Gethsemane has a Bega Kwa Bega (BKB) partnership with Pommern Lutheran Church in Pomerini, Tanzania.
Bega Kwa Bega (“shoulder to shoulder”) is a unique synod-to-synod partnership that pairs individual congregations in the St. Paul Area Synod with a partner congregation in the Iringa Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. This results in deep personal connections, prayers for each other, and understanding of each other’s dreams and needs. Gethsemane and Pommern walk and work together in a joint ministry to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Pommern Lutheran Church is a large and vibrant congregation in a small farming community in south-central Tanzania. It consists of a main church and two small “preaching point” churches. Preaching point churches, which are led by lay ministers, allow members to worship close to their home rather than taking the longer walk to the main church each Sunday. Pommern Lutheran Church and Gethsemane also partner with the doctor and staff at the government-supported health clinic at Pomerini, providing additional resources to improve healthcare for the community.
As mission partners, Pommern and Gethsemane are committed to these key activities:
Bega Kwa Bega focuses on educating youth in Tanzania because it has a multiplier effect: it equips students with skills and knowledge that improve their own lives and strengthen their community, while reducing poverty and raising living standards. Gethsemane provides Secondary School Scholarships to youth who are members of Pommern Lutheran Church, providing the financial resources that allow them to attend Pommern Secondary School or other Secondary Schools.
Secondary schools in Tanzania cover the U.S. equivalent of grade 8 through the first year of college. Parents of students at Pommern Lutheran Church nominate their child for a scholarship. Then, a committee at the church selects scholarship recipients, giving priority to orphans, children of church workers, and students with the greatest financial need.
An expectation of the Bega Kwa Bega Partnership is that Gethsemane provides annual Project funding to Pommern Lutheran Church, to be used for needs that Pommern Church prioritizes. In the past, Project funds have been used for musical equipment, sound systems for worship, and for roofs and doors/windows for church buildings.
A team of people from Gethsemane visited Pommern Lutheran Church in July 2025. This was a wonderful experience that allowed us develop new friendships and see first-hand how the capable, faithful, and dynamic Christians at Pommern are living their faith and building an exciting future for their children and for the congregation.
Pommern showed us amazing hospitality, companionship, and excitement for God’s work in their community. Our team members participated in two Sunday worship services, meals with new and old friends, and visits to preaching points, the clinic, and Pommern Secondary School. These visits allow us to build personal relationships with Pommern people that we will always cherish.
