Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 2019 · 67th Convention, Tampa › Page 33

LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 33

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
and the Department of Defense as qualified chaplains who are
free to be faithful.
Our goal is to have 72 active-duty chaplains and 120 Reserve, National Guard, Civil Air Patrol, and Coast Guard Auxiliary chaplains by 2021. We continue to recruit and encourage
our young pre-seminary university students, seminarians, and
parish pastors to consider serving our Lord and His Church
as military chaplains. The average age group of the personnel
served by military chaplains is 18–25 years old. It is a challenging calling; however, it is very rewarding, as they are always
present, no matter what clime or place, with these brave young
men and women who serve our country so faithfully.
One of the challenges for our chaplains is the cultural shift
on biblical issues. Be assured that your chaplains continue to
preach the Word of God faithfully where they are called to
serve. They treat everyone with dignity and respect without
compromising the clear Word of God or our Lutheran confession. Chaplains are still protected by law and policy of the Department of Defense to preach and teach in accordance with the
tenets of their faith. While certainly living in a challenging environment, they are still free to be faithful and uphold the teaching of the Word of God and the LCMS. There is no doubt that
MAF will keep an eye on this and ensure our chaplains receive
the support they need, as there is a constant movement from
organizations and individuals seeking to mandate compromise
and violation of conscience and religious liberty.
MAF continues the Ministry-by-Mail program, where we
publish over 7,000 copies of Lutheran devotional materials and
resources (including Portals of Prayer and “So Help Me God”)
and mail them to our personnel stationed throughout the world.
Our goal is to increase that number by 1,000 each year, as we
know there are more LCMS members who are serving our nation in uniform but have not made contact with us. We will continue to encourage parents, grandparents, local congregations,
and friends to submit contact information of their loved ones
serving in the military so we can reach out to them with this
program as well as put them in touch with LCMS chaplains
and congregations where they are stationed. We need the help
of our LCMS members to send in the contact information for
those who are currently serving in the military so we can support them.
One key highlight for MAF centers on care for veterans.
Operation Barnabas, organized in 2007, not only supports our
pastors who are also Reserve chaplains but also our Lutheran
veterans in the pew and the millions of veterans who live in the
shadow of our churches but never attend any church. It is estimated that there are currently more than 30 million veterans
alive today from all wars. This is an unprecedented mission field
and opportunity for the church. MAF is leading the way to
reach veterans and all military-connected people to draw them
back to the cross of Christ. Throughout the history of the Lutheran Church, God has moved His people to actively display
His love for military communities. To assist the LCMS in sharing the forgiveness of sins Christ Jesus won for us on the cross,
the Holy Spirit has moved us to joyfully build upon the work
and strength of our church in service to the military. This effort,
called Operation Barnabas, has grown into a united network
of care responding to the unique needs of military-connected
people.

The vision of Operation Barnabas is that every militaryconnected person lives in the hope and peace of God’s love and
mercy as revealed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Called
by Christ’s love, Operation Barnabas engages, empowers, and
equips LCMS faith communities to provide hope, healing, and
support to military-connected persons living in their community.
The Operation Barnabas project has made a positive difference in the lives of veterans who are members of LCMS congregations, and also to the veterans in their communities. The
training and networking has greatly increased the mercy and
compassion of the local congregations to all military-connected
people in their own congregation as well as in their community.
An Operation Barnabas congregation is a place where veterans are respected for their vocation as a military member and
are provided hope, healing, and support in their time of need
through the sharing of the Gospel and the compassion of the
congregation.
Many new veterans are returning to the civilian world after
serving their country. We need to continue to establish Operation Barnabas congregations who will be equipped to welcome
them and give them the support they need as they transition
to other vocations. Our goal by the end of 2021 is to have 900
LCMS congregations join Operation Barnabas as either a congregation or a chapter and be a part of our network of care for
military-connected people.
The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) in Military Chaplaincy
was initiated in 2005 and is designed exclusively for our military
chaplains to enable them to complete a DMin degree while remaining on active duty.

Deaconess Ministry—Deaconess Grace Rao,
Director
OIM encourages and supports the deaconess ministry—
women who are called and commissioned by the church to provide diaconal care. Deaconesses serve through works of mercy,
spiritual care. They teach the faith while focusing on Word and
Sacrament. Echoing “Joy:fully Lutheran,” deaconesses serve as
channels for the love and compassion within our church body
and with LCMS partner churches and non-partner churches.
The Director of Deaconess Ministry engages and informs
the Synod’s districts, congregations, and partner church bodies of the LCMS’s work of mercy, thus increasing the awareness of diaconal needs and deaconess ministry of LCMS Mercy
programs. Also, the position serves as a catalyst in identifying,
directing, and supporting educational and diaconal needs internationally. The ministry promotes deaconesses through different forms of media and speaking engagements. Over the past
decade and more than a half, OIM LCMS Mercy operations
has awarded $500,000 in grants to enhance deaconess programs
supporting scholarships and women seminars. Additional
scholarships have been provided for international deaconesses
to take part in theological conferences.

Past Triennium Major Accomplishments
••

The highlight of 2016—deaconess ministry was
honored to initiate a dialogue with the leaders of
a few partner churches to encourage their youth to
participate at the 2016 New York Gathering. Rt. Rev.
Mindaugas Sabutis, Bishop of Evangelical Lutheran
2019 Convention Workbook