# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2016_S63
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
unit directors including rural and small town ministry, youth ministry,
black ministry, school ministry, urban and inner-city ministry, stewardship, campus ministry, recognized service organizations (RSOs),
disaster response, church planting, witness and outreach, youth ministry, and life and health ministry. These reports are invaluable to the
board in reassessing and evaluating the policies for the work of the
Office of National Ministry.
The board also continues to set aside time at each scheduled
meeting for theological presentations that it believes are necessary
to keep the board focused on the mission of the Church. The theological presentations the board heard this past triennium included
presentations by Professor Detlev Schulz of Concordia Theological
Seminary, Fort Wayne; Professors Anthony Cook and Jeffrey Gibbs
of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; and the Rev. Kou Seying, Director
of Cross Cultural Ministries at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. The
board recently heard a very interesting presentation by the Rev. A. J.
Espinosa about the challenges the church faces as she tries to reach
the so-called millennials with the Gospel.
The board took several actions during this past triennium. The
board defined the process for extending calls to specialized pastoral ministers and subsequently extended calls via this process. The
board also passed several overtures to be considered by this convention. These included an overture to strengthen family ministry, a most
critical issue challenging the church today; a call for a task force for
procreation, fertility, and care for the unborn; an overture celebrating
the ministry of the Rev. Terry Dittmer, who is retiring from his faithful service to youth ministry in the LCMS; an overture to deal with
the continuity of board members and the process for filling vacancies left by members leaving the board; and an overture requesting
that the executive director serve as the representative of the BNM at
future synod conventions.
The board continues to value the dedicated service of the Rev. Bart
Day, who serves as the executive director of the Office of National
Mission. His faithfulness to our Lord’s Word and to the mission and
ministry of the congregations and schools of the LCMS is deeply
appreciated and invaluable to the BNM’s work of policy development and monitoring. The board also appreciates the guidance given
by the Synod’s Chief Mission Officer, the Rev. Kevin Robson. His
pastoral heart and good business sense are very helpful as the board
continues to work on its policies and in setting goals for the Office
of National Mission.
We also thank those members of the board who, for various reasons, had to leave the board this past triennium—Mr. Jim Tallmon, the
Rev. Tom Engler, and the Rev. Mark Bowditch. Their contributions to
the board’s discussions and policy development were greatly appreciated as the board worked during the past two trienniums to understand
it role as a policy-making board and to develop policies that would
enable the Office of National Mission to carry out its assigned duties
under the Bylaws to implement “the policies of the Board for National
Mission” (Bylaw 3.8.2.3). I would also like to take this opportunity
to thank all the current members of the board who work tirelessly
and faithfully to access the needs of the congregations and schools
and to devise policies that meet the many challenges that confront
the Church in this ever-changing society in which we live and serve
our risen Lord. The BNM is composed of very faithful, God-fearing,
dedicated men and women who desire to serve their Lord and the
saints gathered around Word and Sacrament in the LCMS. I personally thank God for each and every one of them.
As the Board for National Mission continues to serve the congregations and schools through the districts of the Synod, it prays that
the policies it develops will serve to enable the congregations and
schools of the Synod to repent, confess, and rejoice always, grounded

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on the Rock of the Church—our crucified and risen Lord Jesus. To
Him alone be all glory now and forever!
Steven C. Briel, Chair
R7

Board for International Mission
Due to the 2010 LCMS Convention decision to restructure, the
Board for Mission Services, Board for World Relief and Human Care,
and other program boards were combined into two independent policy-making boards—the Board for International Mission (BIM) and
the Board for National Mission (BNM). The Synod also established
two offices for the implementation of the respective boards’ policies and the mission and ministry emphases set by convention—the
Office of International Mission (OIM) and the Office of National
Mission (ONM).
For several years, the two boards met together as we worked to
figure out the full implications of restructuring and how the boards
related to the offices and to the Office of the President. We would be
remiss if we did not take this opportunity to thank Rev. Steven Briel,
the chairman of the BNM, and the board members for their good
humor and solicitousness. They worked hard and joined with us in
asking many questions and trying to understand how restructuring
could advance the proclamation of the Gospel and the church’s life
of mercy. The two boards stopped meeting together several years ago
except for one meeting after conventions when officers are installed.
The initial board members elected by convention or appointed
by the President of the Synod to serve on the BIM for six-year terms
according to regions determined at the convention are listed here:
Ms. Rose E. Adle (Great Lakes Region)
Mr. Kermit W. Almstedt (East Region)
Mr. David Bruns (South Region)
Mr. John W. Edson (President’s Representative)
Rev. Juan A. Gonzalez (East Region)
Rev. Michael Lange (West Region)
Mr. Phillip A. Magness (Great Lakes Region)
Ms. Lois Peacock (West Region)
Rev. Bernhard M. Seter (Great Plains Region)
Rev. John F. Temple (South Region)
Mr. Robert Van Gundy (Great Plains Region)

Rev. Lange resigned from the board after taking a call to a district office. Phillip Magness resigned from the board after taking a
call and leaving his region for another. Judge David Bruns resigned
from the board after being elected to a district office. All of these gentlemen exhibited the finest sense of churchmanship, good humor, joy
in the Lord, and dedication to “Witness, Mercy, and Life Together.”
They were and are missed. At the same time, God has provided able
regional replacements. We welcomed Rev. Dr. Jeff Shearier (West
Region), Mr. Allan Voss (Great Lakes Region), and Mr. Jerry Frese
(South Region).
In 2013, the board elected Rev. Seter as chair, Mr. Kermit Almsted
as vice-chair, and Mr. John Edson as secretary. They will serve until
September 2016.
The BIM’s authority and responsibility is set forth in Bylaw section 3.8.3. The BIM has been delegated four responsibilities: (1) to
determine policies for the OIM; (2) to assist the Office of the President
in identifying goals for the OIM; (3) to act as the only Synod sending agency through which workers and funds are sent to the foreign
mission areas of the Synod; and (4) to monitor, through oversight,
outcomes from the policies and goals implemented through the OIM.
Policies and goals are established through consultation with
the Office of the President, through OIM reports, and through the
2016 Convention Workbook