LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 153

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HIGHER EDUCATION
tinue to bestow the gifts of full-time church workers to His
church; and be it further
Resolved, That each congregation in general and each
pastor in particular seek to identify, to encourage, and to
recruit people within the church to be full-time workers in
the Lord’s harvest field; and be it further
Resolved, That congregations and individuals be encouraged to increase support for church work students by
sending offerings to endowments for the training and education of church workers and by participating in
adopt-a-student programs through our synodical schools;
and be it finally
Resolved, That all action taken in this resolution shall be
used to help carry out “The Great Commission” and shall
not in any way detract or distract from the primary mission
of God’s kingdom here on earth. We will remember 1-02!
Action: Adopted (7)
(An amendment to add Resolved, That one-fourth of the gifts
received in the current “For the Sake of the Church” drive be
equally divided between our two seminaries for their endowment
programs as a final resolve was defeated. The resolution was
adopted without amendment [yes: 1,079; no: 38]. The final resolved is added as required by Res. 1-02, adopted by the convention in an earlier session.)

To Extend the Mission of the Church
Through the Educational System
RESOLUTION 5-08
Overture L5-69 (TB, pp. 37–38)
WHEREAS, The colleges, universities, and seminaries of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod need to prepare
church workers to respond to the Great Commission of
Jesus Christ and to prepare disciples to extend Christ’s
kingdom to every continent of the world; and
WHEREAS, These church workers need to be educated in
the culture, history, and language of various countries; and
WHEREAS, One example would be the Spanish-speaking
constituency that is multiplying in every area of our country as evidenced by the United States Census Bureau,
which stated that between July 1, 1990, and July 1, 1999,
the Hispanic population grew by 38.8 percent to 31.3 million people, second only to the growth of the Asian population; furthermore, in six states the Hispanic population
more than doubled; and
WHEREAS, Education for missions begins with the congregations, preschools, elementary and secondary schools,
colleges, universities, and seminaries of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod; therefore be it
Resolved, That the mission of the church be implemented and expedited through the teaching of history, culture, and languages in the educational offerings of the academic institutions of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod; and be it further
Resolved, That additional educational offerings be made
available to train church workers in the Concordia University System to understand and teach Spanish as well as
other languages; and be it further
Resolved, That the Board for Higher Education encourage the Synod’s colleges, universities, and seminaries to
make this a priority in their annual budgets to provide aca-

153

demic offerings in the language and history of the various
cultures of the world for the purpose of extending the mission of Jesus Christ; and be it finally
Resolved, That all action taken in this resolution shall be
used to help carry out “The Great Commission” and shall
not in any way detract or distract from the primary mission
of God’s kingdom here on earth. We will remember 1-02!
Action: Adopted as amended (9)
(The resolution was amended by adding the words congregations, preschools, elementary and secondary schools, to the fourth
whereas before the word colleges. It was then adopted [yes: 874;
no: 52]. The final resolve is added as required by Res. 1-02,
adopted by the convention in an earlier session.)

To Increase Synodical Financial Support
for Its Institutions of Higher Learning
RESOLUTION 5-09A
Overtures 5-56–60 (CW, pp. 224–25)
WHEREAS, One of the purposes for the creation of the
Synod was to “recruit and train pastors, teachers and other
professional church workers and provide opportunity for
their continuing growth” (LCMS Constitution, Art. III 3);
and
WHEREAS, There is today a pressing need for professional
workers and lay leaders to serve in the congregations of our
Synod; and
WHEREAS, There is also a pressing need for these leaders to be well-grounded in the theology and practice of
Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions; and
WHEREAS, The Concordias of our church body are the
places where such preparation occurs; and
WHEREAS, For a number of years, financial support for
educational institutions of our Synod has declined steadily
to approximately 3% of the operating costs thereof for fiscal
year 2000–2001 and is projected to decline to 0% for fiscal
year 2002–2003; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Synod in convention requests that
the Synod’s Board of Directors allocate additional funds to
the BHE/CUS Board in order that it will be able to provide
a direct subsidy for the seminaries, colleges, and universities to maintain a strong bond between the Synod and
those institutions that prepare its church workers and lay
leaders; and be it further
Resolved, That all action taken in this resolution shall be
used to help carry out “The Great Commission” and shall
not in any way detract or distract from the primary mission
of God’s kingdom here on earth. We will remember 1-02!
Action: Adopted (10)
(An amendment was proposed to replace the first resolve with
the following: Resolved, That the Synod in convention directs that
the Synod’s Board of Directors endeavor to find additional funds
for the BHE/CUS Board in order that it will be able to provide a
direct subsidy for the seminaries, colleges, and universities to
maintain a strong bond between the congregations of the Synod
and those institutions which prepare its church workers and key
leaders who “Tell the Good News about Jesus” to us, to our neighbors, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The amendment failed
and the resolution was adopted as presented [yes: 839; no: 216].
The final resolve is added as required by Res. 1-02, adopted by
the convention in an earlier session.)

200l Convention Proceedings