LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 72

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is often accompanied by stumbling and mistakes on the
part of both parents and children, the situation in 1981
is far advanced beyond anything that could have been
imagined in 1965. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church
of Brazil, for example, which now numbers nearly
200,000 people, there is not one single person, with the
exception of two retired men, who are missionaries from
abroad. The work is entirely under the direction and
administration of Brazilians. The same has happened
in Argentina.

Many of the other churches are moving rapidly in
this direction. This is going to mean the development of
national leadership of high quality and dedicated
service in churches that were at one time entirely
dominated by, or atleast dependent on, North American
missionaries. These churches are developing their pro-
grams in evangelism, in parish education, in steward-
ship, and even in some cases in foreign mission work.

In this area, there is hardly a single major church
body in America which has made as much progress in
so short a time with so little difficulty and with such
great success. A great deal of credit goes to the Board for
Missions and its staff headed by Dr. Ed Westcott.

Parallel to this has been the greater emphasis on and
development of Black work, under the direction of Black
leadership in the persons of the Commission on Black
Ministry and its executive, Dr. Richard Dickinson.
Black work in the Synod is largely under the direction
of, and carried on in consultation with, a committee
made up entirely of Black people.

PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

The samecan be said for the rapid advances madein
Hispanic work. And now similar proposals are being
made relative to the work among native Americans, 01
Indians. 7

Much progress has been made in a concept which
was before us in 1969 but has begun now in recent year!
to be genuinely implemented, namely, the developmen! ‘
of an indigenous and independent partner church i
Canada. I am confident that during the years of my4
successor’s administration we will see the full fruition 9:
plans which have been on the drawing boards for th ;
past forty or fifty years. ;

Wehavealso, during these years, seen the opening.
several new mission fields in new countries, such
Liberia, Togo, and Paraguay. We are moving Forwa
in Remembrance. :

Another area where there has been great change an
vast improvement has been in the area of youth wore
Here we owe a special vote of gratitude to Rich Bim:
and his excellent staff, as well as to our dedicated 4
competent Board of Youth Ministry. Some of you ¥
recall the old Walther League, which at one time
one of the most popular and powerful organizations:
our church. It came to the point, however, in the 1964
where finally the organization itself was phased o&
and any kind of national youth program had alm
reached the vanishing point. To me, it was one of #
high spots of the past 12 years to attend the first you
gathering at Fort Collins, Colorado, in the summers
1980. Here were 5,000 young people from the Unt

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