Concordia Seminary Newsroom
Going Where God Calls
Sharing the Gospel in Belize
Concordia Seminary students eagerly await their placements before Call Day. The suspense builds as students’ families gather in the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus where the calls are announced each year. Church members, friends and relatives from across the nation also watch online to see where future pastors are being called by name to go and share the Gospel.
The first calls for most seminarians entering the pastoral ministry in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) are typically announced to a U.S. location. But when Jason Groth, a 2024 Master of Divinity graduate, heard his name on Call Day this year, it was not alongside a pastoral call in the States. It was to Central America, to Belize.
“I will be an LCMS missionary, which means I belong to all LCMS churches,” he explains with a grateful smile.
Groth embraces this opportunity to spread the Gospel in a new and unfamiliar setting alongside his wife, Emily, and their children: Gideon, Esther, Martha and Joanna, ages 5 to 12.
While the Groths will be far from their extended family and their friends, they are embarking on this journey with courage and faith. Groth says they are prepared, thanks to the Holy Spirit. “I think I will be a good missionary, but I think my kids will be excellent missionaries,” he says. “They are going to open doors I never would have been able to just because they are so friendly.”
When Groth enrolled at the Seminary, he never imagined he would be a missionary at the end of his pastoral formation. In October 2023, however, he was asked by LCMS Director of Missionary Recruitment Dr. Mark Rabe if he would consider missionary service. Due to one of his daughter’s medical needs, he didn’t think he could serve as a missionary. Still, God continued to open doors. “They found us a missionary call that matched the needs for our daughter,” he says. “There are hospitals in Belize so she can get the medical attention she needs if an autoimmune issue were to flare up and, if needed, she can be transported to a children’s hospital in Houston within hours.” God, Groth says, continues to provide in ways the family had never imagined.
“It comes back to knowing the purpose for what we are being called to do. It is the greatest privilege on earth to share the good news of the Gospel.”
— Jason Groth
“I’m excited to tell the people in Belize about Jesus,” he says, citing Rom. 10:17 (ESV), “‘So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.’ Our whole family is well-suited for mission work in many ways.” As a child, his family moved several times. As a young adult, he lived in Illinois, Ohio, Vermont and Missouri.Emily, his wife, previously served as a short-term missionary in Quito, Ecuador.
The opportunities to learn a different culture and new language excite the family as they trust God’s plan and purpose for them. “Our work in Belize will be to do three things: share the Gospel, plant Lutheran churches and show mercy,” Groth says. “English is the official language of Belize, but 60% of the population speaks some Spanish. There are different ethnic groups. It’s a former English colony with Kriol, Garifuna, Mennonite, Maya,Taiwanese and Mestizos people of Spanish descent. It’s very diverse. So, each one of these groups will have its own culture and language, which will provide opportunities to learn as we strive to form churches.”
He is eager to connect with the Belize community and create lasting bonds while preaching and teaching the message of hope and salvation. He looks forward to witnessing individuals receiving joy and growing in faith in a place where there is so much need.
The Groth family is embracing the unknown as they prepare as much as possible before their departure to Belize. The seeds they are planting by the power of the Holy Spirit will have immeasurable heavenly rewards. “I’m not going to say it’s easy,” Groth says. “It comes back to knowing the purpose for what we are being called to do. It is the greatest privilege on earth to share the Good News of the Gospel.”