LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 122

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122

SYNOD REPORTS

In the past three years, we have moved forward with an initiative
to gather groups of small, struggling congregations and help them to
start thinking beyond survival and toward transformation. The goal is
to examine demographics, pool resources, and talk about sharing staff
and expanding vision to become outward-focused, mission-minded,
multiple-point parishes. The challenge is to spend necessary time and
money equipping, encouraging, and influencing leaders—professional and lay—to help them tap their resources and focus the work
of their congregations on mission beyond their walls.
Pioneer Camp and Retreat Center remains one of the high-visibility, high-impact ministries of the Eastern District. Our board of
directors recently supported the camp’s proposal to establish an office
of development to expand its ministry of and to solicit support from
those who wish to be a part of a dynamic and growing program for
the church and community. The objective, to make Camp Pioneer a
primary resource for ministry in the district, is being achieved at an
increasing level.
For many congregations, schools and preschools remain the obvious entry point into the community. New funding models will be
necessary, constituencies will very likely change, and technology
will continue to generate new and exciting teaching methods, but the
core values and fundamental truths remain. At the same time, congregations with elementary schools face severe fiscal constraints. To
help congregations make their irreplaceable resource a fountainhead
for refreshing change and to address other funding needs, the district has partnered with the LCMS Foundation to make the services
of a current giving counselor available to congregations to help them
explore funding options.
The commitment to mission outreach in the Eastern District
demands vision, determination, and a sense of entrepreneurship for
the sake of making a difference in the name of Jesus. The Liberian
outreach in Philadelphia gathered at Christ Assembly continues to
grow and raise up leaders, some of whom are now taking the mission to the next generation in planting a new congregation. Similar
ventures are being made in the northeast section of that city where a
mission director will soon be on site through Philadelphia Lutheran
Ministry. The Lord has also blessed the work of Unity Lutheran in
Pittsburgh through which a new start is taking place for the inner city
community beset with economic hardship. Work continues among the
Hispanic communities of Rochester and Buffalo, where the Eastern
District assists to help make a difference in the name of Jesus. Lay
and clergy leaders in other regions are also exploring ways to promote and support outreach mission projects through the support of
local congregations. There are a variety of new mission opportunities as well as the support and development of existing ministries.
The Eastern District is committed to the continuous transformation of its congregations so they can make a difference in the name
of Jesus in the next generation as they have done in the past. District
staff will work with these congregations to help them find ways to
grow to be centers of leadership development where dedicated disciples learn to commit themselves to the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
Newly created learning communities are a source of leadership transformation and support. Also, as congregations bathe their ministry in
prayer, they also look for opportunities to form strategic alliances for
the purpose of reaching out into their surrounding communities with
the message of the Gospel in a style and language that can be understood by those who live there.
Mission-minded congregations will be able to identify their core
beliefs, understand their passion, and know what they can do better than anyone else. These will be congregations that reflect their

apostolic nature as places of welcome, worship, nurture, and mission.
These will be blessed places on the frontier of a world that does not
know about the message that we have, of God’s love and forgiveness,
a message we want them to hear.
Chris Wicher, President
R7-02-05

English District
Ephesians 4:5–“One Lord, one faith, one baptism.”

These apostolic words of St. Paul were the scriptural text for the
May 15 sermon in 1911 in St. Louis when the English Evangelical
Lutheran Synod of Missouri was received as the “English District”
into the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and
Other States. In the 99 years that have followed, the English District
has provided faithful, fruitful, and unique service in the LCMS. The
Lord God continues to bless this district of the Synod, even in difficult economic times of uncertainty and amid huge challenges to
Christianity in North America.
The English District is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
What is unique about our district as a servant and missional leader
among the Synod’s 35 districts? First, it is one of two non-geographic
districts. Second, it is a microcosm of Synod, serving in 17 states
and the province of Ontario. The English District is divided into four
regions (Eastern, Lake Erie, Midwest, and Western) and proclaims
God’s Word in 20 different languages within its 156 congregations, 10
new mission starts, five campus ministries, two SYNOD REPORTS
ministries, and 64 school ministries. Our Detroit-based staff engages
in congregational, school, campus, and other ministry visitation.
Students are part of 18 different LCMS high schools in addition to
our Valley Lutheran High School in Phoenix.
The English District is unique in having distributed over half of
the nearly 100,000 Ablaze! cards in the LCMS, encouraging members to be light-bearers for Jesus. This ties in with the district’s motto,
“Igniting Christ’s Church in Mission,” and its Mission Statement:
Congregations and schools of the English District, in worshiping the Lord God, are:
Serving in our communities
Connecting with the unchurched and dechurched
Growing in faith and numbers
Reproducing by planting new churches.

The English District continues to be passionate for seeking the
“lost” (Luke 15) for Christ, while nurturing the Christian faith in our
churches and schools, coaching church workers, and providing leadership development through the revitalization/transformation process.
As a heavily urban district, many of our inner city congregations
have declined, while others are increasing numerically under God’s
grace. For example, inner city Zion Church, Detroit, is growing and
reaching out to people at ground zero of U.S. unemployment and
underemployment. Another, the Synod’s largest congregation, Hales
Corners Lutheran in Wisconsin, has adopted two satellite congregations and graciously hosted our 2009 district convention, providing
ministry models for congregational delegates. A mid-sized congregation, First Lutheran in El Cajon, CA, is a fine example of off-campus
ministry in its community, including adding three mission planters.
Many pastors do not see spectacular results but are good, solid, and
faithful, helping their flocks be disciples in mission to lead people to
Jesus. English District school ministries have witnessed an increase
in student population in eight out of the last nine years, opposite the
trend in our Synod.

2010 Convention Workbook

2010 Convention.indb 122

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