LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 2

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_ 50° growth in the baptized membership of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod i5” per year). including ethnic and
cultural groups:

b. 300” increase in the number of blind people served by the

LCMS 130” per vear):

a. 100 Hispanics recruited and placed in full-time Hispanic
ministries of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (10 per
vear):

bh. 30 native Americans (Indians) recruited. trained and placed in

full-time native American ministries of the LCMS (5 per year):
(Cf. 1979 Convention Proceedings. p.9?2 ff., Res. 112A: 1-13:

1-14A; p. 96, Res. 1-23A.)

The above stated goals have been adjusted to fit into the
integrated whole of the Synod’s master plan. which is being
developed by the Executive Coordinating Committee (cf. Con-
vention Workbook, 1981, pp. 357—63). Restated. they are:

North American Mission Goals

a

1. By the end of the decade the Synod will have increased its
membership by 50" by effectively sharing the Gospel with the
unchurched people, who make up 40”) of the population in the
United States and Canada.

2. By the end of the decade the Synod will have begun 1.000
new ministries, an average of 100 new ministries each year.
including the planting of 6 black. 6 Hispanic. 2 American
Indian, 2 American-Asian. 2 campus, and 2 deaf ministries
each vear.

3. By 1982 the Synod will have developed criteria and
begun to implement a program for selecting priorities and
shifting resources to areas of more critical need in new work in
North America.

4. By the end of the decade all new and ongoing subsidized
ministries in North America will be administered through a
strategy mutually agreed upon by parish, District. and
synodical leaders.

On the basis of a three-vear planning form (July 1981), the
North American Districts of the Synod have made the follow-
ing projections for the vear 1982 and for the three-year span
(1982—85).

1982 New Ministries
I. 104 New Ministries
A. 84 Congregations

B. 6 Institutional
C. 2 Campus

D. 4 Deaf

E. 2 Recreation

F. 6 Other

I]. 84 New Congregations

A. 62 Anglo

B. 8 Black

C. 11 Hispanic

D. O Asian

E. 3 Other

III. Locations
A. 16 M-CC (Metropolitan-Central City: 50,000 or
more)
. 23 M-Sub (Metropolitan-Suburban or exurban:
50,000 or more)

moO ow

16 U-L (Urban-Large: 25,000 to 50,000)
26 US (Urban-Small; 1,500 to 25,000)
3.0-C  (Open-Country; 1.500 or less)

Three Year Plan

I, 278 New Ministries
A. 238 Congregations
B. 13 Institutional
C. 4 Campus
D. 7 Deaf
E 6 Recreation
F. 10 Other
I]. 238 New Congregations
A. 185 Anglo
B. 17 Black

MISSIONS, EVANGELISM. AND SOCIAL MINISTRY

C. 27 Hispanic
D. 38 Asian
E. 6 Other

III. Locations
A. 37 M-CC (Metropolitan-Central City: 50,000 or
more)
B. 83 M-Sub (Metropolitan-Suburban or exurban:
50.000 or more}

C.42 U-L  (Urban-Large; 25.000 to 50.000)
D. 67 US (Urban-Small: 1.500 to 25.000)
E. 9 0-C  (Open-Country: 1.500 or less)

The planning form for these projections also called for
specific description of location, start-up date, type of ministry.
ethnic group, financial assistance needed for first five years.
sources of income. and financial loans (indebtedness for land.
first unit. or other needs).

A contributing factor to improved planning for concerted
mission outreach in North America is a renewed emphasis on
church growth. For example. a church growth workshop.
December 7—9. 1981. in St. Charles, Mo., brought together 17
representative mission people from Districts and the national
office in observance of the fifth anniversary of the introduction
of church growth principles into the mission work of the LCMS.
From this conference came a number of recommendations for
wider church growth seminars, better coordinated planning,
pilot projects, sharing, and evaluation of results, etc.

Goal-setting and program-planning are effective only to the
extent that these can actually be implemented. Implementa-
tion, however. requires resources: manpower and money. Ata
critical time in our nation's economy, the implementation of
goals and plans would seem to be fraught with frustration and
threatened with failure—except for the promises of God. whois
ever faithful. Through His Word and sacraments, God in
Christ continues to touch the hearts and lives of His people in
our church. There are many who say with St. Paul, “For
Christ's love compels us...” (2 Cor. 5:14 NIV).

Him We Proclaim because the Lord makes it possible to do
so. Again we see that history is in the hands of God. At the nght
time—and beyond predictions and expectations—contributions
to Forward in Remembrance and giving to special projects
grants by various organizations and agencies help to put plans
into action.

Example: How can we reach Southeast Asian refugees in
the United States with the Gospel of Christ? This question
weighed on Mrs. Bunny Zeller, a member of Redeemer Lu-
theran, Salem. Ore.. which sponsored a Cambodian family.

With no special training as a communicator or writer. but
with a strong faith that the Lord could use her, Mrs. Zeller
undertook the task of writing three sets of simple lessons about
the beautiful truths of God: (1) “A New Beginning with God”;
(2)"Jesus Speaks”; and (3) ‘Tell Me About Christians. Whata
job it was to work with translators and reviewers to put these
lessons into five bilingual language editions: Cambodian,
Vietnamese, Hmong, Thai and Laotian, each with parallel
English. But what about the cost? The LWML convention in
Milwaukee voted to grant $30,000 toward the project. Later. the
Board for Mission Services resolved to designate $110,000 from
Forward in Remembrance for this project. Three-and-a-half
years of prayer and hard work under the blessing of God are
bringing good results. Seventy-eight thousand copies were
printed. More than 23,700 have been mailed out and are telling
the story of God's love in Christ. Indeed, Him We Proclaim.

For the proclamation of the Gospel. the gifts of God's people
in the LCMS to the Forward in Remembrance effort has opened
new doors of ministry as the following summaries will show.

In its meeting of Sept. 27—29, 1981 the Board for Mission
Services approved the following allocations as approved and
recommended by the Projects Committee for North American
Missions (PCNAM):

A. New Mission Starts
56 projects, 32 Districts
B. Strengthen Existing Missions
35 projects, 22 Districts
C. Ministry to People of Other Cultures
23 projects, 17 Districts

$ 4.270.250

1.804.000

1.626.000