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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 25

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
of Texas at Brownsville, has dwindled to a small-but-spirited core,
unable to financially support a pastor.
Yet opportunities for Gospel proclamation abound as Brownsville
grows, strategically located on the border and gateway to Central
and South America. Through the Mission Field: USA initiative, the
congregation and the Texas District are poised to call and place a
worker who will (1) plant a new, second/third-generation Hispanic
congregation in north Brownsville, (2) begin a campus ministry at
the University of Texas at Brownsville, and (3) continue serving El
Calvario.
Besides the new plant in north Brownsville in the planning stage,
we have partnered with the respective district in planting new work
in Beardstown, Illinois, and Sheboygan, Wisconsin. We also regularly consult with Grace Latino Ministries of Escondido, California,
in their extensive work of church planting. Other districts are in the
initial stages of planting Hispanic ministries and have consulted us
about future collaboration.
Every One His Witness—Rev. Mark Wood, Director

Every One His Witness was developed from the ground up as a
Lutheran evangelism program. It considers the real world context
in which Lutherans find themselves as witnesses of Jesus Christ.
Building on the solid foundation of Scripture and the Lutheran
Confessions, Every One His Witness equips Lutherans to engage
unchurched people regardless of their worldviews. It emphasizes
evangelism as a work of God and the role of witnesses as instruments through whom the Lord brings His Word to those whom He
has chosen for eternal life. Every One His Witness puts sound doctrine into practical action through a relational approach for sharing
the faith with the people whom God has placed alongside His witnesses in their everyday lives.
Every One His Witness is made up of two components. The first
component is a single unit called the Core Module. It provides the
foundational elements of Every One His Witness and is a prerequisite
for the second component. That second component is a collection of
modules that apply the elements of the Core Module to specific witnessing contexts. These modules are called Context Modules.
Core Module
The core module of Every One His Witness is made up of three
major components:

provides important insights into the impact that the doctrine of election by grace has on evangelism.
LASSIE provides an approach that encourages witnessing as a
natural activity in a disciple’s everyday life in the context of vocational relationships. A fundamental element of this approach is the
explicit and intentional sharing of God’s Word “with gentleness and
respect” (1 Peter 3:15). To this end, Every One His Witness makes
use of Luther’s Small Catechism in all aspects of LASSIE to guide
the witness in discerning the unchurched person’s worldview, gaining insight into the person’s spiritual condition, discovering a point
of connection with the person, and determining what to share with
the person when speaking of Jesus (e.g., Law or Gospel, specific topics, appropriate passages of Scripture).
Core Module Training
Training in the Core Module is conducted in a workshop setting.
The workshop is a video-based presentation supplemented with learning activities. It is conducted with a team of two or more certified
facilitators based on two facilitators for groups up to 30 participants
and one additional facilitator for every 15 additional participants. The
recommended maximum number of participants in a workshop is 60.
The Core Module training covers the three components of Every
One His Witness in five sessions:
•
•
•
•
•

Witnessing: What’s It All About?
You Are a Witness—What Does This Mean?
Vocation and Witness
LASSIE: Relational, Contextual Witnessing
Going, Planting, Watering … and Waiting Expectantly

Core Module training can be conducted in a variety of settings
including single congregations, circuit forums, mission festivals, conferences, district events, etc. It is approximately 7 hours in duration
and can be held on a single day or be split over two days (e.g., Friday
from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to noon).
Given the interactive nature of the Core Module training, it does
not lend itself to online instruction. It is only offered in a workshop
setting. Core Module training is a prerequisite for all Context Module
training sessions.
Figure 2
Every One His Witness Modules

1. The theological basis for witnessing
2. The “LASSIE” approach for witnessing
3. The use of Luther’s Small Catechism as a resource for witnessing

The theological basis for witnessing starts by addressing and
debunking common misunderstandings of evangelism, especially those which have resulted from the influences of American
Evangelicalism (i.e., Arminianism). From a clean starting point,
Every One His Witness continues by demonstrating the correct understanding of evangelism as an activity centered in Jesus Christ (i.e.,
evangelism is “all about Jesus”). Using the doctrine of election by
grace as the foundation for witnessing, Every One His Witness dismisses Law-based approaches to moving people to action and puts
forward a Gospel-based motivation for joining the triune God in His
mission as His instruments for seeking and saving those who are lost.
The LASSIE approach provides a contextual and relational
approach to witnessing that is rooted in the vocations of those whom
Christ has called to be His witnesses. The letters of the acronym stand
for Listen, Ask, Seek, Share, Invite, and Encourage. LASSIE is not
a checklist or series of sequential steps for a witness to execute, but
is an iterative approach to engaging unchurched people in the contexts of the relationships which the Lord has crafted in our everyday
lives. Highlighting the significance of vocations as a fundamental element of witnessing reinforces the relational aspect of witnessing and

Context Modules
The Core Module of Every One His Witness equips Lutherans to
be effective witnesses of Jesus in a general way. Context Modules
build on that to equip disciples for speaking of Jesus to people in
specific contexts. Following the pattern and structure of the Core
Module, especially the use of the LASSIE approach for witnessing,
each Context Module addresses the particular challenges of witnessing to unchurched people in that specific context. Categories of
2016 Convention Workbook