LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 120

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SYNOD
SYNODREPORTS
REPORTS

District theme is “Engaging the World with the Gospel of Hope.”
This theme was developed by the president of the Atlantic District for
presentation on Sept. 11, 2001 , and has been resoundingly affirmed
at the district’s conventions in 2006 and 2009.
The Atlantic District’s goals remain:
1. That every congregation be an active mission station;
2. That over the next ten years the active mission stations
double to two hundred; and
3. That two hundred homegrown mission leaders be trained
and equipped for the sake of the mission.
Each goal is connected to the Ablaze! movement.
With regard to the first goal, Atlantic District Ablaze! Covenant
grants provided close to $300,000 for new mission concepts in 16
parishes and schools during the past triennium, and an additional
$300,000 has been set aside for 2010. Several congregations have
worship services in three or more languages, with a total of 20 different languages in use on Sundays in Divine Services in the district.
With regard to the third goal, there are now close to 100 Atlantic
District commissioned deacons. Deacons complete a ten-course
curriculum that can also, for male deacons, lead toward pastoral ordination. Additionally, over a five-year period, 32 men and women have
been added to the roster of the Missouri Synod in the Atlantic District
through colloquy, DELTO (now SMP), EIIT, and alternate route
placements. Homegrown mission leaders are abundantly in evidence.
“Witness in the Public Square,” the Atlantic District Mission
Society’s annual luncheon in midtown Manhattan, has now brought
in over a million dollars for mission-planting resources. Scores of
servant trips to bring healing through deeds of love have been sponsored in the district, many to the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
In addition, the district has sponsored an orphanage, a school, and
a village’s economic return after the Asian Tsunami, a ministry of
love that continues. The parishes, schools, and pastors of the Atlantic
District are committed to engaging the world with the Gospel of hope
in Christ Jesus through every baptized member’s words and deeds.
			
David H. Benke, President
R7-02-02

California-Nevada-Hawaii District
The 184 congregations of the California-Nevada-Hawaii District
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, have covenanted to serve
as priestly communities together under Christ for the sake of the
world. We recognize that we often lose sight of those who are still
bound as slaves to sin, unable and unwilling to help themselves. For
that we daily repent. We also recognize how much we need Christ
and each other in order to be the world’s priests as God intended. This
need has never been more real than it is right now as we Lutherans in
the CNH District find ourselves virtually on the “outs” of our culture
and society. We have little if any public voice any more in the affairs
of our families, communities, and nation. Once universally accepted
standards, such as the sanctity of all human life and the sanctity of
marriage, are stressed under constant and vigilant attack. The foundation stones upon which our societies were built have been shaken
loose and discarded. How do we sound a prophet’s warning to abandon these dreadful directions when our society turns a deaf ear to our
words? How do we offer hope and healing in the crucified and risen
Lord when we are not allowed to speak publicly in His Name? We
live in a post-church world, a world in which our churches hold no
significant place in shaping the moral values and addressing the spiritual needs of our present and future society. Increasingly, people look

elsewhere for the help they need to face the challenges of their everyday lives in a broken world. Over the past decade, CNH congregations
have experienced overall a 15% loss in confirmed membership, worship attendance, and adults joining our churches through Baptism or
confirmation.
So how do we make a difference for Christ in such a world? First,
we are humbly seeking God’s Spirit and striving to work together in
addressing the many challenges facing us in this post-church era. We
recognize that there are no easy answers, magic programs, nor silver bullets for our churches to utilize in serving our communities as
faithful disciples of Jesus. I am pleased, however, that in the midst
of decline we have grown in the courage and wisdom needed to venture into this post-churched world with the confidence that belongs
to Christ’s own.
We praise God for the number of pastors and congregations
that make Christ’s mission the heart of their ministry. They have
responded very positively to the post-church message that we began
presenting throughout the district. Understanding more clearly the
post-church context in which we live and minister has significantly
encouraged many of our people to apply themselves anew to the
missionary task. A number of congregations have become motivated
to look at their mission contexts in a new way and to ask district/
Synod to help them in their missionary outreach. Concomitant with
this CNH development was the Synod’s larger emphasis on revitalizing 2,000 congregations for mission outreach by 2017. This
emphasis on mission revitalization—known as “Transforming for
Mission” in the CNH District—has taken root in over 20 of our CNH
churches with the promise of bearing much fruit. Furthermore, we
have been blessed to receive in this past triennium several missionfocused graduates from our seminaries and universities, as well as
rostered workers coming to us from other districts. “Transforming
for Mission” is working, but it comes with a significant price tag of
district resources. We’ve begun to understand the needs and structure accordingly in this triennium.
One of the last significant connections that remain between our
churches and the unchurched in this post-church era is the education
of children. Here is where our Lutheran schools, preschools, and early
childhood centers continue to serve as critical mission posts in our
communities. Presently, we have 78 schools in our district with over
8,000 children attending. Approximately one third of these children
are unchurched. In the last three years we have had 183 Baptisms,
126 adult member transfers, and 219 adult Baptisms or confirmations
through their ministries.
To increase the mission potential of this ministry, our schools
have begun utilizing admissions counselors who connect directly
with the communities in which our schools minister. In each case,
these counselors have proven not only to contribute significantly to
the enrollment in our schools but also to be a positive interface with
the local communities. They clearly understand their missional purpose and potential. Begun as a pioneering effort of one of our oldest
congregations, Zion, Piedmont, the service of admissions counselors
has spread to every school in our district. Furthermore, our district
has taken the lead in the Synod for the promotion of this ministry and
the training necessary to implement it.
We have entered a period in our church history where we
Christians are not directing the affairs of our world in any significant
way. Still, the pastors and people of our congregations take heart in the
fact that Jesus owns this part of history too. His promises cannot be
shaken, His strong arm cannot be shortened as He moves triumphantly

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