Q&A

Q&A with the Rev. Stephen Heimer

Heimer is the manager of LCMS All Nations Ministry.

Story by Megan K. Mertz | Photography by Erik M. Lunsford | Spring 2025

Rev. Stephen Heimer

In June 2024, the Rev. Stephen Heimer joined the LCMS Office of National Mission as manager of All Nations Ministry. This newly formed ministry seeks to support those serving in Asian, Black, Hispanic, native American and other ethnic ministries around the United States. Heimer spent 28 years serving in Hispanic ministry along the U.S./Mexico border in El Paso, Texas — at Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care; at Zion Lutheran Church, El Paso; and at a mission in Mexico. He is excited to come alongside those serving in the Synod’s multiethnic ministries to celebrate the gifts that Christ has given to His whole church.

What experiences equipped you for this role with All Nations Ministry?

A: During my years in El Paso and on the border, I met LCMS Lutherans from all over the country who really made a wonderful impact on our mission efforts and on my life. The activity there, as well as travel with our music group [Mariachi San Pablo], exposed me to different people and the reality that we are one in Christ, though we often speak differently, look different and can have different priorities. All of that has encouraged me that the Lord uses His church in beautiful ways.

Can one ministry serve the needs and interests of such different groups?

A: There are 484 LCMS congregations and new church starts that have identified themselves as having a special focus on different ethnic groups and communities in the United States. There are 47 organizations, including Recognized Service Organizations, that are also providing services with a focus on people with other languages and cultures. And 115 LCMS schools have student bodies that are more than 60% nonwhite. Our universities and our seminaries have been doing a wonderful job of serving everyone who enrolls, with an eye for the mission field among us. All Nations Ministry isn’t in any way the only attention being given to the large diversity of people who are living in the United States, but we seek to provide a connection among them.

What are you currently working on?

A: One of the less glamorous tasks that I’ve been working on is pulling together a directory of existing ministries so it can be a useful tool for networking among our ministries. Our [online] Locator [tool] is really good, but it only includes ministries that are chartered. There are longstanding mission efforts that have gone unnoticed by a lot of people because they aren’t chartered, but they are touching the lives of many people every year.

Tell me about the new All Nations Council.

A: In November, the All Nations Council brought together representatives from ministries serving the different groups and communities across our Synod. We had enthusiastic participation, and they are eager to see us work together in the ways that All Nations Ministry envisions so that the church would be effective in reaching their communities and the growing multiethnic demographic of our nation. The plan is to continue to pray together, plan together and seek the longstanding cooperative ministry that we’ve had in the LCMS while engaging in new ways and participating more broadly in all the normal things of the Synod, such as seminary education and partnering with the districts. … We are trying to affirm to our churches and church workers that they are not alone in their unique outreach. God is with them, but they are also very much a part of what God has created in the LCMS.

Learn More

Learn more about LCMS National Mission

Read more about the All Nations Council

Megan K. Mertz

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