2019 Resolution 4-03A: Making Disciples for Life The Synod in convention established Making Disciples for Life as its mission and ministry emphasis for the 2019–2023 triennium and directed the resourcing of congregations, schools, circuits, and districts to do the following: 1. Evangelize and disciple the lost 2. Retain the faithful 3. Strengthen congregations and schools 4. Plant new congregations and schools wherever possible, especially in urban and multicultural communities 5. Engage in international mission in partnership with the Office of International Mission
Implementation of Synod Emphases
In 2018, the 78th convention of the Minnesota South District was convened under the theme Chosen to Proclaim. Delegates enthusiastically resolved to build on the district’s mission to “cultivate leaders intentionally engaged in the mission of God.” The staff and Board of Directors initially gathered the resolutions passed by the convention under 11 initiatives, which were later identified as supporting efforts of 3 primary initiatives: 1. In the Word 2. Worker Wellness 3. Networking and Collaboration in Ministry However, barely halfway into the triennium, new questions and challenges emerged surrounding the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting governmental restrictions. Shortly after those restrictions began, leaders were faced with new questions when racial inequity came to the front following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Amidst these challenging questions, leaders in the district had to consider different ways to minister to the people of God, and congregations were challenged to discover new ways to connect with their communities. These events focused the district’s efforts to equip, support, and encourage ministry among its 234 congregations and more than 900 ordained and commissioned workers with the purpose of carrying forward the ministry emphases directed by the Synod in convention.
In the Word Initiative
The Word of God, in all its forms, is central to our life and work as His people in this world. However, in an increasingly pagan culture, with every kind of temptation competing for our time and attention, dwelling together upon the Word of God is increasingly rare. Research indicates that nearly every conflicted congregation has, at its core, basic biblical illiteracy among its leaders. District staff launched a survey of Bible study opportunities available in congregations throughout the district. Responses to the
survey indicated that nearly 80 percent of congregations responding to the survey reported that less than half of those who regularly participated in worship also participated in shared Bible study opportunities. Many leaders reported that participation in regular Bible study was less than 20 percent of regular worshipers. Responding to these opportunities, the district launched it’s In The Word initiative, which challenged all congregations to develop and enhance both Sunday and midweek Bible study offerings and to find new ways to ensure that congregational and school leadership were attending one of these Bible studies. The district partnered with Ambassadors of Reconciliation to host two events, one in person and one online, led by Ted Kober, the author of Built on the Rock: The Healthy Congregation. Participants explored how they might become leaders in their congregation who champion Bible study throughout the life of the congregation.
Networking and Collaboration in Mission and Ministry The district continues to experience decline in the number, size, and financial resources of congregations. More important than ever is the need to encourage networking and cooperation between congregations and other local and national ministries to more effectively share the Good News of Jesus Christ. The convention adopted many resolutions encouraging such efforts, especially with new immigrant and refugee outreach, planting new churches, new outreach efforts in existing congregations, evangelistic activity through campus ministries, and support for Lutheran education from early childhood through high school and beyond.
New Immigrant and Refugee Outreach
Since 2018, it is reported that southern Minnesota is growing by roughly 43,000 new people each year, 82 percent of whom are new immigrants. Currently, first- and second-generation immigrants make up 30 percent of the metro corridor. Southern Minnesota is home to the largest U.S. populations of Hmong, Oromo (Ethiopian), Liberian, Karen (Burmese), Anuak (Sudanese), and Somali people. Recent studies tell us that 90 percent of these new residents do not know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. In response, the district has been active in supporting 18 new pastors who are being trained through the Synod’s EIIT, CMC, DELTO, and SMP training programs. The district also supported the Oromo Evangelical Lutheran Ministry Summit, held in St. Paul in 2021, and has assisted in the launch of two new second-generation ethnic ministry church plants. The district also provides partial financial support to pastors serving first- and second-generation Hmong, Sudanese, and other ethnic ministries, and we pray that this is only the beginning of our response to these opportunities in God’s harvest field.
New Church Starts and Restarts New ministries development, whether new church plants or new efforts within existing congregations, proved to be the most effective means of reaching new people for Jesus. During this past triennium, the district worked to identify and train three pastors with a specific focus on new church planting and was blessed to participate in efforts to plant five new churches. In addition, five congregations formed “two churches—one mission” partnerships when small, struggling congregations each invited a sister congregation to provide coaching and other resources to strengthen and guide their renewed mission and ministry efforts. In a similar effort, four congregations chose to merge with a sister congregation to create single congregations with two or more physical locations
for ministry, maintaining the physical presence in the community for Word-and-Sacrament ministry while providing an invigorated approach to community connection.
Collaboration and Lutheran Education Development
The district’s To All Generations (TAG) education-ministry focused fund appeal was celebrated at the 2018 district convention and, although the intentional public campaign seeking donors ended with that celebration, TAG continue to leave a lasting legacy in the district throughout the past triennium. New donors have come forward to join those who pledged funds during the initial campaign. These dedicated funds provide seed money for new education initiatives in the district, which include marketing Lutheran schools, expanding preschools, launching after-school care programs, and advocating for greater parental choice in education. During the COVID-19 shutdown, district staff worked closely with their Schools and Commissioned Ministers Committee to coordinate virtual conferencing and email serve groups, provide communication of the ever-changing state COVID-19 regulations and federal mandates, administer a Synod grant of $2,000 for restorative wellness web in ars for commissioned ministers, and sponsor a Concordia Plans Wellness Workshop led by Darrell Zimmer. Here are three significant statistical shifts taking place in Lutheran education that are expected to have lasting impact in the district: 1. The changing nature of our education workforce. Only 38 percent of the teachers in MNS district schools are Synod roster ed. Teacher shortage is an ongoing reality that has caused more than one early childhood center or preschool to close its doors in the last year. 2. COVID-19 brought growing enrollment in most of our schools. Many schools in the district reported that they had turned away students due to full classrooms, lack of physical space to expand, or a lack of teachers or other staff. Many of the district’s early childhood programs are experiencing staffing issues that prevent growth. 3. The impact of a changing demographic of students coming into our Lutheran schools. Nearly one third of the students in early childhood education programs of the district claim no church connection. This is a growing challenge to school teachers and leaders and a growing opportunity for outreach for our churches and school. In the past triennium, district schools reported 246 school-aged students were baptized and 153 families joined district congregations as a direct result of their affiliation with a partner school. Praise God.
Development of Congregation Partnerships
All through this past triennium, developing partnerships has been critical for a growing number of congregations. Even in the midst of physical distancing, Missional Learning Communities continued to meet online. These small groups and their volunteer leaders shared mission insights and provided some much-needed support, encouragement, and mutual accountability to mission efforts in their congregations. The district also partnered with 18 congregations to send teams of pastors and lay leaders to either the Best Practices for Ministry or the Rural and Small-Town Ministry conferences. These teams joined hundreds of others from the district as they explored opportunities and developed plans for new ministry efforts to reach into their local community. These shared learning experiences were multiplied when other congregational leaders in the district heard of their efforts and were inspired to launch similar new ministries in their own community. There are also opportunities for partnership in the midst of the most difficult circumstances. During this past triennium, 12 district congregations made the decision to close, a rate that is nearly six times that of the previous two trienniums. The Mission Legacy Fund was established to receive and use the assets of closing congregations, providing a way to pass on to future generations a legacy of great significance. These resources are not held as an endowment but are reinvested through a grant process to congregations in support of new outreach efforts. Congregations and leaders of the district also found ways to partner with LCMS Re Vitality and the Office of National Missions, the Lutheran Church Extension Fund, Lutheran Hour Ministries, and other mission-focused Lutheran organizations to formulate new outreach efforts. These valuable partnerships, and others like them, continue to provide valuable guidance, coaching, and needed programing resources to many district co aggregations.
Worker Care and Support Over the past triennium, the district Worker Wellness Initiative created a bridge between the workers in the district and resources made available for their support and encouragement during some very difficult times of ministry. These resources fostered greater care of church workers, especially during the challenge of the COVID-19 lockdown. In cooperation with the Synod’s Soldiers of the Cross COVID-19 Response, more than $135,000 was distributed to over 100 workers, especially early childhood workers, whose income was most impacted by the suspension of their school or ministry. Alongside these efforts, partnerships between congregations created Worker Support Teams, which assist workers to connect with needed support resources in counseling and restorative retreats.
Looking Forward with Gratitude As we look forward to this next triennium, we understand better than ever before the uncertainty of this world in which we live and serve and the certainty of our place in the kingdom of God. As the number and size of district congregations continues to decline, the opportunities to proclaim the Good News of Jesus as Savior continues to increase. With over 2 million people on our doorsteps who claim no religious affiliation, and with fully one third of the district’s population who are new first- or second generation immigrants to our towns and cities, it would be easy to feel overwhelmed. Instead, we choose to look with hope to the Lord of the Harvest, asking Him to send workers into His harvest field. Our promise statement to those we serve is “Rooted in the Scriptures and growing in a relationship of mutual trust and Christian love, we promise to equip, support, and encourage you in your ministries, joyfully serving together to make disciples of Jesus Christ.” So it is with deep gratitude and thanks to God that we look forward to this next triennium together. In partnerships of mutual trust, we join together in His Word and in the mission He has entrusted to us as His church, to the glory of His name.