LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 115

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RESOLUTIONS
1. NATIONAL WITNESS
To Encourage God’s People
to Engage in Active Witness
RESOLUTION 1-01A
Report R1.2 (CW, 38–40); Overtures 1-01–02 (CW, 385–
86)

WHEREAS, Our Lord Jesus Christ stated His purpose in
coming into the world was “to seek and to save the lost”
(Luke 19:10); and
WHEREAS, Jesus identified His followers as His “witnesses
in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of
the earth” (Acts 1:8); and
WHEREAS, As Christ’s witnesses today we participate in
His mission to seek and to save the lost, and we share in His
joy as the elect are gathered into His Church; and
WHEREAS, Opportunities for evangelism arise primarily
from the relationships God’s people cultivate with their
friends, neighbors, and family; and
WHEREAS, Intentional evangelism is vital for the work of
the Great Commission in our “post-church” culture; and
WHEREAS, A stated objective for the Synod in the Synod’s
Constitution is to “strengthen congregations and their
members in giving bold witness by word and deed to the
love and work of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and
extend that Gospel witness into all the world”
(Constitution Article III 2); and
WHEREAS, The Office of National Mission (ONM) is
“responsible for domestic ministries that especially serve
congregations and schools through the districts of the
Synod,” specifically including evangelism (Bylaw 3.8.2.3);
and
WHEREAS, The Witness & Outreach Ministry of the ONM
has developed Every One His Witness, a theologically sound
evangelism program that includes many contextual
supplements, including a Spanish language version, to
equip Lutherans to be more active and effective witnesses
of Jesus Christ in the contexts of their vocations; and
WHEREAS, The Synod in convention has repeatedly
encouraged congregations to make witnessing and
evangelism a top priority in their ministry efforts. (1995
Resolution 1-08, “To Affirm That the Mission of the Church
Is Urgent and to Raise Mission Awareness,” Proceedings,
107–8; 2001 Res. 1-01, “To ‘Tell the Good News about
Resolutions

Jesus,’” Res. 1-02, “To Be Passionate for Great Commission,”
and Res. 1-03A, “To Intensify Mission Effort,” Proceedings,
120; 2004 Res. 1-01A, “To Affirm Mission 21st Century
Response To Great Commission,” and Res. 1-02, “To
Promote ‘Mission Outpost’ Attitude,” Proceedings, 119–20;
2013 Res. 1-05A, “To Encourage the Congregations and
People of the LCMS for the Joy of Evangelization and the
Making of New Disciples,” Proceedings, 101); and
WHEREAS, Called workers have been theologically
trained to discern, effectively utilize, and train God’s people
in the adaptation and use of a variety of witnessing tools;
therefore be it
Resolved, That the Synod in convention encourage God’s
people to seek purposefully opportunities to nurture
relationships with people in their communities; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Synod encourage congregations and
ministries to pursue ways in which they can tangibly meet
the needs of those who live in their communities, providing
those congregations and ministries with opportunities to
share the Gospel; and be it further
Resolved, That because of the hope that fills God’s people
(1 Peter 1:3–9, 3:15), they be prepared to share this lifegiving message of the Gospel with others; and be it further

Committee 1 Chairman Lee Hagan
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2019 (67TH) LCMS CONVENTION | 115