LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 134

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134 MISSIONS

effort approved by the Board of Directors of the Synod, and ad-

ministered by the Mission Support Unit (assisted by Skystone

Ryan, Inc.) with a goal of raising $100 million above the regular

LCMS World Mission budget in time to celebrate God’s blessings
by the 2010 synodical convention.

Trinity

St. Louis, MO

1-05

To Promote “Mission Outpost” Attitude
for Congregations

WHEREAS, God’s desire is that all be saved (1 Tim. 2:4) and
only under the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12); and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod desires all
its baptized members, as part of the priesthood of all believers, to
be about witnessing of their faith in Jesus Christ to each other and
non-believers; and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has as the
structural foundation of its church body the gathering of baptized
Christians in worshiping communities; and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has always
seen its schools as important educational and outreach ministries;
and

WHEREAS, Our worshiping communities, ministries and schools
are not only ministries for the teaching and edification of the saints
but provide the foundation for the laity to be involved in mission;
therefore be it

Resolved, That each worshiping community, ministry, and
school within our Synod, being led by the Holy Spirit through a
determined study of the Scriptures and prayer, not only understands
that it is a mission outpost to all the unchurched, “‘in Jerusalem, and
in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8)
but sees that its own community is a mission field, today; and be it
further

Resolved, That the pastors, teachers, and other professional
workers of the LCMS see as one of their responsibilities to train,
enable, and encourage the laity involved within their worshiping
community, ministry, or school to be missionaries sent out by that
mission outpost; and be it further

Resolved, That each worshiping community, ministry, and
school within our Synod be encouraged—partnering with its other
worshiping communities, its District, national missions within the
Board for Mission Services, and other entities involved in ministry
outreach—to develop one (if not multiple) new mission outreach
objective(s) concentrating on connecting to the unchurched of its
own community; and be it further

Resolved, That, each District within our Synod become a re-
source to worshiping communities, ministries, and schools thereby
assisting them in expanding or establishing their vision for mission
and ministry that fulfills Acts 1:8, and be it finally

Resolved, That the Board for Mission Services working through
the Center for U.S. Mission and other entities involved in similar
ministry—being aware that God’s church today exists within an
unchurched culture—be tasked with the responsibility to develop
the necessary resources and training that will allow the worshiping
communities, ministries, and schools to explore and implement
their opportunity and responsibility to be mission outposts, so that
we reach the goal that the laity of the LCMS

* understand the diversity in our culture,

* learn languages in order to witness and serve particular groups,

* train leaders,

and thereby effectively undertake the ministry of spreading the
Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Board of Directors, Iowa District West; Board of Directors,
Southeastern District

1-06

To Encourage and Support Ministries
of Inner-City Churches

WHEREAS, Numerous LCMS schools located in inner-city
neighborhoods throughout the United States are threatened with ex-
tinction; despite the fact that such schools represent an anchor of
hope in areas suffering from both need and vice, inner-city congre-
gations are extremely hard-pressed to continue funding the min-
istry endeavors; and

WHerEAS, Inner-city churches with schools are havens for
inner-city children and families—the support shared in schools
comes daily, through nutritionally balanced hot lunches (which
may be the only such meal some children get), through school uni-
forms (children are clothed in a way that does not single them out
from others), through caring for physical needs (in school nurse vi-
sion and hearing screenings), through speech therapy, education,
training, love, personal support, and follow-up with the principal
caretakers in the homes, as well as through fostering a daily devo-
tional life in God’s Word, Lutheran catechesis, liturgy, and
hymnody; and

WHEREAS, If inner-city schools and congregations are closed,
boarded up and demolished, it is unlikely that the Synod or its Dis-
tricts will be able to initiate any comparable mission work in such
environments without the promise for numeric growth found in
suburban regions; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod, in convention, encourage inner-city
churches and schools in their Gospel proclamation, and, through
the LCMS District and Congregational Services—in an effort sim-
ilar to the Rural and Small Town Ministry—support urban ministry
work, spiritually, technically, and financially, providing various re-
sources and strategies for the proclamation of the Gospel to remain
in the inner-city.

Zion
Fort Wayne, IN

1-07

To Reach Out to Communities in Scripturally
Sound and Culturally Relevant Ways

Whereas, Many congregations and workers of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod are located in areas that are richly di-
verse in cultures, races, ethnic groups, languages, and age groups;
and

Wuereas, Our Lord Jesus Christ is the sacrifice of atonement
for our sins, and not only for ours but for the sins of the whole
world (1 John 2:2); and

Wuereas, Our Lord commands us, “Do not call anything im-
pure that God has made clean” (Acts 10:15); and

WHEREAS, The Good News of Jesus is for the healing of the
ethnic groups (the nations [Rev. 22:2]); therefore be it

Resolved, That every congregation be encouraged to reach out
to those who live in their community in ways that are faithful to
Scripture and our Lutheran Confessions and that are culturally or
age-specifically relevant to those people, even though they may be
significantly different from the current members.

Northern Illinois District; Trinity, Roselle, IL; Circuit 6,
Northern [linois District

1-08

To Make Outreach to World
at Our Doorstep a Priority
Wuereas, Our Lord Jesus commanded His disciples to “go and
make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18-20) and.to be His wit-

nesses at home, close to home, and to the ends of the earth (Acts
1:8); and