# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2019_S144
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

144

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

sible through the initiative of the South Dakota District Main
Street Living group.
We rejoice in our efforts to foster a spirit of unity and freedom through presentations and discussions at our conferences
and circuit meetings regarding worship forms and orders.
We rejoice in our cooperative work with our Lutheran
schools to encourage and support our non-rostered teachers to
go through the colloquy process to obtain roster status which
helps to foster a Lutheran ethos.
We rejoice that we are able to offer financial assistance to
individuals from the district who are preparing at our seminaries and universities for full-time church work vocations.

PRAY:
We pray for a church worker so that we may continue work
in reaching out to our Native American population.
We pray for our outreach efforts through Every One His
Witness, Re:Vitality, and Engaging Your Community Training
Workshops.
We pray for our partnership with the Office of International Mission working in Puerto Rico.
We pray for the expansion of our Bring It Home program
for promoting and increasing family and personal devotions.
We pray for our ongoing training for lay leaders through
Spiritual Lay Leadership Seminars led by Ambassadors of Reconciliation.
We pray for our church workers and the resources we offer
for their spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being: church
worker care coordinator; congregational care counselor; Sowers
Fund (financial assistance in times of need); Ministerial Health
Commission; financial assistance to attend Doxology, Grace
Place, Shepherd’s Canyon; church workers’ wives retreat; PALS
program; Christian counselors/therapists recommended list;
health screening at state pastors’ conference; retirement planning workshops; new workers’ orientation; retired workers’ appreciation luncheon (which takes place at the close of the new
workers’ orientation bringing together both those beginning
ministry and those whose service has concluded); mental health
seminars; opportunity to “get away” at no cost at Lutheran
Island Camp; continuing education seminars; assessment tool
and online course to deal with Compassion Fatigue.
We pray for a potential partnership with Lutheran Family
Services of Iowa in an effort to utilize their expertise in such
areas as counseling, adoption services, training for care-givers,
and addressing life issues from the unborn to those nearing
death.
We pray for the work of Pastor Fred Hinz who serves the
Minnesota North and South Districts as our Public Policy Advocate and the Public Policy Committee who monitor governmental issues and provide resources and responses to actions
proposed or taken by our state legislators.
We pray for our Synod/District Life Coordinator, Pastor
Jason Wolter, who provides resources to our congregations,
ministries, and church workers for promoting the sanctity of
life.
We pray for our Lord’s grace and blessing as we serve Him
with joy!

GIVE THANKS:
We give thanks for our retired church workers who will2019 Convention Workbook

ingly continue to serve our Lord and His church.
We give thanks for our C.R.O.S.S. (Congregations Reaching Out to Support Schools) Appeal to assist our seven Lutheran
elementary schools as mission outposts. Over $80,000 has been
received from congregations in the district.
We give thanks for our partnership with the North Dakota
District and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya in supporting Project 24 and Christ’s Care for Children: Kenya, as we
seek to build a total of 24 centers in Kenya and provide for the
needs of at-risk children.
We give thanks for the opportunity to help make the Wittenberg Project a reality.
We give thanks for the gifts given to support the work of
seminary professor James Cerdenola of the Lutheran Church
of the Philippines and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and
School in Cotton Tree, Liberia, along with Pastor James Kollie
and his family.
We give thanks for our Bring It Home Devotional Bible
Study Program which has over 500 people on the weekly mailing list who have purchased over 3,500 copies between The
Story Bible or Know the Bible Now. Thank you to Concordia
Publishing House for working with us. One of the aspects of
this project was to encourage individuals and congregations to
purchase additional copies to give away as an outreach tool.
We give thanks for Beverly Olsen and the over 32 years of
faithful service in the district office. Bev retired August 1, 2018.
Here We Stand: On Christ Alone…Our Cornerstone (2018
District Convention Theme)…with “Joy:fully Lutheran: Rejoicing, Praying, and Giving Thanks!”
S.D.G.
Donald J. Fondow, President

R34

Minnesota South District
In the 2015–18 triennium, the Minnesota South District
planted new churches and ministries, strengthened the mission
of existing congregations and schools, and built concord and
harmony through a variety of projects—including our districtwide Koinonia Project 2.0, engaging in significant visitation,
2016 Year of Wellness, and To All Generations initiative. Our
mission statement, “Cultivating leaders intentionally engaged
in the mission of God,” guided our support of pastors (410),
commissioned workers (592), and lay leaders (from 246 congregations and 88 schools/centers).

Implementation of Synod Resolutions and Bylaws
LCMS Bylaw 4.4.4: Visitation. Circuit and congregational
visits by district staff in the 2015–18 triennium confirmed the
three challenges discovered in our 2014–15 visits:
1.

Declining or plateaued worship attendance

2.

Aging membership

3.

Financial stress

Our 2015–18 visits addressed these challenges with grassroots input and approaches appropriate to different ministry
settings. One culmination of these visits was a report, available