# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2019_S168
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

168

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
••

Rejoiced in the Texas District Church Extension
Fund disbursement of $62 million in loans to assist
55 ministries and $175,100 in mission support gifts
during the past triennium.

It is imperative that the impact of Hurricane Harvey is
mentioned in this report. August 2017 saw the most geographically far-reaching natural disaster in the history of the United
States devastate Texas. The generous response from LCMS
brothers and sisters from around the nation was a testimony
to our life together and to our loving devotion to one another.
The heroic action of congregations, individuals, and agencies in
Texas gave bold witness to our triune God and His outstretched
arm of grace and salvation. The district’s partnership with
LCMS Disaster Response has been effective and encouraging.
One year after Harvey, more than 100,000 volunteer hours have
been logged. More than 325 households have been helped. Tens
of thousands of pieces of sheetrock have been hung. More than
$1.5 million has been donated and distributed to people and
ministries in need. The Texas District thanks all who have given
and continue to give time, talent, treasure, and prayer to bless
many.
The Texas District has also diligently implemented 2016
LCMS Convention resolutions. It has
••

Upheld the balance of unity and freedom in worship
through conversation and conferential gatherings in
the district (Res. 4.04A).

••

Seen the pursuit of the Koinonia project on the circuit level and in Council of Presidents gatherings (Res.
4-05A).

••

Realized a strengthening of Lutheran ethos in
schools through the dedicated work of Dr. Bill Hinz,
district director of school ministry, and the many
conferential events that encourage, train, and provide
leadership for schools and educators throughout the
Texas District (Res. 8-01A).

••

Assisted church workers on candidate status with
pastoral care and in receiving calls (Res. 12-02A).

••

Rejoiced as four lay deacons became ordained pastors, and saw nearly every licensed lay deacon become
enrolled in a track toward ordination (Res. 13-02).

Goals for the Future
The Texas District is joyfully implementing the Synod’s
vision and purpose in the unique context of Texas. From the
West Texas plains and oil fields to growing metropolitan areas,
and from the U.S.-Mexico border to coastal ports and the piney
woods, LCMS congregations and members are extending the
Gospel witness far and wide. As the state of Texas experiences
dramatic population growth and an increasingly diverse landscape, the new goal of the district, paying tribute to the 500th
anniversary of the Reformation, is to see the development of
500 new servant-leaders who will reach 500 new communities with the Gospel by the 125th anniversary of the district in
2031. In addition to church planting and local congregational
outreach, this goal includes heeding the 2013 Res. 4-06A Task
Force Report to the Synod that recommended “a major emphasis in lay training programs be placed on the role of evangelist
2019 Convention Workbook

and the task of outreach in the increasingly diverse and challenging world of the U.S.”
This new Texas District goal is also founded in part on implementing 2016 Res. 13-01A as we make every effort to “facilitate lay training on both local and district levels and to establish
new opportunities for lay people to make use of their gifts in
evangelism and service to the church.”
Our prayer is that to the greatest possible degree, by God’s
grace and through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Texas District will give bold witness by word and deed to the love and
work of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and extend that
Gospel witness into all the world.
Michael W. Newman, President

R55

Wyoming District
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort
from love, any participation [koinonia] in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind,
having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind”
(Philippians 2:1–2). Truthful doctrine and humble obedience to
God’s Word gives us great joy, because thus we live in God’s
will for us. In the Wyoming District we rejoice in the mercies of
God that we are able to preach God’s Word purely and freely.
Our pastors are free to practice closed communion without
constraints, in public witness of the pure doctrine of Scriptures
and in our love to our neighbors. Our congregation members
gather faithfully to hear and study God’s Word, to receive the
sacraments, to pray for their churches and communities, to give
generously to support their congregations and the mission commitments of the district, and to offer their talents and their lives
in love to their neighbors in home, church, and community.
We rejoice that we are part of a Confessional Lutheran
Synod that strives to honor her commitment to the clear, verbally inspired Scriptures and her unconditional, quia subscription
to the Symbols contained in the Book of Concord of 1580. We
are particularly grateful to Synod for resolving in the 2016 Convention to restore among us a faithful confession and practice
concerning Augsburg Confession Article XIV (13-02A). We are
thankful that our Synod continues to teach and confess what
God teaches us in Holy Scriptures regarding marriage, life, and
family, and that our Synod seeks to defend our ability to worship freely, live with clear consciences bound by God’s Word,
and confess these convictions publicly in our communities (1401, 14-02A, 14-03A, 14-04, 14-08A). We are privileged to share
in the Synod’s mission labors that begin on our own doorstep,
stretch across our country, and extend to many places throughout the world.
The Wyoming District rejoices to join in the work approved
and urged in the resolutions of the 2016 LCMS Convention:
••

Congregations and the district support mission work
in various places, calling and providing for a missionary to the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, supporting our campus congregation at the University of
Wyoming, and sending our pastors to teach pastors
in Liberia and Sierra Leone (2-02).