LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 1

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

1. MISSIONS

1-01
Report of the Board for Missions

“FORWARD IN REMEMBRANCE”

Forward! Forward into the ’80s, into great new mission
opportunities in a world filled with exciting challenges for
reaching the unreached. Forward into mission is the compel-
ling response of God’s people on the move through God’s open
doors.

This rededication to outreach in mission on the part of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has been sparked by the
power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. Itis through
His Word that we grow in our understanding of what God’s
purpose for our life is all about. The Forward in Rememberance
“Statement of Mission and Ministry” (excerpted in part) says it
well:

God saved us so that we might serve Him. Serving Him includes
willingness to use all that we have and are to pursue the Great
Commission: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”
(Matt. 28:19). In the explanation of the Second Article of our
confession of faith we declare that Jesus “redeemed me, a lost and
condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from
death, and from the power of the devil.” Because we believe and
confess this, we are led by the Holy Spirit to “live under Him in His
kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness.” That service
is not only in heaven, but here in this world so that we may be
instruments of the Holy Spirit as through the Word He calls the
whole human race to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and
be saved.

This is the Gospel mandate we accept as members of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. We accept it as individuals and
we join with our brothers and sisters in Christ to accept it as a
Church body. We also join with the apostles and disciples of the early
church whose Gospel mandate St. Paul clearly defined to the church
in Corinth: “He died for all so that those who live should no longer
live for themselves, but only for Him who died and was raised to life
for their sake” (II Cor. 5:15). Living for Him is to expend ourselves
and all we have and are in pursuit of His commands. If we do not,
then we are drawing near to Him with our mouths and honoring Him
with our lips while our hearts are far from Him. ‘“‘Whoever does not
have the spirit of Christ, does not belong to Him” (Rom. 8:9).

Jesus expressed it during the Last Supper and at the time of His
great passion: “A new commandment I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). If
we love our neighbor we are compelled to witness to him of Jesus’
love and salvation. If we love mankind as Jesus did and asks us to
do, we cannot be satisfied until all know of His saving grace.

The 1979 convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod did much to excite the whole Synod with a new
awareness of open doors everywhere at home and abroad. Each
open door is an act of God, a miracle to which God’s people are
invited to respond. What better way to respond than to follow
God’s direction. That direction is Forward. Mission momentum
is Forward. For the Synod this means moving ahead in faith
and remembrance to meet the mission challenges for the ’80s
as these were formulated and adopted by the 1979 convention
of the Synod. These have become the goals and objectives of the
Board for Missions.

At first glance they appear too idealistic, unreal, impossible
to attain. Comparatively speaking, they are as overwhelming
for us as were the challenges which confronted that small band
of disciples in Christ’s day. But our Lord, who said, “All things
are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23), faced the world
of His day and was moved with compassion for the multitudes.
“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the
laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send
out laborers into His harvest’” (Matt. 9:37-38).

One such prayer appropriate for every Christian who is
committed to moving Forward in mission is found in the words
of Psalm 67:

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to
shine upon us, that Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving
power among all nations. Let the peoples praise Thee, O God; let all
the peoples praise Thee! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for
Thou dost judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon

earth. Let the peoples praise Thee. O God; let all the peoples praise
Thee! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God has blessed us.
God has blessed us; let all the ends of the earth fear Him!

The board feels the weight of responsibility which has been
given to it by the church. It humbly recognizes that much
remains to be done to accomplish the unfinished task. In the
midst of shortcomings and difficulties God’s blessing on the
worldwide work of the board continues to abound with a good
stretch of the decade still before us—as much as God in His
mercy deigns to grant in these latter days before our Lord’s
return. With a mixture of earnestness, zeal, grave concern,
thankful hearts, and joyful confidence in the Lord, the Board
for Missions presents to the Synod, the church assembled in
convention, an update on the activities and plans that shape
the mission program of our Synod in North America and
throughout the world. In every direction the arrows of the
Great Commission point Forward.

I. Forward in North America

God is indeed blessing our efforts to move forward in North
American missions. Recall the following changes. Then note
the progress that is being made as reflected in the paragraphs
which follow the challenges and which describe the various
programs of mission and ministry in North America.

1. a. 30% growth in the number of new churches planted (180
per year); this includes Black, 10 per year; Hispanic, 5
per year; Native American, 2 per year; Asian-American,
2 per year;

. 20 new LCMS campus ministries begun (2 per year);

. 20 new deaf ministries planted (2 per year);

. 10 new Asian-American ministries planted (one per
year);

2. a. 50% growth. in the baptized membership of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (5% per year), includ-
ing ethnic and cultural groups;

b. 300% increase in the number of blind people served by
the LCMS (30% per year);

3. a. 100 Hispanics recruited and placed in full-time His-
panic ministries of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod (10 per year);

b. 50 Native Americans (Indians) recruited, trained and
placed in full-time Native American ministries of the
LCMS (5 per year);

(Cf. 1979 Convention Proceedings, p. 92 ff., Res.
1-12A; 1-13; 1-14A; p. 96, Res. 1-23A.)

Our achievements in North American missions and min-
istries are blessings of God. His Word is effective. Preaching
the Gospel and faithfully administering the sacraments are
notin vain. With God’s Word of power (Rom. 1:16) we can move
Forward—and move we must!

Fact 1: There were 23,202,794 more people living in the U.S.
in 1980 than in 1970. This is based on the U.S. population for
1970 (203,302,031) and for 1980 (226,504,825). This represents a
total population increase of 11.4%.

Fact 2: There are more than 150,000 fewer baptized people
in the LCMS in 1980 than in 1970.

Fact 3: The1979 convention of the Synod has said that this
is the decade to move forward in making disciples.

ane

Look at some of the significant indications in the “North
American Decadal Growth Table”:

1. Our baptized membership has increased in 26 out of 50
states.

2. Our baptized membership has increased in three of the
provinces of Canada.

3. Our baptized membership has increased more rapidly
than the population growth rate in six states: Arkansas,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,
and Virginia.

In this context, we move forward boldly with renewed
commitment, knowing that in Christ we can do all things. It is