LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1989, Page 70

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70 REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

gaged in common, mutual mission and outreach
throughout the world. I see a partnership in which every
participating church body, regardless of its size, is not only
actively engaged in evangelizing its own area, but is also
a sending church to other areas of the world. This idea is,
in a sense, already in force. We’re meeting in Korea in early
September with more than 25 partner churches, and
churches related to The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod, to talk about the idea of a worldwide association
of confessional churches who work together in carrying out
Christ’s mission. Whether a church body’s membership is
2.6 million, as ours is, or 650, or 1,920, all churches should
be engaged in mission activity as a primary focus. As new
Christians are brought into the family of God through faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, they should immediately become
mission churches—not only as receivers but as senders.
By 1995, I see a church body in which the funding for
missions and outreach as a percentage of income has in-
creased significantly in congregational, District, and na-
tional budgets. I see a church body in which twice as many
congregations as today are engaged in personalized mis-
sionary support, so that the congregation actually gives a
good part of its mission money to support one or more
persons who become that congregation’s missionaries for
support and especially for prayer.

What a wonderful thing that would be, not only for the
financial support of world missions, but also for the per-
sonal and prayer support that comes from that kind of
effort! I would see congregations using budgeting processes
that identify missions and evangelism for firstfruits giving,
and not merely leftovers, and in amounts that never fall
below 10 percent.

By 1995, I see a church body engaged in planting and
growing new congregations at an accelerating rate. Al-
though our statistics don’t clearly show it at this point, the
LCMS has planted more new churches and ministries in
North America in recent years than all other Lutheran
churches. But I see us doing much, much more through
Circuits and congregations in the coming years. I also see
a prioritization of the way in which we do it, so that if the
influx of population is heavier in California than it is in
Kansas, then we in Kansas or Nebraska or Illinois or Mis-
souri help those congregations in Florida or California or
Texas or the inner city that need our help to plant new
churches.

The list of mission needs goes on and on. We already
have in place a special mission task force led by the chair-
man of the Board for Mission Services. Dr. Oswald Hoff-
mann, Dr. Johannes Gedrat, the chairman of the
International Lutheran Conference and a guest at this con-
vention, the Presidents of LLL and LWML, and several
others are assisting the Mission Board and staff to design
a blueprint for the ’90s for the North American and inter-
national mission of our great church body. We hope and
pray that this is not some idle dream, but that by 1995,
we will have become a much stronger mission church than
we are today.

Exciting things are going on in congregational ministry,
too. An important goal is that at least a third of our con-
firmed members will be engaged in Bible study by 1995
(it’s only about 20 percent at the present time!), and that

attendance at Holy Communion will be more frequent. Do
you know that as many as 25 percent of our people don’t
even go to Communion once in a given year? That calls for
a very special ministry on the part of all of us. Church
attendance goals are critical. Do you know that the average
church attendance in the congregations of the Synod is now
at 39 percent? What would happen, for example, if by the
year 1995 we would raise that by 6 percent, 2 percent a
year? If you have 100 people in church on Sunday, next
year you set a goal of 102, only two more people per Sun-
day! Is that attainable? I believe it is, not only by bringing
new people into our congregations who don’t know Jesus
Christ, but also by visiting with those who don’t attend
now and helping them to be-nursed and nurtured into a
deeper relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ through
Word and Sacraments. What a great, magnificent gift this
would be for the congregational life and general well-being
of our church body!

Please take the time to read and think about the rest
of my dreams and goals, too, and then add your own
dreams and goals. Let me put the question to you again:
What would the LCMS be like in 1995, two conventions
from now, if we really did what God has enabled us to do?
This great and wonderful church body, led by its faithful
pastors and teachers, its excellent seminaries, and its won-
derful laymen can do so much more! I doubt if there’s an-
other church body in this world where pastors, teachers,
and laymen have learned to work together so effectively
and so well. It’s my prayer that this convention will enable
all of that to happen, and to do so with power and enthu-
siasm, and with celebration and shouts of joy. My brothers
and sisters, God has given us great gifts and great oppor-
tunities, not only in this week but in the closing decade of
this century and well into the next.

Conclusion

As we move toward our future, let us remember that
in the midst of constant change we have a constant and
never-changing Jesus Christ. He’s the same yesterday and
today and forever! And we have a constant Word of God
that’s holy and inerrant and inspired and sure. We don’t
argue about that Word, but rather argue from it in order
to preach and teach and exhort one another. What precious
gifts God has given us in the midst of constant change!
The only thing we have to fear, if I may paraphrase Frank-
lin D. Roosevelt’s statement of some years ago, is fear itself.
Sometimes it appears that we have become almost crippled
by the fears and doubts that lead us to mistrust and be
suspicious of one another, and even to pounce and “score
points” on one another. Let each of us admit it: I, Lord,
am a poor, miserable sinner. I am imperfect and incom-
plete. I haven’t done the job. I have no defense. But God
be praised! He is a God of grace and mercy! He doesn’t call
me to justify myself! He has done that for me in Jesus
Christ! And the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
which announces that to you and to me and to all of us is
the one great hope and the life of this church. And it frees
us to serve one another as we serve our Lord Jesus Christ!

As we cope with fear in an age of change, we can also
be greatly helped by the legacy given us by the founders
of this church 150 years ago. We're going to have special