District Organization

4.1.1The Synod is not merely an advisory body in relation to a district, but establishes districts in order more effectively to achieve its objectives and carry on its activities.

4.1.1.1A district is the Synod itself performing the functions of the Synod. Resolutions of the Synod are binding upon the districts.

4.1.1.2The Constitution of the Synod is also the constitution of each district. The Bylaws of the Synod shall be primarily the bylaws of the district.

1. A district may adopt additional bylaws, regulations, and resolutions necessary or proper for its own administration or for effectively carrying on the work of the Synod. These shall not conflict with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod.
2. The bylaws and regulations of the district and any subsequent change therein shall be submitted to the Commission on Constitutional Matters of the Synod for review and approval.

4.1.1.3The Synod decides when and whether a district shall be formed, divided, realigned, or merged with another or other districts, or dissolved; determines the boundaries of a district; and approves the name of a district. (a) A proposal calling for the formation, division, realignment, merger, or dissolution of a district or districts may be initiated by a national convention of the Synod or the Board of Directors of the Synod. (b) Such proposals shall

1. be submitted to the President at least six months prior to a convention of the Synod;
2. be produced in consultation with the Department of Rosters, Statistics, and Research Services;
3. include a substantiated description of the nonviable aspects of the current district(s) on the basis of general principles of viability adopted from time to time by conventions of the Synod, and shall specify the problems or factors which make the adoption of the proposal advisable or necessary;
4. provide evidence that the proposed change is the best of the options available;
5. provide a specific and realistic development plan for the proposed district(s), including detailed proposals for staff personnel and financial operations; and
6. be the object of an evaluation prepared by the Board of Directors of the Synod and submitted to the convention.

4.1.1.4Transfer of congregations between districts is completed upon approval of the respective district boards of directors at the request of the congregation.

4.1.1.5Transfer of congregations between partner churches requires the additional approval of the governing boards of the church bodies.

4.1.2The membership of a district consists of all those members of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (congregations, ordained and commissioned ministers) who have been received into the district at the time of joining the Synod, who have been transferred from another district, or who have been assigned to the district by the Synod.

4.1.2.1Termination of membership in the Synod terminates membership in a district.

4.1.3A district may incorporate or adopt such other convenient form of association as may be permitted by the civil laws under which the district carries on its activities. The form of incorporation or association and any subsequent proposed change thereof shall be submitted to the Commission on Constitutional Matters of the Synod for review and approval before adoption by the district and before presentation to the proper civil authorities.

4.1.4Upon dissolution of a district, all property and assets to which the district holds title or over which it has control shall be transferred immediately to the Synod or its nominee.

4.1.4.1Upon dissolution of a corporation controlled by a district (through its board of directors or its member congregations), the assets of such corporation shall be distributed to the district, or, if the district is not in existence, to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

4.1.5Jurisdiction with respect to everything that is administered by or for the entire Synod resides in the national Synod itself. Jurisdiction includes but is not limited to general supervision of doctrine and practice; foreign missions; institutions of the Synod; qualification for ordination, commissioning, and installation of ordained and commissioned ministers and requirements for individual as well as congregational membership in the Synod; publication of official religious periodicals; conduct of negotiations and affiliations with other church bodies; and the like.

4.1.6The relationship of a congregation to the district is the same as the relationship of a congregation to the Synod as defined in Article VII of the Constitution of the Synod and Bylaw sections 1.3, 1.6, 1.7, and 1.8.

4.1.6.1Relationships on the district level are those as defined in Bylaw section 1.4.

4.1.6.2Congregations interested in expanding their Gospel outreach into an area that crosses district lines are encouraged first to discuss their intent with their own district officials, followed by discussion with the appropriate district officials and the local congregations impacted by such work.

1. Any such expansion of Gospel outreach into an area that crosses district lines shall require the concurrence of both the president of the receiving geographical district and the board or committee responsible for missions in that district.
2. The ecclesiastical supervision of a new church start, satellite worship site, or any ministry established by a congregation in another district shall be decided by the affected district presidents.

4.1.7Officers of the district shall have primary responsibility for district implementation of decisions of the Synod at the national level as they apply at the district level and within the boundaries of the respective district and for implementation of decisions of the district convention and district agencies.

4.1.7.1Communications between national and district levels shall be maintained in order to carry out the most effective and coordinated programs possible.

4.2.1Conventions of the districts shall afford opportunities for worship, nurture, inspiration, fellowship, and the communication of vital information. They are the principal legislative assemblies, which amend the district’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, consider and take action on reports and overtures, and handle appropriate appeals.

1. The conventions of the districts shall be governed by the bylaws adopted by the Synod for its conventions, insofar as these may be applicable.
2. The district convention is the instrument to receive overtures (Bylaw 3.1.6.2), including overtures and recommendations for synodwide mission and ministry emphases submitted by member congregations and adopted by a circuit forum.
3. Following in-depth study and discussion, the district convention shall act on the overtures and may, as determined by the convention, submit overtures to the national convention.
4. The district convention shall, through delegate vote, forward to the national convention a list of two or three triennial mission and ministry emphases for consideration by the national convention.
5. Each district may adopt other regulations, provided these are not contrary to the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod.
6. The president of the district shall conduct the sessions according to accepted parliamentary rules and shall so arrange the schedule of business that the sessions do not extend beyond six business days.
7. Districts may, at their own discretion, provide their convention workbooks and proceedings to each district congregation, delegate and alternate, officer, board, commission, and council member by a means of electronic communication, provided that any designated recipient shall be provided a printed copy of the workbook and proceedings upon request.

4.2.2The delegates of a voting congregation or multi-congregation parish to a district convention shall be accredited.

1. To be entitled to vote, delegates shall return the proper credentials provided by the district secretary and signed by two of the congregation’s officers, either by mailing them to the district office at a date determined by the district or by presenting them to the district secretary at the opening of the convention.
2. All duly elected voting delegates shall attend all sessions of the convention regularly until the close of the convention.
3. Should a multi-congregation parish involve congregations having membership in different districts, the pastoral delegate shall be accredited in the convention of the district in which he holds membership and lay delegates, voting and advisory, shall be accredited in the convention of the district in which each delegate’s respective congregation holds membership. No multi-congregation parish is entitled to more than one pastoral and one lay voting delegate because of its inclusion of congregations from different districts.*

4.2.3All nonvoting ordained and commissioned ministers who are members of the Synod within the district shall, unless they present a valid excuse, serve as advisory delegates.

1. They are entitled to voice and vote on a floor committee, if appointed, and to voice in the convention. * 2023 Convention: Res. 9-01 [A], Proc. 196.
2. All advisory delegates are expected to attend all sessions of the convention.
3. Those advisory delegates whose office in the Synod, district, or other agency imposes professional or service requirements on which full and regular convention attendance makes undue demands, shall nevertheless, in consultation with their supervisory boards, arrange for their own partial or occasional attendance and participation in accordance with policies established by their supervisory boards.

4.2.4The President of the Synod or his representative shall report on the condition and affairs of the Synod. He shall also deliver the sermon at the opening or convention service.

4.3.1A president shall be elected from the clergy roster of the Synod by each district. Two or more vice-presidents, a secretary, and a circuit visitor for each circuit established by the district shall be elected from the clergy roster of the district. In the case of regional selections, nominees shall be from the clergy roster of the district with membership in a congregation in the designated region. (This shall also be the case for all other regional selections.)

4.3.2Each district shall have a treasurer who shall be a layperson and shall be elected or appointed as the bylaws of the district may provide.

4.3.3All officers and members of boards shall be members of member congregations of the district and, when appropriate, be members of congregations of designated regions during the course of their tenure.

4.4.1The district president is the chief executive of the district.

1. Upon him is incumbent the responsibility that the resolutions of the district are implemented.
2. He shall report to the district convention.

4.4.2The district president shall represent the Synod in his district.

1. He shall cause the resolutions of the Synod to be implemented in the district, encouraging the congregations and schools to embrace the mission and ministry emphases adopted by the national convention for the triennium.
2. He shall regularly report to the President of the Synod.
3. He shall serve the congregations of the district as liaison between the congregations, district, and the Synod.

4.4.3The Synod shall be represented, in connection with all ordinations, commissionings, and installations, by the president of the district that will have ecclesiastical* supervision of the worker being ordained, commissioned, or installed (see Bylaw section 2.12). (a) An ordained or commissioned minister shall be installed into each called position, whether for full- or part-time service. * Commission on Handbook: November 14, 2023. (b) Each installation shall be authorized by the appropriate district president and conducted, in accordance with forms and practices developed by the Synod for that purpose, by the district president or by an ordained minister designated by the district president. (c) The requirements of Bylaw 2.10.2 (a) shall be satisfied before a worker is ordained or commissioned and initially installed in a first call. (d) Authorization for the ordination or commissioning and/or installation of an ordained or commissioned minister for foreign service, other than to a foreign member congregation, shall be provided by the appropriate district president upon the request of the Board for International Mission. (e) Authorization for the ordination or commissioning and/or installation of a Synod-called non-foreign specialized minister shall be provided by the appropriate district president upon the request of the Board for National Mission.

4.4.4The district president shall, in accordance with the Constitution of the Synod, in his ministry of ecclesiastical supervision visit the congregations of the district.

1. He shall arrange in advance for an official visit to each congregation of his district at least once every three years and otherwise as he deems it necessary. He may call upon the circuit visitors and vice-presidents to assist him with the triennial visitation of congregations.
2. In his official visits he shall seek to bring about to the greatest possible degree the achievement of the Synod’s objectives as expressed in Article III of its Constitution.
3. He shall conduct his official visits in an evangelical manner.
4. He shall come to the pastor and the congregation as a brotherly advisor, reminding them of the joy of serving in the mission and ministry of the church.
5. In his visits he shall include fraternal discussion in regard to worship and communion attendance; participation by the congregation in missions and the work of the church at large; the congregation’s evangelism and education endeavors; its cultivation of sound stewardship principles; all aspects of compensation for professional church workers; the need for maintenance of purity of doctrine; the strengthening of the bond of Christian fellowship; and the provision of resources, opportunities, and assistance so God’s people can grow in their faith, hope, and love.
6. The jurisdiction of the district president shall include non-member congregations whose pastors are members of the Synod. However, for the purpose of official visits in such a congregation the consent of the congregation shall first be secured. The district president may appoint the circuit visitor in whose circuit such a congregation is located to be his official representative.

4.4.5Each district president, in accordance with the Constitution of the Synod, shall supervise the doctrine, the life, and the official administration on the part of the ordained or commissioned ministers who are members through his district or are subject to his ecclesiastical supervision, and shall inquire into the prevailing spiritual conditions of the congregations of his district.

1. As often as possible he shall attend the conferences of ordained and commissioned ministers held in his district, advise the congregations of his district as to the calling of ordained and commissioned ministers, give counsel, and respond to requests and inquiries.
2. He may call upon circuit visitors to assist him.

4.4.6The district president, even without formal request therefor, may through the proper channels arrange for an official visit or investigation when a controversy arises in a congregation or between two or more congregations of the district or when there is evidence of a continuing unresolved problem in doctrine or practice.

1. He shall ask for a full report on the case in order that he may have a clear understanding of the situation.
2. If he authorizes anyone to represent him in such matters, his representative shall be accorded the same rights as the district president.

4.4.7The district president shall be responsible for maintaining the official rosters of his district.

1. He shall add the names of those ordained or commissioned ministers initially placed in the district and those accepting a call to or otherwise transferring to the district.
2. He shall remove the names of those who have died or have resigned their membership or have had their membership in the Synod duly terminated.
3. An ordained or commissioned minister accepting a call shall immediately report such decision to his district president and shall request his district membership be evaluated (Bylaw 2.12.1.1). The district president shall forward any requisite transfer to the president of the receiving district.
4. Upon receipt of the transfer and of a request for installation from the minister of religion, the district president of the receiving district shall install or authorize installation of such minister.
5. He shall regularly forward roster reports to the Secretary of the Synod for publication in The Lutheran Annual.

4.4.8The district president shall, with the assistance of his district’s circuit visitors, promote and pursue unanimous participation by congregations in the submission of annual statistical reports as an expectation of membership in the Synod.

4.5.1Each district shall elect a board of directors, the size and composition of which shall be determined by the Bylaws of the district. The district board of directors shall also have the authority to choose to appoint to the board up to three voting lay members from the district’s congregations to obtain additional skill sets (legal, finance, investment, administration, etc.). It shall have such powers and duties as are accorded to it by the Constitution, Bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, resolutions, and policies of the Synod, as well as those of the district.

1. Subject to such limitations, it shall operate within the applicable federal and state laws.
2. It shall be vested with the general management and supervision of the district’s business and legal affairs and shall adopt policies and require procedures which assure that said management and supervision is effected.
3. In fulfilling its functions and in coordinating its work with the Synod, the board shall be guided generally by the functions of the Board of Directors of the Synod as defined in Bylaws 3.3.4ff. as these apply to districts.
4. Between conventions it shall provide for implementation within the district of the decisions of the national and district conventions and allocate necessary funds for the support of the national and district budgets.

4.6.1Each district shall elect or appoint a committee, board, or individual responsible for stewardship.

1. This committee, board, or individual shall cooperate with the Synod’s elected or appointed person/persons responsible for stewardship and shall assist and advise local congregations in the development and promotion of an adequate stewardship program.
2. Districts are advised to provide for the systematic supervision and qualified guidance and promotion of stewardship education.
3. Each district may invite a representative of the Synod to meet for mutual assistance in budget planning for mission and ministry.
4. Each district shall arrange for adequate time at its convention for a report on the mission and ministry program of the Synod, made by a representative of the Synod assigned by the President of the Synod.

4.7.1Each district may adopt regulations for the nomination and election of its president; the nomination, selection, election, ranking, and succession in case of vacancies of its vice-presidents; and the nomination or selection of any regional officers or regional board of directors members, as long as these provisions do not conflict with the Bylaws of the Synod.

4.7.2A nominating committee of each district shall be elected by the district convention. Nominating committees may not be employed in the election of the president and vice-presidents.

4.7.3A majority of all votes cast by a district convention shall be required in every election to all elective offices and elective board positions. Except in the election of the president and the vice-presidents, the The following regulations shall apply:

1. Candidates receiving a majority on the first ballot shall be declared elected.
2. In the election of the president and the vice-presidents, when a second or succeeding ballot is required for a majority, the candidate receiving the fewest votes shall be dropped from the ballot. (bc) When In other elections, when a second or succeeding ballot is required for a majority, the candidate receiving the fewest votes and all candidates receiving less than 15 percent of the votes cast shall be dropped from the ballot, unless fewer than two candidates receive 15 percent or more of the votes cast, in which case the three highest candidates shall constitute the ballot. (cd) In every election balloting shall continue until every position has been filled by majority vote.*

4.7.4Terms of office shall be as follows:

1. Elected officers, appointed board and commission members— three years.
2. Elected board and commission members—three years. However, districts may adopt bylaws setting such terms at six years instead of three years.

4.7.5Limitation of tenure, if any, may be determined by a district.

4.8.1Official conferences shall be conducted for the spiritual and professional growth of their members.

1. Conferences, whether official or unofficial, provide a means for ordained and commissioned ministers to relate together on a regular basis.
2. Matters pertaining to Christian doctrine and practice, to professional problems, to the proper conduct in office, to private study, to the welfare of the respective congregations and schools, to the work of the Synod, including the district, or to any other professional matter should at all times receive due and sympathetic attention.
3. The minutes and essays or a reasonably comprehensive summary of the essays accepted by the ordained and commissioned minister conferences in plenary and sectional meetings shall be mailed to the office of the district president for review and for the district’s record within one month following such conference.
4. Professional conferences have no administrative functions in the Synod.

4.8.2Official conferences for all ordained and commissioned ministers on the respective rosters of the Synod shall meet, if possible, in plenary sessions at least once each year. (a) The members of official conferences are to aim to cultivate positive relationships, to be mutually helpful in every way possible, and to encourage, instruct, and admonish one another in a spirit of sincerity and Christian love. * 2023 Convention: Res. 9-02 [G], Proc. 202. (b) Such conferences may meet more frequently in major sections (not more than five sections) whose geographical boundaries shall be established by the district in convention. (c) Such major sectional meetings shall be regarded as sessions of the official conference. (d) All ordained and commissioned ministers on the district rosters are expected to attend meetings of their official conference or present a valid excuse.

1. Attendance at the official conferences shall be obligatory for ordained and commissioned ministers serving in congregations and parishes.
2. Those whose offices in the Synod, district, or other agency impose professional or service requirements on which full and regular conference attendance makes undue demands shall, nevertheless, in consultation with their supervisory boards, arrange for their own partial or occasional attendance and participation in their own official conferences in accordance with policies established by their supervisory boards.

4.8.3The plenary and any sectional conferences may adopt and submit overtures to conventions of the Synod, including those of districts.

4.9.1Other meetings also may exist to consider matters of doctrine, exegesis, and practical theology, and may be used for promotion of the basic activities of the church. Such meetings, including circuit conferences, shall not be regarded as official conferences.

1. Pastors, teachers, directors of Christian education, directors of Christian outreach, directors of family life ministry, directors of parish music, deaconesses, directors of church ministries, and parish assistants are encouraged to meet also jointly for the purpose of discussing doctrinal, professional, and practical matters.
2. Ordained and commissioned ministers are also encouraged to organize smaller meetings in addition to their official conferences.
3. Intersynodical conferences for the study of theology are desirable and are encouraged on a regular basis. They also are not official conferences.