Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1981 · 54th Convention › Page 21
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 21

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

MISSIONS 21

The attendance at the four-day convocation averaged 6,000
daily, with 10,000 at the Saturday-night rally. All the Districts
and 1,812 congregations of the Synod were represented. Lay-
people outnumbered pastors two to one. The reason given on
the evaluations for their attendance was for “practical ideas”’
and, secondly, “inspiration.”

The majority of the participants said in those evaluations
that when they left they had received both and were committed
to implementing in their local parishes some of the ideas they
had learned. Hundreds of letters were received in addition to
the written evaluations, making suggestions for future convo-
cations and indicating satisfaction with the first convocation
by saying such things as the following:

A layperson: “I came away overwhelmed by the unity of
spirit displayed ...I was reassured once more that we have
dynamic leaders who are capable and devoted 100 percent to
the service of Christ and His church.”

A layperson: ‘The greatest thing I have ever gone to.”

A pastor: “. . . might well have been one of the most
significant moments in the Synod’s history.”

A pastor: “It was the most meaningful four days of my life.”

The_majority of the evaluations urged a repeat of the
convocation in the future, either in conjunction with a synod-

“Ieal convention, in rotation with it, or alone. The plans of the
Board for Evangelism and the Steering Committee call for
District convocations during 1981 and 1982. For that reason
the committee had encouraged each District President to
appoint a District Great Commission Convocation Committee
early in the planning. Every District had such a committee,
which helped to publicize the synodical convocation, and the
committees are now being asked to help the Districts conduct
their own convocations. The Board for Evangelism is thus
recommending another synodical convocation in 1983 or 1984.
(See the attached memorial.)

In order to help Districts and congregations follow through
with what was learned and begun at the Great Commission
Convocation, the Board for Evangelism planned some specific
follow-through materials:

a. An 80-frame color sound filmstrip summarizing the
convocation

b. An eight-page tabloid newspaper summary called The

Disciple-Gram, which was mailed to all participants and to all
congregations

c. Cassettes of all the plenary presentations and the
workshops

d. A Bible-study book on the theme “‘Discipling in the ’80s”

e. A manual with a summary digest of the papers and
workshop ideas from the convocation

f. Aconsultation of people actively involved in “discipling”
in order to advise on further plans and activities

In order to oversee the follow-through activities and to
continue to advise the board and to be available to assist the
Districts in their convocation plans, some members of the
Steering Committee were appointed by the board as a Contin-
uation Committee:

Dr. Walter Stuenkel, Indianapolis, Ind.
Rev. Elmer Scheck, Milwaukee, Wis.
Mr. Richard Korthals, Arcadia, Mich.
Dr. Wilbert Griesse, Memphis, Tenn.
Mrs. Helen Morris, Mankato, Minn.

2. Discipling in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s

As we look forward to “‘discipling in the 80s” with the spirit
of unity and the zeal expressed at the Great Commission
Convocation, it is necessary to evaluate how we have been
discipling in the past few decades. One of the reasons for
planning a synodical convocation was to raise the priority
given to the Great Commission. The growth of the Missouri
Synod, which had shown a steady increase in membership
since its very beginning in 1847, leveled off in the ’70s and
began to decline. This followed the trend of practically all
mainline denominations in America. In addition, our church
experienced internal problems, largely doctrinal, which led to
an exodus of some members. Now that the internal situation
has stabilized, there are encouraging signs of the emergence of
a new zeal and enthusiasm for the concern of fulfilling the
Great Commission through evangelism and mission activities,
evidenced by the response to the Great Commission Convoca-
tion and Forward in Remembrance. The adults gained by
Baptism or confirmation averaged 25,000 annually during the
70s. Yet those lost by defection (removed from the roster for
lack of participation or excommunication) averaged 50,000 a
year, and none of the programs or activities that the Synod or
Districts promoted changed those averages very much.

EXHIBIT I
Adults Gained and Lost
North America—1979

1960 ‘61 '62 '63 '64 '65 '66 '67

} oy | |
53,000
52,000

"68 '69 '70

No}

"71 '72 '73:'74 '75 '76 '77 '78 1979
\
( '

| 1 \

51,000

nef

50,000
49,000

+
+

48,000

49,573

47, 000

46,000
45,000

Tepper

44,000

43,000

42,000

41,000

40,000

39, 000
38,000

37,000
36, 000

35,000
34, 000

33,000

32,000

31,000

30, 000
29,000

phe htt ttt

28,000 |

44 Lit a a a

27,000

ALE

26, 000

26,454

25,000

i