# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2016_S45
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
by MA and COMM, will continue until the LCEF line of credit is
paid off.
Other Special Initiatives

MA is coordinating the initial fund-raising work to launch and
ultimately sustain a confessing Lutheran presence in Washington DC
under the name “Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty,” or LCRL.
Through December 2015, donor engagement efforts resulted in cash
gifts totaling $1,054,057 toward a $2.2 million goal, excluding written or verbal commitments of future support.
COMMUNICATIONS
How We Serve
News and Information

The news and information of the Synod—involving its many
ministries, auxiliaries, partners, and recognized service organizations—provide a steady stream of content for a variety of audiences
and is delivered through the following media outlets:
Church Information Center—lcms.org/cic
o Year-round call center and email responses to questions, concerns, and
information coming into the Synod
o More than 34,000 queries answered in the past triennium:
62 percent laity queries
15 percent clergy queries
12 percent church or school staff queries
11 percent from others
Reporter (print and online)—blogs.lcms.org/reporter
o Official newspaper of the LCMS
o News and action of the Synod offices, boards, ministries, and task
forces
o Mailing list: professional church workers, lay leaders, convention delegates, subscribers, and others
o Monthly circulation: 34,000
o Completely redesigned in 2013
o Most-read stories this triennium (on Reporter Online):
• “Harrison releases letter on landmark Supreme Court ruling.”
Unique page views: 54,328.
• Commentary: “Should Lutherans take ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ ”?
Unique page views: 50,498.
• “Lutheran Hour float wins Rose Parade award.” Unique page
views: 17,227.
• “Pastor provides care after plane crash with 7-year-old survivor.”
Unique page views: 14,850.
• Movie review on “Fury” (one of 33 film reviews by the Rev. Ted
Giese we have run thus far). Unique page views: 14,260.
The Lutheran Witness (print and online)—cph.org/witness/
o The official magazine of the LCMS—now in its 135th year of continuous publication
o Mission statement: “Providing Missouri Synod laypeople with stories
and information that complement congregational life, foster personal
growth in faith and help interpret the contemporary world from a
Lutheran Christian perspective.”
o Monthly circulation: 106,500
o Catechetical, theological content
o Official Notices
Lutherans Engage the World—blogs.lcms.org/category/lutherans-engage
o Bimonthly magazine for LCMS rostered workers, donors, and other
supporters
o Mission Statement: “Engaging the church in the work of witness
and mercy throughout the world in our life together as The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod.”

45

o Circulation: 63,000
Journal of Lutheran Mission—blogs.lcms.org/category/journal-oflutheran-mission
o Online quarterly theological journal focused on the theology of
mission
Global Content Feed—blogs.lcms.org
o A central, online collection of several news and information sources:
• Publications:
•	
Reporter, The Lutheran Witness, Lutherans Engage the
World, Journal of Lutheran Mission
• LCMS Leader Blog: blogs.lcms.org/category/leader-blog
• National News and Information Blog: blogs.lcms.org/category/
ministry-news/national
• International News and Information Blog: blogs.lcms.org/
category/ministry-news/international
Life Together monthly digital-news digest from the Synod President
o A subscription-based online compendium of the top stories and other
highlights from multiple communications outlets of the church.
Includes stories, photos, videos, links to KFUO-AM radio programming, etc. (More on this digest below.)
Pressroom—blogs.lcms.org/category/pressroom
o Online source for official communications:
• Office of the President
• Official statements
• Press releases
Social Media
o
o
o
o

LCMS Facebook page with 100,000-plus followers
15 unique ministry Facebook pages
Twitter page with nearly 14,000 followers
Instagram

Ministry Support

We support the communication needs of some 25 Synod ministries and mission regions in various ways:
Training Materials
Working with ministry leaders, we write, edit, design, and produce
training materials to enhance witness and mercy work:
o Printed and digital manuals, PowerPoint slides, videos
o Examples:
• Mercy in Action disaster-response training manuals
• What Is This? Looking at Life in the Womb, a curriculum-andvideo resource from LCMS Life Ministry
Event Support
Ministry-sponsored conferences, gatherings, and donor events are enhanced and supported in various ways:
o
o
o
o
o

Publicity
Signage
Participant materials/resources
News reporting
Examples:
• 2015 Life Conference/March for Life in Washington DC
• Dedication of the Old Latin School in Wittenberg, Germany—an
event receiving extensive on-the-scene coverage, including a live
video stream available worldwide and watched by some 10,000
people

Webpages
In cooperation and collaboration with the offices, ministries, and mission regions of the Synod, we create, manage, and update more than
1,500 webpages on lcms.org that have been viewed nearly 36 million
times by a global and growing audience in the last triennium. Content
includes the following:
o Ministry information

2016 Convention Workbook