# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1922_S9
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1922. 9

gospel," that is, for the Gospel, for proclaiming, preaching, teaching, spreading, furthering the Gospel. That is indeed the real mission of Christendom in the world: to bring to men the message of our salvation through Jesus Christ. If God has saved us through this Gospel and given us a clear knowledge of it and faith in the Gospel, he has thereby entrusted us with a talent with which we are to trade, and indeed for the Lord, who has purchased and won us, that we should serve him in his kingdom. That is therefore also the task of the fellowship which God gives.

That is what our synods, districts and congregations, our schools, seminaries, colleges and academies, our mission works near and far, our periodicals and books and other undertakings are to accomplish and are to keep accomplishing: bring God's Word to the people. And what the individuals among us do in this way is the work of us all. Every success of individuals or smaller circles in furthering the Gospel is for us all a cause for joy. We encourage, strengthen, commend and warn one another in the work of the Gospel. That is our fellowship in the Gospel.

And still more! Here and there in our country our congregations and synods also do united work for the Gospel with united forces. We have higher and lower schools in common. Especially in our cities we bring to the unfortunate and the fallen, with united means, the word of comfort, of help, of hope and of life. That is fellowship in the Gospel. Indeed, almost since its founding the Synodical Conference has carried on as a joint work the mission among the Negroes [*Negermission*] of our country, a work of whose glorious blessing we shall still hear abundantly in these days.

And God's kindness has given us still much more opportunity for our fellowship in the Gospel; all petty interests should be overcome and have to give way. The field for our common spiritual work is so great that we truly have no occasion to squander our strength on anything other than the furthering of the Gospel. Our Synodical Conference, now grown fifty years old, still has great tasks. Yes, our fathers by God's grace accomplished great things. But through them God has equipped us to accomplish still more. We, the younger generation, stand in much closer contact with our fellow countrymen than was possible with the fathers. Therein lie for us, to be sure, greater dangers in the spiritual realm, but also wider opportunities for work for our fellowship in the Gospel.

O let us then stand together in this fellowship given us by God against the spirit of the age with its learned and unlearned superstition, "lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men"! Col. 2:8. Let us one another