LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 1

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1. MISSIONS, EVANGELISM, AND SOCIAL MINISTRY

1-01
Report of Board for Mission Services

‘HIM WE PROCLAIM”

The Board for Mission Services is grateful to the Lord that
even in a time of recession and its attendant problems, He has
nonetheless this past biennium richly blessed the mission work
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod at home and abroad
in 29 countries. The board is pleased to give to the church,
represented at the 1983 convention of the Synod, an accounting
of its work.

The 1979 convention of the Synod adopted a series of
challenging mission goals for the new decade of the ‘80s. That
action did much to excite the whole church with a new
awareness of open doors at home and abroad—each open door
God's doing. We continue to confess, “God Opens Doors.”

The Synod in its 1981 convention gave emphasis to the
importance of entering those open doors. The congregations of
the Synod demonstrated their commitment with a generous
outpouring of prayers and gifts under the banner of “Forward
in Remembrance. Under God's blessing. the results of that
effort are still being experienced in terms of significant help for
many major projects in North America and around the world.

Open doors and forward movement would have no sig-
nificance without a message. and of course the message of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ is always central to any convention of
the Synod, whatever the theme for that convention might be.
Yet one should never say simply, “Of course.” The Gospel is
never to be taken for granted.

It is appropriate, therefore, fora convention to highlight the
message that is to be carried forward through open doors. The
message is not from any one individual, church body, board or
agency. The message is from God Himself, revealed and
recorded in the Holy Scriptures. heralded by His sent ones from
the fall of man to the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4). In that
miraculous message comes the Messenger Himself (1 John
1:1-5).

He is the Messenger whose glory-light outshone the noon-
day sun and whose voice confronted Saul on the Damascus
road. Saul, “chief of sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15), who“persecuted the
church of God” (1 Cor. 15:9), as one “born out of due time” (1
Cor. 15:8), by God's grace alone (Eph. 2:8-10) became Paul. the
committed apostle, missionary-ambassador of Jesus Christ.
His top priority for the remainder of his life is exemplary for us
today:

For I determined not to know anything among vou save Jesus

Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2).

For to me to live is Christ. and to die is gain (Phil. 1:21).
I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. for it is the power of

God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. to the Jew first. and

also to the Greek (Rom. 1:16).

I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the
grace of God which is with me. Whether then it was I or they. so we

preach and so vou believed (1 Cor. 15:10—11).

To the Christians at Colossae he put it very succinctly.
“Him we proclaim” (Col. 1:28).

“Him We Proclaim” is more than a convention theme. These
three words represent the heart and core of the church's
mission. The doors to new frontiers, unreached peoples with
cultures foreign to ours, are opened by God. The work of
missions: the planning, decisionmaking, calling and sending,
the funding—all a part of moving ahead as God's sent ones—is
powered by God. The message of mission is from God. There-
fore, we join with St. Paul to say. ‘Him We Proclaim.”

I. In North America “Him We Proclaim”’

For additional information:
1. 1981 Statistical Yearbook, published 1982
a. Home Missions in North America, pages 244—45
b. Ethnic Ministries, page 246
c. District Mission and Special Ministry Activities, page
247

2. Convention Workbooks, 1979, pages 5, 7, 25—30. and
1981, pages 1—6 (Good for review of Synod's goals for the
80s)

Our church 1s growing in understanding that its primary
purpose for being a church is to be in mission for Jesus Christ.
whether that’s here in this country or overseas. The Lord is at
work in this world as never before. History is in His hands. He
is using the Old and New Testament mission strategy to make
it possible for His people to reach out with an energetic mission
program. In these troublesome times it is reassuring to know
that the Lord is in control. He makes history, not we. In one
way or another, all the current events that swirl around us are
directly and ultimately linked to Christ's promise that “this
Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a
testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt.
24:14 NIV).

Even though there are 37 closed countries in the world— _

countries into which no church can send missionaries, and in
some instances, where it is illegal to be Christian—many
citizens from these countries come to ours as students, as
business people. or in other capacities. In these countries and
others, the Lord is using His Old and New Testament strategy.
That is, God brings the unbelievers to the believers (e.g.. Acts 8.

the story of Philip and the Ethiopian). In that sense also. North

America has become a world mission field.

“IT [am] determined not to know anything among vou save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). This is the kind of
determination which holds high place in the hearts and lives of
a dedicated team which makes up the North America part of
the Board for Mission Services staff.

The Synod's mission department under the leadership of its
executive secretary directs, administers, implements, and co-
ordinates the mission program of the Synod on behalf of the
Synod in North America and abroad in accordance with the
Handbook of the Synod, synodical convention resolutions, and
the objectives. policies. and resolutions of the Board for
Mission Services. For North America there is an associate
executive secretary for North American Ministries. Assisting
him are the secretaries for Deaf and Blind Ministries, Campus
Ministry, and Hispanic Ministry. Two staff positions have
been vacant and have meant an increased burden for the
secretary for Campus Ministry. They are: secretary for Ameri-
can Indian Ministries (to be filled in 1983) and secretary for
Campus Ministry Publications. In lieu of filling this latter
position, the Board for Mission Services has authorized a one-
year purchase of service contract for two people to assist with
producing materials for campus ministry. Another staff posi-
tion. secretary for Black Ministry, is vacant because of bud-
getary restrictions.

In a spirit of mutual assistance, national staff and synod-
ical District counterparts are working hard to reach out in
every way possible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, of whom St.
Paul so aptly wrote. “Him we proclaim.”

During this past biennium, there have been several meet-

ings with District mission executives. including the annual
spring conference of NAME (North America Mission Ena-
blers). These conferences provide opportunity for sharing
District mission plans. The input and sharing are intended to
develop a three-year national plan and to provide ways of
encouraging and assisting congregations and Districts with
their own particular mission planning. This is based on the
premise that planning should really emerge from the local level
to District to the Synod. The mission goals for the ’80s are still
an important guideline for setting the direction in mission
planning. They are: ;
1. a. 30" growth in the number of new churches planted (180
average per vear); this includes black, 10 per year: Hispanic. 5
per year: native American, 2 per vear: Asian-American, 2 per
vear.
b. 20 new LCMS campus ministries begun (2 per vear):
c. 20 new deaf ministries planted (2 per vear):