# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1975_S6
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

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EVANGELISM 5

member); secretary: Mrs. Evelyn Hartman, Richland, WA (lay
member); members: Jerry Bartos, Dallas, TX (lay member):
Rev. Arthur Graf, Giddings, TX (pastor member).

The Board has set as its objective the following:

“A growing number of God’s people in the Missouri Synod
sharing the Good News of God's forgiveness in Jesus Christ,
by what they say and do, both in structured programs and in
an increasing variety of life situations.”

Its continuing aims are:

1. To deepen the theological understanding of evangelism:

2. To encourage effective and efficient organization for
evangelism;

3. To motivate and train for personal witness:

4. To develop a more favorable climate for evangelism:

5. To develop specific strategies.

Since the 1973 convention the board has met nine times,
each time for 2 days. In addition its subcommittees met as listed
in Part IV of this report.

IV. Activities of the Last 2 Years
1. Key 73 — Evangelization Forum

With the close of 1973 the joint evangelism emphasis of the
150 denominations and groups involved in Key 73 came to 4
close. The entire story is told in a paperback book published
late in 1974, edited by the executive director of Key 73, Dr. T.A.
Raedeke, Yesterday. Today and Forever (Washington, D.C.:
Canon Press, 1974). It summarizes the historical development
and the methods used and presents inspiring testimonies of Key
73 successes. The final chapters of Key 73 are still being written,
however, in terms of the ongoing evangelism activities initiated
during the year and the 50 million Scriptures that were dis-
tributed and are still being read.

At the last meeting of the Central Committee of Key 73,
in October 1973, many of the denominational leaders felt a
strong desire to continue at least two of the many benefits they
felt from Key 73: the exchange of evangelism materials and the
personal contact with other denominational leaders. Those
most interested elected a continuation committee and instructed
the committee to plan an annual meeting for those two purposes,
to be called “Evangelization Forum.” The first was held Dec.
35 in Chicago, with approximately 150 present. The emphasis
was on sharing materials and especially sharing plans for
observance of the bicentennial. Another meeting is planned for
the fall of 1975 under the same name, “Evangelization Forum.”

2, International Congress on World Evangelization

On July 16—25 2,700 people from 150 countries gathered in
Lausanne, Switzerland, for the International Congress on
World Evangelization. The purpose of the gathering was:

a. To proclaim the Biblical basis for evangelism in a day
of theological confusion:

b. To identify those who do not know Christ—2.7 billion of
the almost 4 billion people in the world are not Christians:

c. To awaken Christian conscience to the need in the last
quarter century to make every effort possible to reach the 2.7
billion with the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

d. To develop and share the strategies of evangelism.

Selection committees from each country selected a cross
section of people from various denominations and vocations.
From the Missouri Synod those who were selected and attended
were:

Rev. Karl Barth, Milwaukee, WI

Mr. Jerry Bartos, Dallas, TX

Dr. E. Bertermann. Orange, CA

Rev. Leroy Biesenthal, St. Louis, MO
Mrs. Rosemary Edington, EL Cerrito, CA
Rev. Paul Foust, Ann Arbor, MI

Mr. Frank Hennessy, Chicago. IL

Dr. Oswald Hoffmann, St. Louis, MO
Prof. Otto Hintze, Springfield. IL

Mr. Walter Kaufmann, Mt. Clemens, MI
Dr. Erwin J. Kolb, St. Louis, MO

Rev. Charles Manske, Irvine, CA

Ms. Millie Marsh, St. Louis, MO

Dr. Ellis Nieting, Fort Dodge, IA

Rev. Timothy Parsch. St. Louis. MO
Dr. Robert Preus. Springfield, IL

Dr. T. Raedeke. St. Louis, MO

Rev. Wallace Schulz. River Forest, IL
Rev. Wilbert Sohns, Broomfield, CO
Mrs. Marlys Taege. Waukesha, WI
Rev. Leonard Thaemert, Robbinsdale. MN
Rev. Eldon Weisheit. St. Louis, MO
Rev. Waldo Werning. Milwaukee, WI
Rev. Philip Ho, Hong Kong

Rev. Walter Steyer, Brazil

Rev. Jose Hoffmann. Brazil

Visitors:

Mr. William Bainbridge, Kansas City, KS
Rev. Michael Mueller, Milwaukee, wI
Rev. Herbert Schmidt, Santa Cruz, CA

The Board of Directors followed the suggestion of New
Orleans convention resolution 8-10 (which did not reach the floor
for action) and established a fund of $10,000 for the Missouri
Synod group both for meetings of the group and for assistance
in paying part of their expenses to attend. These participants
have shared with the church through printed articles and
personal presentations some of the material and insights they
received. They continue to make themselves available as
speakers on “World Evangelism.”

Summarizing the experience of these days of study and
work together, the following sums up, in the opinion of the
participants. what Lausanne emphasized:

a. We must share with all Christians the responsibility to
evangelize the whole world: no one group can do it alone.

b. We recognize other Christians as brothers and sisters in
the family of God. We all seek to share the Gospel with others.

c. We need to seek to understand the parachurch structures
and work with them when this is possible.

d. We need a Biblical. Christ-centered theology, and we
must learn to say it clearly. so that it is communicated to others.

e. We must seek to minister to the whole man and cannot
overlook either the spiritual or the physical needs.

f. We must continually update our missionary strategy.
g. We must live with a sense of urgency.

More than half of the 2.700 participants of the congress in
Lausanne individually signed a card of general agreement with
the ‘‘Lausanne Covenant,’ a statement of 15 articles drafted
by a committee of the congress which summarized the general
belief of evangelicals in areas related to evangelism.

3. Convention Evangelism

Res. 8-01 of the 1973 synodical convention encouraged “the
President of Synod and others responsible for the planning of
the 1975 synodical convention to select and implement an evan-
gelism theme for that convention” ‘Proc.. Pp. 197). The Board
for Evangelism appointed an ad hoc committee which met April
45, 1974. in Los Angeles in order to plan and recommend ways
to implement this resolution. The following served on that
committee:

Dr. Eugene Bertermann. Orange. CA

Rev. Henry Blanke, San Jose. CA

Mr. Tom Frommer, Olathe, KS

Mrs. Evelyn Hartman. Richland. WA (Board for Evangelism)
Rev. Emil Jaech, Portland, OR (President, NW District)

Mr. Louis Finke, Wittier. CA (S. C. LLL President)

Mrs. Mildred Hermann. Bellflower. CA (S. C. LWML Pres.)
Rev. Charles Manske. Irvine. CA

Mr. Ed Scott, Denver. CO

Rev. Oswald Waech, Los Angeles. CA (S. C. District Exec.)
Rev. William Ilten, Montebello, CA (Local Conv. Comm.)
Dr. Erwin J. Kolb, St. Louis. MO

The board worked with their recommendations and those
involved in planning the convention to the point that the follow-
ing evangelism activities are planned:

a. New Testament Distribution. Through gifts gathered by
Irvine College, 10,000 New Testaments in Today's English
Version have been printed by the American Bible Society with
the convention symbol, the Missouri Synod seal. and 16 addi-