# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2010_S92
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

92

SYNOD REPORTS

• The Music Center is now home to a 38-rank Casavant Frères organ
with more than 2,000 pipes. The recital hall was renovated to house
the new instrument and is also home to a Steinway grand piano.
• Enrollment has continued to climb, reaching the second highest
total headcount in history at 1,717 in fall 2009; this includes a graduate college enrollment which has doubled in the last year.
• The seven-year On A Mission campaign was completed; it exceeded
its $60 million goal by more than 5 percent.
• Concordia Nebraska’s spot in the U.S. News & World Report Best
Colleges rankings continues to rise. CUNE is ranked number 16 in
the Midwest baccalaureate category in the 2010 rankings, improving three spots in the past three years.
• Concordia Nebraska students topped the nation in its number of
NAIA Scholar-Athletes in 2008–9, with 74. Concordia Nebraska
also holds the highest number of NAIA Scholar-Athletes of all time,
with 573.
• The University A Cappella Choir toured Spain, Austria, and Italy
in June 2009 and was awarded fourth and fifth place finishes at the
46th International Competition of Choral Singing in Spittal on der
Drau, Austria.
• The Center for Liturgical Art at Concordia Nebraska has continued
to produce a myriad of furnishings for churches all over the country, using God’s gifts of art and beauty to further share the truth of
His salvation. The Center created an altar, baptismal font, and ambo
for the LCMS chapel at its headquarters building in St. Louis, and
produced thousands of brightly colored “Bibelots” for sharing the
gospel in the U.S. and abroad.
Concordia University Education Network (CUEnet), Bend, OR—
Ray Halm, Senior Director
Major Achievements

• CUEnet completed construction on its new property, including a
4000-sq. ft. building with office space and a well-equipped studio
as well as a small rental house. This property provides CUEnet with
customized space within which to grow and work.
• Over 1,400 students have applied to the online colloquy program
since the program’s launch in 2001. To date, over 700 of those have
completed the program. Synod offices, district offices, and CUEnet
continue to work together to bring the colloquy program to more
teachers throughout the nation.
• CUEnet continues to gather significant grants and donations for colloquy scholarships and collaborative projects. From 2007–10, over
$700,000 was raised through the generosity of individual donors
and several foundations.
• CUEnet has improved its capabilities, its studio, and its equipment
to high-definition recording.
• CUEnet is working in collaboration with a significant donor foundation and Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, to
produce a multi-media confirmation program for the LCMS. The
confirmation program materials are being designed either to supplement a church’s existing confirmation program or to stand alone
as a confirmation curriculum.
• CUEnet has launched an online seminar program designed for
teachers who are not eligible for the colloquy program but who
can benefit from a fuller understanding of Lutheran doctrine and
the mission of Lutheran schools. Consideration is currently being
given to other possible audiences for additional seminar programs,
including Sunday School teachers, elders, and other lay leaders
within the church.

• CUEnet will be beta-testing a new program of online Bible study for
adult laity. Based on the colloquy program and called My Deeper
Faith, this program will provide in-depth theological courses asynchronously to anyone who desires it. Full launch of the program is
anticipated within the next 12 months.
Board for University Education / Concordia University System
Elmer Gooding, Chairman
Kurt J. Krueger, Executive Director/President
R5-03

Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support
The Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support (CMGS) is
fully supportive of and working toward the accomplishment of all
three of the President’s mission and ministry emphases. That which
is most closely connected to its work, however, is the emphasis on
renewal of the congregations of the LCMS. The commission’s efforts
are oriented toward the support and renewal of the church’s ministers (ordained and commissioned), through whom God has chosen
to “build up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11–12).
The Mission

The CMGS exists to
1. provide opportunity for the continuing education and vocational
growth of the church’s workers;
2. advocate and facilitate care and counsel for the church’s workers
to support them in the performance of their official duties; and
3. advocate and facilitate support for the personal well-being of the
church’s workers and their family members.
CMGS Purpose Statement

The CMGS helps the church’s workers learn and grow, serve well,
and be healthy, and advocates for the workers and their families.
CMGS Membership Changes

The following resigned their appointments to the commission during the course of the triennium:
Kim Marxhausen, Lincoln, NE
John Oberdeck, Milwaukee, WI*
Harvey Schmit, Canton, MI*

* Resignation from the commission was necessitated by a change
in the CMGS Policy Manual (October 2008), which now prohibits
participation at both the governance and operational levels. These
men elected to continue their service to the commission through its
Continuing Education Action Team.
Critical Targets and Goal Statements

In pursuit of its mission, the CMGS, in September 2009, adopted
the following critical targets with accompanying goal statements:
1. Relational Vitality—As Christ’s disciples in today’s culture,
church workers live in trust, respect, and love for one another.
2. Vocational Transitions—Church workers and their families are
intentionally supported in vocational transitions.
3. Wellness Promotion—Church workers and their families are
faithful stewards of their total health, emphasizing prevention and
self-care, and are role models for wellness in their communities.
4. Continuing Education for Church Workers—With the support
of and in partnership with the congregation, every professional
church worker is developing a service and learning plan which
will facilitate kingdom growth.

2010 Convention Workbook

2010 Convention.indb 92

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