“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9).
On Saturday, March 15, a joyful group of people gathered at St. Luke, Haslett (Meridian Campus) for the first All Nations Celebration event—a time of worship, fellowship, and mutual encouragement. There were 217 attendees from several countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and others.
The worship service was led by Rev. Trevor Sutton (St. Luke, Haslett), Rev. Craig Bickel (Immanuel, Grand Rapids), Rev. Zerit Yohannes (St. Luke, Lansing), and Rev. Elamin Banjor (St. Luke, Lansing). Michigan District President, Rev. David Davis, was the preacher.
During the worship service, six different choirs brought musical offerings:
- Arabic choir from St. Luke and Living Word, Lansing
- Hmong choir from Our Savior, Lansing
- Hispanic choir from Pan de Vida, Detroit
- Pakistani choir from All Nations/POBLO
- French-speaking choir from Immanuel, Grand Rapids
- Swahili choir from St. Luke, Haslett and Immanuel, Grand Rapids
During the Scripture readings, a New Testament passage from Revelation 7 was read in English, Arabic, Swahili, French, and Spanish. A highlight for many participants was the prayer of the Church, in which everyone prayed out loud in their native tongue—first following prompts and then joining in the Lord’s Prayer.
One of the attendees, Rev. Randy Duncan (Concordia University Ann Arbor), shared on Facebook, “We had a foretaste of Heaven at the All Nations Celebration! Hmong, Spanish, Urdu, Sudanese, Congolese, and English speakers worshipping Jesus together in harmony! THIS is the Kingdom!”
After the service, participants enjoyed fellowship and food. Lunch was catered from various local restaurants and included Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and Indian foods, as well as pizza.
The last part of the celebration was the presentation of testimonials and videos: immigrants prepared and presented testimonials telling about their experience as sojourners and how the Church welcomed them. After each testimonial there was a 2-minute video from the presenter’s congregation/organization, telling about the congregation/organization and the work that they do.
There were vendors from different mission and support organizations, including COFA (Christian Outreach For Africa); MOST (Mission Opportunity Short Term) Ministries; Lutheran Bible Translators; Living Word, Lansing (Moses Dangba); For Sudan (Banjor Musa); George Ghanem – Christians in the Holy Land; POBLO; and Lutheran Heritage Foundation.
Rev. Trevor Sutton, pastor of the host congregation, commented on the success of the event: “Our hope for this event was to celebrate, encourage, and capture people’s imaginations for the future of all nations ministries in the Michigan District. We were overwhelmed by the tremendous turnout for this inaugural event! We pray that this will encourage more congregations to explore multiethnic ministry amongst newcomers.”
To know more about or find multiethnic ministries in the Michigan District, visit michigandistrict.org/ministries/care-ministries/ethnic-ministry/.
Photos by Elisa Schulz/Michigan District, LCMS
Craig Britton - March 19, 2025
What could be better before we get all the way home? Thanks, Elisa for this wonderful picture of the day celebrated in Haslett.