LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 309

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OTHER REPORTS 309

of His time. The Int’] LLLis working closely with the Board for
Parish Services in planning for study materials to accompany
“Yeshua” and is investigating ways in which some film
footage shot for “Yeshua” might be used in relation to LCMS
curriculum materials.

Among 10 episodes of “This Is the Life” produced during
this 30th anniversary season was “Little Boy of Summer,”
filmed in St. Louis and featuring members of the St. Louis
Cardinals baseball team. The Int’] LLL is working with the
Board for Parish Services in a special effort to fund production
of the episode through the children of the church as their
special gift to other children during Lutheran Television's 30th
anniversary year.

A special 30th anniverary booklet entitled ‘“Celebrate’’
presents the history of Lutheran Television in words and
pictures and contains a catalog of Lutheran Television rental
films. It was mailed to all Lutheran congregations, and single
copies are available on request from League headquarters.

An experimental venture into television is the production of
three 30-minute programs targeted to young adult audiences,
designed for placement by local young adult groups on local
cable public access channels. These programs are being pro-
duced at the studio facilities of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.
Placement of the programs will be through LLL-affiliated
young adult groups and will also be offered as a “back home
ministry” opportunity at the Youth Gathering being sponsored
by the Board for Youth Services in August. The programs will
be on video cassettes, and will also be available for showing in
congregations and on college campuses.

Also available to congregations is the League’s “Tension
Point” film series which consists of open-ended films accom-
panied by Bible study and discussion materials. Special youth
discussion guides for these films have been prepared recently,
thanks to a generous grant from the Church of the Good
Shepherd in Plainview, N.Y.

The Lutheran Hour

During this 51st broadcast season “The Lutheran Hour” is
being aired over more than 1300 radio stations throughout
North America and on an additional 116 stations overseas. A
total of 77 other Lutheran Hour programs in a variety of
formats are being produced by 19 overseas offices and are
broadcast in 31 languages over about 700 stations. These
programs are heard in about 110 countries, including countries
behind the Iron Curtain. Listener response from mainland
China received by the Hong Kong Lutheran Hour has increased
dramatically over the past few years.

In 1982 Lutheran Hour managers from 19 countries met for
a workshop in the United States, funded in part by AAL.
Following the workshop the overseas managers participated
in the Int’l LLL convention in San Diego, Calif. India Lutheran
Hour Manager Rev. Suviseshamuthu was awarded an honor-
ary doctorate by Valparaiso University in July 1982.

Lutheran Hour Speaker Dr. Oswald Hoffmann was
awarded the Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Philippine
Christian University in Manila in 1982, and in 1983 was
named International Media Clergyman of the Year by Religion
in Media.

Lutheran Hour offices around the world continue to seek
new ways to communicate the Gospel. Besides radio, they are
currently using cassettes, film, television, print, and a variety
of other media appropriate to their countries and cultures to
share Christ with people. The China Lutheran Hour has
recently launched a cassette ministry and is sending about
2,000 cassettes each week to people in Taiwan and to Chinese-
speaking people in several other countries. Overseas Lutheran
Hour offices continue to work closely with partner churches of
the LCMS and in many places provide the initial contact for
follow up work by LCMS missionaries.

Lutheran Hour rallies continue to provide support for the
worldwide Lutheran Hour ministry and in recent years have
also provided opportunity for local evangelism outreach
through the optional “Added Dimension” program. Rally
Coordinator Tom Baker and Associate Lutheran Hour Speaker
Rev. Wallace Schulz work closely with Rev. Leroy Biesenthal
of the Synod’s Board for Evangelism Services in planning and
carrying out the activities involved in these “Added Dimen-

sion” rallies. These activities provide experience and training
for ongoing evangelism outreach in local congregations.

Other Radio Programming

The League’s daily five-minute devotional program, “Day
by Day with Jesus,” is now in its 25th season. Dr. Victor
Constien, executive secretary of the Svnod’s Board for Parish
Services, has been speaker on the program since 1969. ‘Day by
Day with Jesus” is currently being broadcast over about 330
stations, primarily in the United States.

In an effort to reach more people with the Gospel, the Int’]
LLLis currently test-marketing a new program targeted to the
young adult audience. The program, “Crosswalk,” uses con-
temporary Christian music and the spoken word in various
forms to communicate the Gospel. The Int’] LLL has worked
closely with the Board for Youth Services in determining the
format and content of the program.

Print

The League's official publication, The Lutheran Layman,
which is sent to all Int'l LLL members and LCMS pastors, has
decreased the number of issues published annually, from
twelve to eight. Sixteen pages of this 20-page paper are now
reprinted under the title BCTN Magazine and sent to contri-
butors to the League’s ministry who are not League members
and occasionally to non-contributors. Four of these pages
designed for young adult readers are also reprinted under the
title Rejoice! and sent to individual young adults and young
adult groups for distribution to unchurched friends and
acquaintances. Both BCTN Magazine and Rejoice! provide
new opportunities for evangelism outreach through League
publications.

The League's official publication for its volunteer leaders,
League Leaders’ Lifeline, has been expanded to 16 pages andis
published seven times a vear. ServiceLife, previously a
bimonthly publication for Int’l LLL-affiliated groups, has now
been incorporated into League Leaders’ Lifeline. Several issues
of League Leaders’ Lifeline are being sent to all LCMS pastors
annually to keep them informed about League activities. Other
recent League publications include a book about Christian
marriage, And The Two Shall Become One; a Bible study guide,
Sharing Our Joy; and a Spanish prayer book, Ensenanos a

rar.

Hispanic Ministries

The League’s 15-minute Spanish radio drama, “Aver, Hoy y
Siempre,”’ marks its fifth anniversary this vear. Currently
about 125 stations in North, Central, and South America are
broadcasting the program weekly. A significant additional
number of stations have been carrying Spanish Christmas and
Easter radio specials produced by the League. “Esta Es la
Vida” is currently being shown over 18 television stations in
the United States and in several South American countries,
and Christmas television specials in Spanish have been
carried over the Spanish International Network. The League
has also produced a limited amount of Spanish Christian
literature and continues to work closely with other LCMS
boards and agencies involved in Hispanic ministry through
participation as a member of the LCMS Coordinating Commit-
tee for Hispanic Literature.

Multimedia

A new approach to ministry by the Int’l LLL is through
periodic multimedia campaigns in which the League uses all
its media ministries for a designated period of time to address
the Gospel to a specific problem or concern and to provide a free
booklet to those who request it. The first such multimedia
campaign, “The Miracle of Aging,’ was conducted during May
and June of 1982, and a second campaign, ‘Alone, But Not
Lonely,” was conducted in May and June of 1983. These
campaigns use Lutheran Hour sermons, radio spots, TV spots,
newspaper columns, and a series of “This Is the Life’ and
“Tension Point” films offered as a one-time-only series to apply
the Gospel to the subject being addressed in each campaign.
Materials for conducting a local multimedia campaign during
the time the nationwide campaign is being conducted are
offered to local congregations and LLL groups.