LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 116

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1. NATIONAL WITNESS
Resolved, That the Synod once again encourage all LCMS
districts, congregations, recognized service organizations,
and auxiliaries to make use of the Every One His Witness
evangelism program; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod encourage all LCMS entities
involved in evangelism training and/or the development of
evangelism materials to work with the ONM to incorporate
Every One His Witness into their resources, to assist with
creating needed supplements to or translations of the Every
One His Witness core module, and to participate in the
development of additional Every One His Witness context
modules; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod support the ONM in the further
production of additional Every One His Witness resources to
address evangelism needs; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod support the ONM in developing
additional methods of delivering Every One His Witness
resources to make them more widely available to LCMS
entities; and be it further
Resolved, That congregations and workers be encouraged
to identify additional theologically sound resources that
can further inform and train them for the witnessing task;
and be it further
Resolved, That congregations and workers be encouraged
to bear witness to Christ in their daily vocations in their
communities; and be it finally
Resolved, That God’s people pray regularly, asking Him to
provide them with opportunities to share His Gospel with
other people.
Action: Adopted (3)
An amendment was proposed to amend the second-last resolve
that this include training and follow-up sessions, but the
amendment failed to receive a second. It was moved and
seconded to amend the eighth resolve to add, after the words
“theologically sound,” the words “and doctrinally approved.”
After some discussion, debate was closed [Yes: 786; No: 89] and
the amendment failed [Yes: 345; No: 546]. Noting the orders of
the day approaching, the chair asked to bring the matter to a
vote; without objection to doing so, Res. 1-01A was adopted as
presented [Yes: 873; No: 85].

To Encourage the Planting of Churches
RESOLUTION 1-02

empowers and strengthens them through His gifts of Word
and Sacrament.
WHEREAS, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, has promised that
wherever two or three are gathered in His name, He is in
their midst (Matt. 18:20); and
WHEREAS, The Church is the congregation of saints in
which the Gospel is purely taught and the Sacraments are
correctly administered (Augsburg Confession VII); and
WHEREAS, The 2016 Synod convention passed Resolution
1-02, “To Encourage Church Planting throughout the
Synod and Supporting the ‘Mission Field: USA’ Initiative”;
and
WHEREAS, The support of existing churches in the
immediate geographical area helps new church plants take
root and grow; and
WHEREAS, The Office of National Mission (ONM) has
produced training resources to assist congregations,
circuits, and districts in the planting of new churches; and
WHEREAS, ONM has worked with Lutheran Church
Extension Fund in establishing the Merle Freitag Church
Planting Revolving Loan to assist in providing resources for
new mission starts; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Synod in convention reaffirms its first
mission priority to “plant, sustain, and revitalize Lutheran
churches” (2013 Res. 3-06A); and be it further
Resolved, That congregations and circuits be encouraged
and supported by their respective districts to investigate
and identify new mission plants; and be it further
Resolved, That congregations, circuits, and district
leaders be encouraged to think strategically and plan
collaboratively when establishing these new mission
plants; and be it further
Resolved, That congregations and circuits be encouraged
to make use of ONM resources in the establishment of these
new mission plants; and be it further
Resolved, That the ONM, in partnership with the districts,
issue a report telling the stories of new mission plants prior
to the 2022 Synod convention; and be it finally
Resolved, That the congregations and workers of the
Synod regularly pray that the Lord of the Harvest would
bless these efforts and enlarge His Kingdom.
Action: Adopted (1)
Without discussion, the resolution was adopted by the assembly
[Yes: 900; No: 6].

Reports R1.2, R7 (CW, 40–41, 90–91)

Preamble
From its inception The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
has been a church planting body. Church planting arises
out of God’s desire that “all people be saved and come to a
knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). It rests on the promise
that God will accomplish His will through His people as He
116 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2019 (67TH) LCMS CONVENTION

Resolutions