# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1956_S378
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

378 MISSIONS

An area evangelism mission combines visitation evangelism
with a preaching mission and adds the all-important phase — the
training of the laity and the pastors for an ongoing, year-round
evangelism program. It seeks to help congregations enlist and
train lay members and to send them forth to witness of their faith
among the unreached. Usually the effort runs from Sunday through
Thursday or Friday and includes these three phases:

Preaching — Each participating congregation conducts a preach-
ing mission Sunday through Thursday or Friday evening, nightly
sermons being delivered by a guest pastor (missioner) assigned
by Synod’s Department of Evangelism upon nomination of the
local church.

Teaching — Lay witnesses are given thorough instruction be-
fore and during the mission on how to witness; pastors (host and
guest) meet three hours each morning for a seminar on evan-
gelism, with emphasis on making it a continuous year-round pro-
gram in the local congregation.

Reaching — Lay witnesses enlisted from the membership of
the congregation are assigned calls from the church’s responsibility-
prospect list each day of the mission, and a careful record is kept
of these calls.

We herewith present a summary report of the nine area mis-
sions that have already been conducted.

Report on Area Evangelism Missions
Western

Alton New York Sioux City Lincoln
Hlinois (Buffalo) Towa Nebraska
4 /24-28 10 /23-28 1/22-27 1/29—2/3
1955 1955 1956 1956
8951956
Number of Congregations __ 9 34 9 10
Number of Lay Visitations _ 219 3,068 663 848
Number of Calls Assigned __ 1,406 4,071 918 1,357
Number of Calls Completed 1,073 2,678 580 790
Number of Persons Inter-
viewed _. 2,156 4,232 1,150 1,715
Number Enrolling for Pas-
tor’s Class __ _ 36 166 130 78
Number Desiring Member-
ship Through Transfer
and Reaffirmation of Faith 39 319 138 93
Number of Children for
Baptism 0 33 198 87 67
Number of Children for:
Sunday School _ _ 89 357 109 137
Number in Attendance ___ 4,750 21,843 4,129 6,692
Offering $1,276.68 $6,967.18 $1,277.00 $1,874.06

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