Collection › LCMS Convention Proceedings (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1938 · 37th Convention, St. Louis › Page 144
LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1938, Page 144

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

144 Missions in General

tives of the Foreign, the African, and the South American Mission
boards.)

34. Building an Indigenous Church. —It must ever be our aim

to build an indigenous Church which shall be self-supporting,

self-propagating, and eventually self-governing. If we fail in this,
it will not only hinder the progress in the mission-field begun, it
will also curtail mission expansion elsewhere.

35. As the Church grows in foreign lands, and as our mission-
aries advance in experience, more and more responsibility ought to
be placed upon them, and more and more authority ought to be
granted them. And we believe that the time has come when we
must give this matter careful consideration. We fully realize that
our churches in the foreign field have not as yet advanced so far
that they can be entrusted with self-government; but we believe
that gradually more responsibilities (with a limited authority)
might be placed upon them. And to place more responsibility upon
the missionaries and to increase their authority will in our estima-
tion be another step forward in building an indigenous Church.
We submit this for your serious consideration and action.

36 Resident Adviser in Foreign Fields. —In 1932 the Board of
Foreign Missions reported that it was about to call a superintendent
for India. For various reasons, financial and otherwise, this was
not done. We, however, believe it to be of the utmost importance
that a resident adviser be placed into both of our Foreign Mission
fields. Our missionaries and our workers are constantly in need
of guidance and direction in the vexing problems confronting them.
They are in need of encouragement. We believe the increasing
number of both white and native missionaries and workers and
the increasing number of mission-stations make it imperative for
us to provide resident advisers. We dare not postpone this matter
lest our missions as such suffer.

37. We believe that the building of an indigenous Church and
matters pertaining thereto—the appointment or calling of an
adviser for each of the Foreign Mission fields, the duties of his
office, his relation to the missionaries, the mission-stations and the
Board of Foreign Missions, are of extreme importance and there-
fore demand the most careful study.

38. Be it therefore suggested that the Praesidium be instructed
to appoint a committee which shall, in cooperation with the Board
of Foreign Missions and in consultation with the general confer-
ences of Foreign Mission fields, carefully consider above-mentioned
matters and offer guiding lines to carry out their findings.

Be it further suggested that the Board of Foreign Missions be
empowered to carry out plans adopted by a joint committee.