Spotlight

‘The Most Wonderful Work in the World’

Story by Megan K. Mertz | Photography by Erik M. Lunsford | Summer 2026

Every weekday morning at Lutheran Theological Seminary (LTS) in Tshwane, South Africa, students and staff gather in the chapel for Matins. Although they come from more than half a dozen different countries and speak as many native languages, they join together to sing the words of Matins — the same ones found in Lutheran Service Book — in the language they hold in common: English.

Among them are two professors who come from even farther afield than Africa: the Rev. Fernando Huf (top, right) and the Rev. Volmir da Rocha (top, left), who are both pastors from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (IELB). In collaboration with the IELB, Huf and da Rocha serve in South Africa on behalf of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) as alliance missionaries.

Alliance missionaries are pastors from LCMS partner church bodies who are sent overseas to serve alongside and under the direction of the LCMS Office of International Mission. There are currently 15 alliance missionaries serving around the world. Many of them are from Brazil, although others come from Bolivia, Nigeria, Taiwan and Venezuela.

The pastors who are sent to serve in this unique way are highly qualified, and they help to extend the mission of the LCMS in places where additional staff — and perhaps different skill sets — are desired. To his role as LTS professor and LCMS area facilitator for Southern Africa, Huf brings 30 years of experience as a pastor in the IELB. Most recently, he spent 10 years as pastor of “The Lutheran Hour” in Brazil. He became interested in serving in Africa after visiting Mozambique and Angola on an IELB mission trip in 2019. When he heard about the LCMS’ alliance missionary program, he echoed the words of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3: “Here I am.”

In contrast, da Rocha’s call to Africa came as a complete surprise. He had served for 11 y ears in IELB parishes and then for another 11 years as a chaplain and professor at a Lutheran university in Brazil when he was asked to join a meeting with LCMS staff. Now, he is LCMS Africa’s longest-serving alliance missionary. He spent five years serving alongside the LCMS as the president of a Lutheran seminary in Uganda before moving to South Africa in 2025.

“It’s really a blessing to our team to have the crème de la crème, some of the best [from our partner churches], working with us,” said LCMS Africa Regional Director Rev. Shauen Trump about the alliance missionaries serving on the continent. “Seeing how someone [from a different culture] approaches our mission … enriches all of us.” He added that those who serve are also enriched because “when they return, they will be changed, and they will bring that flavor of the mission field and that eagerness … back home and, through that, have an influence on their sending church. That’s an incredible value.”

At LTS, Huf and da Rocha teach classes on missiology, pastoral care, the Lutheran Confessions and other topics to help prepare the seminary’s 27 students for future service throughout Africa. These students come from various locations and circumstances, but they are united by a passion for Lutheran theology and the desire to serve God’s people.

“I tell them, in my lecture on pastoral care, about the hardships … of being a leader in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. But at the same time, it’s the most wonderful work in the world,” Huf said. “You can tell a family that is broken, that is suffering, about the cross of Jesus Christ and how He walks with us, especially during all those times of distress.”

The team that has come together at LTS to serve these students is motivated by the same passion for serving God’s church. “It’s amazing to think that you are doing something that makes a difference in the life of people, in the life of the church, to help them build their knowledge,” said da Rocha, even as he noted the challenges of leaving extended family and moving first to Uganda and then to South Africa with a wife and teenage daughter.

During Matins, students and faculty join together in singing the words of the Te Deum, which includes the line: “The holy Church throughout all the world does acknowledge You.”

Behind them, on the chapel wall, hang the photos of dozens of people from around the world who have supported theological education at LTS over the years. This now includes Huf and da Rocha, who share in the work of all missionaries to spread the Gospel so that all might acknowledge Christ’s name and receive His gifts.

“Being here with my [wife and two daughters] is a great joy for us,” Huf said. “My daughters are learning how our Lord is a loving God, blessing His church around the world. It’s a blessing for us to be here.”

Learn More

• Read an FAQ about alliance missionaries
• Make a gift to support the alliance missionary program

Megan K. Mertz

Managing editor of Lutherans Engage the World and chief copy editor for LCMS Communications.