Mission History

Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria

In 1913 three missionaries, Dr. Niels Brønnum, his Scottish bride Margaret C. Young, also a medical doctor, and Miss Dagmar Rose left Denmark for Africa. They were sent by a small new "Sudan Society." Within six months, Mrs. Brønnum died and Miss Rose took the Brønnums infant son to his grandparents home in Scotland.

Dr. Bronnum, now utterly alone, refused to give up his call. He traveled farther inland and established work at Numan, in Yola province (now called Adamawa). He remained in Nigeria for many years and was joined by other missionaries from Denmark.

Support and interest for the mission in Nigeria grew within the United Evangelical Lutheran Church, a Danish predecessor of The American Lutheran Church (now part of the ELCA). A few American missionaries were sent to Nigeria under the Danish Sudan Mission Society, and in 1934 the Sudan Mission became officially part of the UELC.

The church took root and grew, hundreds of lay leaders were trained, and the first five Nigerian pastors were ordained in 1948. The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria became independent in 1956 and joined the Lutheran World Federation in 1961. It has experienced significant growth ever since through its outreach ministries.