LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 136

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136

Witness

Lutheran Church Extension Fund, the Five-Two Network, Lutheran
Hour Ministries, and districts and other agencies; therefore be it
Resolved, That on a regular basis, congregations and their leaders ask the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into His harvest
fields, especially asking that the Lord give them His vision to see the
plentiful harvest fields around them; and be it further
Resolved, That congregations and their leaders be encouraged to
work in cooperation with other congregations and their circuits to
multiply churches locally; and be it further
Resolved, That congregations be encouraged to support church
multiplication efforts in their districts with their prayers, offerings,
and other types of appropriate support for new church starts in the
districts; and be it finally
Resolved, That congregations explore and utilize the resources
available from their districts, the Center for U.S. Missions, the FiveTwo Network, and the Lutheran Church Extension Fund in these
multiplication efforts.
Board of Directors
Minnesota South District
1-04

To Assist and Encourage Members to Intentionally
Speak of Jesus
Whereas, The risen Lord Jesus invites His followers to engage
in “making disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18–20), and St. Peter
encourages every believer to be ready “to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give reason for the hope that you have” (1 Pet.
3:15); and
Whereas, Those who are called to faith are also called to be witnesses (Acts 1:8); and
Whereas, The Holy Spirit is the One who, by means of the spoken
and written word of Christ, calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies His
church (Rom. 10:17; Luther’s explanation of the Third Article); and
Whereas, The first LCMS President, Dr. C. F. W. Walther, proclaimed it to be the holy desire and duty of every Christian to bring
souls to Christ, stating, “Through holy baptism, every Christian has
been consecrated, ordained, and installed into the ministry to teach,
admonish, and comfort his neighbor. Through holy baptism each
Christian has obtained not only the authority, power, and right, but
also the high, holy obligation ... of rousing himself to care and to help
so that others may be brought to Christ,” and again, “Every Christian
is a missionary, sent out by God into his own circle to convert others to Christ” (sermon preached in 1842, “Bringing Souls to Christ:
Every Christian’s Desire and Duty”); and
Whereas, The LCMS boldly declares, “In grateful response to
God’s grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit through Word and
Sacraments, the mission of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
is vigorously to make known the love of Christ by word and deed
within our churches, communities, and world” (1995 convention); and
Whereas, The LCMS seeks to engage the priesthood of all
believers in the mission of God with the goal of reaching 100 million
unreached and unconnected people worldwide by 2017, including 50
million in North America; therefore be it
Resolved, That LCMS congregations and schools seek to assist
and encourage their members and families to share their faith in ways
appropriate to their stations in life and their contexts; and be it further
Resolved, That congregations and schools identify and utilize
means to train and equip their members and families to share with
2013 Convention Workbook

confidence and courage the hope they have in Christ, namely the forgiveness of sins and eternal life in His name; and be it finally
Resolved, That the people of the LCMS be encouraged to identify
and pray daily for at least three unchurched or unconnected people
they know personally, while intentionally seeking opportunities to
speak of Jesus with friends and neighbors.
Board of Directors
Minnesota South District
1-05

To Promote Gospel Witness through Bible Study
Campaign
Whereas, As members of the LCMS, we believe, teach, and confess the Word of God to be at the center of all that we do and all that
we are; and
Whereas, We affirm the truth of what our Savior taught in John
8, that His disciples will “hold to His teaching” and subsequently
“know the truth”; and
Whereas, To “hold to His teaching” and to “know the truth”
explicitly imply that we do these by being students of His Word; and
Whereas, It is the through the Word that our gracious Lord
equips, empowers, and moves us to “make disciples of all nations”
by baptizing and teaching, thus making it essential that if we are going
to be a “church body in mission” we will need first to be a “church
body in the Word”; and
Whereas, Current information reveals that perhaps only as few
as twenty percent of the confirmed membership of the LCMS are
engaged in regular weekly study of God’s Word through participation in an organized Bible study; and
Whereas, Our failure to be a “church body in the Word” is hindering our being a “church body in mission”; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Minnesota North District, in response to
Resolution 8-09 of the 2010 Synod convention and in keeping with
Bylaw 4.2.1 (d) of our Synod’s Handbook, bring this serious matter
of mission and ministry to our entire church body for action at the
next convention of Synod; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod, when next gathered in convention, confess our neglect of God’s Word, express genuine sorrow for how our
neglect has hindered the carrying out of the Great Commission, and
collectively seek and ask God’s forgiveness in Christ for this our sin
of omission; and be it further
Resolved, That the Minnesota North District of the LCMS request
that our beloved Synod undertake a concerted effort to provide
resources useful for engaging the members of our congregations in
regular Bible study; and be it further
Resolved, That we also request that our Synod provide leadership
in this effort with the introduction of a specific campaign with the goal
of raising up our involvement in the study of God’s Word, so that what
is written about the Christians in Berea (Acts 17) could rightfully be
said of the members of the LCMS: “Now the Bereans were of more
noble character … for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day” (v. 11); and be it finally
Resolved, That we seek the Lord’s blessings upon this effort to
move back into His Word in order that we may grow through the Word
in our ability and desire to witness to those who are lost and perishing without Christ, “the Word [that] became flesh” (John 1:14), for
the building of His kingdom so that they, too, might have everlasting life in Christ.
Minnesota North District