LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 16

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16

SYNOD REPORTS

outside the Kingdom. May He use these communications capabilities to enhance His work through the Church.
Full Report
The Office of National Mission

The Office of National Mission will enliven, equip, coordinate,
and engage with domestic congregations, schools, districts, auxiliaries, and recognized service organizations in order to enhance their
local and regional missions and ministries.
The last triennium has brought joy and challenges as the newly
established Office of National Mission (ONM) has been created to
support districts and congregations of our Synod. Bringing together
various domestic ministries from nearly every previous program area
of the LCMS, ONM’s purpose is to enliven, equip, coordinate, and
engage domestic congregations, districts, and recognized service
organizations in order to enhance their local and regional missions
and ministries.
Flowing out of the values and mission priorities of the Synod,
ONM is working to identify and formulate a variety of ways to
strengthen, renew, revitalize, and transform the congregations,
schools, and workers of the LCMS through the life of Christ crucified and risen in His Means of Grace.
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ONM will strengthen faith through fostering growth in the way God’s
Word has free course in our congregations and homes (strengthening
preaching, teaching, and the family altar).
ONM will strengthen love through fostering growth in ministries of
mercy (local, regional, and national) flowing from the gifts received
at font, pulpit, and altar.
ONM will strengthen hope through fostering growth in partnerships
in the Gospel that help to clearly confess Christ.
ONM will strengthen workers through fostering intentional care of
body, soul, and relationships.
ONM will strengthen schools through fostering renewed clarity and
commitment to the mission of Lutheran education.
ONM will strengthen youth work through fostering in our young people a culture shaped by the Lutheran values of devotion to the means
of grace, vigorous service to the neighbor, and providing our young
people a sturdy apologetic for the faith.
ONM will strengthen congregations through fostering a faithful
Lutheran approach to confessing Christ to the neighbor and to planting daughter congregations.

It has taken the better part of a triennium to pull all of the pieces
together in an organized and effective way. Much energy and efforts
have gone into structuring ONM in a way that will be most helpful
to the church. Many conversations, formal and informal, with key
stakeholders have taken place. These conversations have given clear
direction to ONM in how they are to relate to districts and congregations to support and strengthen their work. Our shared collaborative
work will do great things. It is especially exciting to have all of our
Synod’s assets for domestic work collaborating for the sake of districts and congregations. This is the most critical change and benefit
of the new structure. For the first time, all of the domestic ministries
are connected and working together.
The following brief ministry reports reflect some of the major
work done within ONM. A few things will be noticeably absent below.
ONM is still working in conjunction with the Black Clergy Caucus to
identify a Director of Black Ministry. Currently, Dr. Frazier Odom is
serving on an interim basis so that work continues with a special eye
toward the Black Convocation scheduled for the summer of 2014.
Rev. Wayne Knolhoff, Director of Stewardship, accepted a position at the St. Louis seminary, leaving a vacancy. ONM is currently
evaluating how best to support the work of stewardship in collaboration with other Synod partners. Complete updates of the Stewardship
2013 Convention Workbook

Manual, along with other new stewardship resources, are scheduled
for release in the coming months.
Following the Hispanic Convocation in 2012, dialogue has continued between ONM and the convention’s elected officials, with the
goal of creating a Memorandum of Agreement to clearly outline and
identify ONM’s support for Latino ministry in the LCMS.
ONM also continues to support the work of several task forces
funded through special grants: Same Sex Attraction, Domestic
Violence, and Disability. These task forces are producing materials
that will be shared throughout the church.
Youth Ministry

Youth Ministry began the triennium by hosting the twelfth
National LCMS Youth Gathering, “We Believe,” held in New Orleans,
Louisiana, with 22,250 youth and adults participating in the event.
An additional 2,500 programmers, planners, and volunteers provided
support service. Planning for the 2013 Gathering in San Antonio,
Texas, is well underway.
The Teen Leadership Initiative of Lutheran Youth Fellowship provided training for teens in three crucial areas: 2011—“Teens Leading
Teens” focused on nurturing basic leadership skills; 2012—“Teens
Answering Teens” was an apologetics course that focused on helping
teens answer their peers’ questions about God, faith, and life; 2013—
“Teens Reaching Teens” provided outreach training for teens to their
peers. A basic principle of the Initiative is to provide training to teens
which they can replicate with their peers.
Leadership training for adults included the National Lutheran
Youth Workers Conference, July 2012, in San Antonio, with 225 participating. The Annual Youth Ministry Symposium for professional
youth workers dealt with the National Study of Youth and Religion
in 2011, theology for youth ministry in 2012, and intergenerational
youth ministry in 2013.
Servant events, modeling the Synod’s emphasis on mercy work,
attracted more than 2,000 youth and adults each year of the triennium.
Resource development included continued monthly publication of
thESource online programmatic resource; the E-Bulletin, updating
what’s happening in the world of teens; the Young Adult Web site targeting a post-high school audience; and support for a renewed campus
ministry effort in the Synod called “LCMS U.”
School Ministry

Leadership development has been the focus of School Ministry
during the last triennium. Strong leadership by the administrators of
Lutheran schools helps a school be “A School of Choice” in its community. Several programs and initiatives have helped to focus on
leadership development.
National Lutheran School Accreditation and related programs and
efforts continue to be a strong program within the Synod:
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655 Lutheran schools accredited
The Exemplary School program focusing on “Best Practices”
“Best Practice” Webinars shared with Lutheran schools
“Standards” rewritten to focus on 21st-century learning

School Leadership and Development (SLED) continues to be one
of the most requested programs that School Ministry provides. SLED
is currently in its 15th year of operation, training future principals for
early childhood through high school administration. Over 40 percent of those trained in the SLED program are currently serving as
administrators in Lutheran schools. Eighty-five candidates successfully completed the SLED program during the last triennium.
The program “Funding Academy” was developed and shared to
help administrators become better financial leaders for their schools.
Funding Academy I helped administrators learn how to figure perpupil costs, set budgets, and fill empty seats. It was so successful