As the son of missionaries, Kurt Bringerud heard the call to missions at a young age. His studies and acceptance of the Orthodox faith continued to lead him toward missionary service. During the summer of 2010, following his involvement in a Project Mexico trip with a team from central Indiana, God’s call to international missions field became even stronger. After completing his training at the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), Kurt was commissioned to serve as an OCMC long-term missionary in Mongolia.
Kurt Bringerud was a team member on OCMC’s first-ever mission team to Mongolia this past June, where they began to plant the seeds of Orthodoxy and faced the challenges of helping those seeds begin to grow. Now, he’ll be continuing that ministry through his service as a long-term missionary. There is extensive work to be done in Mongolia. First and foremost, though, as with all missionaries, his initial effort will involve the basics of learning the language, learning the culture, and building relationships through love. He will be teaching Japanese and English as well.
His commissioning took place on August 19th, 2012, at St. John the Forerunner Orthodox Church in Indianapolis, where Kurt has been an active member for many years. OCMC Associate Director Fr. David Rucker was in Indianapolis this past weekend to participate in the commissioning and offer his prayers and support. Of the commissioning, which took place during the Divine Liturgy, Father David said, “It was one of the most beautiful commissionings that I’ve ever seen. Kurt is such a huge part of the parish community that when it came time to offer the prayers, they were all there with us. It was really wonderful.” After liturgy, the parish hosted a reception to bid him farewell. He is the parish’s first long-term missionary.
Mr. Bringerud left for Mongolia on August 23rd to begin his missionary service. OCMC is excited for this new step in Mongolia, and we are all looking forward to the work that will be done in sharing the Orthodox Faith. The foundation has been laid, and now we begin together to build on that foundation.
OCMC and Mr. Bringerud ask for your thoughts and prayers as this exciting journey in long-term missions in Mongolia begins.
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