LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 67

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SYNOD REPORTS
the Protestants are no longer in the majority. But with these challenges
come opportunities; opportunities to “Shine Your Light!”
The district board of directors is focusing on three primary outcomes to address the opportunities they are facing: congregations,
church workers, and missions.
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Congregations are equipped and engaged in the mission of making
disciples of Jesus Christ.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit, North Wisconsin District pastors and
other professional church workers are motivated to grow disciples
in Jesus Christ.
Missions and outreach ministries are fully utilized to make disciples
of Jesus Christ.

Congregations

The North Wisconsin District consists of 218 congregations
in northern Wisconsin and 11 counties in the upper peninsula of
Michigan. There are over 40 dual parishes. Baptized membership
totals a little over 100,000. Over half of the congregations average
under 100 people in worship. A troubling trend is that our congregations are getting smaller in the northwoods. In 2002, there were 18
congregations that averaged fewer than 35 in worship. In 2011, that
number had grown to 41.
In an effort to address this, the district offered a rural workshop
and has asked district pastors attending the LCMS Rural Conference
to share what they learned with their circuit, interested congregations,
and at district workshops. There was a meeting of dual parish pastors
to discuss their experiences and issues they face.
Congregations of the district were given the opportunity to participate in revitalizing their congregation through the district’s
Transforming Congregations Network team. This challenges the congregations to address both internal issues and how to reach out to the
community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ along with training the
leaders and coaching the pastors.
The district is also blessed with 20 elementary schools, 3 high
schools, 33 free-standing preschools, and 7 free-standing child-care
centers. Various workshops for principals and teachers are offered to
continue to address the challenges facing our schools. Board training for school board members has also been offered.
Pastors and Other Professional Church Workers

Encouraging and motivating the pastors and church workers in
today’s world is important. The district has taken a proactive stance
to assist congregations in caring for their workers.
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The district has someone available for congregations to deal with ministerial health, sabbaticals, and encouraging their church workers.
A district pastor is providing confidential counseling to church workers and addresses counseling needs.
The district has a retired director of Christian education (DCE) who is
sent out to encourage, listen, and coach the youth workers and DCEs.

Missions

The Lutheran Malaria Initiative was the mission effort endorsed
by the convention delegates. Our congregations, schools, and Sunday
Schools have supported this through the “Hearts for Jesus” effort.
Members of the district were able to participate in a mission trip to
Africa to distribute nets.
One new congregation was started in the last triennium. The district continues to support campus work at Michigan Tech in Houghton,
MI; Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI; and full-time
ministry outreach at Peace Campus Center, UW–Stevens Point. We
have one full-time chaplain at Wisconsin Veterans Home in King, WI,
and deaf ministry meeting at various sites around the district. Three
Hmong ministries meet in Appleton, Eau Claire, and Green Bay.

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Camp Luther continues in their ministry to grow and strengthen
the Church through its many programs of Christian growth and
renewal. One program, Every Kid to Camp, provides children the
opportunity to attend a week of camp that they may not have the
resources to do so otherwise. In 2012, there were 390 children that
attended.
The North Wisconsin District is blessed with many faithful leaders, executive staff, office personnel, board of directors, circuit
counselors, and praesidium. Former President Joel Hoelter resigned
after serving faithfully for five years, and Rev. Paul Weber stepped in
and served one year in that role. Mr. Lee Belmas served the district for
21 years as district youth counselor, and Mr. Robert Whipkey retired
after serving 14 years as school executive. Mr. Dennis Johnson continues to serve as the LCEF director.
“Shine Your Light” will continue to be the goal of the congregations and workers of the North Wisconsin District as they face the
opportunities and challenges in the next hundred years.
Dwayne M. Lueck, President
R3-03-22

Northern Illinois District
The LCMS’s Northern Illinois District is not the district office or
the district staff. The Northern Illinois District is the girls and boys
and men and women, believers in Jesus, in the district’s 220 congregations. The district exists for two main reasons: (1) To work together
to guard our life and doctrine closely; (2) To work together as the
Holy Spirit carries out the local mission of God through the Word
and Sacrament ministries of the congregations as they are lived out
in their communities.
Additionally, we work through offerings, prayers, and short-term
missions with the Synod’s Office of International Mission for the mission beyond northern Illinois. We are a new district partner with the
Synod’s Peru Lutheran Mission led by Pastor Mark Eisold in Lima,
Peru. We also are engaged with the Lutheran Church in Norway, a
group that seeks mission partnership with the LCMS.
In the Northern Illinois District, we describe the local mission as
“New Starts … New Believers.” Every congregation can do a new
start, one new thing that builds relationships in the community and
connects people to the love of Jesus.
The longtime model for a “new start” was a mission plant. For a
variety of reasons, that does not seem as practical for our congregations right now. Therefore, a new start may take many forms. As a
district, working together, we promote new starts in congregations
with the following:
1. Vision casting, supported by extensive communications of all types
2. Mission facilitating, helping congregations move from attitude
change to passion to action
3. Coaching pastors and lay leaders, working in tandem with the Ohio
District in our new Great Lakes Coaching Center
4. Mission advocating, taking the story of what we do together to lay
people in churches, face-to-face
5. Challenging Lutheran schools toward fiscal responsibility, aggressive recruitment, and mission to the community

What are the recent outcomes of New Starts … New Believers?
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4 restarts with called pastors (three urban to replace existing congregations and a high school with new outreach, one suburban)
4 mission plants with called pastors (one Arabic, one Hispanic, two
suburban)
8 multi-sites with called pastors or specific ministry pastors (replicating the congregation’s ministry at new locations)
37 congregational new starts in the community, serving and proclaiming Christ

2013 Convention Workbook