LEAven Blog

In the past five decades of ministry in Lutheran education, I have learned how much God uses people whom He has called to serve in the most amazing ways! From humble and often unnoticed circumstances come great and bountiful results. Individuals who are prepared for lives of service find themselves in locations and ministries they could never have imagined… all for the purpose of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ throughout the world. Such is the person of Dr. Melvin Martin Kieschnick.

Like thousands of others through the years, Mel had a Lutheran education upbringing and attended Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Illinois. He was, in fact, a classmate of my father’s, which would be the root of my relationship with Mel as I entered the Lutheran education field. Like most graduates in the 1950s, Mel began his ministry as a teacher and principal and pursued his master’s degree … all in California. It was the beginning of a lifelong global adventure.

In 1956, Mel was called by the LCMS Board for World Missions to serve as missionary and coordinator of education for missions in Hong Kong. It didn’t take long to establish himself in his new setting as he learned the Chinese language and began his journey in establishing Lutheran education in the region. Mel was responsible for building Concordia Lutheran School in Kowloon (pictured above), the second largest secondary school in the district at that time. Elementary and kindergartens section were soon added. During his tenure in Hong Kong, Mel laid the groundwork for the establishment of many more schools, which today serve more than 22,000 students in communities throughout that part of southwest Asia. Mel was also actively involved in the founding of Hong Kong International School, which has a worldwide reputation of excellence and is rooted in a Christian mission.

Throughout his career, Mel has served in major Lutheran education leadership positions as superintendent of Lutheran schools in Michigan and as executive director of parish education for the LCMS. Mel’s passion for urban education and global outreach was put into action in a significant manner as he directed the Lutheran Schools Association in New York. Working with ecumenical collaboration made it possible to support the ministries of schools in some of the most challenging environments in a city that was a microcosm of the world. Mel exemplified the ability to work with nonpublic and public entities, across denominational lines, with all levels of government, and within various cultural contexts.

Mel’s attention to supporting educators working with ALL students and families became a theme for his many accomplishments in New York and far beyond. During the past seven decades, Mel (along with his dedicated and talented wife and collaborator Jane) continued to write, speak, counsel, consult, and teach about Lutheran education from a global perspective. Mel’s published contributions to the field of Lutheran education are too numerous to recount, including dozens of articles that have appeared through Lutheran Education Association. One quote from a May, 1965 Lutheran Education article titled “The Worldwide Task of Lutheran Education in the Century Ahead” sums up Mel’s reliance on God’s direction for all of his ministry: “For finally all work of Lutheran education overseas and in the USA too is simply a work of faith. But since it is a work growing out of faith in Him whose promises are sure, it is but a leap into the everlasting arms which uphold and support and bless.”

On January 18, I attended the memorial service for Dr. Melvin Kieschnick in California. Among many friends and relatives gathered to celebrate Mel’s life were two individuals who were small boys when their families first became aware of the new Concordia Lutheran School being built in their Hong Kong neighborhood. As each told his story about their early memories of Mel, they also recounted the countless ways Mel had continued to be a part of their lives and influenced their careers and families. Mel touched the lives of many in his 97 years, including mine, as he carried out God’s call to take the Word of God into all the world and tell about His saving love. His example as a Christian educator is a model to us all.