LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 224

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12. RETENTION: SCHOOLS, FAMILY, YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS
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provide holistic life education training to build and
enrich Christ-centered relationships;
enable their people to become the primary faith
influencers in their homes so that families may
thrive for the sake of the Gospel;
equip and encourage Christ-centered marriages;
equip parents or other primary caregivers with
knowledge and skills to influence their child’s faith
throughout the developmental and family life
cycle;
equip those who are in non-nuclear families;
place human sexuality in its Biblical context;
help people learn to manage the resources God has
given them;
incorporate training of families by families
experienced in faith sharing;
become a beacon of hope, pointing the way to
Jesus Christ;

and
WHEREAS, The statistics for the number of adults who
demonstrate faith in Christ continues to decline and these
are the parents of the next generation who are responsible
for sharing the faith with their children:
• Builders: Born before 1946—50–60 percent;
• Boomers: Born between 1946 and 1965—40
percent;
• GenXers: Born between 1966 and 1985—25
percent;
• Millennials: Born between 1986 and 2005—4
percent (Dr. Ben Freudenberg, Concordia Center
for the Family, 2016);
therefore be it
Resolved, That the district president and staff of the 35
districts receive and read the Generation to Generation pilot
study report by the end of 2020; and be it further
Resolved, That each district’s leadership identify
potential participating congregations and education
ministries, evaluate, and implement the Generation to
Generation recommendations as applicable to their own
unique settings; and be it further
Resolved, That district presidents would include the
results of their participating congregation information in
the 2022 Workbook district report; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Synod in convention in 2022 would
urge district implementation and monitoring of the
outcomes and to report Generation to Generation faith
sharing results.
Action: Adopted (9)
After discussion by the assembly, closure of debate carried by
voice vote. Res. 12-04A was adopted, also by voice vote.
224 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2019 (67TH) LCMS CONVENTION

To Take Further Steps in the Retention
of College-Age Students
in Synod Congregations
RESOLUTION 12-05A
Overture 12-8 (CW, 555)

WHEREAS, The 2016 Synod convention resolved, “To
Increase Our Efforts to Retain College-Age Youth”
(Resolution 16-05), in which it was asserted:
• An annual survey of over 153,000 college freshmen
revealed they are increasingly distancing
themselves from any religion
• A Gallup poll reported the percentage of Christians
among this age group continues to trend lowest
among college-age young adults (18–24)
and
WHEREAS, College-age youth includes high school
graduates entering the work force, vocational training, and
the military as well as universities; and
WHEREAS, We join the apostle John in saying of the young
people of the church, “I have no greater joy than to hear that
my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 4); and
WHEREAS, LCMS Youth Ministry produced a study called
“Retention of Lutheran Millennials: 2017 LCMS Study of
Young Adults” (www.youthesource.com/2018/04/02/youthministry-symposium-webinar-1/); and
WHEREAS, The “Retention of Lutheran Millennials” found
that The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS)
retains only one in three member children into adulthood;
and
WHEREAS, Experience suggests that reducing the gap of
time to less than 30 days before establishing a connection
with a new congregation improves the likelihood of longterm retention; and
WHEREAS, The “Retention of Lutheran Millennials”
reports congregations that intentionally engage in youth
ministry better retain post high school youth as LCMS
members; therefore be it
Resolved, That we commend the LCMS Youth Ministry for
producing an excellent study of this vital issue; and be it
further
Resolved, That pastors and laity be encouraged to read
“Retention of Lutheran Millennials: 2017 LCMS Study of
Young Adults” (see above); and be it further
Resolved, That we commend the National Youth
Gathering and Higher Things for their efforts to encourage
and retain youth; and be it further
Resolved, That we commend ordained and commissioned
ministers and all who volunteer with our young people; and
be it further
Resolutions