LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 14

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14

SYNOD REPORTS

1. Fidelity. Faithfulness to the Holy Scriptures and to the
Confessions continues to mark the Synod as a corporate confessor
of the one true faith and clearly identifies the Synod as a witness to
the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Quality. Quality accompanies faithfulness. As St. Paul says,
“Let us do all things as unto the Lord.” Excellence is a response to the
Lord’s call. It is integral to the Synod’s witness. Parishioners deserve
the best pastors, teachers, deaconesses—every rostered worker, and
they depend on them to provide for their spiritual well-being. These
called servants daily nurture men and women in the midst of spiritual battle. Nothing short of excellence will do.
3. Credibility. Credibility is defined as “the ability to inspire belief
or trust.” Mission, vision, planning, and resource management create credibility. Applying planning objectives and goals to a multiyear
plan provides a clearer way to accomplish mission goals for rostered
workers, congregations, and the entire Synod. Credibility fosters confidence among the Synod’s members, which in turn fosters assurance
among the laity. Credibility ultimately creates an environment of mission boldness.
4. Sustainability. Given fiscal realities, every program must stand
the test of sustainability. The Synod has the privilege of reaching
the lost for Christ. Legacy partners have stood the test of time, but
they require ongoing engagement. Partner churches, some the direct
result of LCMS mission efforts, now reach many for the Kingdom
throughout the world. Sustaining these partner relationships is vital
to global engagement.
5. Stability. Congregations manifest stability in the midst of an
ever-changing cultural environment. Families, communities, and
nations morph over time. In the midst of familial, community, and
national transformation, God provides stability by means of the
Church.
Fidelity, quality, credibility, sustainability, and stability work
together to enhance discipleship, and discipleship is a Synod-wide
responsibility.
Priorities

As values shape the cultural environment for planning, so priorities provide a way to implement those activities that most effectively
engage the church in the world via witness, mercy, and life together.
These are the mission planning priorities:
1. Plant, sustain, and revitalize churches. Foremost among mission priorities is planting, sustaining, and revitalizing a global network
of spiritually healthy, vibrant, and orthodox Lutheran congregations
and international partners committed to reaching the lost, nurturing
disciples, and bearing witness through Word and Sacrament to the
Lord and Savior of the Church, Jesus Christ.
2. Expand and enhance theological education. Foreign and
domestic pastoral education is central to the ministry of congregations, church partners, and the Synod. The Synod intends to enhance
institutional instruction, pastoral mentoring, and ongoing vocational
training as they seek to shape the next generation of church leaders.
3. Perform mercy work in proximity to Word and Sacrament
ministry. The LCMS mission statement includes reaching people
with the Gospel, baptizing, and catechizing them into the faith. It
also provides for the church’s response to a world that often suffers
starvation, sickness, homelessness, and a variety of natural and manmade disasters. Response to such suffering is part and parcel of the
Christian life; therefore, it must find root in Word and Sacrament that
it may alleviate not only human suffering but also address the very real
spiritual suffering that leaves the world in sin, death, and darkness.
These acts of mercy must be in proximity to Word and Sacrament
so that they may always have reference in the Church and her presence in the world.
2013 Convention Workbook

4. Collaborate with the Synod’s members and partners. The
Synod will collaborate with members and partners to enhance mission effectiveness. Strategic partners in ministry are essential to
reaching all people, all nations, and all cultures for Christ; therefore,
the LCMS engages her international church partners to formulate a
coordinated, strategic plan to fulfill the Lord’s mandate to “make disciples” (Matt. 28:19–20). Coordinating with these partners provides
for more effective employment of full-time and part-time missionaries. By formulating a synchronized global strategy, regional partners
are able to better predict LCMS involvement and support, and they are
also able to identify targeted needs for local and regional engagement.
5. Nurturing church workers. Nurturing pastors, missionaries,
and professional workers to promote spiritual, emotional, and physical
well-being is essential to the health of the Synod. Resilient rostered
leaders are more likely to produce healthy, resilient congregations.
This cadre of called servants requires nurture and a commitment to
enhance their own spiritual lives as they shepherd those in their care.
6. Enhance elementary, secondary, tertiary education, and
youth ministry. Youth live in a world opposed to Christianity and
are regularly exposed to philosophical and religious disinformation.
As the church of tomorrow, they deserve the church’s fullest attentio
n and care; therefore, the final priority is to enhance elementary, secondary, tertiary education, and youth ministry.
Mission planners employed these six priorities to link available
resources with activities deemed most relevant to achieving the mandates provided in the Synod’s mission statement. Efficiencies are
improving as these values and priorities are integrated in mission
planning and execution. First among the processes was the development of mission synchronization—that is, aligning the activities of
the various program activities with the Synod’s mission statement,
values, and priorities. As this ability grows, greater overall effectiveness will result.
Mission and program support leaders are transitioning to multi­year
planning cycles. The goal is a consistent five-year plan that identifies personnel and project requirements. These plans will enable
more effective personnel recruitment and enhance fiscal projections.
Closely related to the planning cycle is the budgeting process.
Restructuring created a new paradigm for planning and executing
the budget. As unit executives develop multiyear plans, they are able
to coordinate, synchronize, and prioritize their revenue requirements
with other programs; furthermore, this enhances collaboration with
partners and other corporate entities (entities and partners such as
CPH, LCEF, LCMS Foundation, CPS, LWML, and LHM).
These various methods are all subject to our Lord’s blessing and
leading; we plan, but God gives the increase. God gives us wisdom
and resources to nurture and extend His kingdom, and by His grace,
the Church shall prevail. We pray for an abundant harvest.
Office of National Mission (ONM)—Unit Executive Director, Rev. J.
Bart Day

ONM has a broad scope of responsibilities that requires extraordinary ethnic, cultural, and theological acumen. Rev. Bart Day, Unit
Executive, created three broad areas of ministry in order to address
ministry venues. They are rural/small town, suburban, and urban/inner
city. Within these three ministry environments, ONM encourages and
supports various mission and mercy activities.
ONM also provides ministry support to assist the functional and
enduring ministry requirements of local congregations, schools, and
districts. These activities include, but are not limited to worship, stewardship, evangelism, health and life issues, disaster response, youth
ministry, school leadership enhancement instruction, and deaconess ministries.
ONM continues to grow relationships with recognized service
organizations (RSOs) who provide valuable mission and mercy