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

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SYNODICAL REPORTS 53

¢ Completed major, complex research study of early childhood
centers, which informed future training and professional support
of early childhood center administrators.

Goal: Equip leaders in all areas of children’s ministry to utilize
resources that contribute to their effectiveness in nurturing chil-
dren’s growing faith.

e Initiated Internet training for early childhood program directors.

¢ Used Children’s Ministry e-magazine for equipping leaders for
effective ministry with children.

¢ Used Children’s Ministry Net, e-newsletter, for equipping over
6,000 children’s ministry leaders.

Goal: Connect leaders as they develop and nurture powerful in-
teractive networks at local, District, and national levels, which ex-
pand their ability to impact children and families with the Gospel.
e Supported 560 leaders in ministry with children, birth through

fifth grade, to grow in knowledge and develop connections with
other leaders through Children’s Ministry Leadership Confer-
ences,

Goal: Develop ministry support that exceeds current needs and
advances the sharing of the Gospel to the next generation.
e Established Children’s Ministry Endowment for reaching out to
children with the message of the Gospel.
Relationship to Synod Objectives: The above contribute to ob-
jectives 2, 6, and 7 (Handbook, pp. 6-7).

Important Trends

e Continued significant growth of early childhood centers (current
total is 2,201—800 located on elementary school campuses, and
1,401 not located on elementary school campuses).

e Increased number of children ages 5 and younger enrolled in
early childhood and elementary schools.

¢ Growing number of families with children enrolled in early child-
hood centers who claim no church affiliation.

¢ Increased shortages of qualified early childhood administrators
and educators. .

e Increased diversity of children’s ministry programming.

¢ Continued decline in number of children attending Sunday
school.

¢ Continued significant “back-door” losses of children from Bap-
tism to age 4.

¢ Growing number of congregation staff serving as “Directors of
Children’s Ministry.”

Future Goals (Hoped for Outcomes)

e Expand networks of support for Districts and congregations as
they engage in ministry with children.

¢ Train, equip, and support leaders in the development of children’s
ministry in concert with the ministry direction of congregations.

¢ Champion the critical importance of affecting children’s lives
with the love of Jesus.

¢ Identify and communicate trends in children’s ministry.

¢ Collaborate with individuals, groups, and organizations to pro-
vide ministry support to those addressing the needs of children.

Family Ministry serves District and congregational leaders via
personal consultation, practical training, appropriate referrals, com-
munication networks, and the brokering of relevant materials, so
that effective partnerships between congregations and homes might
be established on Jesus Christ, for the salvation of all.

Some Significant Accomplishments

Goal: Provide effective electronic communication to synodical
family ministry constituency.

e Family ministry Web site was redesigned, offering hundreds of
free articles, resources, speakers, ideas, and a variety of interac-
tive databases to assist Web-site visitors in improving ministry
to the home.

¢ Family ministry e-bulletin was inaugurated.
¢ On-site District visitations were conducted, resulting in increased
levels of family ministry activities (i.e., training events, family
festivals, resourcing opportunities for churches, and inspirational
presentations at conferences).
Goal: Provide premarital and marital education and training to
all family ministry leaders.
¢ 868 pastors in 26 Districts, including seminarians, were certified
in Prepare—Enrich, a counseling tool for premarital and marital
couples.
¢ A national network of 42 marriage enrichment leader couples
have been trained and utilized the past triennium, building
stronger marriages through scripturally based weekend marriage
retreats and seminars.
Goal: Provide an effective support network for family ministry
practitioners, lay and professional.
eA database of 795 family ministry practitioners was created to
facilitate better communication and share ideas.
¢ The Lutheran Family Ministry Network (LFMN) was formed
under the auspices of DCS in order to provide services, support,
and resources to the above mentioned family ministry practition-
ers.
Goal: Provide a multicultural celebrative event for ethnic fam-
ilies to build stronger family assets.
e A multicultural family festival planning manual was produced for
all 35 Districts.
¢ In partnership with the South Wisconsin District, a multicultural
family festival was held for 200 participants, composed of
African Americans, Hmong, Hispanics, and Caucasians.
Goal: Satisfy the 2001 resolutions assigned to DCS family min-
istry.
¢ Res. 6-12, “To Support Lifelong Sexual Purity.”
e Res. 2-08A, “Ministry to Homosexuals and Their Families.”

Relationship to Synod Objectives: The above contribute to ob-
jectives 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (Handbook, pp. 6-7).

Some Future Goals (Hoped for Outcomes)

¢ To encourage membership in the newly formed Lutheran Family
Ministry Network in order to strengthen the ministries of Synod’s
professional and lay family ministry leaders.

¢ To assist/support Districts and congregations as they develop
Christ-centered family ministry strategies.

¢ To touch families with the Good News of Jesus, no matter their
type of home situation.

¢ To encourage District and congregational leaders to share mod-
els, resources, and ideas for effectively ministering to the home in
the name of Christ.

Outreach Ministry is an advocate for sharing the Gospel with
the unchurched. It partners with Districts to provide encourage-
ment, resources, and networking for congregations as they reach
out to the unchurched in their communities.

Some Significant Accomplishments

¢ Involved directly with the Implementation Team of Ablaze! the
movement to share the Gospel with 100 million unchurched peo-
ple throughout the world by the year 2017, the 500th anniversary
of the Reformation.

¢ Developed, promoted, and distributed resources in support of
lifestyle evangelism.

e Developed and posted on the Web site multiple resources for
“Telling the Good News of Jesus.”

e Administered $3,539,821 of Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foun-
dation “Tell the Good News about Jesus” grants to 566 LCMS
congregations.

¢ Trained and deployed Harvesters for Christ teams to 85 LCMS
congregations in 27 Districts.

2004 Convention Workbook