# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1998_S25 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) SYNODICAL REPORTS congregations locate appropriate personnel for their school ministry. _ New District school executives were provided a two-day orientation and a variety of resources to use as they work with schools in their Districts. _ New Urban Lutheran School Initiatives included annual consultations of urban Lutheran school administrators and the Isolated Urban Administrators Project. This project assembles 12 urban Lutheran school administrators, who are isolated from similar schools, each quarter for three years for a two-day in-service on site at these isolated urban schools. . The second National Lutheran Administrator's Academy was developed under the Department of School Ministry’s direction and in cooperation with the Lutheran Education Administrators Department (LEAD) of the Lutheran Education Association. . More effective partnering with District school executives, Concordia Publishing House, Lutheran Education Association, and the Association of Lutheran Secondary Schools includes frequent communications, jointly produced resources, and cooperation in a variety of ways. Projects with the executives include agreement among all school executives to a new set of Call Rubrics to use when Lutheran school educators are interested in relocation. A joint product with Concordia Publishing House is the revised Integrating the Faith: A Teachers Guide for Curriculum in Lutheran Schools. A joint project with ALSS is the identification and training for new leaders of Lutheran high schools. Joint projects with LEA include the National Lutheran Administrator’s Academy, the Early Childhood Leadership Academy, planning for the LEA convocation, and cooperative publicity for various events. . The accreditation process provided by National Lutheran School Accreditation for Lutheran high schools was totally revised with new materials. . The Department of School Ministry now has a web page on the Internet, including a school locator service which will help parents interested in local Lutheran schools find those that meet their needs. . The Early Childhood Leadership Academy was developed and led for over 200 directors of Lutheran early childhood centers. Significant Goals 1. 2 3. 4 Continue the Genesis Project for the 10-year duration for which it was planned . Gather consultants to design a new theme for National Lutheran Schools Week for the next several years List all Lutheran school educators on the computer database . Provide services to LCMS District Presidents who have no school executive available to assist them in their ministry to Lutheran school educators X. Stewardship Ministry Department Larry Reinhardt is director and Ronald Nelson is associate di- rector. The department coordinates a program of education and nurture in biblical stewardship with Districts for their congregations, de- veloping resources to help Christians manage God’s gifts. Significant Accomplishments 1. 2. Assembled aTask Force to develop a draft of Biblical Steward- ship Principles Recruited authors from the field to write 52 stewardship Bible studies for a collection entitled God First to be released by CPH in 1998 Assembled a “think tank” to assist with the concept, format, and content of a training video to help congregational stewardship committees become more efficient and effective in their work . Worked with our counterparts in ELCA to articulate biblical stewardship principles which are relevant for the Hispanic culture 5. 10. 25 Worked with the Black Ministry Commission to articulate biblical stewardship principles which are relevant for the African-American culture . Developed workshop and conference presentations that emphasize stewardship as whole-life, year-round, and for all ages, as well as looking at the world with stewardship eyes . Developed a stewardship e-mail network to provide up-to- date stewardship information to District and congregational stewardship leaders . Developed a stewardship home page which includes, among other items, our catalog of resources _ Conducted visits to 15 Districts for the purposes of building relationships, mutually evaluating stewardship ministry, and sharing resources Prepared and gave presentations at the 1997 Great Commis- sion Convocation ‘ Significant Resources 1. 10. “Biblical Stewardship Principles” for study and use by congregations, agencies, auxiliaries and entities of the LCMS. . “Stewardship Every Sunday” booklet containing stewardship ideas, illustrations, and anecdotes on one of the lessons from Series C for every Sunday of the church year. . “Stewardship Ideas for Kids”—a collection of stewardship helps for children from preschool through sixth grade. .. | Never Thought about It That Way Before video designed to help viewers see stewardship in a new light, which prompts them to respond by saying, “I never thought about it that way before.” . With a Grateful Heart video to serve as a centerpiece for the 1997 resource “Serving the Living Lord,” or as a stand-alone piece for teaching biblical stewardship. . “Serving the Living Lord’—the 1997 annual stewardship resource designed to assist congregations with the work of stewardship nurture and education. . Additional stand-alone Bible studies for the “Christian Stewards Encounter” series, which will contain 48 studies on the most asked about stewardship issues. . Eleven new tracts designed to be used throughout the year to teach whole-life stewardship. “Equipping God's People for Ministry”—a brochure designed to promote the work of the various departments of Congregational Services and to seek additional financial support for expanding this work. “Biblical Stewardship Principles for the African-American Culture"—produced by a task force assembled by the Black Ministry Commission and added as an additional chapter to the Congregational Stewardship Workbook. Significant Goals I. To encourage pastors and congregational leaders to deal with stewardship nurture and education as whole-life, year-round, and for all ages . To provide additional forums for listening to District and congregational leaders as they define the kinds of resources and services still needed to enhance stewardship ministry at the congregational level . To develop resources and approaches to stewardship nurture and education which are appropriate and applicable in multicultural settings . To strengthen the working relationships with District stewardship leaders as our primary partners . To foster increased communication and networking through the use of latest technology, such as an electronic mail network and the potential benefits associated with it . To increase financial support of our shared ministries at District, national, and international levels XI. Youth Ministry Department LeRoy Wilke is director; Julie Johnston is associate director for servant events/gathering arrangements; Terry Dittmer is Associate Director; and David Weidner is associate director, youth gathering.