LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 93

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SYNODICAL REPORTS 93

For more than a thousand years these words of St. Paul were
read in the church on the First Sunday in Advent at the beginning
of each new church year. In the North Wisconsin District, these
words served as a call to faith and action at the threshold of a new
century and anew millennium. At its convention in 2000, the Dis-
trict adopted “Faithful NOW!” a plan designed to help individuals
and congregations to be faithful to our faithful God in these swiftly
changing times. Faithful NOW! calls the members of the North
Wisconsin District to wake from slumber and be up and about the
Father’s business. This new century and millennium is time for all
Christians to remember who they are and what they have to do.

In Christ, we are children of God. We have been redeemed from
sin, death, and hell. We are members of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod. In the Synod we have the pure Gospel as set forth
in the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions. In our commu-
nities we have doors of opportunity for outreach and service. Faith-
ful NOW! calls us to follow Jesus Christ as His disciples and in re-
sponse to His grace and mercy to walk through the doors of
opportunity He has opened for us.

At its convention in 2000, the District adopted these goals as
part of the Faithful NOW! initiative.

“In response to God’s great love for us in Jesus Christ and for
the grace that brings us salvation we would be Faithful NOW! to
our faithful LORD.

1. We would be Faithful NOW! as Disciples of Jesus Christ.
Disciples learn from, and follow the example of, their teacher.
We would be faithful by
A. committing ourselves to systematic and regular Bible study,

including private study at home and group Bible studies at
church, and working to involve more of our fellow members
in the same;

B. encouraging our pastors to include more teaching in their ser-
mons (expository sermons, sermons on the Six Chief Parts,
etc.);

C. taking our personal Bibles with us to church to follow along
and make notes during sermons and Bible studies and asking
others to do the same.

2. We would be Faithful NOW! as Witnesses to Jesus Christ.
Jesus called us to witness to Him wherever we are in all the cir-
cumstances of our life. We would be faithful by
A. asking our pastors to pray for us and with us and to lead us in

prayer for missions and missionaries, for those in our com-
munity still living without Christ, and for ourselves that we
might be faithful in our calling to tell others the Good News
about Jesus;

B. committing ourselves to obtain the instruction we need to ap-
propriately witness to our faith in all circumstances and on
all occasions, and to do so in clear and practical ways;

C. doing everything we can to help and encourage our congre-
gation to make a genuine effort to reach at least some of the
unchurched in our community with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.

3. We would be Faithful NOW! as Neighbors in our commu-
nity and world. Neighbors love and care for others as the story
of the Good Samaritan shows. We would be faithful by
A. committing ourselves to be a caring people and working to

help and encourage our congregation to be a caring church
so that our community will know that we are there and that
we care;

B. requesting our pastors and leaders to help us provide care and
support especially to our families in this time when Christ-
ian family life is threaten from all sides;

C. encouraging our members to participate in community efforts
to help and care for others in need as far as we are able in
keeping with our faithfulness to the Gospel.

4. We would be Faithful NOW! as Stewards of all that God has
entrusted to our care. We understand that among the things
God has entrusted to us are our lives, our bodies, our abilities,

our time, and our resources and money. We would be faithful by

A. requesting our pastors and leaders to lead us in a careful
study of the principles of biblical stewardship adopted by the
Synod in 1998;

B. encouraging our members to make use of the resources pro-
vided by the District and the Synod to assist in preparing
wills and make estate plans that reflect our faith in Christ and
our commitment to Christian stewardship;

C. giving of our time to share what Christ means to us in Chris-
tian witness and service;

D. seeking to grow in the grace of giving, giving of our assets
regularly, proportionately, and sacrificially to support the
Lord’s work and help spread the Gospel.

The congregations of the District will work to implement these

goals throughout the 2000-2003 triennium.

The other major project in the District at this time is the con-
struction of a new dormitory/ministry center at Camp Luther. A
capital campaign titled “Entrusted with Treasure” is underway to
raise $2.15 million to fund this project. Construction of the center
began in the fall of 2000 and is scheduled to be completed during
the summer of 2001.

God has been faithful to us. We, in turn, seek to be faithful to
Him. God has richly blessed us in so many ways. We cherish the
ties we have with each other in the District and the Synod. Cheer-
fully we confess our faith in Jesus Christ. With the aid of the Holy
Spirit we seek to be loyal to the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran
Confessions. In response to the grace and mercy of God in Christ,
we are committed to the Great Commission and the new com-
mandment.

Arleigh Lutz, President

R7-05-22
Northern Illinois District

The Northern Illinois District treasures the fact that our
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod was founded here. The congre-
gation in which the original 12 congregations signed the charter,
First St. Paul congregation, is still alive and well today and is one
of the 245 congregations comprising that portion of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod known as the Northern Illinois District.

Today we serve over 140,000 members. The Northern Illinois
District has a wide diversity of cultures, ethnic groups, and eco-
nomic levels. Worship services are offered in no less than six dis-
tinct languages every Lord’s Day. As a District we include the
Chicago metropolitan area with its population of over 8 million, its
stock markets and vibrant business community; at the same time,
the District’s rural areas boast some of the most serene and pro-
ductive farmland in the Midwest.

The Northern Illinois District is blessed with great gifts. We
count as blessings
¢ 245 congregations
* 125+ schools and preschools
¢ 6 Lutheran high schools (a seventh opens in the fall of 2001)
¢ Concordia University, River Forest
¢ 385 pastors
* 1,100 teachers

In the midst of these blessings and this diversity, the Northern
Illinois District continues to operate under its mission statement
adopted five years ago to guide and direct its activities:

The Mission of the Northern Illinois District of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod is to extend and serve the church of Jesus
Christ, by providing support, encouragement, leadership and re-
sources to its congregations, leaders, and the church-at-large.

Seven critical targets, or priorities, continue to give guidance to
the work of the District, its boards, committees, and staff in carry-
ing out the mission statement:

2001 Convention Workbook