LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 139

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SYNOD REPORTS
R7-02-29

South Dakota District
The theme for the 2009 South Dakota District Convention was
“Called Into Partnership,” based on the words of Philippians 1:3–6.
As God calls His people to faith, He also calls them into a “fellowship” or a “partnership” both with Himself and with others in His
Church. At the center of that calling is God’s eternal plan of salvation
for the world, founded upon His grace in Jesus Christ.
Jesus explained His mission in coming to earth when He said,
“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
Even as Jesus came to seek and save the lost, He both called His
Church into partnership in that mission and empowered His Church
by sending the Holy Spirit, who through the Church’s proclamation
of God’s Word and the administration of the Sacraments, brings forgiveness of sins and eternal life (cf. John 20:21–23; Acts 2:38–41).
The congregations, pastors, commissioned church workers,
and members of the congregations of the South Dakota District of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod all have been “Called Into
Partnership” in mission in our churches, communities, and world. The
mission statement of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod wonderfully reflects the mission purpose of our partnership: In grateful
response to God’s grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit through
Word and Sacraments, the mission of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod is vigorously to make known the love of Christ by word and
deed within our churches, communities, and world.
At our convention, each ministry in the district was identified as a
“mission outpost.” In each of our congregations; in our mission work
on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Indian Reservations; in Sudanese,
Ethiopian, and Swahili worshiping communities associated with our
congregations; in our deaf ministry work; and in our schools and
early childhood centers, the love of Christ is being made known by
word and deed. Because all of these ministries and all who are a part
of these ministries have been called into partnership, and because of
the grace of God in Christ Jesus that is being made known as a result
of that partnership, so many people—the Lord alone knows the numbers—will spend eternity in the presence of God and of the Lamb
in heaven. What an incredible blessing! What an incredible calling!
The 114 congregations, the 30,770 baptized members of those
congregations (which includes 24,238 confirmed members) and the
special missions and ministries that are a part of the South Dakota
District, are part of a larger partnership of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod. The word synod is another word for “partnership.”
In our partnership in the LCMS, we are blessed with a unity of doctrine based upon the divinely inspired Scriptures and the Lutheran
Confessions that is second to no other major denomination in
Christianity. While we frequently have discussions—sometimes
lively—over some matters of doctrine and practice, there is no disagreement as to the central message of justification by grace for
Christ’s sake through faith, nor to the focus of our proclamation summarized in these words of the apostle Paul: “For I decided to know
nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor.
2:2).
Over the past two years, our nation has experienced the greatest
economic challenge since the days of the Great Depression. While
South Dakota has not been affected as seriously as some other parts
of our nation, our rural economy has been challenged, resulting in significant impact upon the partnership between congregations, district,

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and Synod. However, after several years of operating deficits, the district ended 2009 in the black. Words from a past partnership still ring
with great encouragement to our current partnership. Dr. Frederich
Pfotenhauer, the President of the Synod during the Great Depression,
was a missionary to South Dakota in the early years of our district’s
history. These are his words to the 1932 convention of the Synod:
It is true that the present economic conditions throughout the world
induce us, if we do not keep our vision clear, to curtail our church activities. No doubt, money is more scarce than in previous years. All the
more, we must keep before us the lesson of history: first, that the more
evil the days, the greater the prospect of success in our Christian work;
and secondly, that when children of God are eager to promote their
Savior’s glory, the Lord supplies the necessary means and blesses them.

One of the greatest challenges confronting the South Dakota
District is the face of ministry in our small, rural, and often scattered congregations. In the 1800s and early 1900s, with homesteaders,
large families, and growing rural communities, our Lutheran churches
grew, multiplied, and thrived for two or three generations. Today, a
much different trend that began a generation and a half ago continues. The majority of South Dakota counties continue to decline in
population. Most towns in our rural communities continue to experience declining populations, the loss of many of their businesses, their
schools, their bars, and their churches. Some of our LCMS churches
have closed in the past as well, with others facing the possibility
of closing within this generation. Several of our congregations or
two-and-three-point parishes are struggling to pay their pastors fair
salaries or benefits.
The day that a church closes is a sad day! Some members transfer to other LCMS congregations, often many miles distant. Some
members join churches of other confessions that might still be in a
community or neighboring town. But the reality is that others neither
transfer to other LCMS churches nor join churches of other denominations. And though they may claim that they still hold to the faith
in which they were baptized and confirmed, the next generation of
people who live in that place will not have a church in which to be
baptized and confirmed and hear God’s pure and Holy Word. And
there will not be outreach to the lost. In short, when we lose churches,
the other loss is souls to God’s kingdom. “How can they call upon
Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in
Him of whom they have never heard? And how can they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:14).
While the South Dakota District is committed to establishing new
mission starts in our larger growing communities, we are also exploring new ways of serving our small congregations and parishes through
the use of Specific Ministry Pastors (SMPs) and men who are trained
through our district’s Lay Leadership Institute to assist their pastors.
And, by necessity, we are increasing our multiple-point parishes.
In all, we in the South Dakota District find ourselves addressing the challenge of being open to doing things that we have not
done before while not sacrificing our partnership in the Gospel, our
partnership in faith and hope, our partnership in mission, and our partnership in the integrity of holding to God’s Word and our Lutheran
Confessions.
Dale L. Sattgast, President

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2010 Convention.indb 139

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