LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 101

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SYNODICAL REPORTS

national Center. These services include reproduction work, mail
distribution, shipping and receiving, maintenance services, floor
plan arrangements, phone service, voice mail, and overall building
and grounds maintenance. In addition, this staff schedules and
maintains the conference and meeting facilities of the IC as well as
the Video Conference and Technology Center. —

Travel and Meeting Planning provides services for any group
having travel, housing, transportation, and conference needs. These
services are provided for travel and events across the country in-
cluding the synodical convention. In 1997, this department planned
or assisted with 150 events accommodating 50,000 people. In ad-
dition, the department helped plan the Great Commission Convo-
cation and the 150th Anniversary Celebration.

The Rosters and Statistics unit maintains the rosters of LCMS
professional church workers, congregational lay leaders, and a list
of LCMS high school youth. It also maintains demographic and
Statistical information on LCMS congregations and schools. All ac-
tivities are done in compliance with the synodical Handbook. In-
formation is available from the Rosters and Statistics database to
all congregations, schools, Districts, and boards as well as other
approved organizations. Data is also provided to Concordia Pub-
lishing House for a number of purposes including its production of
The Lutheran Annual. Staff interface regularly with people at all
levels within the LCMS as well as with the Lutheran Church—
Canada in order to collect and disseminate this data. Currently, the
unit is in the process of upgrading its computer system in prepara-
tion for the year 2000.

The Editorial Services staff provides creative writing, editorial,
proofreading, layout, and design services for all units, Districts, and
congregations of the Synod, at their request. Staff are available to
answer style and grammar usage questions. In addition, this unit
creates and publishes the weekly International Center newsletter,
“Focus 1333.” The unit also contracts with outside vendors to pro-
duce printed materials for various units of the Synod.

The Purchasing unit works with International Center depart-
ments and on behalf of the 8,000+ corporate organizations of the
LCMS to develop purchasing requirements and bid specifications
for the procurement of goods and services. The National Contract
Program, a service of the Purchasing unit, is designed to give
LCMS congregations and schools access to preselected vendors
and pricing. This pricing is negotiated based on the potential vol-
ume from the LCMS and allows congregations and schools to take
advantage of the buying power of 8,000 organizations. A com-
plete list of vendors, including MCI Communications, Office
Depot, Sharp, and Riso is available on the LCMS web site at
http://www.Icms.org/gens/contract.html.

The LCMS Video unit provides technical and creative support
for the video needs of the LCMS. A professional sound stage and
state-of-the-art editing facilities are maintained and operated in the
International Center by this unit. Services include project schedul-
ing, budget planning, producer selection assistance, studio or on-
site video shooting as well as complete editing services.

The Central Library is a resource library that exists primarily to
support the International Center staff and the work and mission of
the church-at-large. The library has more than 30,000 books, hun-
dreds of periodicals, and many other resources. It provides refer-
ence, interlibrary loan, and other research support services. An on-
line catalogue provides access to the collection.

Ron Schultz, Director

R7-04-03
Office of Information Systems

In May 1986, the LCMS Board of Directors authorized the es-
tablishment of the Office of Information Systems (OIS) to “facili-
tate effective and efficient management of LCMS information re-
sources by coordinating and managing the use of information
systems technology, including equipment, personnel, and systems.”

LCMS organizations that make up the OIS partnership are (1)
Concordia Publishing House, (2) Concordia University System/
Board for Higher Education, (3) District Offices, (4) LCMS Cor-
porate Synod—boards, commissions, departments and offices, (5)

101

LCMS Foundation, (6) Lutheran Church Extension Fund, (7) In-
ternational Lutheran Laymen’s League, and (8) Worker Benefit
Plans.

OIS’s St. Louis-based data processing network supports more
than 1,000 users at four sites and is the location of the LCMS web
site (www.lcms.org). The STL network is linked to the Concordia
University Information Systems (CUIS) higher education data cen-
ter located on the campus of Concordia University, River Forest,
Illinois. As an agency of OIS, CUIS provides higher education ad-
ministrative information systems support for eight LCMS colleges,
universities, and seminaries; as well as support for seven District
offices.

There have been dramatic changes in information systems and
technology in the past 10 years.

* Computing power has increased exponentially.

* Desktop and portable computing has exploded at home and in
the work place.

¢ The Internet has greatly expanded access to information.
* Costs have shifted from hardware to people expertise.

These continued technological innovations are rapidly reshap-
ing how society and the church makes use of information systems.
In light of the fast pace of change and the merging of electronic
technologies, the OIS Management Board requested that OIS re-
view its strengths and weaknesses and make changes in order to
ensure the continued effective use of information systems and tech-
nology in the LCMS.

The review focused on what took place over the past 10 years
regarding the use and management of information systems and
technology, how the LCMS responded to changes, technologies to
watch in the coming years, and how OIS will need to change to
meet new needs and demands of its partners and the church at
large.

The review identified the following major findings.

1. The need for OIS partners to have a strong information
system/technology organization to share resources and exper-
tise is even more compelling today than it was when OILS was
formed more than 10 years ago.

While the type of resources and the nature of the expertise has
changed, the reason for and objective of a shared partnership re-
mains. Now more than ever, the LCMS needs a strong OIS part-
nership to lead and integrate the use of information systems and
technology, not just in St. Louis, but throughout the church.

From the beginning, the shared vision for OIS has been a com-
prehensive effort to coordinate the use of information systems and
technology throughout the entire church body. To this end, OIS has
always maintained three major points of focus:
¢ National organizations located in St. Louis

* Higher education institutions

* Districts, congregations, elementary schools, professional church
workers, and lay members

This vision has been the hallmark of LCMS’s approach to the
coordination and management of information systems and technol-
ogy. Its comprehensive scope has enabled the LCMS to integrate
and maximize technical resources and expertise within and between
the three major foci.

The Internet has enabled access to information anywhere, any-
place, anytime. Organizations no longer have to maintain a propri-
etary network to conduct business with suppliers or customers.
These facts extend the scope of possible activity without large in-
frastructure investments, as access to the Internet is easy and ex-
tremely cost-effective.

A fourth focus needs to be the use of the Internet to reach out to
the world at large.

2. An ever-widening knowledge gap concerning technology
is apparent throughout society as well as throughout the
church. This gap affects the LCMS and its ability to make effec-
tive use of technology to work together and move forward in an or-
derly fashion.

Technology innovations and societal change can combine as a
threat to organizations who want to work together. Rapid techno-
logical change is a threat to the way organizations conduct busi-