LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 44

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44 SYNODICAL REPORTS

R1-01
LCMS World Mission

Introduction—Twenty-first-Century
Challenges and Opportunities

The Unfinished Task

(World statistics from Operation World, 21st Century Edition)

«In the world today, there are more than 6 billion people in ap-
proximately 12,000 ethno-linguistic groups, speaking more than
7,148 languages.

* The top four languages spoken in the world today are Chinese,
English, Spanish, and Hindi-Urdu.

* Nearly 4 billion people—or two out of every three—do not know
Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

* Approximately 60 percent do not have the Scriptures in their na-
tive tongue.

* The world Christian population stands at 32 percent, Muslim at
21 percent, and nonreligious at 15 percent.

¢ It is estimated that 1.2 billion or 60 percent of “Christians” are
nominal or nonpracticing; millions more trust in their own good
works rather than in God’s grace through Jesus for salvation.

* Between 1970 and 2000, the U.S. population grew by 72 million.
In the same time period, membership in the LCMS declined by
350,000. Nearly half these membership losses occurred in the
1990s.

Civil Unrest, Disease, Terrorism, and War

The 2001-2004 triennium was filled with numerous world
events that impacted the work of LCMS World Mission.

In Sept. 2001, civil unrest in Guinea led to upheaval in the city
of Gueckedou, from where two LCMS missionary families evacu-
ated. All of their belongings were looted.

In Oct. 2001, at the time of the United States’ invasion of
Afghanistan, all LCMS missionaries—two career families, and
two volunteers—in Kyrgyzstan evacuated to Moscow or the
United States temporarily because of Kyrgyzstan’s proximity to
Afghanistan.

In June 2002, all LCMS World Mission personnel in The
Philippines were evacuated due to the threat posed by the Islamic
militant group Abu Sayyaf—terrorists reported to be active in the
mountain region of Mindanao, where the missionaries served
among the Tagakaulo people. Due to the ongoing threat, mission-
aries were re-assigned positions in other fields. Only one family re-
turned to revise the strategy for leadership training from a larger
city.

In Dec. 2002, seven LCMS missionary families stationed in
Ivory Coast were evacuated or not allowed to return following
their home service due to the outbreak of civil war. LCMS World
Mission has not resumed the work in Ivory Coast with resident
missionaries.

In Jan. 2003, due to an ongoing labor strike and growing ten-
sions, all volunteer missionaries and eight LCMS career mission-
aries and their families temporarily left Venezuela and returned to
the United States, based on recommendations from U.S. Embassy
officials.

In Jan. 2003, tribal conflict in close proximity to Highland
Lutheran International School (HLIS) in the Enga Province of
Papua New Guinea led to a fire that completely destroyed the
main buildings of the school. Included in the loss were six class-
rooms for grades | through 6, the library, administration office,
computer lab, and teachers’ work area. We thank God that no per-
sonal injuries were incurred. Established by Lutheran missionaries
from the United States in 1957, HLIS is affiliated with The

2004 Convention Workbook

Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and the Gutnius Lutheran
Church in Papua New Guinea.

In April 2003, due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS) epidemic in Asia, LCMS World Mission asked its per-
sonnel in China to temporarily relocate to Hong Kong or Macau,
or to return to the United States early for home service, until the
threat was eliminated. The short-term volunteer summer program
in China was also cancelled due to the threat posed by the disease.

In July 2003, civil war again erupted in Liberia. After com-
pleting home service in the United States, Rev. David Londenberg,
the only LCMS missionary serving Liberia and nearby Sierra
Leone, relocated from southeast Liberia to southeastern Sierra
Leone, near the Liberian border.

In Feb. 2004, civil unrest in Haiti temporarily prevented the
return of volunteer missionary Jay Brinkmeyer to continue his ser-
vice in that country.

In spite of the difficulties that the twenty-first century pre-
sents, God continues to faithfully fulfill His mission. And He
continues to bless the LCMS with the resources to make a sig-
nificant impact in North America and around the world. God
used many of the situations listed above to bring about good
and bear His fruit.

New Purpose Statement

Praying to the Lord of the Harvest, LCMS World Mission, in
collaboration with its North American and worldwide partners,
will share the Good News of Jesus with 100 million unreached or
uncommitted people by the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in
2017.

LCMS World Mission adopted a new purpose statement in
2002. It emphasizes four core components of the way LCMS
World Mission approaches our Lord’s Great Commission task:

Prayer

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the
ends of the earth your possession. (Ps. 2:8)

The purpose statement of LCMS World Mission intentionally
begins with prayer. Truly, prayer is most important in any effort to
share the Good News of Jesus with others for whom Christ Jesus
died, for our Lord says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and
you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matt.
7:7).

Partnership

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because
of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being
confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry
it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil. 1:4-6)

There are a growing number of Lutheran mission societies, such
as Lutheran Bible Translators, People Of the Book Lutheran Out-
reach, and Lutheran Heritage Foundation, that are involved in mis-
sion work throughout the world. These partners often work with
LCMS missionaries, as well as with our partner churches. LCMS
World Mission desires to build strategic partnerships with entities
such as these so that our total LCMS resources can be used in the
most efficient and effective ways possible.

Of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s 28 partner
churches, the origins of 16 are connected with LCMS mission
work. We humbly stand before our God as a church body, praising
Him for using the LCMS to start Lutheran churches, many of
which have also commissioned and sent out missionaries to preach
the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who have not yet heard.
We desire to strengthen our partnership with these national
churches and with the approximately 30 additional emerging and
established Lutheran church bodies in other countries in which the
LCMS is involved in mission work, to serve these bodies in the