LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 41

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OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
MAF continues the Ministry-by-Mail program which sends
Lutheran devotional materials and resources (including Portals of
Prayer) to more than 6,000 Lutheran military personnel and their
families stationed throughout the world. Our goal is to increase that
number by 1,000 each year as we know there are more LCMS members who are serving our nation in uniform. We will continue to
encourage parents, grandparents, local congregations, and friends
to submit contact information of their loved ones serving in the military so we can reach out to them with this program as well as put
them in touch with LCMS chaplains and congregations where they
are stationed. We need the help of our LCMS members to send in the
contact information for those who are currently serving in the military so we can support them.
One key highlight for MAF centers on care for veterans. Operation
Barnabas, organized in 2007, not only supports our pastors who are
also Reserve chaplains but also our Lutheran veterans in the pew
and the millions of veterans who live in the shadow of our churches
but never attend any church. It is estimated that there are currently
more than 30 million veterans alive today from all wars. This is an
unprecedented mission field and opportunity for the church. MAF
is leading the way to reach veterans and all military-connected people and draw them back to the cross of Christ by the grace of God.
Throughout the history of the Lutheran Church, God has moved His
people to actively display His love for military communities. To assist
the LCMS in sharing the forgiveness of sins Christ Jesus won for us
on the cross, the Holy Spirit has moved us to joyfully build upon the
work and strength of our Church in service to the military. This effort,
called Operation Barnabas, has grown into a united network of care
responding to the unique needs of military-related people.
The vision of Operation Barnabas is that every military-connected person lives in the hope and peace of God’s love and mercy
as revealed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Called by Christ’s
love, Operation Barnabas engages, empowers, and equips LCMS
faith communities to provide hope, healing, and support to militaryconnected persons living in their community.
The Operation Barnabas project has made a change in the lives
of veterans who are members of LCMS congregations, but also to
the veterans in their communities. The training and networking has
greatly increased the mercy and compassion of the local congregations to all military-connected people in their own congregation as
well as in their community. An Operation Barnabas congregation is
a place where veterans are respected for their vocation as a military
member and are provided hope, healing, and support in their time of
need through the sharing of the Gospel and the compassion of the
congregation.
Many new veterans are returning to the civilian world after serving
their country. We need to continue to establish Operation Barnabas
congregations who will be equipped to welcome them and give them
the support they need as they transition to other vocations. Our goal
by the end of 2018 is to have 900 LCMS congregations join Operation
Barnabas as either a congregation or a chapter and be a part of our
network of care for military-connected people.
The DMin Military Chaplain Program initiated in 2005 is designed
exclusively for our military chaplains to enable them to complete a
doctoral degree while remaining on active duty. The DMin program
can be successfully completed within a four-to-five-year time frame
by completing in-residence intensive courses offered at Concordia
Seminary, St. Louis, during January and in the summer. Students in
the DMin program may receive credits from the Command and Staff
College of the military that contribute to the 54 credit hours required
for the degree. The DMin program is supported by a Military Chaplain
Endowment Fund created by MAF, which holds a current balance of
around $55,000. Currently, there are seven chaplain/students active

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in the degree program, with three or more candidates in process of
matriculation. The goal for the next three years will be to get six more
chaplains through the DMin program.
Missionary Recruitment—Rev. Daniel McMiller, Associate Executive
Director

The 2013 convention Res. 1-11 approved the goal of doubling the
number of career missionaries supported by the Synod. At that time of
Res. 1-11, the OIM was supporting 68 career missionaries. In the time
since Res. 1-11, 76 career missionaries have accepted calls and been
sent to serve by the OIM. In order to calculate the current number of
career missionaries, consideration must be given to those missionaries who have concluded their international service. As of this writing,
there are presently 112 career missionaries. As it stands, the goal of
Res. 1-11 could yet be achieved with calling of new career missionaries during the January and May Board of International Mission
calling cycles.
During this time between conventions, OIM established a missionary recruitment team directed by Rev. Dan McMiller. David A.
Fiala was called to assist the director of recruitment and specifically
to target the recruitment of laypeople for Career and GEO missionary service. The Concordia University System schools, LCMS district
and LWML conventions, congregational and school events, LCMS
U, other mission conferences, social media, and the LCMS website
are all being utilized as platforms for recruitment efforts. Additional
conversations are being had with Concordia universities regarding
the potential for cooperation with OIM for international internships
(i.e., DCE or student teaching).
Though recruitment efforts are gaining traction, the recent influx
of new missionaries to new field assignments is presenting challenges
regarding the oversight of university student or young professional
(GEO) team members. Missionary Recruitment estimates that roughly
50 percent of our current career missionary staff is new and therefore likely will require time to settle in to their roles before they will
be interested in requesting additional career missionaries, let alone
being able to provide excellent care, direction, and support to university student or GEO missionaries.
Missionary Recruitment, together with COMM, has produced
an information packet containing basic information about the work
of LCMS missionaries around the world for potential missionary
candidates.
Missionary Services—Rev. Dr. Edward Grimenstein, Associate Executive
Director

Past Triennium Major Accomplishments: The Missionary Services
department, composed of six full-time staff, provides care and support
to LCMS missionaries as well as to their spouses and children. During
the current triennium, the Missionary Services department has undertaken a number of projects in order to provide better care and support
for her missionaries. Some of these initiatives include the following:
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Increased number of missionary orientation sessions. In an effort to
better train missionaries and to better reflect the fields’ needs for the
timely arrival of missionaries, the Missionary Services department
has added a two-week Winter Missionary Orientation to complement the already existing two-week Summer Missionary Orientation.
Missionary Services has also created a “mini-orientation session.” This
session, which is comprised of three days of on-site orientation along
with several online components, allows a new missionary to receive
a brief orientation for unique situations in which a missionary may
need to begin service. The missionary would then return to receive a
fuller orientation session either during winter or summer.
Orientation for spouses and children. During this past triennium, the
Missionary Services department has succeeded in creating specialized
training for spouses and children during the two-week missionary orientation. Since most missionary spouses are female, there have now

2016 Convention Workbook