# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1950_S471
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

480 MISSIONS

Our Church Today

Surely a church body such as’ ours, preserved by God in its
loyalty to His saving Word, must play an heroic role as an j ,
ment of God in this hour of mankind’s greatest need. God has
already done much through our Synod to bring His message of
hope to men in despair. The growth of our Church during the first
half of this century is a miracle in modern church history. Ang
yet none of us can boast that we have done all that we could, In
a sense our potential has. barely been tapped. The exigencies of the
moment call for an all-out effort on the part of every one of us,
Much greater things must be accomplished if we are to fulfill

_our God-given mission at this critical juncture in mankind’s
history.

Let us consider our weaknesses. To our shame we must admit
that some symptoms of our lives as individuals betray a lack of
that “first love” which should mark all those lives which are “hig
with Christ in God.” Only 40 per cent of our people are at God’s
house on an average Sunday. Our people attend the Lord’s Supper
only a little over three times a year, on the average. Only one in
ten communicants belongs to a Bible class. In some instances the
formal religious training of our children is being limited to the
barest minimum. Only one third of our children receive the ben-
efits of religious training in our Christian day schools. Family
devotions are far from the rule in the average home. In short,
in many instances there is a shocking lack of appreciation of the
spiritual treasures which God has provided for us in His precious
means of grace.

And the result? The growing list of delinquents is becoming
disturbingly large. The cancer of materialism is making serious
inroads into our membership. Church work has become the respon-
sibility of a few. In many instances voters’ meetings find it difficult
to secure a quorum. Nominating committees are having increasing
difficulty in securing slates of candidates. With many, church mem-
bership has become more of a session than an obsession. The doc-
trine of the universal priesthood is frequently paid lip service but
is not translated into corresponding action. The stewardship per-
formance of a large segment of our membership is far below what
God has a right to expect of them. The spirit of missions has
not gripped many of our members with the urgency which the
state of the world and the love of Christ would require.

Surely the above facts should shake any spirit of complacency
that may be evident among us. A blundering and burdened world,
trembling on the very precipice of an awful eternity, calls for

‘a Church that is deep in its spirituality and intense in its desire
to share its spiritual treasures with men in desperate need.

MISSIONS 481

Our Opportunities

All of the above must become a matter of real concern to each
and every member of our Church. We feel that the hearts and
hands of our people will become ever more willing as they are
acquainted with the glorious opportunities which God is giving
us at this momentous hour. Let us look first, however, at what
God has already accomplished through our humble efforts.

During the past decade no fewer than 155,000 adults have been
confirmed. During the past four years our Church has opened
a new mission station somewhere in the United States or Canada
every fourth day. At present 835 pastors and students are serving
1,300 mission stations in North America. During the past ten years
we have started mission work in seven new countries. Using about
40 languages, the Lutheran Hour has reached into some 60 countries.

. Since 1940 our Church in Africa has grown from 7,000 souls
to approximately 17,000. Since 1940 our Church in India has grown
from 14,300 souls to 21,900. Indeed, almost without exception the
Lord has permitted our Church to march forward on every mission
front, accompanying our efforts with signal blessings.

On the educational front we can point to these accomplish-
ments. Our vacation Bible school enrollment has climbed from
25,000 to over 100,000 since 1940. Our Sunday schools have grown
from 280,000 pupils in 1940 to 365,000 at present. Our parochial
school enrollment has increased by 26,000 since 1940. Our Bible
class enrollment has climbed by 50,000 during the past eight years.

While we thank God for what has been accomplished in these
various fields, yet we must face the fact that, when compared with
the tremendous fields which lie before us, our accomplishments will
leave little room for boasting. For instance, in India, with its
population of 350,000,000, we have only 75 full-time workers serving
7,211 communicants. But the Savior’s marching orders are: “Go,
preach, teach.”

In China, with its population of 450,000,000, we have only seven
full-time workers serving 505 communicants. But the Savior’s
marching orders are: “Go, preach, teach.”

In Japan, with its population of 80,000,000, our Church has
only 10 full-time workers serving 1,700 people. But the Savior’s
marching orders are: “Go, preach, teach.”

In Africa, with its population of 200,000,000, our Church has
only 19 full-time workers serving 6,466 communicants. But the
Savior’s marching orders are: “Go, preach, teach.”

In our own country there are more than 70,000,000 people
who claim no church affiliation of any kind. There are ten States
where seven out of every ten people are unchurched. There are