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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 38

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

say that. The Synod’s experiences teach that local congregations
planting a daughter congregation (or sister campuses) has proven to be the most successful model among us. This insight is fortified by many biblical mission texts. ONM will share, research,
and create resources regarding ways of church planting and best
practices that help overcome foreseeable problems.
In a similar vein, the U.S. is home to many immigrant people. ONM will provide grants, training, funding, and support
for outreach among these diverse groups. We are especially intrigued by the idea of using returning veteran missionaries from
foreign fields to reach out in the U.S. as national missionaries as
part of the Mission Field: USA program.
Within ONM, several key positions currently remain vacant, most notably a director of Life Ministry and a director
of Family and Health Ministry. These are vital to our Synod’s
future work. Attacks on the family and on life itself are ramping
up at a frightening pace. We need to respond to these assaults
with God’s Word and wisdom. Placing full-time experts to help
our Synod navigate the opportunities and questions before us
will be a critical step forward. ONM seeks to help districts and
congregations at every level respond to the challenges ahead.
We are especially encouraged that—despite not having a program ministry director employed—Life Ministry conducted a
highly successful life conference and hosted a near record number of LCMS Lutherans at the 2019 March for Life in Washington, DC. The people of the LCMS are prepared and willing to
fight for life.
In addition to our need to stand strongly against the evils
of our culture in regard to life issues, we also need to encourage
the church to stand with those church workers who are daily
bringing the Good News in a dying world. ONM is home to the
Worker Wellness initiative, accompanied by many of our LCMS
partners. This is a research-driven initiative which has gathered
the input of hundreds of church workers, church administrators,
medical and mental health professions, etc. Our findings have
not been surprising so far. Our church family is largely joyful and
healthy in their vocation. However, a significant minority speak
of daily hardships and struggles which torment them and their
work. ONM seeks to build a network to provide great pastoral
and Christian care in which workers will be safe to share and seek
help for their greatest challenges. A new Worker Wellness website
(www.lcms.org/how-we-serve/mercy/church-worker-wellness)
offers a helpful list of existing resources to help workers today. But this problem will require solutions at every level of the
church. ONM will help the people of God create and find those
resources.
Of course, our reach is limited by the fact that many do not
even know about ONM or the resources we bring to bear. We
need to do a better job of helping everyone in the church find
the help they need.
Most of all, we need to provide these resources to the districts and local congregations in a manner which is faithful to
the Word of God and Lutheran Confessions—and loves, honors, and respects the altar, pulpit, called pastor(s), other church
workers, and members of each and every congregation of the
Synod.

Every One His Witness—Rev. Dr. Mark A.
Wood, Director
Every One His Witness (E1HW) was developed to equip
2019 Convention Workbook

Lutherans to be Third Article witnesses telling the Second Article story using their First Article gifts.
E1HW considers the real-world context in which Lutherans find themselves as witnesses of Jesus Christ. Building on the
solid foundation of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions,
E1HW instructs Lutherans on how to witness to nonchurched
people regardless of their worldviews. It emphasizes evangelism as a work of God and the role of witnesses as instruments
through whom the Lord brings His Word to those whom He has
chosen for eternal life. E1HW puts sound doctrine into practical action through a relational approach for sharing the faith
with the people whom God has placed alongside His witnesses
in their everyday lives.
E1HW is made up of two components. The first component is a workshop called the Core Module. It addresses how to
witness using the LASSIE (Listen-Ask-Seek-Share-Invite-Encourage) approach in a general sense. That second component
is an array of modules that show how to use the LASSIE approach in specific witnessing contexts. These modules are called
Context Modules.

Core Module
The Core Module of E1HW is available as a kit through
Concordia Publishing House (CPH). The kit, which costs
$129.99, contains all of the materials needed to conduct the
workshop for twelve participants, including participant workbooks, pens, LASSIE Journals, exercise cards, and a DVD with
all of the instructional materials. Additional workbooks, pens,
and journals are available for purchase through CPH. The kit
also includes a guide for the workshop leader that provides detailed instructions for planning and conducting the workshop.
The Core Module workshop can be conducted in multiple
formats, including a single-day workshop, a weekend retreat, or
a six-week series. It can also be held for a single congregation,
multiple congregations, a circuit, or a variety of other groups or
organizations (e.g., LWML zone).
The Core Module is focused on teaching participants the
LASSIE approach to witnessing. This approach provides a contextual and relational approach to witnessing that is rooted in
the vocations of those whom Christ has called to be His witnesses. The letters of the acronym stand for Listen, Ask, Seek,
Share, Invite, and Encourage, but LASSIE is not a checklist or
series of sequential steps for a witness to execute. Rather it is
an iterative approach to engaging nonchurched people in the
contexts of the relationships which the Lord has crafted in our
everyday lives. Highlighting the significance of vocations as a
fundamental element of witnessing reinforces the relational aspect of witnessing.
LASSIE provides an approach that encourages witnessing
as a natural activity in a believer’s everyday life in the context
of the person’s relationships with nonchurched people in his or
her vocations. A fundamental element of this approach is the
explicit and intentional sharing of God’s Word “with gentleness
and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
From its release in September 2017 through February 2019,
over 900 Every One His Witness Core Module kits have been
distributed through CPH. With the purchase of additional
workbooks, resources for equipping more than 11,000 people
have reached Lutheran congregations.