LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 76

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76

SYNOD REPORTS

throughout all parts of the district. The Mission Board is exploring
ways that it can do urban and ethnic ministry better.
The district enjoys a partnership with the Lutheran Church in
Southern Africa and the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane/
Pretoria. Now in its fourteenth year, district task force members have
made four trips to South Africa and Botswana in the last triennium.
The partnership is working with the Rev. David Tswaedi and his congregation at Mofolo North to begin a parochial school in Soweto, a
community of some three million people.
The 2010 LCMS convention brought a significant change to the
Southern Illinois District. The Rev. Dr. Herbert C. Mueller Jr. was
elected the First Vice-President of the LCMS. He had been district
president since 1994. The Rev. Timothy Scharr was installed as district president on August 29, 2010, at Trinity Lutheran Church in
Nashville. The Rev. Scharr was elected to his first full term at the
2012 district convention.
The Southern Illinois District is well served by Mr. Roger
Sprengel as the schools and general executive (SAGE). Mrs. Donna
Wiesen is the administrative assistant, and Mrs. Leslie Sramek is the
bookkeeper. Mr. Dennis Klusman is the LCEF vice-president. He is
assisted by Mr. Dan Roth, who handles the promotion of LCEF. The
Rev. Michael Walther of Good Shepherd, Collinsville, is the first
vice-president, and the Rev. Bruce Keseman of Christ Our Savior,
Freeburg, is the second vice-president. The Rev. Dr. George Gude
is the district secretary, and Mr. Gary Hemmer serves as treasurer.
Moving into the future, we remain confident that the Lord Jesus
Christ rules over all things on behalf of His people, the Church. We
are baptized for this moment that we may be faithful confessors of
the faith in these latter days.
Timothy Scharr, President
R3-03-34

Texas District
The mission of the Texas District is to strengthen congregations
to reach the lost, disciple the saved, and care for people—locally
and globally.
The population growth of the state of Texas continues its rapid
pace. The government says that pace is at 500,000 net growth every
year. About half of this growth comes from immigration as people
from other nations seek out work and stability in Texas. The state
economy remains strong, with more and more companies moving
their operations to Texas.
One of the Ablaze! goals set by the district in 2004 was to start
200 Word-and-Sacrament ministries by 2017. Through 2013, God has
blessed us with 80 new Word-and-Sacrament congregations. Fewer
than 10 percent have failed. We thank God for these blessings and
look forward to His blessings as we move closer to 2017.
Over the last three years, a number of “mission networks” have
formed to plant multiple new congregations. These “mission networks” are made up of a number of congregations or individuals
committed to sharing the Gospel with the new people arriving each
year. Through these networks and other congregations in Texas, 80
additional new starts are on the drawing board. We plant and pray for
God to give the growth.
The president’s office, our four mission and ministry facilitators,
and the director of congregation and worker care work together to
encourage and support the mission work carried out by congregations
and “mission networks.” Other district office workers are on board
with the vision of reaching people with the Good News of Jesus. We
are truly blessed to have a unified staff.
Our deployed staff and elected vice-presidents and circuit counselors continue to bless local congregations with more personal
2013 Convention Workbook

connections with the district. Both the staff and officers actively
serve and support congregations and professional church workers
and their families.
The funding model for new starts established by the mission board
is proving to be a blessing for the Texas District’s mission efforts.
The amount of dollars repaid by our new starts has increased to over
$100,000 each year. These dollars are used to begin new congregations across Texas.
The district was blessed to add a third Lutheran Inner City
Network Coalition (LINC) in the last three years. The new LINC
is located in San Antonio and joins LINC Houston and LINC North
Texas in their efforts to bring the message of Jesus to the city, and
especially to the immigrants coming from other countries.
The Texas District’s Church Extension Fund continues its healthy
growth in investments, loans, and capital funding. This ministry has
been a huge blessing in supporting expansions of established congregations as well as new mission starts. They also partner with Synod’s
Lutheran Church Extension Fund in providing services beyond Texas.
Even though the population boom is a blessing, it is also one of
our biggest challenges. The Texas District has not been able to keep
up with the growth. We thank God for the growth He has blessed the
district with and are confident that He will anoint our feeble human
efforts to expand His kingdom in Texas through the ministry of the
district and its congregations. We keep our eyes on the cross and ourselves open to the guidance of His Holy Spirit.
Kenneth M. Hennings, President
R3-03-35

Wyoming District
The Wyoming District was formed from the former Northern
Nebraska and Southern Nebraska Districts on Sept. 30, 1970. It
includes all of Wyoming and the panhandle of Nebraska with one congregation in Colorado (part of a dual parish), covering over 100,000
square miles of sparsely populated farm, ranch, and mountainous terrain. It includes 61 congregations, one mission station at an American
Indian reservation, two campus ministries (one full time), six circuits,
13 preschools, four kindergartens, and four classical education elementary schools.
Although smaller in numbers, with over 13,000 baptized members
and 10,000+ communicant members, we are spread across the entire
district with congregations in every community of 1500+ except one.
The sparse population, long distances between towns, and smallness
of cities (largest is 58,000) make ministry a challenge, long travel
normal, and gatherings precious.
One of those gatherings held for the last 12 years has been an evangelism convocation (Tell the Good News about Jesus Convocation),
which has consistently brought laypeople and pastors (180–280)
together annually for worship, study, and preparation to engage others and reach out with the story of Jesus Christ.
The strong interest in taking the Gospel out to as many people
as possible is shown by the support of district work to the American
Indian tribes near Riverton, Wyoming; receiving of a new congregation in 2011 south of Jackson, Wyoming; and support of a full-time
campus pastor at the University of Wyoming, Laramie. In addition,
mission offerings of all congregations not only support the Synod
and district missions but also help five other congregations annually
to support their ministries locally. These mission offerings also provide generous gifts to assist students preparing for full-time church
work through district grants or repayment of student indebtedness.
Teaching and equipping congregations for stewardship continues
with an emphasis started several years ago to present it in every congregation. To date, one-half of all congregations have benefited from