# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2004_S47 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) SYNODICAL REPORTS 47 Partner Church Bodies * In 2002, in partnership with LCMS World Mission, The Lutheran Church of Nigeria sent Rev. Samuel Essien, its first foreign mis- sionary, to The Gambia to work with a group of Christians who had requested LCMS assistance in church planting and leadership development. (The group used an Internet Café to find the LCMS via the LCMS Web site.) By 2003, The Lutheran Church in The Gambia had seven preaching stations with a total of about 280 worshippers, as well as a nursery school and a primary school. Five lay preachers trained by Rev. Essien are serving the stations. One Gambian candidate has been chosen by the Gam- bian church to be trained at the Jonathon Ekong Memorial Lutheran Seminary in Nigeria. In 2000, when a Lutheran family in Toledo, Spain, laid the foun- dation for a Lutheran mission in Spain to be established, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina (IELA) responded by sending a missionary to plant a congregation and extend outreach into other areas of Spain. By 2003, members of the growing church body came from Madrid, Seville, Cantabria, Andalucia, and Asturias. LCMS World Mission partners with the IELA by providing financial support for the mission. It also enlisted the expertise of Dr. Arthur Just of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., to assist with missionary training for three months in 2002. Balanced Focus Plan—Mission Responders Focus Educate, encourage, and equip LCMS individuals, congregations, Districts, and other entities to actively build the capacity of tbe LCMS to be a partner in reaching 100 million people. The third focus of the Balanced Focus Plan is the mission re- sponders’ focus. Mission responders are Christians who respond to God’s grace by involvement in His mission through one or more of the Seven Mission Responses—Go, Pray, Learn, Give, Tell, Send, and Celebrate. Through Ablaze! LCMS World Mission is inviting every member of every LCMS congregation to be person- ally involved and to “own” the mission in one or more of these ways. , This type of mission involvement is a win/win/win/win! It is a win for the LCMS as congregations, groups, and individuals are meaningfully involved; it’s a win for the mission fields that are re- ceiving needed personnel, funding, and support, based on their strategies; it’s a win for LCMS World Mission staff, including re- gional directors who need help to support missionary efforts; and it’s a win for the lost as God’s mission is done more effectively. Current and ongoing work includes the development of a na- tional Mission Responders’ Network to engage various segments of the LCMS in mission response. A new model for short-term mission assignments utilizing small-group principles is also in de- velopment to create more “Go” opportunities for LCMS members to be strategically involved in LCMS mission fields. Both national and international sites for short-term mission teams are being iden- tified. Participants will become part of the Mission Responders’ Network and commit to training new groups in the model. Balanced Focus Plan—People Focus Identify and develop people who have the expertise and capacity to link partners, mission responders, and resources to mission opportunities in a creative and innovative manner. This focus pertains to LCMS World Mission staff, missionar- ies, volunteers, and those who minister on behalf of LCMS World Mission. LCMS World Mission desires to raise up people who have the ability to do mission and ministry in all settings in cre- ative and innovative ways. By training people and empowering them to do their work more effectively, we move toward accom- plishing the goal of sharing the Good News of Jesus with 100 mil- lion unreached or uncommitted people by the year 2017. T.E.A.M.—Together Everyone Achieves More Following the downsizing of 50 percent of the St. Louis admin- istrative staff (from 64 full-time equivalent staff members to 32), which was precipitated by budget challenges in 2002 and 2003, the St. Louis staff was restructured in 2003 into new work teams. Through this realignment, work teams are not only committed in- dividually to what they do separately, but are also committed to what their teammates are doing on a daily basis. Every work team is assigned a specific area to “own’”—administration, communica- tion, personnel, Ministry to the Armed Forces, international, and national missions—but ownership doesn’t end with each team’s specific area of responsibility and expertise. The entire mission staff owns and is committed to the success of the whole mission and to all team members. Synod budget challenges in 2002-03 also brought about the dif- ficult decision to downsize overseas missionaries from 105 career units to 74 career units. (See “Funding Trends for the Triennium,” below.) LCMS World Mission utilizes long- and short-term volun- teer missionaries, who significantly aid the work of career mis- sionaries and partner churches. Budget cuts did not significantly impact the work of these volunteer missionaries. In the future, LCMS World Mission plans to make greater use of the gifts and talents God has given His church by using volunteers on a scale never envisioned before. LCMS World Mission will substantially increase the opportunities for both long- and short-term volunteer missionary involvement in LCMS and partner church mission fields in a strategic, collaborative, and helpful way. Personnel Statistics for the Triennium ¢ Prior to 2003, there were 105 career missionary units (a family, couple, or single person). * Prior to 2003, the number of staff members based at the LCMS World Mission headquarters at the International Center in St. Louis, Mo., was 64 full-time equivalents. ° As of Jan. 2004, 74 career units are serving in 32 countries. * As of Jan. 2004, the number of staff based in St. Louis is 32 full- time equivalents. ¢ In 2004, 128 long-term volunteer missionaries are serving in 28 countries. ¢ In 2004, 130 international educators are serving schools in seven countries. ¢ In 2003, 52 short-term volunteer missionaries served in LCMS fields. «In 2003, 344 “guests” traveled to LCMS fields for short-term, specialized individual or group assignments in areas such as the- ological education, English-as-a-second language teaching, and medical missions. ¢ LCMS Ministry to the Armed Forces currently endorses 85 ac- tive-duty chaplains, 115 reserve and National Guard chaplains, 25 in Veterans Affairs ministry (10 full-time), and 25 Civil Air Patrol chaplains. Balanced Focus Plan—Leadership Focus Establish and put into practice a culture of leadership, accountable for fostering ideas, stretching people, and successfully achieving the Balanced Focus Plan. To further streamline the administrative structure—matching staffing needs to the new strategic plan—LCMS World Mission eliminated a dozen area-director positions in 2003 and replaced ‘them with “regional directors” for four world areas: Africa, Asia, Eurasia, and Latin America. Eliminated, effective Nov. 30, were the posts of six full-time and three part-time area directors, plus three vacant positions. The area directors, most of who were based overseas, were among those considered for the four regional direc- tor positions. The new directors, also deployed, will coordinate strategies, search out new mission opportunities, and work together 2004 Convention Workbook