Lord, To Whom Shall We Go

Rev. Joel Clarion Fritsche serves the Lord as missionary of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) in the Dominican Republic. In this role, Joel plants new churches in this country. He forms and develops groups of believers into mature, self-sustaining and self-replicating congregations through Word and Sacrament ministry. Joel also serves as the director of Concordia Seminary and Mercy Center in Palmar Arriba (which is in the Santiago province of the Dominican Republic). As director, he teaches courses and helps prepare men to be pastors who proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this country and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Joel was born in Houston, Texas. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Concordia University, Nebraska, Seward, and received his Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Before becoming a missionary, he served as a pastor of congregations in Wyoming, Texas and Illinois. He also worked as an admissions counselor at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.