# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2019_S42 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 42 OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS To that end, RSTM partners with the districts of the LCMS in order to provide support for these rural and smalltown congregations. This is so that they are supplied with the necessary resources to carry out mission and ministry in their specific context. In order to provide that support, training, and equipping, RSTM provides the following resources: Our primary training vehicles are our Engaging Your Community (EYC) and Engaging the Wandering (ETW) events. These day-long interactive seminars encourage congregational leaders to examine how their congregations reach out to those around them, be they members who have wandered away or the community at large. The EYCs encourage congregation leadership to examine their communities and demographics, and consider ways in which they can serve the unique needs of those communities, identify the assets with which their congregation has been blessed and make a plan to utilize those resources to actively engage their community. Herein, RSTM assists those congregations in attendance to utilize practical approaches to develop an action plan to engage their community with the Gospel. The ETWs encourage congregations to do self-examination regarding the motivation for reaching out to those who have absented themselves from the congregation’s life. Through scriptural study, participants recognize why this ministry is an imperative. They are also educated on the varying reasons why members become inactive and are coached on methods of securing congregational participation and methodology for reaching out to inactive members. During the past triennium, RSTM has partnered with 18 districts to host over 20 events. These events assisted more than 600 participants representing nearly 150 congregations. While the EYC is our primary event, RSTM also takes advantages of invitations to provide training through other events such as pastors conferences at the district and circuit level, congregational mission festivals, and LWML and LLL events, such as zone and district rallies. We have even conducted the worship service twice at the Missouri State Fair in partnership with the MO District LLL as well as the Nebraska State Fair in conjunction with the NE District LLL. We have presented at numerous regional and district mission festivals and convocations throughout several districts in the last triennium. We have also presented and preached at a number of regional Reformation Day convocations and celebrations. Another way RSTM provides rural- and small-town-specific training, support, and resources for our congregations is through our annual National Rural and Small Town Mission Festival. Held in November each year, the National Mission Conference has hosted nearly 500 participants representing dozens of congregations and districts. Through these events, participants have grown and been encouraged through exploring the themes of “Standing Where You Are Planted: Living Your Vocation Where God Has Planted You,” “Standing On Our Heritage: It’s Still All About Jesus,” and “Have No Fear: With God All Things Are Possible.” These conferences bring together best practices and practitioners in a broad range of ministry areas and then share and connect with rural and smalltown congregations, so that professional church workers and lay leaders in these settings will be trained to understand their role in rural culture, help trigger surface changes that lead to productive outreach ministry, and most importantly, lead dynamic change by being in God’s Word. 2019 Convention Workbook RSTM continues its initiative to support church workers, which was kicked off in 2015 at the first National Worker Priest Respite Retreat. In partnership with Grace Place Wellness Ministries, LCMS RSTM will again be hosting a bi-vocational pastor’s retreat for pastors and their families who are currently engaged in that unique type of ministry. Because bi-vocational pastors and their families are seldom supported in the very unique challenges of that type of ministry model, RSTM sought to provide for them a time of rest and retreat. RSTM will also be endeavoring to explore and research the future needs for bivocational ministry as well as varying staffing models for rural and small-town congregations. RSTM is also looking into research possibilities and concepts for parish partnership models, including multisite models as well as partnerships made up of larger congregations assisting and supporting small ones within their region. In order to provide a consistent stream of practical ideas and resources to rural and small-town congregations, RSTM hosts monthly live webinars on timely and important topics as well as providing the opportunity for people to view the archived webinars from the RSTM website. Congregations have reported they use the archives for things such as elder training and Bible study. There have been a wide range of topics covered, and they have reached people from coast to coast. These webinars have covered topics which range from how to best put together congregational publications to assimilating new members to care for church workers and their families. Another way we strive to communicate timely resources is through our RSTM newsletters. We publish a quarterly printed newsletter, which includes resources and information about the work of RSTM congregations. We also publish a Monthly ENews, which is a brief newsletter which continually provides information and ideas about particular themes related to mission and ministry in rural and small-town areas. We continue to provide resources, updates, and archives of our materials through the RSTM page on the LCMS website. This provides a place for us to direct people for the calendar of events and archives of newsletters, webinars, and other forms of media. We also utilize the RSTM Facebook page to facilitate the sharing information regarding our events and services, other LCMS entities and pertinent information about RSTM, the LCMS, and our faith lives. Our Facebook page is currently being followed by over 1,500 users. In an effort to promote continuity of support as well as provide another avenue for training and resources, RSTM continues to develop and strengthen relationships with district rural and small-town mission task forces. We are also providing training to districts which currently do not have these groups to promote the support of RSTM congregations. RSTM is also endeavoring to assist pastors in their transitions to rural and small-town congregations. To this end, RSTM has hosted rural immersions for seminarians which seek to familiarize these new future pastors with the climate and rigors of RSTM pastorates, congregations, and rural and small-town life in general. RSTM also has partnered with Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, to provide on-campus instruction for seminarians as well. RSTM also developed, in conjunction with LCMS Urban and Inner City Mission and LCMS Post-Seminary Applied Learning and Support, a resource for new pastors transitioning into the parish.