Q&A
Q&A with the Rev. Shauen Trump
Trump is the Synod’s regional director for Africa.
The Rev. Shauen Trump has spent his entire ministry serving in Africa. After working for a few years as an engineer in the United States, he attended Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, where he joined a track for those interested in becoming church planters and missionaries. He served his vicarage in Uganda and was later called to serve full time in Kenya and Tanzania. In 2020, Trump was appointed to the position of regional director. He resides in Nairobi, Kenya, with his wife, Krista, and their five children.
What does a regional director do?
A: I have the joy and burden of engaging the LCMS’ work across the continent. That means engaging with some 30–35 churches across 25 countries. I also work with our staff — our missionaries, local employees and alliance missionaries — and our program and project budget. The final component is engaging with LCMS entities, congregations, districts and seminaries in the work they are doing.
What is the Synod’s strategy in Africa?
A: In Africa, there are so many church bodies already in existence, and we respond to their requests. The most significant requests are for theological education and for the formation of church workers. That’s because almost every church we work with has far more congregations than they can provide pastors or deaconesses for. We also receive requests for mercy work.
The LCMS currently has a pretty small team serving in Africa. Can you tell me about the situation?
A: It’s disheartening to see the missionary force shrinking. It’s primarily due to what we would consider unavoidable attrition: family situations and planned retirements or conclusions of service. We really did suffer from not having a full-time recruiter in the Office of International Mission for many years. It takes years for that to percolate through the system. So, those missionaries who were retiring at normal rates were simply not being replaced. We’re at a point now where we have just about a dozen missionary units on the field. When someone leaves, everyone else picks up a little bit more work, and that has the great potential to cause burnout and exhaustion.
What positions are available?
A: There are dozens of open requests from our church partners. Those are in addition to some of the regional support positions available, like communication specialist, volunteer coordinator, business manager and the Africa Luther Academy coordinator. The long list includes nurses, elementary school teachers, IT specialists, pastors to serve as missionaries at large, theological educators and deaconess instructors.
What kind of characteristics should a potential missionary have?
A: Flexibility and intelligence are the two key markers for Africa. Flexibility because we’re coming into cultures that are so vastly different from our own. A missionary needs to be flexible to recognize that things we value, like efficiency, are not values here. Their values are in relationships, and that changes how they approach mission. … The other is intelligence, particularly as it relates to problem solving.
We are in a place where we have good problems: churches planted so quickly that they don’t have enough pastors, congregations outgrowing their buildings, seminaries with so many students that they can’t provide enough scholarships. We have the privilege of working in a place that is … very challenging and also very rewarding.
Is there a Bible passage that sustains you during the tough times?
A: We have Peter’s confession from Matthew 16 posted in our office. The Lord says, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my house.” It’s not a directive to us to build the house. He builds the house on the proclamation of who Jesus is. That sometimes happens with us, sometimes through us, and sometimes in spite of us. This community of faith is established on Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Learn More
- Learn more about the LCMS Africa region
- Learn more about the Rev. Shauen Trump
Megan K. Mertz
Managing editor of Lutherans Engage the World and chief copy editor for LCMS Communications.
