# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_2001_S153 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) HIGHER EDUCATION tinue to bestow the gifts of full-time church workers to His church; and be it further Resolved, That each congregation in general and each pastor in particular seek to identify, to encourage, and to recruit people within the church to be full-time workers in the Lord’s harvest field; and be it further Resolved, That congregations and individuals be encouraged to increase support for church work students by sending offerings to endowments for the training and education of church workers and by participating in adopt-a-student programs through our synodical schools; and be it finally Resolved, That all action taken in this resolution shall be used to help carry out “The Great Commission” and shall not in any way detract or distract from the primary mission of God’s kingdom here on earth. We will remember 1-02! Action: Adopted (7) (An amendment to add Resolved, That one-fourth of the gifts received in the current “For the Sake of the Church” drive be equally divided between our two seminaries for their endowment programs as a final resolve was defeated. The resolution was adopted without amendment [yes: 1,079; no: 38]. The final resolved is added as required by Res. 1-02, adopted by the convention in an earlier session.) To Extend the Mission of the Church Through the Educational System RESOLUTION 5-08 Overture L5-69 (TB, pp. 37–38) WHEREAS, The colleges, universities, and seminaries of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod need to prepare church workers to respond to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ and to prepare disciples to extend Christ’s kingdom to every continent of the world; and WHEREAS, These church workers need to be educated in the culture, history, and language of various countries; and WHEREAS, One example would be the Spanish-speaking constituency that is multiplying in every area of our country as evidenced by the United States Census Bureau, which stated that between July 1, 1990, and July 1, 1999, the Hispanic population grew by 38.8 percent to 31.3 million people, second only to the growth of the Asian population; furthermore, in six states the Hispanic population more than doubled; and WHEREAS, Education for missions begins with the congregations, preschools, elementary and secondary schools, colleges, universities, and seminaries of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod; therefore be it Resolved, That the mission of the church be implemented and expedited through the teaching of history, culture, and languages in the educational offerings of the academic institutions of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod; and be it further Resolved, That additional educational offerings be made available to train church workers in the Concordia University System to understand and teach Spanish as well as other languages; and be it further Resolved, That the Board for Higher Education encourage the Synod’s colleges, universities, and seminaries to make this a priority in their annual budgets to provide aca- 153 demic offerings in the language and history of the various cultures of the world for the purpose of extending the mission of Jesus Christ; and be it finally Resolved, That all action taken in this resolution shall be used to help carry out “The Great Commission” and shall not in any way detract or distract from the primary mission of God’s kingdom here on earth. We will remember 1-02! Action: Adopted as amended (9) (The resolution was amended by adding the words congregations, preschools, elementary and secondary schools, to the fourth whereas before the word colleges. It was then adopted [yes: 874; no: 52]. The final resolve is added as required by Res. 1-02, adopted by the convention in an earlier session.) To Increase Synodical Financial Support for Its Institutions of Higher Learning RESOLUTION 5-09A Overtures 5-56–60 (CW, pp. 224–25) WHEREAS, One of the purposes for the creation of the Synod was to “recruit and train pastors, teachers and other professional church workers and provide opportunity for their continuing growth” (LCMS Constitution, Art. III 3); and WHEREAS, There is today a pressing need for professional workers and lay leaders to serve in the congregations of our Synod; and WHEREAS, There is also a pressing need for these leaders to be well-grounded in the theology and practice of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions; and WHEREAS, The Concordias of our church body are the places where such preparation occurs; and WHEREAS, For a number of years, financial support for educational institutions of our Synod has declined steadily to approximately 3% of the operating costs thereof for fiscal year 2000–2001 and is projected to decline to 0% for fiscal year 2002–2003; therefore be it Resolved, That the Synod in convention requests that the Synod’s Board of Directors allocate additional funds to the BHE/CUS Board in order that it will be able to provide a direct subsidy for the seminaries, colleges, and universities to maintain a strong bond between the Synod and those institutions that prepare its church workers and lay leaders; and be it further Resolved, That all action taken in this resolution shall be used to help carry out “The Great Commission” and shall not in any way detract or distract from the primary mission of God’s kingdom here on earth. We will remember 1-02! Action: Adopted (10) (An amendment was proposed to replace the first resolve with the following: Resolved, That the Synod in convention directs that the Synod’s Board of Directors endeavor to find additional funds for the BHE/CUS Board in order that it will be able to provide a direct subsidy for the seminaries, colleges, and universities to maintain a strong bond between the congregations of the Synod and those institutions which prepare its church workers and key leaders who “Tell the Good News about Jesus” to us, to our neighbors, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The amendment failed and the resolution was adopted as presented [yes: 839; no: 216]. The final resolve is added as required by Res. 1-02, adopted by the convention in an earlier session.) 200l Convention Proceedings