LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 53

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REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
tian scene, either among Anglos or among other cultures
and nationalities. Few would argue with the existence of
our strong biblical, doctrinal, and confessional stance.
Nevertheless, many would view as marginal our church
body’s impact on the entire body of Christ, not to mention
the 4 billion unsaved people in the world, given our
propensity in the past for internal dissension and divisiveness.
Could it be that, in our zeal to retain our steadfast confession of the faith once delivered to the saints by our forefathers, we have become under-concerned with the demonstration of that faith in our daily lives? Could it also be that
we have become less than passionate, if not lukewarm, with
the proclamation of that faith to the unbelievers of the
world who literally surround us at the beginning of this
twenty-first century?
A few specific parochial statistics should suffice to make
the point:
• Annually, 35 percent of the congregations of the LCMS
gain not one adult by Baptism or confirmation.
• Annually, 47 percent of the congregations of the LCMS
gain one adult or less by Baptism or confirmation.
• Since 1968, the number of annual adult confirmands has
remained virtually the same, just under 30,000. Statistically, it requires the efforts of 115 LCMS members to result in one adult confirmation.
• We are facing significant financial challenges that will
chart the course of the Synod in the years ahead:
- Total annual LCMS congregational contributions have risen
from $200 million to more than $1 billion in the past 30 years
($1.3 billion in 2003).
- Congregational contributions to the LCMS budget through the
Districts of the Synod have declined from just over $25,000,000
to slightly under $25,000,000, not adjusted for inflation, in the
past three decades ($22.5 million in 2003).
• LCMS communicant membership has risen from
1,875,000 to 1,950,000 in the past 30 years, a sign of the
graying of the LCMS.
• LCMS baptized membership has declined from 2.8 million to just under 2.6 million in that same period of time.
• We are blessed with a strong commitment to biblical and
confessional theology, yet average attendance at worship,
Sunday school, and Bible class continues to decline in
many of our congregations.
• LCMS Bible-study trends indicate Sunday-school enrollment dropped from 850,000 pupils 30 years ago to under
500,000 today, with youth and adult Bible-study group
participants increasing from 310,000 to 340,000 during
that same period.
• LCMS total weekly worship attendance has declined from
1,140,000 to 960,000 in the past 30 years, a decrease of
more than 15 percent. Approximately one of every three
baptized members of our Synod attends worship each
week.
• We struggle with reaching and retaining people in our
congregations, including our children and grandchildren:

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- Almost 50 percent of the infants baptized in our congregations
are not confirmed in them.
- Almost 50 percent of the children confirmed in our congregations are not active in them at age 21.
• We are currently experiencing critical shortages of professional church workers, including both pastors and educators. Many of our workers are stressed. Some are depressed and on the verge of burnout. Others are
contemplating resignation due to family and/or financial
pressures.
• Since 1988, the LCMS has lost approximately 1,750 more
ordained ministers, and more than 3,000 more commissioned ministers, than we have gained.
• A vitally significant challenge faces our Synod as we address the issue of caring for and retaining these special
gifts of God, while recruiting and training new workers
to lead us into the future.
Some Reflections and Insights to Address
These Present Realities
1. God’s church, to be living, vibrant, and productive must rely
on the power source of the church’s vitality, namely, God’s
means of grace. In the same way that we are saved by grace
through faith and our works flow from that God-given faith, so
also our powerful God provides vitality in the church through
the proclamation of His Word and the administration of His
Sacraments—The result in the New Testament was rapid
growth of the church! The marginal vitality in our Synod
challenges us to address a genuinely spiritual problem. What
resides in our heads must also find a prominent place in our
hearts!
2. God has chosen to use people, His imperfect instruments, to
distribute the Word and Sacraments in order to accomplish His
will that all might be saved and come to the knowledge of the
truth. In the past several decades, American and global culture
has changed from “churched” to “unchurched,” making
communication of the Gospel message much more difficult. At
this moment in time, the Lutheran church has no meaningful
presence in the minds of most Americans, especially nonwhite, non-upper-middle-class Americans. We have much
work to accomplish in faithfully and fruitfully communicating
the Gospel of Christ to unbelieving people in America in this
twenty-first century!
3. A national church body such as the LCMS is dependent upon
the spiritual and organizational health and vitality of individual
congregations for its own corporate health and vitality.
Achieving holistic congregational health and vitality with a
passion for mission requires significant effort, including
concern for the holistic health of its members and its workers,
as well as a proper concern for both doctrine and practice.
Congregational health and vitality with a passion for mission
must be the focus of our national Synod and its 35 Districts.
4. Denominational finances are mostly dependent upon the health
and vitality of individual congregations. Both the source and
system of giving has significantly changed in Synod’s funding
over the last decade. For example, 30 years ago, the national
Synod received $25 million from congregations through the
Districts of the Synod. This year these gifts amount to $22.5
million, not including special and designated gifts from
individuals and congregations in the Districts. We must address
the question of whether we still want the national Synod, on
behalf of the 6,148 congregations of the Synod, to conduct
worldwide and national ministries such as missions, higher
education, congregational services, human care, and so forth. If
so, from where will come the funding? The bottom line is that
no program of funding or development will revitalize the
LCMS. The issue is not a funding or allocation problem.
Funding follows mission.
2004 Convention Proceedings