Our Story
In 2017 a small core group of Christians in southwest Missouri came together with the idea to plant a church in Joplin Missouri. With the help of the WELS Board of Home Missions, a lot of research, and lot of prayer, in April 2018 the Board approved a home mission in Joplin Missouri.
The next step was to call a Pastor. While the group waited they held regular Bible studies in Joplin, led by Pastor Aaron Schumann from Faith Lutheran Church in Pittsburg, KS. During this time the group continued to discuss ideas and plans for moving the mission church forward.
Calling
In 2018 and 2019, a number of divine calls were made to various pastors across the U.S. to help lead the group on their journey. In May of 2019, Jordan Bence, a recent graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, was assigned to the mission. Shortly after, Jordan and his wife Laura moved to Joplin. On July 28th 2019, Pastor Bence was ordained and installed as Pastor for the Joplin mission church.
Since then our Mission has been very busy. Mission teams have been formed. A name was selected, The Vine Lutheran Church. Weekly Bible Studies are now held at our new location, 2722 South Main. A Mornings with Mommy program was established and many other community outreach events. The Mission is currently developing plans to hold our first church service in fall of 2020.
