Rev. Terry Schultz, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) missionary to Peru, is set to begin a new joint call with WELS beginning Mar. 1, 2011. Beginning then, Schultz and his wife, Mary, will be based in Santiago in the Dominican Republic with possible outreach to Haitian refugees there and to Haiti itself.

"We are thankful to be working with a gifted veteran missionary like Terry Schultz and his wife, Mary," says Rev. Dan Koelpin, administrator for WELS Board for World Missions. "In these times of financial distress we appreciate the working relationship we have with our sister church, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which allows us to share Terry's work."

Schultz, who has served in Peru for 14 years, will continue to serve there on a diminishing basis for the next four years. The plan is that the Peruvian Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Church, currently about 30 congregations and preaching stations, will eventually be served entirely by national pastors.

The call to the Dominican Republic will allow Schultz to continue in Hispanic ministry—with the potential of missionary work among Haitian people who are heavily involved in occult practices. He would work jointly with Rona Abraham, a Haitian national pastor trained by WELS professors in Dominican Republic.

"Missionary Schultz has considerable experience with animism (fear and worship of spirits) and has pursued studies to better understand this complicated set of beliefs," Koelpin says. "Such a background should greatly benefit his ministry, particularly if the Lord should open a door to the people of Haiti."