Tyrel Bramwell

The goal was set in 2020!

COMING BACK, SPRING 2026!

A journey to see all 5481* Missouri Synod Lutheran churches

There are nearly 5500 congregations in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Most people will only ever experience a few. See the Synod is an ongoing journey to change that.

Traveling in our 1984 Volkswagen Vanagon, affectionately known as Katarina VAN Bora, my wife (Jessica) and I are embarking on a Lutheran adventure to visit as many LCMS churches as we can.

Five hundred years ago, in the wake of the Reformation, the Lutheran reformers carried out visitations across the German lands, assessing the condition of the Church. What they found was not strength and unity, but confusion and neglect. Out of that reality, Martin Luther wrote the Small Catechism, returning the Church to the clarity of God’s Word.

This project echoes the Reformation’s historic concern for the Church, driven by the question, What do our churches actually look like on the ground? We say we’re Biblical. We say we’re Christ-centered and cross-focused. We say we’re confessional. We say we’re united. We say a lot of things, but is what we say true?

With each video in this series, we’ll get a glimpse into the life of an LCMS congregation. My goal is simply to document what’s really out there, so that you can determine whether what we say about ourselves is true or not.

At the same time, this is a journey across America itself. Between churches are long highways, small towns, unexpected conversations, inevitable mechanical breakdowns, and the daily realities of life on the road in a 42-year-old Volkswagen Vanagon. The road is not separate from the mission—it is part of the story. The Church is not an abstraction. It’s real places, real people, and real life happening in real time. See the Synod is an attempt to capture that reality—honestly, patiently, and faithfully—one mile and one church at a time.

We have a long journey ahead of us. Are you up for the adventure?

More info to come soon. Stay tuned!

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*LCMS Inc. Annual Report — 2024