Strengthening faith and improving lives is the two-fold purpose of the new Lutheran Health and Development Program, a program that supports the gospel ministry of the Lutheran Church of Central Africa (LCCA) and the Lutheran Mission Zambia.

“It is the aim of this ministry to enable, support, strengthen, and provide opportunities for Christians [in the LCCA] to live their lives of faith in their congregations and communities,” says Jason Paltzer, program director. “At the same time, we provide a bridge to the gospel ministry by giving outlets for members to share their faith with others.”

This program was an outgrowth of another program developed by the Central Africa Medical Mission in 1998. The initial program focused on basic health education and disease prevention. Paltzer expanded it in 2003 to include helping with community development programs such as digging bore holes and counseling people with HIV. Now the program works to train LCCA members to conduct these and other programs on their own.

“Many times we are just a conduit and enabler for what people already know they want to do or can do, be it home-based care or becoming a better leader in the church,” says Paltzer.

The program uses several avenues to prepare lay members for service: