LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 17

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OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
we rejoice together in His work, and that we may stand against the
wiles of the devil.
I pray that this summary—and the Detailed Reports and
Commentary below—will provide a refreshing and inspiring glimpse
into your OIM. We have a great story to tell as our Lord enables us to
serve in LCMS mission. May blessings abound as you give prayerful
consideration to the business of the Synod in convention.

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PASTORAL EDUCATION (PE)
Interim Unit Executive Director, Rev. J. Bart Day

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While the vital work of pastoral education continues, the past triennium has brought significant change to the PE office and its work
processes with the departure of the former PE Executive Director,
Rev. Dr. Glen Thomas, who served the PE office with distinction.
His departure has led to substantive conversations with key pastoral
formation stakeholders to determine how best to continue with the
position and PE’s future work. Critical in all conversations is how best
to support pre-seminary, seminary, and post-seminary education in
an effective manner. A clear path forward is in view and the permanent filling of the Executive Director position will soon begin. It is
evident that such a position at the Synod is necessary to support the
work of pastoral formation and to remain an advocate and voice for
that work within the Synod structure.

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MISSION ADVANCEMENT (MA)
Unit Executive Director, Mr. Mark Hofman
LCMS Mission Advancement plans, executes, and coordinates Synod,
Inc.’s donor engagement, donor care, and fund-raising activities in
order to maximize charitable gifts in support of Synod’s mission and
ministry.

Funding Our Mission and Ministry
Corporate Synod is continually adapting to changes in the way
God’s people supply financial resources intended to support nationaland international-level work. In this adaptation process, the Synod
and its 35 districts react to the manner in which LCMS congregations
and households prefer to fund the Synod’s stated mission, recognizing the following items:
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The majority of mission and ministry dollars given by households
remain in the local congregation and community.
The dollars flowing from LCMS households through their congregation and district to the national office has diminished in amount and
impact over several decades (and especially so when those dollars are
adjusted for inflation).
People who live out the stewardship of all God’s gifts largely prefer
a direct, personal connection to ministry efforts, and they prefer the
honor of being personally asked to give.
People (stewards) who give earn the moral right to see the impact of
their contributions on the lives and spiritual growth of those who they,
together with the Synod, are helping.

For these reasons, corporate Synod engages LCMS people, congregations, and groups in a philanthropic relationship, primarily but
not exclusively through MA. These efforts stand on the shoulders of
prior leaders and fund-raising teams going back to the Synod’s first
Stewardship Department.
Where We Must Go—2016 and Beyond
In the coming triennium, corporate Synod and its various program
areas and ministry efforts will confront both internal and external
challenges to adequately funding Constitution- and conventionmandated activities. Challenges include but are not limited to the
following:
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The ongoing decline in overall membership (fewer LCMS households
as the source of gifts)

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A disconcertingly high annual loss in the number of active contributors
(households, congregations, groups, and organizations), attributable
to deaths, economic conditions, and redirected giving priorities
Various expectations and obstacles that make it difficult for the Synod
to identify, communicate with, and engage new donors to replace those
lost in attrition
A national culture increasingly hostile to charitable giving in support
of religion and religiously-affiliated organizations
Demographic shifts affecting philanthropy from one generation to the
next, such as the loss of organizational loyalty or affinity
Internal dissension, strife, and even indifference over the mission and
future of the LCMS
Confusion, disagreement, or a lack of understanding among laity
regarding what the Synod is, what it does, and even why it exists;
how the Synod and its program areas and ministry efforts are funded;
and what value the Synod delivers
Competition for philanthropic and charitable support from sophisticated, well-managed organizations willing to invest heavily in
successful, effective advancement efforts and aggressive capital
campaigns
Congregations, and even some districts, struggling to maintain their
own viability and vitality
A failure of understanding each LCMS household well enough to
appropriately and joyfully connect them to Synod’s regional, national,
and international work
The shifting, often unpredictable, winds of national political and economic forces
Dissonance regarding the value of fund-raising and the care of contributors, as well as the place of donor-directed financial support within
the Synod’s mission and ministry

Recognizing these and other challenges, MA articulated and
implemented a long-range vision and plan to enhance corporate
Synod’s advancement (fund-raising and donor care) efforts by focusing on five significant goals and their related, desired outcomes. These
goals will drive management decisions and the allocation of resources
in order to achieve higher levels of trust, confidence, and satisfaction
among people in the Synod, and to better balance fund-raising efficiency with donor care effectiveness. Synod leaders, including those
in COMM and other units, will have distinct and indispensible roles
to play in the plan’s various strategies and desired outcomes.
Cautions and Counsel to Convention Floor Committees and
Delegates
Delegates to the Synod’s 2016 convention make decisions shaped
by certain financial realities. First, the convention faces a reality that
the majority of God’s people in the LCMS choose to keep worship
offerings at home, in their local congregation and community. No longer are national and international witness, mercy, and life together
efforts—including our missionaries and seminaries—funded through
the congregation’s offering plate. Direct charitable gifts and organization-specific bequests have taken the place of the Sunday tithe in
this regard, and those annual gifts and one-time bequests are supplied by a relatively small portion of the Synod’s 800,000 households.
Second is the reality that corporate Synod has neither secret
sources nor vast storehouses of money apart from LCMS district, congregation, and household donations. Districts, too, do not have secret
sources or storehouses of money apart from what they receive from
individuals or congregations. Congregations themselves do not have
secret sources or storehouses of money apart from what their members contribute. Our professional workers alone—pastors, teachers,
deaconesses, and other specialists—do not fund the Synod’s ministry
out of their own resources. There is no “other person” or “rich family”
we can turn to for money to fix, expand, start, enhance, or otherwise
fund the Synod’s many ministries.
2016 Convention Workbook