# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2004_S134 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 134 MISSIONS effort approved by the Board of Directors of the Synod, and ad- ministered by the Mission Support Unit (assisted by Skystone Ryan, Inc.) with a goal of raising $100 million above the regular LCMS World Mission budget in time to celebrate God’s blessings by the 2010 synodical convention. Trinity St. Louis, MO 1-05 To Promote “Mission Outpost” Attitude for Congregations WHEREAS, God’s desire is that all be saved (1 Tim. 2:4) and only under the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12); and WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod desires all its baptized members, as part of the priesthood of all believers, to be about witnessing of their faith in Jesus Christ to each other and non-believers; and WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has as the structural foundation of its church body the gathering of baptized Christians in worshiping communities; and WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has always seen its schools as important educational and outreach ministries; and WHEREAS, Our worshiping communities, ministries and schools are not only ministries for the teaching and edification of the saints but provide the foundation for the laity to be involved in mission; therefore be it Resolved, That each worshiping community, ministry, and school within our Synod, being led by the Holy Spirit through a determined study of the Scriptures and prayer, not only understands that it is a mission outpost to all the unchurched, “‘in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) but sees that its own community is a mission field, today; and be it further Resolved, That the pastors, teachers, and other professional workers of the LCMS see as one of their responsibilities to train, enable, and encourage the laity involved within their worshiping community, ministry, or school to be missionaries sent out by that mission outpost; and be it further Resolved, That each worshiping community, ministry, and school within our Synod be encouraged—partnering with its other worshiping communities, its District, national missions within the Board for Mission Services, and other entities involved in ministry outreach—to develop one (if not multiple) new mission outreach objective(s) concentrating on connecting to the unchurched of its own community; and be it further Resolved, That, each District within our Synod become a re- source to worshiping communities, ministries, and schools thereby assisting them in expanding or establishing their vision for mission and ministry that fulfills Acts 1:8, and be it finally Resolved, That the Board for Mission Services working through the Center for U.S. Mission and other entities involved in similar ministry—being aware that God’s church today exists within an unchurched culture—be tasked with the responsibility to develop the necessary resources and training that will allow the worshiping communities, ministries, and schools to explore and implement their opportunity and responsibility to be mission outposts, so that we reach the goal that the laity of the LCMS * understand the diversity in our culture, * learn languages in order to witness and serve particular groups, * train leaders, and thereby effectively undertake the ministry of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Board of Directors, Iowa District West; Board of Directors, Southeastern District 1-06 To Encourage and Support Ministries of Inner-City Churches WHEREAS, Numerous LCMS schools located in inner-city neighborhoods throughout the United States are threatened with ex- tinction; despite the fact that such schools represent an anchor of hope in areas suffering from both need and vice, inner-city congre- gations are extremely hard-pressed to continue funding the min- istry endeavors; and WHerEAS, Inner-city churches with schools are havens for inner-city children and families—the support shared in schools comes daily, through nutritionally balanced hot lunches (which may be the only such meal some children get), through school uni- forms (children are clothed in a way that does not single them out from others), through caring for physical needs (in school nurse vi- sion and hearing screenings), through speech therapy, education, training, love, personal support, and follow-up with the principal caretakers in the homes, as well as through fostering a daily devo- tional life in God’s Word, Lutheran catechesis, liturgy, and hymnody; and WHEREAS, If inner-city schools and congregations are closed, boarded up and demolished, it is unlikely that the Synod or its Dis- tricts will be able to initiate any comparable mission work in such environments without the promise for numeric growth found in suburban regions; therefore be it Resolved, That the Synod, in convention, encourage inner-city churches and schools in their Gospel proclamation, and, through the LCMS District and Congregational Services—in an effort sim- ilar to the Rural and Small Town Ministry—support urban ministry work, spiritually, technically, and financially, providing various re- sources and strategies for the proclamation of the Gospel to remain in the inner-city. Zion Fort Wayne, IN 1-07 To Reach Out to Communities in Scripturally Sound and Culturally Relevant Ways Whereas, Many congregations and workers of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod are located in areas that are richly di- verse in cultures, races, ethnic groups, languages, and age groups; and Wuereas, Our Lord Jesus Christ is the sacrifice of atonement for our sins, and not only for ours but for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2); and Wuereas, Our Lord commands us, “Do not call anything im- pure that God has made clean” (Acts 10:15); and WHEREAS, The Good News of Jesus is for the healing of the ethnic groups (the nations [Rev. 22:2]); therefore be it Resolved, That every congregation be encouraged to reach out to those who live in their community in ways that are faithful to Scripture and our Lutheran Confessions and that are culturally or age-specifically relevant to those people, even though they may be significantly different from the current members. Northern Illinois District; Trinity, Roselle, IL; Circuit 6, Northern [linois District 1-08 To Make Outreach to World at Our Doorstep a Priority Wuereas, Our Lord Jesus commanded His disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18-20) and.to be His wit- nesses at home, close to home, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8); and