LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 43

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SYNOD REPORTS
series on the eight stewardship principles, newsletters for pastors,
etc.
• The Stewardship Ministry Department has continued providing free
Web-based weekly bulletin “blurb” resources and monthly newsletter articles for ongoing stewardship education in the congregation.
• New DVD resources providing additional tools for the Faith Aflame
process continue to be offered.
Youth Ministry

• The Lutheran Youth Fellowship Teen Initiative, the National
LCMS Youth Gathering, the Youth Ministry Symposium, National
Lutheran Youth Workers, and thESource all address current events
and issues that are a part of our church and our culture. With teenagers and young adults very much enmeshed in contemporary
culture and impacted by it, the Youth Ministry Department seriously focuses on how to help teens and young adults respond to
today’s culture and how to empower congregations to take the lead.
• Youth ministry programs, events, and resources have tackled young
adult ministry, teen sexual abuse, spirituality as opposed to religion,
developing a Christian worldview, outreach in a tolerant world,
declining youth populations in both the country and in the church,
as well as other subjects. The Youth Ministry Department always
strives to be supportive and encouraging to youth and young adult
ministries.
Additional Ways in Which the Board for District and Congregational
Services Has Served the Synod

1. LCMS Children’s Ministry and LCMS Family Ministry serve
as the visionary and unifying voice for ministries with children and families in the Synod. Administrative systems have
been planned, initiated, and mobilized (Family Ministry Action
Team, Children’s Ministry Action Team, and Early Childhood
Consultants Network). Comprised of district and congregational leaders, these teams collaborate with various groups
and organizations to carry out the vision, mission, goals, and
objectives that support, equip, and encourage those who serve
in these vital areas.
2. LCMS School Ministry serves as the national voice for
Lutheran schools in the Synod. It advocates for professional
excellence, links to relevant resources and services, builds
collaborative systems of service and support, and provides a
timely response to needs and issues.
3. LCMS Stewardship Ministry, partnering with the LCMS
Foundation as an active instructor in “Lifetime Plan for
Giving” seminars, makes stewardship presentations to various LCMS entities and assists in preparing LCMS district
leaders to facilitate local stewardship efforts.
4. LCMS Youth Ministry continues to serve the LCMS by providing timely leadership training for youth and adults, promoting
servant events for youth and adults, sponsoring the National
LCMS Youth Gathering (the single largest gathering event for
the LCMS), and serving as the national advocate for LCMS
youth ministry.
Conclusion
Significant opportunities, challenges, and concerns currently facing
LCMS District and Congregational Services

1. Opportunities for DCS are the following:
o to focus on sharing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ;
o to focus on stewardship education;
o to help Lutheran schools become twenty-first century schools;

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o to lead congregations to understand that children and youth are
the future of the LCMS and need to be intentionally provided
with ongoing Christian education and ministry support; and
o to lead congregations to embrace the urgent need for intentional ministry with families, family ministry being missional
ministry.
2. Challenges for the DCS are:
o the current Synod hiring freeze (the Executive Director,
Associate Director of Children’s Ministry, and Associate
Director of Stewardship positions are vacant);
o the continued reduction in staffing due to financial constraints;
and
o The limited or non-existent financial resources for programs.
3. Concerns of the DCS are:
o the declining Baptism rate in Lutheran congregations;
o the prospect of limited financial resources in the future; and
o the question how current DCS ministries will fit into the new
proposed LCMS structure.
Future goals of LCMS District and Congregational Services

In continuing to pursue the following initiatives, DCS pledges that
it will model good stewardship of our Synod’s precious resources,
collaborating across all ministry areas and through the shared vision
of “One Mission, One Message, One People.” DCS remains dedicated to:
• empowering leaders for mission;
• equipping congregations for outreach;
• fostering faith development in children and adults;
• encouraging biblical stewardship;
• strengthening churches and schools for ministry; and
• responding innovatively to twenty-first century issues.
Overtures submitted by LCMS District and Congregational Services
DCS has submitted overtures to the 2010 convention of the Synod to
advocate for:

• the recruitment and retention of full-time church workers;
• the continuation of children’s, youth, family, school, and stewardship ministry services for districts and congregations; and
• an orderly transition for district and congregational services should
restructuring recommendations be adopted by the 2010 convention.
David E. Bruns, Chairman
William D. Cochran, Interim Executive Director
R2-02

Commission on Worship
The current Commission on Worship, comprised of seven members appointed by the President of the Synod (Bylaw 3.9.7.1), is
immersed in addressing the worship situation ongoing in the Synod.
As an appointed group, the members represent a microcosm of the
Synod’s varying positions on matters of worship. It is the commission’s collaborative task to shore up the treasure of the Lutheran
heritage of worship as it is has been advanced, confirmed, and published in the vast constellation of resources associated with Lutheran
Service Book (Bylaw 3.9.7.2). Furthermore, the commission has been
actively engaged in seeking to understand, network, and care for the
growing number of pastors, musicians, and laity who are skilled in
navigating, harnessing, and unleashing the benefits of multimedia in
worship and are able to integrate Web delivery systems that readily
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