LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 289

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PARISH SERVICES AND YOUTH 289

Along with its interest in improving its materials, the Board
also is trying to protect the investments of both the Synod and
of the local congregations as much as possible. While improve-
ments are desirable and are always possible, it would be foolish,
wasteful, and irresponsible stewardship of God's resources to
throw away existing inventory without adequate reason. Like-
wise parishes should be able to use their teachers kits at least
3 to 5 years. It is for this reason that all demands for change
must be weighed carefully before action is taken.

Overall Responses to Mission: Life

While acknowledging that the best of materials are always
subject to further improvement and that some Mission:Life
courses are better than others, the Board of Parish Education
and its staff praise and thank God that the Mission:Life pro-
gram as a whole is evidently appreciated by a great majority
of the pastors, teachers, parents, and (most importantly) the
students who are using the course plans and their related ma-
terials. In the 1st quarter of the 2d year, sales of the teaching
kits and student packets were up from 24 to 67 percent over the
first year in the various series. A synodwide survey of both
users and nonusers of Mission:Life revealed that 75% of the
pastors and teachers contacted felt that the program was a
blessing to the church. Orange (summer program) kits had to
be reprinted on several levels because of unexpected demand
in 1972.

In the survey teachers who were asked to rate Mission: Life
materials in seven categories gave positive reactions ranging
from 70 to 87 percent for each category. In addition observers
from the Synod’s District education offices visited 248 congre-
gations using Mission: Life courses and rated the quality of edu-
cation in these classrooms at 56 to 87 percent above average.

There have, of course, been voices of criticism and protest,
and the Board of Parish Education acknowledges that these
also have served and will continue to serve the blessed purposes
of God in the development of the Mission: Life materials. Like
every program of the Synod’s Board of Parish Education, also
Mission:Life has been developed and published “only and all”
for God and His church’s work and welfare.

“Life in Christ” Continued

Because not all congregations were ready or willing to use
Mission:Life materials, Resolution 7-21 of the Milwaukee con-
vention directed Concordia Publishing House to continue pub-
lishing the Life in Christ series of study materials, including
the resource packets. This would have been done without direc-
tive and, contrary to some anxious rumors, will continue to be
done as long as there is a sufficient demand to warrant pub-
lishing these lessons. For the time being the Nursery and Kin-
dergarten Life in Christ lessons are serving also the Mission: Life
curriculum. New materials on these levels will not be available
until the fall of 1975 but plans for them are under way.

Other Board of Parish Education Materials

In the past biennium the Synod’s Board of Parish Education
and Concordia Publishing House cooperated with the boards
and publishing houses of the American Lutheran Church and
the Lutheran Church in America in preparing and publishing
jointly some suggestions and helps for implementing the recom-
mendations of the 15-men Joint Commission on the Theology
and Practice of Confirmation. To assist pastors, parents, and
children to prepare children for Holy Communion, three book-
lets titled Welcome to the Lord's Table were published jointly.
One book is for parents, one for the young communicants, and
one for pastors and teachers. Two packets of multimedia mate-
rials for use in a confirmation ministry to 10th grade youth (for
listening posts, weekend conferences, and seminar/action
projects) were published under the title Community. Com-
munication. Communion. A third major project was the develop-
ment of an adult membership process manual and a member-
ship resource book. Both of these items were published by
Concordia in behalf of the three bodies under the title Rejoice
with Us. The most recent publication developed jointly by the
three boards is a book of readings for black churchmen called
Men of Color. Men of Faith.

In the fall of 1972 also a new series of materials for the teach-
ing of our faith to the mentally handicapped became available
under the joint sponsorship of the Board of Parish Education,
the Commission for Services to the Mentally Retarded, and

Concordia Publishing House. Edited by Frederick Radtke, the
new Series III of Lessons for Special Classes provides a program
of 12 sets of teachers kits and learners packets, each kit con-
taining a teachers guide and related song recordings, two sound
Bible story filmstrips, and flannelgraph figures. Each unit packet
for the learner includes 36 correlated pictures with verbal ma-
terial on the reverse sides.

The 13-volume Concordia Music Education Series. a major
publication project for kindergarten through grade eight in Lu-
theran elementary schools, was completed during the biennium.

What's Ahead in Publications?

Besides thoroughly reviewing and revising the 182 Mission:
Life courses with their several thousand items published for
the 19711974 school terms, Board of Parish Education editors
will be working on a new Orange set of courses on eight levels
for every subsequent summer, a completely new Nursery and
Kindergarten program for the Green (Sunday) series, new adult
materials for The Gate and the weekday (Red) adult school of
religion, and new “Christ-Style” mini-courses for youth classes.

In the discussion and experimental planning stages is the
possibility of a successor to This Day magazine that would serve
as a medium for lay adult education. The magazine (in whatever
form it might eventually appear) would deal with present-day
human relations and problems from Biblical and Christian faith
perspectives. A devotional magazine for the youth and young
adults of the church is also under study. An experimental issue
will soon be published by Concordia for a sampling of reactions
from church youth, parents, and church leaders.

Already some people are asking. “What's beyond Mission:
Life?” Industry would soon fall behind its opportunities if it did
not project plans and products into the future. These are chang-
ing times. So the church, too, needs to work at avoiding com-
munication gaps within herself and between her and the
world, even though her Word and message are eternal. No
educational curriculum and teaching/learning materials are the
last word for very long.

Because the vigorous life-span of educational programs is
usually not more than 6 to 8 years, the Board of Parish Education
has already put into motion some study of present educational
trends and emerging possibilities in preparation for a next stage
of program development at least by 1980 if not sooner.

By its commitment to the goal of providing the Synod with
the best possible study programs and media resources the Board
of Parish Education, with the blessing of God, has produced
educational helps that have been acclaimed and used by many
outside as well as inside the Synod. As the Board is given the
needed financial support and curriculum specialists, it will
continue to provide the Synod with the best possible plans, tools,
and resources for doing the educational task which the church
must do and do well if she is to fulfill her mission in the next
25 years.

Vv. THE BOARD OF PARISH EDUCATION
IS COMMITTED TO HELP TRAIN TEACHERS
OF THE FAITH

The Challenge to Provide New Forms of Teacher Education

The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod owes a heavy debt
to the thousands of volunteer church school workers who,
through their unselfish service, have made invaluable contribu-
tions to the educational ministry of our church. From a human
point of view, the effectiveness of our Synod’s ministry through-
out its 125-year history is largely due to the dedicated service
of our volunteer church school teachers and other lay people.

Even as teachers in public and private schools require aca-
demic preparation for their work, so our volunteer church school
teachers need teacher education for their important ministry
in the church.

In the past, Sunday church school teachers usually met
weekly or biweekly to prepare for the next Sunday's lesson.
In recent years the old pattern of Sunday school teachers meet-
ings has proved to be unattractive. Pastors report fewer meet-
ings during the course of a year and decreasing attendance at
the meetings that are held.

Obviously new patterns of in-service teacher education for
volunteer church school teachers are indicated. This is true for
several reasons: (1) volunteer teachers today tend to be better
equipped to prepare their lessons through private study;