Rev. Dr. Christopher S. Ahlman and his wife, Deaconess Elizabeth C. Ahlman, will be making a presentation on LCMS work in Leipzig, Germany and broader Europe at First Lutheran Church on Sunday, June 29, 2014 at 9:30 am. This presentation at First Lutheran Church is part of the Ahlmans’ two-month Home Service period, during which time they visit congregations, groups, and individuals in the United States and inform them on their work as well as invite them into their network of support. Please attend to learn of the Lord’s work in Leipzig and broader Europe, involving music outreach and concertizing in support of the advancement of the Gospel. For more information, please consult www.lcms.org/ahlman.
The Ahlmans serve the Lord as career missionaries through the LCMS in Leipzig, Germany. In this role, Christopher serves as assistant pastor for a new church plant of the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church — the partner church body of the LCMS in Germany. He works with LCMS area facilitators and mission partners in developing music materials that witness through music and strengthen the LCMS regional strategy to expand existing Lutheran communities and establish new churches. He also assists the regional director of Eurasia in the development, implementation and evaluation of a strategy for planting new churches in the urban European context.
Elizabeth serves as the communication specialist for Eurasia. In this role, she helps to share the story of what God is doing in the Eurasia region through missionaries, partner church bodies and all believers, using print media, social media and the Internet (eurasiablog.lcms.org). Through the media she manages, she is able to enlighten the church worldwide as to how God is working in Eurasia, to garner prayers and support for the missionaries serving there and to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Elizabeth also assists the missionaries in Eurasia, as well as any partner churches, with any communication-related issues they may have.
The Ahlmans are from Lincoln, Neb., where they are members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Christopher received a bachelor’s degree in music from Concordia University Nebraska, his Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, a Master of Sacred Music degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of Texas at Austin. Elizabeth received a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Iowa and a Master of Arts degree and deaconess certification from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Before serving in Germany, Christopher was assistant pastor at King of Kings Lutheran Church, Round Rock, Texas.
A bit more on the Ahlman’s ministry.
“The Volkmarsdorf area of Leipzig possesses a high concentration of people from greater Europe and the entire globe who have immigrated to Germany. Broader Leipzig is a city marked by cultural expression (i.e., music, visual art, theater and dance) and high appreciation of such expression. Pray that the Lord may enable the proclamation of the Gospel to resonate with those who hear it — that they may cling to it in faith. Pray that the Lord may grant His abundant blessing to the SELK/LKM church plant in Volkmarsdorf. Pray that the Lord may open doors to a climate of faithfulness to Jesus Christ in the context of cultural creativity and artistic expression. Pray that the Lord might advance His Church as a place of mercy, a refuge for the weary and a source of solace for the oppressed.”
