LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 114

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114

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

given them to love. It is the purpose and intent of the NOW District
staff to encourage and resource the professional church workers and
lay leaders whom we serve to live the disciple’s life.
In compliance with Resolution 7-04A, approved at the 2013
LCMS Convention, we offer the following report:
1. Our district does indeed provide adequate resources for ecclesiastical
supervision in a reasonable and timely manner as prescribed by the
Synod’s Constitution and Bylaws. This supervision has been carried
out faithfully over the years.
2. Official visits are carried out under the direction and delegation of the
district president. Circuit visitors and district vice-presidents are often
asked to carry out the task. The opportunity for regular communication and reporting of these visits has been provided for.
3. Guidance and support for ministries of the district are provided for
through the district’s executive staff. In the past triennium, three new
executive staff members have been added: Robin Fossum as Director
of Early Childhood Ministry, Bob Fossum as Director of Family
Ministry, and Jim Scriven as Director of Education Services. Along
with Dustin Kunkel, Executive Assistant to the President, and Marilyn
Allen, NOW District Business Manager, they serve as the primary
resources to the ministries of the district. Leadership Development
has emerged as the primary focus of the district staff’s activities. Oneon-one coaching and encouragement are provided to the professional
church workers of the district and other ministry leaders through the
DCE Leadership Initiative, the Sustainable Lutheran Schools Initiative,
and the mentoring of Early Childhood Ministry leaders. The district
has also established a collaborative effort with the CNH and PSW districts to assist pastors who are new to ministry (seminary graduates)
to make the shift from being a student toward being a practitioner
through the M(inistry) A(pplied) P(ractice)—West Coast Program.
This is a two-year effort that combines a regional meeting with personal mentoring and cohort meetings. The district is also sponsoring
a learning cohort in partnership with the Pastoral Leadership Institute
and in collaboration with the CNH and PSW districts to train a group
of pastors and lay leaders in connecting with their communities. In
addition, the district staff has produced numerous resources for congregations dealing with congregational life-cycle issues (Legacy Toolkit)
and for assisting congregations in connecting with their communities
(Essential Participants Toolkit.) These resources are made available
through the NOW District website. Consultation and direct encouragement are regularly provided by all the members of the district staff.
An important partner in the district’s work is Concordia University—
Portland’s Center for Applied Lutheran Leadership (CALL). CALL
operates Mission Training Center (MTC), which provides leadership
training for professional and lay leaders throughout the Synod. MTC
is the primary arm for training the licensed lay deacons of the NOW
District. MTC also provides training and the opportunity for dialogue
around important church issues such as declining congregations and
ministry planning. The district staff and its partners seek to make the
best use of technology in connecting across the distances we face
while at the same time recognizing the value of face-to-face contact in
a timely and strategic manner. The NOW District has also established
a Catalyst Grant effort designed to help start new ministry in the district. In a partnership with the Center for Prayer and Renewal, we are
encouraging growth in the prayer life of the people and ministries of
the district.
4. Encouragement and needed congregational services are provided
through those efforts mentioned above and through personal visitation by district staff. The district also maintains a partnership in a
collaborative venture – Consultation to Clergy – through which psychological services are offered to professional church workers and
consultation is made available to assist congregations dealing with
conflict. The district website offers the opportunity for leaders in the
church to connect with one another directly and to share their stories
of ministry with one another.
5. The NOW District holds strongly to the value of the LCMS
Constitution that gives the local congregation the opportunity to discern and carry out its ministry where God has placed it. Because the
NOW District is a diverse collection of rural, urban, suburban, and

2016 Convention Workbook

frontier contexts, it is essential that we seek to provide support, encouragement, and guidance while empowering the local ministry to reflect
the love of God in Jesus Christ to those in its midst. We seek to assist
local ministries in discerning what God has called them to do and to be
and then to help them accomplish this vision. This value is reflected in
the Ends Policies established by the district board of directors in April
2013. They are as follows:
1.0 	The Northwest District exists so that congregations and
church workers live fully as committed followers of Jesus to reach the lost, disciple the saved, and be essential
participants and witnesses in their communities. Matthew
28:19–20; Matthew 5:13; Ephesians 1:9–10
LIFE TOGETHER
1.01 	Congregations actively provide Word and Sacrament ministry in every corner of the district.
WITNESS
1.02 	Congregations intentionally engage the people in their
communities and surrounding areas. This vision includes:
•	Laity and church workers serve together as full partners in
ministry within the congregation and communities.
•	Congregations are encouraged to develop and implement
strategic bridges into their communities.
•	Congregations freely disseminate and share resources and
ministry ideas with sister congregations.
MERCY
1.03 	Congregations boldly work with congregations of various
Christian bodies to:
•	Provide needed services to communities.
•	Share God’s love, comfort and grace through Jesus.
•	Share resources which may grow Christ’s church.
6. The district has been able to meet its financial obligations through the
blessing of God. The board of directors has chosen to support the ministry of the Synod by sending on 10 percent of the receipts we receive
from our congregations. We ask the congregations of the district to do
the same as they discern the level of support they remit to the support
the missions of the district.
7. While there is no perfect system or arrangement in the broken world
in which we live, the NOW District is able to effectively care for and
support the congregations and workers within its boundaries.
8. There is adequate support for the NOW District president to carry out
his duties as prescribed in the Bylaws of the Synod.

The NOW District is seeking to increase awareness of the support
it can provide to its constituents through the production and distribution of an annual report. Our 2015 report is available on the NOW
District website (nowlcms.org).
Paul A. Linnemann, President
R42

Ohio District
“A Time to Plant” was the theme of the 2015 Ohio District
Convention, held on the campus of Concordia University, Ann Arbor,
Michigan. The past triennium demonstrated why it is indeed a time
for us to plant new ministries and new missions.
Healthy Congregations

During the previous triennium, one objective was to prepare
a number of congregations to become planters. The aim was to
strengthen healthy congregations so they could plant daughter congregations, begin satellite congregations, or start new ministries in their
own communities in order to reach new people. So a number of congregations participated in the Transforming Congregations process.
In some cases, those congregations have been strengthened so that
they could plant a new entity or satellite ministry. Others underwent
the process with less success. Recently, one of our pastors observed
that what made the process work in his congregation was that the