LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 80

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80

SYNOD REPORTS

application hosting, personal productivity and collaboration, IT support desk (help desk and microcomputer support), business process
analysis and management, technical training, and IT project and policy
management. The department currently supports the technology needs
of more than 500 business users at the LCMS International Center.
When the department was “Concordia Technologies” (CT), and
prior to that, the “Office of Information Systems” (OIS), services were
provided to a broader group of LCMS organizations that included
Concordia Plans, Concordia Publishing House, the Lutheran Church
Extension Fund, Lutheran Hour Ministries, and a variety of district
offices and other organizations. The Lord accomplished much through
these services and the information technology partnership that those
organizations once shared with corporate Synod and the LCMS
Foundation. Over the past 25 years, however, the department evolved
to its current state, now providing services only to the tightly coupled
corporate Synod and LCMS Foundation organizations. This evolution was influenced by the increasing diversity of the information
technology needs and regulatory requirements of LCMS organizations and the increased capabilities of their internal staffs, significant
changes in technology, the evolution of the information technology
governance model, and a recent external review.
Technological advances continue to impact society and the LCMS
in significant ways. The pace of those advances and the evolving
needs of corporate Synod and the LCMS Foundation challenge
God’s people to make appropriate use of His gift of technology.
The IT Department recently realigned its services per Information
Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) standards and has established policies and procedures that help to ensure accountability in
meeting that challenge with the best possible stewardship.
Over the past three years, when it was Concordia Technologies,
the department led and/or supported the following initiatives:
•		CrossConnect—the implementation of Blackbaud’s fund-raising and Web content management tools for corporate Synod
and the LCMS Foundation
•		Wireless Networking—the implementation of secure wireless
networks for employees and visitors at the International Center
•		Enhanced Firewall—the implementation of an enhanced firewall and related tools to ensure data security
•		Trust Processor—the implementation of a new trust management system for the LCMS Foundation
•		Banner HR and General Ledger—the implementation of significant version upgrades and Web access for this core system
•		Serve Now—the implementation of a volunteer recruiting system for LCMS World Mission
•		Ablaze! Web site—support for the evolving needs of the
Ablaze! program and its Web-based tools
•		Web statistics—the implementation of improved tools to track
and analyze Web-site traffic
Future technology initiatives will include the following:
•		CrossConnect—full completion of the implementation of
Blackbaud’s suite of products, and migration to a new HR/
Payroll service
•		SaaS—appropriate migration of internally-hosted systems to
Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions and externally-hosted
services
•		Corporate Data—consolidation of corporate data and creation/
revision of related policies
•		Expanded integration of smart phones with all systems

May God continue to bless our efforts to make appropriate use of
His gift of technology.
Myron A. Koehn, Interim Executive Director
R4-09

General Services
In support of our Lord’s command to the Church to share the
news of the forgiveness that is ours in Christ, the Department of
General Services is responsible for “developing and administering
building, office, information and electronic support services to the
entities of the LCMS International Center properties and other corporate organizations of the church in their support of the LCMS mission
and ministry objectives” (General Services Department Mission
Statement).
General Services is made up of the following units:
• Business Services
• Facility Services
• Electronic Media
• Purchasing Services
• Travel & Meeting Planning
Most of these service units are joint operations of the four corporate and trust entities housed in the LCMS International Center (IC)
buildings, operated under the authority of the Facilities & Services
Management Board. At present, approximately 35 full- and part-time
employees work in these five areas.
Business Services includes the following units in General
Services that support business activities of the entities housed at the
IC as well as district offices, congregations, recognized service organizations (RSOs), and professional church workers.
Rosters and Statistics compiles and maintains the official LCMS
rosters of congregations and professional church workers. This unit
also maintains lists of schools, congregational lay leaders, RSOs,
and LCMS high school youth. Roster information is available on the
LCMS Web site and is made available to all congregations, schools,
districts, and boards as well as other approved organizations. LCMS
districts and individuals can manage relevant data via the Internet.
IC Services is primarily the copy and mail services center serving
the IC organizations. Digital imaging, the scanning of paper documents onto CDs, is also offered, allowing the storage of hundreds
of documents on a single disk, significantly reducing the number of
files and file cabinets needed while more readily providing access
to information.
Research Services provides a full range of research design and
analysis services. The staff conducts original research, including
written surveys, telephone interviews, or focus groups (in-depth interviews), and also provides secondary analysis of existing data, such
as congregation information collected by Rosters and Statistics or
public data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Over the past three
years, Research Services has provided extensive assistance to the
Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance, collecting and analyzing feedback from meetings with district boards
of directors, district convention delegates, and delegates to the 2010
LCMS convention gathered at nine regional gatherings in late 2009
and early 2010.
Facility Services provides support services within the IC in St.
Louis.
Building Operations is responsible for the full operations of the
IC physical plant, including electrical, plumbing, life safety, and

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