LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 89

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SYNODICAL REPORTS 89

“Telling the Good News about Jesus” means that here in Min-
nesota North we have joined hands with our brothers and sisters in
Christ throughout our Synod in supporting the total mission and
ministry of our synodical body. Forty-two percent of the funds re-
ceived by our District are forwarded to the International Center for
missions, for telling the Good News.

We praise our gracious God “from whom all blessings flow,”
especially for the gifts of faith, peace, and joy that He imparts to
each of us. We are grateful for those persons that God has called to
be His people and who now faithfully gather as His children in
Minnesota North.

David A. Bode, President

R7-05-14
Minnesota South District

The purpose of the Minnesota South District is to glorify God
by (1) assisting congregations in building up the body of Christ,
and (2) providing mission vision, leadership, and opportunity to the
people and congregations of the District so that all people might be
reached with the saving Gospel and become disciples of Christ. We
are pleased that in this past triennium our Lord has graciously given
us the opportunity to carry out this mission statement.

The past three years have scen a significant increase in the num-
ber of immigrants within the geographic boundaries of the District,
not only in cities but also in rural areas. This influx of immigrants
has provided opportunitics—as well as challenges! —for congrega-
tions and the District to reach out with the saving Gospel of Jesus
Christ. Among the immigrant groups served in our District are the
Hmong, Laotians, Sudanese, Africans, Eritreas, and Hispanics. In
addition, our campus ministries in Mankato and the Twin Cities
have initiated outreach among international students.

An ongoing concern within the District is the care and support
of our congregations, especially in rural areas. In March 1999 our
District initiated a pilot program using a Mission and Ministry Fa-
cilitator (MMF). The MMF (Rev. Don Taylor) worked with a num-
ber of congregations to help them improve their mission and min-
istry activities both in the congregation and in their community.
This past June Rev. Taylor, after fifteen years of service as Assis-
tant to the President for Ministerial Health and Congregational Ser-
vices, retired.

Realistic Ministerial Financial Support and Planning was started
as a pilot program in the Minnesota South District in 1997. Many
church workers have found it an invaluable financial-planning re-
source. Eustolio Gomez served the District as the financial planner
in this no-fee program. When Mr. Gomez was invited by the
Worker Benefit Plans to implement a similar program Synodwide,
the District program was taken over by his partner, Cal Horton.

Life for professional workers in the church has become in-
creasingly complex and challenging. A number of church workers
cach year are faced with the decision whether or not to leave the
parish. The District has developed two programs to assist our pro-
fessional workers in this area. The first, vocational assessment and
development counseling, assists professional church workers in
sorting out questions they have concerning their vocational choice.
If they must change vocations, a second program (vocational
change counseling) helps them decide what they might do.

The District also continues to address the concern regarding
professional boundaries. This past triennium, workshops were held
throughout the District to educate pastors regarding the very real
temptations toward misconduct in the ministry and to reinforce the
need for boundaries in regard to conduct in ministry.

We are thankful to our Lord for the many blessings that He has
given us. Our 2000 convention theme, “See the Fields ... Reap the
Harvest,” recognizes the great blessing of the field ripe for harvest

He places before us. We in the Minncsota South District continue
to pray as our Lord invites us that He will send faithful laborers
into the harvest. ;

Lane Seitz, President

R7-05-15
Missouri District

The Missouri District is currently made up of 302 congregations
with approximately three new mission stations. We are served by
260 parish pastors. Our baptized membership is approximately
142,000. We have 61 parochial schools and 670 parochial school
teachers. We have six high schools—three in the St. Louis metro
area; St. Paul’s High School, Concordia, MO; Lutheran High of
Kansas City; and Saxony High School, Cape Girardeau, MO—
served by a staff of 152 teachers. Currently, we have approximately
47 early childhood centers, served by 368 staff, with a total enroll-
ment of 3,116 children. Approximately 1,300 rostered pastors and
other professional church workers are members of our District.

The triennial convention of the Missouri District was held in
Columbia, MO, June 25-28, 2000. The theme was “Tell the Good
News.” The basic focus of the convention was on the challenges
we have in reaching the various ethnic groups that are settling in
Missouri. Rev. Dr. James W. Kalthoff was reelected as President
for a fourth term. Also elected as Vice-Presidents were Rev. Dr.
Peter Kurowski, Rev. Dr. Alan Bachert, Rev. Gary Clayton, and
Rev. Andrew Spallek.

During the triennium, a special Committee on Structure was at
work under the chairmanship of Rev. Ray Mirly, then First Vice-
President. New Bylaws were written basically portioning out the
District’s work to four boards: the Board for Mission Services, the
Board for Congregational Services, the Board for Educational Ser-
vices, and the Board for Family Life and Youth Services. The con-
vention approved adding one additional Mission and Ministry Fa-
cilitator to District staff.

One of the highlights of this past triennium was the merger of
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Branson, MO (a congregation that left
the Synod in 1984 and became independent ) with Our Savior
Lutheran Church, Branson (LCMS).

Some staff changes occurred during the triennium. On Dec. 31,
2000, Rev. Edward M. Lang retired after 19 years as Director of
Missions and a half-year stint as Mission and Ministry Facilitator:
Specialist in Urban, Ethnic, and New Missions. His service
throughout the years in our District was superlative. Under his di-
rection many new missions were started and many new cross-cul-
tural preaching stations and/or congregations were organized. He
will be missed.

At its October 2000 meeting, the District Board of Directors ex-
tended a call to two new staffers—Rev. Wayne Knolhoff to serve
as Mission and Ministry Facilitator: Specialist in Urban, Ethnic,
and New Missions. He was serving at the time as Director of Mis-
sions for Iowa District East. The board also extended a call to Mr.
Ralph Geisler to serve as Mission and Ministry Facilitator: Gener-
alist. He had been serving as Associate Director of Evangelism in
the Congregational Services department of the Synod. Both these
men accepted the calls and were installed in a special service at the
District office on Jan. 25, 2001.

Our new District structure is one by which the District will be
able to better serve. its 302 congregations. We have four Mission
and Ministry Facilitators who will be assigned congregations to
visit and serve. The expertise they will be giving will be in the
areas of congregational self-study, helping them to establish a vi-
sion of their mission and to assist them in setting reachable goals,
and also to help them find ways and means of meeting the chal-
lenge of telling the Good News in their communities. This model is

2001 Convention Workbook