LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1989, Page 122

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122 RESOLUTIONS

Resolved, To give thanks to God for

a. the Gospel, the means of grace, and the office of the
public ministry;

b. our theological heritage and the synodical tradition
of the high esteem for the office of the public ministry;

c. the manifold and generous support, past and present,
by people of the LCMS for education for the pastoral
ministry and other full-time church vocations;

d. the long years of faithful service to the church by its
seminaries and their many faithful graduates and by
the colleges and the many servants of the church they
have educated;

e. the readiness for self-sacrifice on the part of many
men (and their families) who present themselves for
seminary education as potential candidates for ser-
vice in the office of the public ministry and of men
and women preparing for full-time service in other
church vocations;

and be it further

Resolved, That our colleges, seminaries, and their su-
pervising boards be encouraged to continue to exercise
faithful stewardship in the work entrusted to them and in
their use of the money provided to them to do it, including

a. careful delineation of the mission of the institution;

b. careful examination of the expenditures in relation
to the mission;

c. prudent husbanding of available resources;

d. integrity in reporting to the LCMS in regard to the
use of its peoples’ gifts for this aspect of the Lord’s
work;

and be it further

Resolved, That increased financial support of synodical
education for the ministry (and indeed, support of all of
the Lord’s work overseen by the synodical level of structure
for member congregations) be encouraged through offer-
ings devoted to the synodical budget by

a. encouraging everyone in our church body to hold high
the vision of the LCMS as our church and of the Syn-
od’s work as our work in the Lord;

b. encouraging congregational voters’ assemblies and
District boards of directors to increase and fulfill their
commitments to the Lord’s work supported by the
synodical budget;

and be it further

Resolved, To affirm the validity and desirability of
Christian charitable giving to development programs (such
as the Joint Seminary Development Project) and through
planned giving/deferred-gift arrangements as an appro-
priate ancillary activity supplemental to the support given
through the offerings to the synodical budget;

and be it finally

Resolved, To establish and promote a synodical endow-
ment fund(s) for education of professional church workers
in synodical colleges and seminaries, with these
provisions:

a. The funds shall be raised primarily through the ef-

forts of persons in the Department of Stewardship

and Financial Support and especially through major
gifts and estate planning.

b. The funds will be deposited with and managed by the
LCMS Foundation.

c. Income produced from these funds wil] be counted as
separate and distinct from subsidy apportioned from
the synodical budget.

d. Income produced from these funds will be adminis-
tered by the Board for Higher Education Services
(with the counsel of the Standing Committee on Pas-
toral Ministry) apportioned by them and assigned to
pay expenses pertaining specifically to ministerial ed-
ucation, including (for example)

® recruitment;

® preseminary, teacher, and DCE and other profes-
sional church worker programs at synodical
colleges;

® seminaries’ educational and general expenses;

@ student aid to professional church-work students
for educational expenses

@ funding of internships, vicarages, vicarage and
field-education supervisor training, and other
practica for advanced students;

®@ reduction of education-related indebtedness of
graduates serving as synodical professional
church workers, and

® continuing education events for persons serving as
synodical professional church workers.

Action: Adopted (10).

(Considerable additional information on the matter of the
funding of theological education was provided to the delegates. It
dealt with the cost of seminary operations, the source of funds,
cost to students, support for students, the debt of students and
similar matters. The information was contained on pages 177-78
of Today’s Business.)

To Provide Direction for Work
of Funding the Mission Working Team

RESOLUTION 4-02.

Report R4-02 (CW, pp. 74-79); Overture 4-19 (CW, p.
209)

PREAMBLE

Res. 4-01 of the 1986 synodical convention called for an
in-depth review of the methods by which support is given
for funding the mission and ministry of the Synod at all
levels. To accomplish this review the Planning Council
brought together a Funding the Mission Working Team
consisting of two members of the Synod’s Board of Direc-
tors and two members of the Council of Presidents. This
team was given the task of investigating innovative and
creative possibilities for funding the mission of our Synod
in ways appropriate for our day and time.

While it is true that member giving to congregations
has increased in the past years, and that “second pocket”
contributions (i.e., gifts earmarked for specific purposes)
are rising from year to year, the fact that there has been
a significant decline in the percentage of offerings remitted
for District and Synod mission and ministry is cause for
concern and has serious implications for our church body
and our future work together.