graduate with a Master of Arts in Theology from Concordia University Irvine and receive full certification for ordination as a pastor in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Hear how God is working in these student’s and graduate’s lives:

Ministry at Border

Rev. Stephen Heimer, MA ’11

MA '11, Pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in El Paso, Texas

Under the leadership of pastor Stephen Heimer, MA ’11, the 125-year-old Zion Lutheran Church in El Paso, Texas, ministers to people on the border with food, spiritual nourishment — and a hymn-playing mariachi band.

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Tim Norton

Tim Norton, MA '17

MA ’04, Coordinator of Lutheran Border Concerns Ministries (LBCM) in San Diego, California

In the former lumber town of Navajo, New Mexico, Concordia University Irvine cross-cultural ministry graduate Tim Norton and his family minister to people of the Navajo Nation in the midst of high poverty, social problems and great cultural and natural beauty. With the help of Concordia University Irvine teams and interns, Norton leads the people of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church as they bring the restoring message of the gospel to the reservation.

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Ramon Contreras

Ramon Contreras

MA ’04, Coordinator of Lutheran Border Concerns Ministries (LBCM) in San Diego, California

Ramon has established a unique partnership with his alma mater, hosting and training groups of Concordia University Irvine students annually as they build homes, serve at orphanages and worship in churches south of the border.

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All Nations Endowment

All Nations Endowment

In 2015, the All Nations Endowment was established to provide ongoing scholarship assistance for qualified CMC students. Shortly thereafter, by God’s grace, an anonymous donor gave a very generous $1 million gift to the endowment. Now, six CMC students are receiving scholarships funded by the All Nations Endowment. These students are working in local contexts where there is a need for mission work. They are uniquely positioned to cross into new cultures and reach the lost with the Gospel.

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Hear Jacob's Story

Jacob Boessling

Vicar, Christ's Greenfield Lutheran Church in Gilbert, Arizona

Jacob directs a cross-cultural ministry called La Mesa (the table) where the homeless and poor of the inner city gather around the table for a meal and then worship together. It started as a church plant, but it has developed as a community. See how they are serving their city.

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David Kim

David Kim

Ordained pastor and Mission Director of Lutheran Inter-City Network Coalition (LINC) in Houston, Texas

The moment eighteen-year-old David Kim, MA '03 left the evening worship service at a church in Seoul, Korea, he knew his life was going to take a different path than he had expected. Undeniably, David was confident that God was calling him to seize opportunities in the mission field. It was the particular region of the world that surprised him.

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Tambatua Naibaho

Reverend of Redeemer Lutheran in Ontario, California

This story of Tamba’s life tells of his journey from his childhood in Indonesia, where he received his calling to ministry, to the United States. Within this globe-spanning journey Tamba has become a compassionate emissary of the Gospel with a heart for Indonesians in the U.S., "The main point is how we love people, how we love our brother and sister.”

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