LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 48

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48 PARISH. YOUTH. AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES

Decisions are to be made soon on how to develop and deliver
to the parishes both resource materials and training events
which meet the recognized needs of parishes. A delivery system
will be arrived at by mutual agreement with the Board for
Social Ministry Services.

IX. Him We Proclaim Through the Church’s Preschool,
Elementary and Secondary Schools

A. Him We Proclaim—for God’s Purposes

The School Department of the Board for Parish Services
strives to be of service to parish and community agencies of
full-time Christian education. The overall goal of the School
Department is to provide leadership for the support. communi-
cation, upgrading, and extension of the early childhood, ele-
mentary. and secondary schools operated by congregations
and associations of congregations of the Synod. Thus the
Department's role is to help teachers, administrators, parish
leaders, and District leaders to proclaim Jesus Christ through
the church's schools.

From its inception the Synod has been aware that the
purposes of its Lutheran schools are God's purposes. The
responsibility to educate was given by God to parents and the
church. As we celebrate the 500th anniversary of Dr. Martin
Luther's birth we are reminded of his strong emphasis on
parental responsibility in teaching the young. Luther also
recognized the church's responsibility and promoted the estab-
lishment of schools for boys and girls. The Lutheran school
and the church “proclaim Him” best by carrying out their
educational responsibilities together. It is unfortunate that
during the Bylaw revisions of 1981 the Synod neglected to
retain in its Bylaws the widely accepted statement that, ‘The
most effective educational agencies available to the church for
equipping God's people for ministry are the full-time Lutheran
elementary and secondarv schools” (7.05 of 1979 Handbook).
Congregations with elementary schools have received a spe-
cial gift of God’s grace. The outpouring of His love is evident
among Christians who support Lutheran preschools, elemen-
tary, and secondary schools.

Dr. Martin Luther wrote, ‘I am much afraid that schools
will prove to be great gates of hell unless they diligently labor
in explaining the Holy Scriptures. engraving them in the
hearts of youth.” Today we continue to confess, “Through the
Word and Sacraments. as through instruments, the Holy
Ghost is given, who works faith, where and when it pleases
God, in them that hear the Gospel. to wit, that God not for our
merits, but for Christ's sake, justifies those who believe that
they are received into grace for Christ’ssake’ (AC V). Lutheran
schools provide the setting in which Lutheran teachers par-
ticipate in the ministry of the church. They teach the Word.
They defend and promote the Christian faith in the classrooms
and on the playgrounds and are involved in numerous parish-
related activities.

Lutheran schools are a mission of the church. They teach
and apply Lutheran doctrine to the lives of their pupils, provide
opportunities to worship and witness, and develop Chnistian
communities of faith. concern, fellowship, and caring service.
Lutheran schools provide parents with opportunities for the
free exercise of religion. By supporting and choosing a Lu-
theran school, a school that is an integral part of the congre-
gation, staffed by ministers of the church, increasing numbers
of Lutherans are exercising their religious freedom. In our
Lutheran schools parents, children, and faculty members
cooperate to create good alternative forms of education for
their communities.

Just as Lutheran schools are a mission of the church, they
must also be about the business of being in mission as the
church. Just as the church proclaims Jesus Christ, so does the
Lutheran school. Just as the church is preserving and extend-
ing the Gospel, so Lutheran schools preserve and extend the
Gospel. Just as the church is lengthening the cords and
strengthening the stakes of the church, so the Lutheran school
is about this same task of evangelism and Christian education.
In this sense Lutheran schools never become an end in
themselves, but are a means for the Christian congregation to
fulfill its responsibilities in Christ’s mission—‘*Him We
Proclaim!”

B. Him We Proclaim—to Young Children

As women of the baby-boom generation reach their child-
bearing years. the projected number of children under five
years of age is expected to peak at 20 million by 1990. Hence
early childhood education programs continue to grow in the
Synod’s congregations to meet the needs of preschoolers and
their families. The 1980—81 statistics revealed that 1.268
parishes operated early childhood programs with 48,784 pupils
under age five. This is an increase of nearly 5,000 pupils since
the 1978—79 school year.

The 1981—82 statistics indicate an additional & new
schools—mostly early childhood programs. Ninety-five per-
cent of the new schools serve three- and four-vear-olds. The
continued increase of programs for preschoolers is good news
for Lutheran education, as these programs are often the
foundation of our Lutheran elementary and secondary schools.

The “echo effect” (the baby-boom generation coming of
childbearing age) and the increased number of single-parent
families and families where both parents must work, is causing
another concern to surface—care for infants and toddlers.
Many congregations have already established infant toddler
programs: ministry by mail: the church nursery; infant sitters;
parents’ clubs: material exchange centers; day care homes: and
infant toddler centers. One of our resource bulletins, Caring
for Infants and Toddlers, provides excellent suggestions for
congregations interested in establishing aninfant. toddlerday
care center or providing part-time services for the youngest of
God's children. Another of our bulletins, The Preschool Aged
Child in the Church, describes similar ways in which the
church can minister to preschool aged children and their
parents.

Day care services should be a high priority ministry for
local congregations. Two out of every three North American
mothers are expected to hold full-time employment by the end
of the decade. Although the need is great the day care area
remains untouched by many congregations because of the
extra requirements involving licensing. staffing, and facilities.
Congregations earnestly seeking to bein ministry with young
children and parents in the ‘80s need to explore the possibility
of day care and after school care for young children. Our film.
Where Are They Going? was designed to encourage congre-
gations to recognize the validity of the day care ministry for
parents, children, and the church. A companion bulletin,
Where Are They Going?— Follow Through, is intended to help
congregations move into the day care ministry by offering
step-by-step instructions for establishing a day care center.

The appearance of Helping Moral Development, the third
book for parents of preschoolers in the Christian Parent Series
(Concordia Publishing House), is intended to help parents
understand factors that affect moral decisions and behavior.
and to serve as a guide for disciplining young children. This
booklet, along with its companion pieces, Child Development
and Home Enrichment, serve as tools for directing parents in
the Christian parenting role.

Our monthly BPS publications include /nsights and Ideas
and Preschool Devotions. We also write promotional and
professional articles for the Reporter, Inspirit, Lutheran Edu-
cation, and other journals and publications. A new tract. The
Hurried Child, and a children’s service for the Synod's 1984
Evangelism Festival are in the offing.

An ongoing network of early childhood consultants con-
tinues to aid District education executives and local congre-
gations in promoting, establishing, and maintaining early
childhood education at the local level. The consultants are
instrumental in helping congregations to establish new pro-
grams, plan conferences and workshops, and encourage
summer seminars at synodical colleges. Regular mailings and
regional meetings keep consultants abreast of trends, con-
cerns, and needs in early childhood. Yearly emphases, as well
as District needs, inform the job description of each consultant.

Leadership services are provided to Districts in the form of
seminars and workshops for teachers, pastors, parents, boards,
directors of Christian education, and others. Special “Project
Serve” workshops have been provided for early childhood
administrators, as well as ‘“Teaching the Faith” workshops in
anumber of Districts. These inservice workshops are designed
to provide educators with administrative skills and theological