LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Sheet 145

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128 MISSIONS

To Encourage Expansion
of ‘‘Apple of His Eye” Ministry

WHEREAS. Scripture calls Jewish people “the apple of [God’s]
eye” (Deut. 32:10) and urges mission work be done continually
among them (Rom. 10: 1 ) so they may see Jesus as the Jewish
Messiah; and

WHEREAS, Several District conventions in the Synod have taken
the unprecedented step of creating a position of “Apple of His Eyc
Missionary at Large for Jewish Outreach,” which is ably being car-
ried out in various ministries throughout the continental United
States; and

WHEREAS, Various synodical conventions have called for ex-
panded ministry among the Jewish people (New Orleans, 1973,
Res. 1-23; Dallas, 1977, Res. 2-27; St. Louis, 1979, Res. 1-30; St.
Louis, 1981, Res. 1-13A; St. Louis, 1983, Res. 1-20 and 3-09; and
others); and

WHEREAS, “Apple of His Eye” is seen as an ongoing and grow-
ing movement in support of work among Jewish people in the
whole of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod for the develop-
ment, support, and networking of our church body’s ministry to our
Jewish neighbors; therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, gath-
ered in convention, extend its gratitude to those individuals and
congregations who have been instruments in God's hands to bring
the message of salvation by grace through faith in Yeshua
Hamashiach (Jesus the Messiah) to the Jewish people; and be it fur-
ther

Resolved, That the congregations of the Synod be encouraged to
pray for and, where possible, financially support efforts to bring
the Good News of Yeshua to increasing numbers of Jewish neigh-
bors through the work of the various “Apple of His Eye” ministries;
and be it finally

Resolved, That the Synod in convention urge commitment of
funding and other support through its World Missions funding for
the national “Apple of His Eye Mission Society” for the sake of
bringing the Gospel to our Jewish neighbors not only throughout
the United States, but also throughout the world.

Family of Faith
Houston, TX

To Encourage CUS to Give High Priority
to Evangelism among Jewish People

WHEREAS, Most mainline denominations in our country have
forsaken any mission to Jewish people; and

WHEREAS, The so-called dual-covenant theory of salvation es-
poused by many denominations prohibits witnessing to Jewish peo-
ple with the intent of winning them for Christ; and

WHEREAS, The LCMS stands virtually alone in any responsible
witness to God’s first chosen people among churches in the west-
ern hemisphere; and

WHEREAS, Our system of colleges and seminaries train men and
women in ministry to all people; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod in convention in 2001 give every as-
sistance in directing our Concordia University System to place the
Joyous yet often lonely task of evangelism among Jewish people
as a high priority in their instructional process of equipping their
students for ministry; and be it further

Resolved, That a Chair of Jewish Evangelism be established at
those universities in our Concordia System that have significant
Jewish populations contained within their geographical area in
order that attention be given to this important area of witnessing.

Mount Calvary
Beverly Hills, CA

2001 Convention Workbook

1-14

To Encourage Missions Experiences
for High School Graduates

Wuereas, In Luke 10:]-9 our Lord Jesus appointed 70 disci-
ples to go ahead of Him to every city and place that He intended to
go; and

WuerEAS, Our Lord Jesus tells us that the harvest is large but
the workers are few: and

WHEREAS, In many congregations, evangelism and missions
outreach need to be strengthened; and

WHEREAS, Christian young people are generally unencumbered
by other responsibilities and are full of enthusiasm, idealism, and
zeal for the Good News; and

WHEREAS, A great expansion of the kingdom of God would be
seen by releasing these spiritual energies into our communities and
our world; therefore be it

Resolved, That we encourage all LCMS high school graduates
to dedicate to the Lord a mintmum of three months for evangelism
and outreach at home or abroad, with longer terms of one to two
years possible; and be it further

Resolved, That these young people would raise their own sup-
port, work in teams of two, and meet frequently with local pastors
for accountability and support; and be it finally

Resolved, That these young people would give regular testi-
monies of their experiences in local congregations to encourage
others to follow their example, join in every opportunity for public
worship, maintain daily habits of prayer, and faithfully record their
activities.

Concordia
Kingsport, TN

To Designate Pentecost Sunday
for International Student Ministry

WHEREAS, God has brought more than 600,000 international
students and scholars with approximately one million dependents to
the United States; and

WHEREAS, These students speak English, and they and their
families are eager to learn about American culture and religion: and

WHEREAS, Approximately 90 percent of these international
friends live without a personal knowledge of our Lord and Savior,
and many have never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel even
once; and

WHEREAS, Most international students who come to faith in
Christ will eventually return to their native countries as “mission-
aries” in their own right; and

WHEREAS, God is blessing the sharing of the Gospel with inter-
national students in over 60 LCMS intentional ministry sites in the
United States alone; and

WHEREAS, Supportive and involved congregations have grown
in their sense of God’s Gospel mission at our very doorstep; and

WHEREAS, We recognize the shortness of time until our Lord
comes again; therefore be it

Resolved, That the congregations of our Synod be encouraged
to recognize and to observe international student ministry annually
on Pentecost Sunday; and be it further

Resolved, That the congregations of our Synod include in their
regular prayer ministries (in worship, prayer chains, etc.) the inten-
tional Gospel outreach among international students and their fam-
ilies; and be it further

Resolved, That the congregations of our Synod utilize resources
from both the LCMS Campus Ministry office and from our part-
ner mission society, ISM, [nc.; and be it finally