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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 170

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

170

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

personal commitment to the doctrine of Augsburg Confession
Article XIV. The district supports two treasured mission commitments in the district: our campus ministry at the University
of Wyoming in Laramie, and our mission to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapahoe tribes around Fort Washakie
and Crowheart, Wyoming.
We pray that God would continually grant to our Synod
a zeal for the true doctrine of God’s Word, an eagerness for
outreach and service, and a fervent love for one another. “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another,
agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and
peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All
the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the
love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you
all” (2 Corinthians 13:11–14).
John E. Hill, President

R56

International Lutheran
Laymen’s League
(Lutheran Hour Ministries)
Introduction:
The International Lutheran Laymen’s League (Int’l LLL)
serves as one of the two grassroots auxiliaries of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod and Lutheran Church—Canada by
focusing its energies on a mission of Bringing Christ to the Nations—and the Nations to the Church. While the International
Lutheran Laymen’s League is the corporate name under which
the organization does business, Lutheran Hour Ministries
(LHM) is the public identity under which it conducts worldwide
Gospel outreach each day.
LHM has identified two areas of emphasis for its ministry
efforts that currently reach into more than 50 countries on six
continents:
••

••

Gospel Proclamation: Proclaim the message of Christ
in a way that generates an opportunity for people
to respond, encourages people to ask questions or
for resources, and/or request more information. The
ultimate goal is to connect people to the church.
Equipping the Church for Evangelistic Activity: Build
and strengthen relationships with all constituent
groups, including the existing church to create a new
identity where sharing the message of Christ in our
communities is a major part of who we are.

God’s Blessings upon Lutheran Hour Ministries’
Outreach in the Past Triennium:
For more than 100 years, LHM has been sowing seeds of
biblically inspired hope, love, and transformation throughout
our communities and around the world. But this work is FAR
from complete—and some of our greatest challenges lie ahead.
Two-thirds of the world’s population does not know
Christ. More and more Americans—both inside and outside
the church—are pledging allegiance to the “morality of self-fulfillment,” which is rapidly becoming the culture’s moral norm.
2019 Convention Workbook

Islam is the world’s fastest-growing religion and is projected to
surpass Christianity in the second half of the century.
Today—RIGHT NOW—the call is urgent. That’s why we
recently launched the SENT Initiative as a bold, expansive, holistic, multi-layered plan to answer the pressing challenges and
realities of the 21st century. This initiative brings greater vision,
clarity, and definition to the work LHM is already doing. To
create the greatest impact for our friends, families, churches,
communities, and world, the ministry focuses on four key areas:

Energize, Equip, and Engage Laity
for Outreach:
God has called all of us to share His love with those around
us, which is why LHM tirelessly equips believers to live out and
share their faith with boldness in everyday life. To do this, LHM
has invested in three approaches.
First, LHM has partnered with researchers, developing a
greater understanding of how Christians today can most effectively engage today’s evolving culture. A partnership with Barna
Group has, so far, opened insights on the topics of Spiritual
Conversations in the Digital Age and Households of Faith, allowing us to jointly publish our research findings.
Second, LHM has invested in equipping individuals of
all ages to share the Good News with others in their everyday
lives. Last year’s launch of LHM Learn, an online curriculum
designed for Christians to deepen their knowledge of outreach
strategies, is serving more than 1,000 subscribed users at any
given time. These individuals have already consumed thousands
of hours of content being offered through nearly 30 courses in
five faith-strengthening categories.
And third, developing resources like Gospel Adventures
opens a window to the world for individuals of all ages as they
learn about God’s plan for global mission. More than 750
teachers have already registered for our 2019 “trip” to Peru,
meaning 30,000 kids are seeing more clearly the love God has
for the whole world as they bridge into a place many thousands
of miles away through videos, activities, and interactive curriculum.

Grow God’s Kingdom through Expanded
Media Outreach:
Mass media proclamation of the Gospel has long proven
a powerful tool for outreach by allowing people to connect
through a variety of expanded media platforms like television,
radio, print, and the Internet. LHM is expanding on this, bringing the Gospel message to people wherever they are.
The results speak for themselves. Today, more than 1,800
radio stations in North America, combined with the American
Forces Network, touch the lives of one million listeners a week
by broadcasting The Lutheran Hour. The addition of Rev. Dr.
Michael Zeigler as our new Speaker of The Lutheran Hour allows us to further utilize the expanding possibilities for sharing
the Gospel that are offered through new technologies.
LHM is constantly looking for new, effective platforms to
expand the reach of this life-changing content, such as iHeart
Radio, Spotify, and a new Sunday morning timeslot on Sirius
XM’s Family Talk Channel 131. The ministry is also evaluating
the creation of new children’s specials, introducing God’s story
to a new generation through cutting-edge animation. Looking
forward, a new podcast network has launched with seven of-