LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1986, Page 150

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4. GOALS AND RESOURCES

To Adopt Planning and Resource Goals
for 1989

RESOLUTION 4-01
Reports 4-01, 4-04, 4-07 (CW, pp. 137-44, 146-54)

Floor Committee 4, Goals and Resources, has concen-
trated on supporting the mission and ministries of con-
gregations both locally and through programs which they
have delegated to the Synod and its districts. This support
has been through developing refinements to the planning
and management systems, as well as through developing
methods for obtaining and managing financial resources.

To keep its work in perspective, the committee in be-
ginning its work reviewed the Preamble to the Synod’s
Constitution which gives as the reason for the forming of
a synodical union “(1) The example of the apostolic church,
Acts 15:1-31; (2) Our Lord’s will that the diversities of
gifts should be for the common profit, 1 Cor. 12:4-31.”

With the Lord’s commission in mind and realizing that
the church is the body of Christ, the committee proposes
the following resolution to help guide the church as it ap-
proaches the turn of the century.

WHEREAS, The ten objectives of the Synod (Constitution,
Art. III) provide for rendering certain services on behalf
of the congregation and others in support of the members;
and

WHEREAS, The Synod is comprised of congregations,
ministers of the Gospel, and teachers (Constitution, Art.
V); and

Wuereas, The Synod is subdivided into districts which
are the Synod in each area and which provide certain ser-
vices (Constitution, Art. XII); and

*

Wuereas, The Lord has placed many opportunities be-

fore the church at the congregational, district, and national
levels as evidenced in the reports of the boards, commis-
sions, and districts contained in the Convention Workbook;
and

Wuereas, The Lord has blessed His people in the con-
gregations and has given them, as His stewards, the re-
sources necessary to do the work He has placed before
them, and when motivated in a God-pleasing way, they
will provide the resources to fund the work of the congre-
gations, as well as Kingdom work on the synodical, district,
national, and international levels, including through direct
support; and

WHEREAS, Problems have developed in walking together
and funding the mission and ministry which need defini-
tions and solutions; and

Wuereas, Proper planning and effective communica- .

tion are required as we walk and work together in utilizing
the resources where needed most for the extension and
preservation of God’s kingdom; and

WueEneas, National and district leaders met in Planning
Conferences in February 1985 and 1986 and adopted vi-
sions and goals for the Synod as we approach the next

151

century and identified the need for “synodwide efforts to
effect greater collaboration and cooperation between ju-
risdictional units in order to minimize tension due to com-
petition and turf protection” and expressed the hope that
congregations gain “a greater sense of local and global mis-
sions plus greater intentionality and urgency with respect
to their purpose and that they have been helped to a clear
sense of priorities”; therefore be it

Resolved, That to support the work of congregations,
the Synod, and its districts as we approach the year 2000,
the 1986 synodical convention adopt the following em-
phases for the next triennium with completion or progress
reports to be submitted to the 1989 convention:

1. That by 1989 the Synod will have defined the prob-
lems and challenges in walking together in funding the
mission and ministry on all levels of the Synod, and that
through such research new ways will have been developed
to relate to one another and to strengthen mutual trust
and confidence.

2. That by 1989 the Planning Council will have reviewed
all national and district programs on the basis of the ob-
jectives of the Synod as stated in Art. ITI of the Constitution
and will recommend to the 1989 convention which pro-
grams or parts thereof can best be done by national boards
and departments, which by districts, and which by both
(Res. 4-03).

3. That by 1989 the national and district boards,
through the Planning Council and its planning units, will
have agreed on a coordinated planning and budgeting pro-
cess which supports the functions of the parish and which
assures that new work in support of or on behalf of the
parish will be initiated on a priority basis (Res. 4-04).

4. That by 1989 a program of annual “planning visits”
to each congregation and pastor will have been imple-
mented by district representatives to (a) assist them in
developing and maintaining a “mission and ministry state-
ment” which reflects their work in the local community
and their work at large through the Synod at local and
district levels; and to (b) gather information to assist both
levels in providing better services and improving two-way
communication. The district representatives will be
equipped to conduct the annual “planning visit,” discussing
the total work of the Synod on the national and district
levels, in addition to their own portfolios with the national
offices assisting, as appropriate (Res. 4-04, 4-05).

5. That by 1989 the Planning Council will have invited
several districts to test the concept of a generalist staff
through a pilot program (Res. 4-17A).

6. That by 1989 every district will be enrolled in the His
Love—Our Response or similar intensive stewardship em-
phasis to the end that every congregation will have an
active stewardship board or committee (Res. 4-06).

7. That by 1989 the adverse trends in the support of
work-at-large as detailed in the Council on Stewardship’s
report, Workbook, p. 181, will have been reversed.