LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 111

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OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
vention passed a resolution to increase the in-depth study of God’s
Word daily among district members.
Kevin A. Wilson, President
R45

Oklahoma District
The Oklahoma District is a fellowship of congregations committed to caring, sharing, teaching, preaching, and reaching people.
Through God’s divine service in Word and Sacrament, the Holy
Spirit brings them into a living relationship with the Lord Jesus
Christ. The 78 congregations of the Oklahoma District met at the
50th convention from June 10–11, 2022, under the theme “Burning
Hearts, Open Lips, Joyful Witness,” based on Luke 24:31–36.
On May 19, 2024, the district will celebrate its 100th anniversary at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Okarche. Some of the participants in the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 were members of the
Lutheran Church. They helped establish a foothold for the church
in the Oklahoma Territory. Many had migrated to Oklahoma from
Kansas. Lutheran pioneers also came from Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, and the northern states. In 1922, the Kansas District
petitioned the Synod to create an independent Oklahoma District.
The 1923 Synod convention, held in St. Louis, granted the request.
Oklahoma became the 28th district of the LCMS in 1924, convening at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Okarche.
The structure of the Oklahoma District consists of an all-volunteer staff of lay and called workers. This volunteerism also applies
to the office of the district president. Within the district, there are
many dedicated and gifted people committed to the work of the
district while continuing to serve in their specific full-time callings.
The only salaried positions include an administrative assistant, an
outdoor ministries director and codirector, a communications director, and a business manager. Whether salaried or volunteer, the district staff is composed of people who freely and readily share their
gifts and time in extending the work of Christ’s kingdom.
Within the three regions and nine circuits, the Oklahoma District works to ensure that each congregation and professional
church worker has sufficient resources available to them. We encourage them in mission and ministry, new starts, school development, stewardship endeavors, and mission challenges.
Even though the district spans the state of Oklahoma, there is a
unity of spirit and purpose within our joint endeavors. The Oklahoma District is able to designate three-fourths of its budget for
mission work, with the remaining budget used for administrative,
professional growth, and ministerial wellness. The district’s board
of directors also steadfastly pledges one-fourth of its budget as a
financial commitment to Synod.
The district continues to promote and implement revitalization
efforts for many congregations. Equipped with the effectual Word
of God, many new people groups are being touched with Christ’s
grace, including Burmese Karen, Hmong, Latino, and Liberian
populations.
Campus ministries are active on three college campuses in
the state, including Norman (University of Oklahoma), Stillwater
(Oklahoma State University), and Tulsa (The University of Tulsa).
The impact of these ministries has included Baptisms, confirmations, and marriages. Students have been directed into various
church vocations of deaconess, teacher, DCE, and pastor. Pastoral

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supervised vicars and student peer ministers have served in these
campus ministries. English as a Second Language and International Student Ministries on campus have also brought the Gospel to
various cultures and people groups.
The district educates children from infants to 12th grade. We
currently have 18 early childhood programs and 8 elementary/middle schools across the state. Our oldest school is St. Paul in Enid,
which was established in 1926. Immanuel in Broken Arrow (Tulsa
area) is home to our only Lutheran high school.
In the Western Region, which includes the Enid, Kingfisher,
and Panhandle circuits, outreach has continued among the Burmese Karen people. The result includes multiple Baptisms and
confirmations. New work has begun among the Latino population. Lutherhaven Retreat Center, located near Knowles, offers
wilderness and waterfront experiences. Youth retreats are held in
the summer. Continuing education courses are also hosted there
for church workers. Various seminary professors have taught there
and discovered the wide-open spaces of the Oklahoma panhandle.
In the Central Region, which includes the Oklahoma City
(OKC), Lawton, and Norman circuits, the Hispanic ministry
continues to grow and flourish. The district continues to finance
a worker-priest for outreach to the growing Islamic community
with a special focus on the OKC metro area. The future growth
of these ministries offers exciting potential. We support a pastor/
missionary from this region who now serves at the new seminary
in Shinyanga, Tanzania, as a professor of Greek and Hebrew and
assists in pastoral formation. The ministry to the Armed Forces has
continued at the U.S. Army Training Center at Fort Sill. Local pastors have conducted the Divine Service on the military base for
soldiers serving our country.
In the Eastern Region, which includes the Tulsa, Miami,
and Ponca City circuits, spiritual doors have opened for outreach
among the Hispanic, the Liberian, and the Hmong people. Camp
Lutherhoma resides on 120 acres in beautiful eastern Oklahoma,
located along the Illinois River just east of Tahlequah. The mission of Camp Lutherhoma is to nurture discipleship in Jesus Christ
in outdoor settings. It ministers to hundreds of youth during the
summer and winter programs. They learn how to share the love of
Christ to the world. It also opens the beautiful facilities as retreat
settings for groups, congregations, and families.
Throughout the Oklahoma District, preaching stations continue to be maintained, with some serving as satellites for more
established congregations. More bivocational pastorates and dual
parishes are being developed in an attempt to provide Word and
Sacrament ministry to struggling congregations.
The saints of Oklahoma continue to carry out the Lord Jesus’
Great Commission. “We Preach Christ Crucified” in the southwest part of our country and throughout the world. Jesus is indeed
“the power of God and the wisdom of God!”
Respectfully submitted,
David R. Nehrenz, President
R46

Pacific Southwest District
Abundantly More was the theme of the 2022 Pacific Southwest
District (PSD) convention held in Summerlin, Nevada (Las Vegas), on the beautiful campus of Faith Middle and High School, the
2023 Convention Workbook