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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 17

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

activities in The Reporter. Our quarterly publication,
Lutherans Engage the World, is second to none in
journalistic excellence as it reports on the life-changing impact that our donors and constituents are making, both here in the U.S. and abroad, through the
program ministries of the Synod. Stay tuned for even
more—a Synod web-based quarterly “shareholder
meeting,” improvements to the Synod’s website (especially in OIM and ONM news and resources) and
other expanded communications channels to appear
in the upcoming FY20. Proactive approaches like this
are just one reason that the LCMS has continued to
be granted Accredited Charity Status by the Better
Business Bureau (indeed, a very difficult standard
for nonprofit organizations to meet) and awarded
the Platinum Seal of Transparency by the GuideStar
organization, the world’s largest source of information on nonprofit organizations.

the BIM and BNM. While we are continually seeking
improvements wherever opportunities present themselves, it is not an overstatement to say that since the
Synod’s major restructuring in 2010, the organization
(both nationally and internationally) as a whole has
never been performing better than it is right now. Under God’s grace and provision, we expect this positive
trend to continue. I am proud of our team and our
church body that supports them so strongly!
••

••

Personnel changes—Over the course of the triennium, three new unit executive directors were called
to service in the Office of International Mission (Rev.
Daniel McMiller), the Office of National Mission
(Rev. Robert Zagore), the Office of Pastoral Education (Rev. James Baneck), who all on-boarded and
assumed their sometimes-daunting and ever-wideranging responsibilities with energy, faithfulness, patience, doctrinal integrity, and humility. These godly
men joined an already outstanding team of other unit
executive directors in LCMS Mission Advancement
(Mark Hofman) and LCMS Communications (David
Strand). I am filled with thanksgiving and praise to
God for the privilege of working with these tireless,
dedicated servants of the church. Truly, I get to work
with an “all-star” team every day that includes my assistant, Jeannie Smithson. During the past triennium,
we also bid farewell and Godspeed to unit executive
directors Rev. John Fale (OIM) and Rev. Bart Day
(ONM), who served the Synod with distinction for
many years between them.
2016 Resolution 4–03B Task Force on Recognized
Service Organizations—I had the privilege of chairing
this task force, which is recommending bylaw, structural, and operational changes to the RSO program,
and whose final report appears in this workbook.
LCMS Disaster Response efforts—As part of LCMS
World Relief and Human Care, our highly experienced Disaster Response unit and our “all hands
on deck” approach from within the Synod’s other
program ministry units performed admirably in the
delivery of mercy to people in need worldwide, and
most notably in the complex, immediate contexts of
major hurricanes such as Harvey, Maria. Owing to
the generosity of LCMS donors, sustained efforts in
affected disaster zones will most aptly continue over
optimal, longer time horizons (2–3 years out).
Transparency for Synod constituents and stakeholders—LCMS COMMS and MADV continued to
work closely with me, the Office of the President,
the Operations Team (CMO, CAO, and CFO) and
LCMS Accounting to provide new tools that will
offer even further expansion of our already “best in
the history of the Synod” financial and operational
transparency. This includes the annual “State of the
Synod” issue of The Lutheran Witness, a Synod Annual Report that was published for the first time in
the fall of 2018, and current/anticipated FAQ-style
commentaries and website hyperlinks to monthly
LCMS statements of financial position and financial

Major Objectives over the Coming Triennium,
2019–2022
The following are notable CMO current objectives (not an
exhaustive list) for the next three years:
••

Secure sustainable revenues sufficient to fund domestic and international mission and ministry efforts in
accord with mission emphases, priorities, and tasks
assigned by Synod in convention—increase through
vastly improved reach to potential new donors and
improved donor engagement.

••

Continue prudent financial management practices
and appropriate control of unit operating expense
among all units reporting to the CMO. All program
ministry units under CMO’s supervision lead the
drive to eliminate Synod’s internal borrowing deficit
against designated net assets, per targets established
in coordination with Synod Board of Directors,
Administrative and Operations Teams.

••

Assist with harmonizing the LCMS accounting system on upgraded basis across all regional locations
of the OIM, in order to establish most effective IC
executive leadership management of OIM regional
revenues and expenditures.

••

Strategically plan for domestic demographic trends
affecting all LCMS program ministry units.

••

Increase OIM deployed missionary retention.

••

Continue to build a high-functioning team at every
level of the organization. Increase trust, foster
healthy resilience through healthy conflict, commitment, accountability, and focus on results.

••

Develop a comprehensive strategy for the Synod’s
international schools, addressing Lutheran identity,
staffing, and the schools’ role within the mission of
the church.
2019 Convention Workbook