Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 2019 · 67th Convention, Tampa › Page 171

LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 171

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
ferings, designed to target LHM’s 75,000 current supporters as
well as new audiences of young Christians and non-Christians.

Bring the Gospel to the Unreached
around the World:
Modern communication tools offer the potential to proclaim the Gospel to every unreached person on the planet.
LHM is poised to do just that by expanding global outreach to
the furthest corners of the earth.
But how can we reach so many and speak truth when we
may not even speak the same language? LHM has developed a
unique approach: from the inside out.
While many ministries send missionaries to foreign countries, LHM lifts up and equips local staff and volunteers who
know the language, understand the culture, and can most effectively communicate the Gospel in their context. LHM seeks
these local believers in three specific places: by finding areas in
our world where unreached people have little or no possibility of
hearing the Gospel; in urban areas which statistics show have a
higher concentration of people who have yet to hear the Good
News; in the emerging global youth culture, where there is a
growing population of unreached.
Through expanded radio and online ministry, as well as
strategic personal and holistic outreach, millions of lives are being reached—including people in new areas of the world. A media partnership with SAT-7 broadcasts new TV programming to
Arabic, Farsi, and Dari speakers in most of the Middle East and
North Africa. The launch of new social media platforms in the
Middle East, as well as South and Central America and eastern
Europe, reaches hundreds of thousands of people with God’s
message of hope and love. New ministry efforts in southeast
Asia and Puerto Rico are proclaiming the Gospel to the multicultural and multi-ethnic communities who have not yet been
introduced to the Good News of Jesus Christ in these areas.

Engage Communities in the Digital
Mission Field:
Statistics show that our country’s younger generations—
even those raised within the walls of our churches—are choosing to walk away from church. Today, society teaches us that
truth isn’t timeless … it’s relative.
But there is one thing that isn’t changing. People everywhere are hurting and seeking more from this life. How do
we start deep, authentic conversations with people about life’s
tough topics?
How do we connect with a younger generation that would
rather search for truth on Google?
At LHM, the answer started with a bold, new idea. If we
want to change tomorrow’s statistics, we must start with those
who will live them out—our children and grandchildren. After extensive research, LHM launched THRED, a network of
online content that ignites conversations with non-churched
people on digital platforms to create personal connections that
lead to community.
Since THRED’s launch in February 2017, the site has
made more than four million unique impressions, a number
that grows daily. Videos, articles, and discussions cover everyday topics that can have eternal ramifications. These people
have made thousands of posts, shares, likes, and other forms of
dialogue. Also, the THRED forum has engaged churched and

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non-churched people in discussions that open their eyes to Jesus
and His message of love and hope.
THRED’s first year proved that the thirst exists for this
type of discussion in the online space. Now, as we look to the
future, LHM is determined to drive those conversations deeper
and strengthen the emerging online community.

The Results of God’s Blessings:
••

By God’s grace, LHM’s various outreach programs
and resources reach more than 125 million people
around the world each week with the Gospel;

••

The Lutheran Hour radio program reaches one million listeners per week;

••

Outreach through LHM’s international programs
has, by the power of the Holy Spirit, netted nearly
550,000 responses and more than 65,000 referrals to
congregations this past year;

••

LHM trained nearly 70,000 people to witness this
year through online curriculum and on-site programs
offered by its more than 35 ministry centers around
the world;

••

More than one million copies of our eight pocketsized children’s booklets have been shipped to congregations and individuals;

••

Nearly 75,000 individuals are active donors to LHM;
and

••

More than 64,000 individuals around the world
enrolled for the first time this past year in Bible correspondence courses that introduce people to Jesus
and biblical principles of our faith.

Goals for the Future/Conclusion:
In June 1917, a group of 12 men met on the eve of a Synodical Convention in Milwaukee because they felt called to
address a serious financial issue in the church body. However,
what they soon learned was that the issue could be resolved only
through many people who were committed to working together.
That was the spirit in which the Lutheran Laymen’s League
was conceived, and it has been our organization’s heartbeat ever
since. We are tens of thousands of individuals whom God has
called to the task of Bringing Christ to the Nations—and the
Nations to the Church—but who by His grace achieve so much
more by working together in community. We have one mission—
HIS mission, and we embrace it together as partners.
If God could work through those 12 laypeople in 1917 to
lay the groundwork for achieving such incredible Gospel impact
over the next 10 decades, imagine what the next century of ministry can be like with not 12, not 1,200, not 12,000, but 120,000
or more called, equipped, and SENT people driving forward in
faithful service to make the Gospel known!
With billions of people still unreached with the Gospel
message around the world, our work is not done. Therefore, we
will not rest until …
••

Every person has the opportunity to hear the Gospel
in an understandable way;
2019 Convention Workbook