LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Sheet 376

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APPENDIX I
Other Reports

X-01

International Lutheran
Laymen’s League

Greetings on behalf of the International Lutheran Lay-
men’s League, its officers, members, and staff, to all delegates,
officials, and other participants in the 1981 convention of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. May the Holy Spirit guide
your deliberations, and may all you resolve to do be directed by
Him to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Once again we take this opportunity to thank all of you for
the unique cooperative relationship that continues to exist
between the LCMS and the Int’! LLL. Weare sincerely grateful
for the support and encouragement given to us by President
Preus and all officials of the Synod and by congregations and
pastors throughout the church. Itis this generous support that,
under the blessings of God, makes possible our ministry
through radio, television, print, and personal witness.

But we also thank God when, as an auxiliary of the LCMS,
we can assist our Synod in its proclamation of the Gospel and
in ministering to people. We therefore praise God that over the
past two years we have been involved in a number of projects
that we feel provide this kind of service to the church. Here are
brief summaries of some of these activities.

Lutheran Hour 50th-Anniversary Activities

During the 1980—81 broadcast season, the Int’] LLL is
observing the 50th anniversary of the first Lutheran Hour
broadcast. That broadcast originated from Radio Station
WHK, Cleveland, Ohio, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 1930, at 4:30 p.m.
EST.

On Sunday, October 12, 1980, a special service and banquet
commemorating the anniversary of this first Lutheran Hour
broadcast were held in Cleveland. Additional anniversary
observances are being held throughout the United States and
Canada, culminating with a Lutheran Hour 50th-anniversary
banquet at the Int’] LLL convention in Dearbom, Mich., July
29

As part of the observance of the Lutheran Hour’s 50th
anniversary, a special commemorative booklet, ‘There Is a
God; Let the Nations Be Glad”; a 42-minute documentary film,
“The Lutheran Hour, the Dream That Wouldn’t Die”; and a
20-minute sound filmstrip, “Let the Nations Be Glad,” were
produced. Production money for these three items was provided
through a generous grant from the Aid Association for
Lutherans. A copy of the anniversary booklet was mailed to all
congregations, the filmstrip was made available to all congre-
gations requesting it for Lutheran Hour Sunday in 1981, and
the film is available on request for congregational showings.

Over its 50-year history, the Lutheran Hour has served as a
Gospel-outreach ministry of the church. Names of listeners
who write in response to Lutheran Hour broadcasts are
referred to local congregations for evangelism followups, and
in many instances these listeners have come to know Jesus
Christ as their Savior and have become members of local
churches. For this we praise and thank God.

Wealso praise and thank God that Lutheran Hour programs
being produced in St. Louis; Kitchener, Ont., Canada; and 19
overseas Lutheran Hour offices are currently being heard over
more than 1,100 stations in the United States and Canada, and
over approximately 800 additional stations around the world.
These programs are broadcast in about 45 languages into more
than 175 countries, and in many places they provide the initial
contact for followup work by LCMS missionaries.

367

Dr. Hoffmann Observes 25 Years
as Lutheran Hour Speaker

The 1980—81 Lutheran Hour season also marked the
beginning of Dr. Oswald Hoffmann’s 26th year as Lutheran
Hour speaker. His completion of 25 years of service to the
church in this capacity was observed with a service and
banquet in St. Louis on Sept. 13, 1980.

At the banquet Dr. Hoffmann received the Distinguished
Citizens Award from the United States Department of Defense
for his service to U.S. military personnel over the years and the
Gutenberg Award from the Chicago Bible Society for his work
in Bible translation and distribution. Later that month Dr.
Hoffmann was elected to a second term as president of the
United Bible Societies at their meeting in Thailand. We praise
and thank God that He continues to use Dr. Hoffmann in
service to the church in a multitude of ways.

Other Radio Programming

The Int’! LLL also continues to serve the church through its
five-minute daily devotional program “Day by Day with
Jesus,” currently heard over about 350 stations in North
America. The league also periodically produces and airs 30-
second and and one-minute radio spots that relate the Gospel to
current social issues.

The Int’! LLL is continually involved in evaluating the
effectiveness of its programs. After careful consideration and
intensive evaluation, therefore, our 30-minute words and music
program “Joy” has been discontinued as we search for new
and better formats through which we can reach out with the
Gospel.

Television Ministry

The Int’] LLL continues to break new ground in its outreach
to viewers through its television ministry. Besides continuing
to air its weekly “This Is the Life’ series over about 200
stations, Lutheran Television in 1979 produced and aired a
30-minute dramatic Christmas special, ‘““The Stableboy’s
Christmas,” which was telecast more than 500 times in North
America. Most of the production money for this Christmas
special was furnished through a generous grant from the
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. During the 1980
Christmas season this dramatic special and the Benji and
Waldo animated Christmas specials were once again shown
over more than 500 stations throughout the United States and
Canada. By God’s grace Lutheran Television programs are
also reaching out with the Gospel through telecasts in
Lebanon, South America, Japan, Korea, Australia, and many
other countries.

The technical excellence of the programs through which the
league’s television ministry reaches out with the Gospel was
attested to when Lutheran Television swept the “Outstanding
Achievement in Religious Programming” category by winning
an unprecedented three Emmy Awards in 1980.

Now in 1981 Lutheran Television is embarking on an
exciting new project. Production began in March on a mini-
series of six half-hour (or three one-hour) specials. This mini-
series, narrated by Dr. Oswald Hoffmann, will show the places
where Jesus walked during His ministry on earth as they
appear today and will present the Gospel message of the birth,
life, death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord. The series
is intended for initial airing in 1982, possibly during Holy
Week.

The television ministry of the Int’] LLL also serves the
congregations of the Synod through LLL Films. The league’s
film-rental program makes “This Is the Life” episodes,