# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S973
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

390 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS

When the Lights Go On Again All over the World

There are probably few organizations of either a secular or
a religious nature which have not concerned themselves with
postwar planning. Vast departments in the Government are
planning on a global scale the relief and recon- .
Postwar struction of war-torn countries. Thus also our
Planning’ Church. Many houts have been spent by the

Council in research, survey, and planning for the’
postwar era both in this country and abroad. The Rev. O. H.
Schmidt, executive secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions,
rendered valuable service in research and planning until his
duties took him to the Far East.

The opportunities which present themselves are so great
and so many that it is difficult to select even a few without
doing injustice to others. Our Church, too, will have to carry
its share of the burden of physical relief and rehabilitation in
the postwar era. But its primary duty continues to be: Go and
preach the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.

We know we shall not be faulted for not presenting to the
Church at this time definite blueprints for execution in the post-

_ war world when we do not know just what

No Blueprints the postwar world will be like. We do,
however, know that the Church will have a

tremendous job to do. And as far as God gives us wisdom and:
understanding, we must plan today for this world of tomorrow.

‘The Council would call your attention to just a few of the
outstanding postwar opportunities for the Church which we
must be prepared to meet and for which our Council is plan-
ning action. . . ,

1) At the suggestion of the Emergency Planning Council
a number of meetings have been held by the chairmen. of all
major synodical Mission Boards with a
Mission Chairmen’s view to planning and integrating post-
‘Council war mission and expansion programs.

We are happy to report that under the
leadership of the chairman of the various Mission Boards, the
Rev. F.C. Streufert, secretary of missions, plans are under way
to enable our Church to seize the greatest evangelistic oppor- _
tunities ever given to any church body in the history of the New
Testament Church.