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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 280

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

280

NATIONAL WITNESS

for the pastors, workers, lay leaders, and congregations engaged in
this vital mission; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod encourage its districts, circuits, and
congregations to actively and creatively seek ways to establish,
develop, and fund new campus ministries, especially in areas with
significant college or university student populations; and be it
further
Resolved, That all campus ministries be encouraged to maintain
a direct connection to full-time Word and Sacrament ministry,
either through a nearby LCMS congregation or by forming a
preaching station or mission congregation in their own right; and be
it further
Resolved, That districts, circuits, and congregations be
encouraged to maintain, support, and revitalize as necessary, but
certainly not abandon, existing strategically valuable campus
ministries and campus ministry locations; and be it further
Resolved, That all districts, circuits, congregations, and campus
ministries embrace dual ministry goals of:
• Evangelizing the unchurched and seeking students interested
in serious Christianity;
• Sustaining and nurturing LCMS and other Christian students
through the Means of Grace;
and be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS Office of National Mission (ONM)
establish a Campus Ministry Coordinator (or similar title, or
equivalent duties as assigned), who will serve the Synod by
assisting and advising districts, circuits, congregations, and campus
ministries in strengthening existing campus ministry work and
establishing new campus ministry preaching stations and
congregations throughout the Synod; and be it further
Resolved, That ONM continue conducting a LCMS Campus
Ministry Worker conference, to help encourage collegiality,
support, and cooperation among the various campus ministries of
the Synod; and be it further
Resolved, That ONM sponsor or conduct regional and national
LCMS U conferences, for students, college-aged young adults, and
campus ministry workers to attend and be built up in the faith,
strengthened in the knowledge and fear of the Lord, encouraged in
the Gospel and in the fellowship they share in Christ, and to interact
with teachers and presenters who will help them thoughtfully to
engage both classic and contemporary issues faced by college
students; and be it further
Resolved, That ONM investigate various funding models for
domestic mission work on the nation’s college campuses, and issue
a report to the Council of Presidents and the Board for National
Mission no later than July 2028; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod not waver in upholding campus
ministry as a significant mission priority from the national to the
congregational level, constantly listening to the voice of our Lord
Jesus Christ: “Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the
fields are white for harvest” (John 4:35); and be it finally
Resolved, That the Synod and its districts, circuits, and
congregations integrate campus ministry into their strategic mission
and stewardship planning, recognizing that campus ministry is an
investment in the church’s present and future.
Board for National Mission

2026 Convention Workbook

Ov. 1-06

To Increase Church Planting at the Parish Level
WHEREAS, The Synod Office of National Mission (ONM)
currently is supporting church planting ministry across the Synod
through resources, training, and grants; and
WHEREAS, The districts and congregations of the Synod maintain
numerous mercy missions and ministries to care for those in their
communities; and
WHEREAS, The process of planting new congregations is a
priority of the work of the ONM; and
WHEREAS, Our Lord Jesus Christ wants all people to be saved (1
Tim. 2:4) and has commanded His Church to make disciples of all
nations by baptizing and teaching (Matt. 28:19); and
WHEREAS, Acts 2:42 shows that the Church of baptized believers
gathered around the ministry of the Word and the Sacraments,
which are foundational to the life and mission of the Church both in
function and in goal; and
WHEREAS, The early Christians, having been gathered around
Word and Sacrament, were sent into the world and established new
churches as they went; and
WHEREAS, The Synod has historically planted most of its
congregations effectively through daughter congregations,
beginning with preaching stations that grew into new
congregations; and
WHEREAS, The establishment of preaching stations through
existing congregations and their pastors represents a faithful and
cost-effective means of planting new churches by leveraging
existing congregational structures; and
WHEREAS, This historic pattern of Word and Sacrament
expansion allows the local congregation (uniquely suited as the
front-line mission outpost) to be the driving force in church
planting; and
WHEREAS, the Synod’s human care efforts and community
outreach provide natural connection points for the proclamation of
the Gospel, which can lead to the formation of preaching stations
and, eventually, new congregations; and
WHEREAS, Special attention should be given to regions where
people do not have access to the seven marks of the Church, as
outlined in Luther’s Church and Ministry (Luther’s Works AE
41:148–65); therefore be it
Resolved, That the Synod encourage districts, circuits, and
congregations to plant churches through preaching stations
supported by existing congregations and their pastors; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Synod encourage congregations to consider
ways in which their human care efforts may be paired with Word
and Sacrament ministry, so that new worshiping communities may
form around the Means of Grace; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Synod commend this model of church
planting as a faithful, practical, and historically grounded approach
to fulfilling Christ’s command to make disciples of all nations.
Board for National Mission