Gary W. Thies, mission development counselor for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, will be the mission speaker at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Austin on Sunday, Nov. 3.

Thies will speak at the regularly scheduled worship service at 9 a.m., as well as during the Christian Education Hour at 10:15 a.m., and for a luncheon presentation at noon.

Thies will present an unusual message of missions and what is happening in the mission division. His multimedia presentation will feature artifacts from places around the world, as well as Power Point presentations.

Thies was born and raised on a farm near Mapleton, Iowa, and spent 33 years in the banking, estate and insurance industry. In his role as mission development counselor, he brings a new vision as a layman. He traveled extensively around the world, including West Africa, Kazakastan, Russia and Siberia. He has visited Thailand, the jungles of New Guinea, the mountain country of the Philippines, backcountry of Guatemala, Venezuela, Jamaica, the jungles of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Thies just returned from a trip to Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyz Republic. His miracle stories have been a part of his presentations in more than 1,400 churches throughout the U.S.

Thies now represents the World Mission Division, as well as the Iowa District West and the Nebraska districts of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. He has served as chairman to the Congressional Academic Selection Committee in Western Iowa, and as president of the Western Iowa Tech Community College Foundation Board. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Iowa State Bank in Des Moines, Iowa, and was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Judicial Selection Committee in western Iowa. He and his wife, Maxine, live near Mapleton.