# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2004_S214 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 214 PROGRAM AND FINANCE WhereEAS, Each of these examples are indications of a lack of understanding of the biblical model of Gospel-motivated firstfruits proportionate giving; therefore be it Resolved, That the Montana District ask each congregation to emphasize firstfruit proportionate giving in its stewardship program in the year 2003; and be it further Resolved, That the Montana District pledge 25 percent of its in- come from those funds submitted as mission offerings from con- gregations of the District, to the work of the Kingdom through the Synod budget; and be it further Resolved, That the Montana District request the Synod to avoid business models of funding the mission and emphasize firstfruit proportionate giving; and be it finally Resolved, That this resolution be submitted as an overture to the 2004 Synod convention for consideration. Montana District 4-27 To Revitalize Evangelism and Stewardship Rather Than Change Funding Pattern WHEREAS, The Board of Directors of The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod has proposed setting an “amount or percentage of contributions received by the Districts to be forwarded to the Synod” as a solution to the shortfall in support of the Synod’s na- tional budget; and WHEREAS, The Northern Illinois District has serious concerns about the wisdom of the proposed changes, including but not lim- ited to: The less than full support for Synod’s national budget may not simply be the result of Districts withholding funds to support bu- reaucracies as some have alleged. There may be other reasons: a. Gifts from the Schwan Charitable Foundation and direct so- licitation of gifts from individual members helped establish an un- derstandably aggressive mission program which is no longer sus- tainable with the current level of congregational gifts. b. Congregations are sending funds directly to foreign mission fields and education institutions of the Synod. c. Mission work at the District level has been increasing steadily as a world of immigrants comes to the United States. The U.S. has become one of the great mission fields in the world. The NID, for example, annually spends over | million dollars in support of eth- nic and Caucasian missions and in subsidies of other congregations. The loss of some of our work in foreign mission fields is offset by greater activity in reaching people from those same countries in our own urban and metropolitan areas. It should be no surprise that our Synod’s congregations authorize more work at the District level. d. The shortage of funds to support aggressive mission and ed- ucational programs at the national level may be one consequence of an aging and declining membership in our church body. Such fi- nancial challenges will only increase unless we strongly increase our evangelistic efforts in our congregations; and WHEREAS, Districts are a critical locus of mission work and the serving of existing congregations. Districts, as synods, in a geo- graphic place, are promoting the preaching of the Gospel, starting new missions, subsidizing congregations and institutional min- istries, and providing resources for congregations; and WHEREAS, It is important that our Synod continue its work in foreign countries, it is at least equally important to continue to ex- pand the preaching of the Gospel to the unchurched in our own country. It would seem counter-productive to take our funds from District mission work to pay for our national mission work; and WHEREAS, It would be a mistake to underestimate the value of Districts and District staff. The Collarelli-Meyer study, funded by the Synod in 1989, demonstrated the value to congregations of maintaining relationships with parishes at the level closest to them, and Districts are our Synod in that place. Any financially driven move to weaken the Synod at its District level would not seem wise; and WHEREAS, As a matter of practical fact, the published expecta- tions of increased offerings from the NID over the next years seem unrealistic and exceed the total annual congregational offerings. In- stead of increasing year by year, our congregational offerings are today at the level they were in 1996. This has caused severe cuts in our budgets over the last years in the same way the Synod has ex- perienced a similar reduction; therefore be it Resolved, That the Board of Directors of the Northern Illinois District respectfully requests that the 2004 LCMS convention di- rect the Board of Directors of the Synod to reconsider its proposal to designate a set amount percentage of contributions received by the Districts to be forwarded to the Synod; and be it further Resolved, That the Board of Directors and the Synod consider a renewed evangelism effort through the Districts and local congre- gations rather than a new method of distributing offerings; and be it finally Resolved, That the Board of Directors and the Synod consider a renewed biblical stewardship emphasis rather than a new method of distributing offerings. Board of Directors Northern Illinois District 4-28 To Thank Schwan Foundation WHEREAS, The Schwan Foundation in the past triennium has again given generously to support our Synod’s educational and mission endeavors, our Synod’s auxiliaries, and our Synod’s Rec- ognized Service Organizations; therefore be it Resolved, That the Synod in convention assembled express its sincere thanks to the Schwan Foundation for its generous support. St. Paul Brookfield, IL 4-29 To Order Board of Directors to Disclose Information about Schwan Foundation WHEREAS, The Board of Directors of the Synod possesses the powers and duties accorded to it by the Articles of Incorporation, Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod and the laws of the State of Missouri; and WHEREAS, The Board of Directors is responsible for the general management of the business and legal affairs of the Synod; and WHEREAS, The Board of Directors allocates available funds to the program boards, commissions, councils, and departments of corporate Synod and holds them accountable; and WHEREAS, The Board of Directors is to assure itself that audits are performed by internal auditors or independent certified public accountants for the Synodwide corporate entities, its colleges, uni- versities, seminaries, Districts, and Worker Benefit Plans; and WHEREAS, The Board of Directors establishes policies and guidelines relating to the preparation of the annual budget of the Synod and adopts the annual budget of the Synod; and WHEREAS, The Synod and each of its entities and agencies are to disclose fully their financial books and records to any member con- gregation of the Synod with certain exceptions; and WHEREAS, The Synod, its President’s Office, its Auxiliaries, its Recognized Service Organizations, or other “related” organizations have been the recipient of financial gifts from the Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation since approximately 1993; and WHEREAS, In response to U.S. Treasury Regulations section 1.509(a)-4(i), the Schwan Foundation has stated, “The responsive- ness test is met if: 1. one or more members of the governing bodies of the publicly supported organizations are also officers, directors or trustees of,