103 The Ups and Downs of being Lutheran

According to the May 1, 2004 International Lutheran Council newsletter, ICL News, Vol. 15, no.2, there are 66,000,000 Lutherans worldwide, down 640,000 in Europe, but up 1.1 million in Africa, where growth (9.3%) is highest. By the end of 2003, there were 13,068,209 Lutherans in Africa. You could probably find the same information at the Lutheran World Federation site, but reading this newsletter which reports on Asia, Europe, Brazil, Latin America, etc., is more interesting. I was looking for the site for the Russian Church of Ingria when I wandered into this one, courtesy of the distractibility of the Internet. And I was visiting the Church of Ingria because I was reading the sermon notes of Dr. Harold Buls, an American seminary professor who wrote them for missionaries preaching there.