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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 120

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

120

Missouri. Training workshops for elders and other congregational
leaders will be held throughout the district during the triennium.
Mission Field: Missouri training workshops will also be offered
to congregations to support their efforts in reaching out to their
communities. A “Tell the Next Generation” Conference was held in
November 2025 to support family discipleship.

D. Changes to District Staff
The district executive staff had two significant additions since
its last convention. Joshua Swartz began serving as the director of
schools on July 1, 2022. His leadership and support of Lutheran
schools and the introduction of MOScholars has been particularly important. Peter Kirby joined the staff as the executive director of congregational services in January 2023, overseeing support
for congregations and the survey process of calling congregations.
The district is blessed with the leadership of veteran staff members
who are dedicated to the support of the congregations, schools, and
church workers they are called to serve.
The district has been operating without the leadership of its
elected president, R. Lee Hagan, since his stroke in July 2025.
Craig Otto, the elected first vice-president of the district, has been
serving as interim president for most of the triennium so far. We
continue to pray for President Hagan’s recovery and return to his
position when he is ready.
R. Lee Hagan, President
Craig D. Otto, Interim President
R36

Montana District
With prayer and thanksgiving to God for His great mercy, the
Montana District began its work for the 2023–26 Synod triennium
under the theme “Your word is a lamp to my feet” (Psalm 119:105).

A. Presidential Activities
During the triennium, the president of the district visited every congregation during a worship service, encouraging fidelity to
God’s Word as our lamp in the darkness of this world. He also met
with the elders of each congregation, using the same theme to teach
how elders may support their pastors.
In addition, he met with the pastors of the district to hear their
joys and sorrows and to review their Pastor’s Information Forms,
offering encouragement in their ministry. Finally, he visited the
schools of the district, making similar presentations and providing
encouragement and support.

B. Goals Being Met
The district has made progress in implementing resolutions of
the 2023 Synod convention. Several highlights follow:

(Res. 6-02A). Scholarships for men and women enrolled in church
work programs at our Concordia universities and seminaries have
increased (Res. 7-06B). In addition, the district board of directors
has expanded student-loan repayment assistance for ordained and
commissioned ministers (Res. 12-03A).
The majority of district congregations average fewer than 50
worshipers on a weekend and more than 70 percent are in multi-parish relationships. These congregations care deeply for one another
and actively seek ways to provide mutual support. The district continues to work with the Office of National Mission to “aid small
congregations and multi-congregation pastors and parishes” (Res.
1-02A).
The district has a rich heritage of supporting life as a gift of God
from cradle to grave. Congregations continue to support Lutherans
For Life groups, local crisis pregnancy centers, and efforts to “promote a culture of life” throughout the district (Res. 3-01).
We also give thanks for our Lutheran schools (Res. 12-04A).
Though the district has only six K–8 schools due to the number of
small congregations, these schools receive strong support. During
his visits, the president consistently encouraged support for Lutheran schools and teachers, as well as strong catechetical instruction—
especially in the home (Res. 12-05A)—with the goal of fostering a
next generation of Lutherans who know and live the faith.
During the triennium, the district board of directors developed a
new tool to assist in evaluating the district’s four subsidized congregations. The board seeks to be faithful stewards of the Lord’s gifts
while identifying additional opportunities for Gospel proclamation.
The new district triennium (2025–28) began with the theme “I
am not ashamed of the gospel” (Rom. 1:16). We gave thanks to God
for the faithful service and 19-year presidency of Rev. Terry Forke.
The district elected and welcomed the Rev. Ryan D. Wendt as its
ninth president.

C. Strengths
The district remains remarkably homogenous and evangelical in
its dedication to the truth of God’s Word and the Lutheran Confessions. The ministerium demonstrates genuine love and care for one
another, and the people of God are generous with their time and
gifts. Congregational offerings to the district continue to increase,
schools are growing, and the lamp is not hidden under a bushel in
Montana.

D. Weaknesses
While the congregations of the district are predominantly small,
they are also widely dispersed geographically. Pastors in the district
cover extensive territory, and many serve in relative isolation. Increasingly, it seems that pastors are reluctant to serve in multi-parish
settings or to heed the Lord’s call to serve congregations many hundreds of miles from home and family.

District congregations, schools, and church workers have been
encouraged to engage zealously in the Set Apart to Serve (SAS)
initiative (Res. 6-01). A district SAS committee was established and
remains active. Renewed conversations with young men and women about church work vocations have borne fruit, and the number
of full-time church work students from our congregations has increased.

Some 50 percent of the active pastors in the district are already
at retirement age or will reach it within the next five years. Although
several younger pastors were welcomed into the district during the
past triennium, some proved unable to serve faithfully and were
removed from office. Filling pastoral and teaching vacancies has
become increasingly difficult. Some 46 percent of retired pastors on
the district roster continue to serve vacancies, many of them traveling hundreds of miles over a weekend.

The district convention directed up to 5 percent of yearly congregational giving to the Joint Seminary Fund in continued support
of “proper pastoral formation through our Synod’s Seminaries”

The need for more seminary-trained capable pastors and certified
Lutheran teachers who are eager and willing to serve is a pressing
and ongoing concern for the district.

2026 Convention Workbook