Abundantly More was the theme of the 2022 Pacific Southwest District (PSD) convention held in Summerlin, Nevada (Las Vegas), on the beautiful campus of Faith Middle and High School, the
largest Lutheran school in the country. The convention encouraged and resourced the almost 300 congregations and 150 schools of the PSD to aggressively engage in God’s mission as He does far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us () and as we reach out to 36 million people in six major metropolitan areas across three states.
Eight Critical Areas of Engagement
The PSD is resourcing congregations and schools in eight critical areas of mission and ministry (references to 2019 Synod resolutions where appropriate): 1. 100 in 10 Initiative is a commitment to launch 100 new Gospel-proclaiming ministries (they may or may not be new congregations) over the next 10 years, by the time of the 100th anniversary of the PSD in 2030–31 (Res. 1-02, “To Encourage the Planting of Churches”). 2. Congregational Partnerships assist congregations of all sizes to work together in mission to their communities. This results in stronger and healthier ministries through creative partnerships, sharing of church workers for Word and Sacrament ministry, multi campus ministries, mergers, multi congregation parishes, etc. A “Small Church Essentials Conference” was offered remotely to district congregations during COVID-19. This outstanding one-day conference is available on our website: psd-lcms.org/psd-videos (Res. 1-03, “To Study Shared Ministry among Small Congregations”). 3. Leadership Development identifies, trains, and deploys leadership coaches to serve 100 PSD church and school leaders, believing that healthy visionary leaders result in healthy visionary ministries that are more effective in Gospel proclamation and Word and Sacrament ministry multiplication. 4. Expansion of Multicultural and Immigrant Ministries emphasizes the PSD’s commitment to celebrating the increasing diversity of the cultures and people God brings to our communities. To create a pathway for effective multicultural engagement, the 2022 PSD convention approved a resolution to reject racism; rectify past wrongs of commission and omission; and recognize the PSD’s successes, failures, and opportunities in ministry within its communities. Additionally, the PSD in convention called upon its pastors, leaders, and congregations to continue to cultivate, from our immigrant, non-Anglo communities, new leaders who are intentionally engaged in the mission of God and memorialized the Synod in convention to encourage the seminaries to maintain and strengthen their non residential, learning in-ministry, and distance programs and to award financial aid more equitably toward the students in these programs. Another very important step toward ministry equality included the creation of Korean and Hispanic affinity circuits to provide greater fellowship, cultural awareness, support, equipping, and ownership of specific-culture ministry (Res. 1-05A, “To Strengthen Multi-Ethnic Outreach”). 5.
The Mission Training Center (MTC): The PSD has joined with the California-Nevada-Hawaii District and Northwest District and Concordia University Irvine to provide online and on-demand training for laypeople who serve alongside church workers to give greater biblical and theological knowledge, insight, and mission al application. The MTC provides great opportunities for continuing education for all church workers (Res. 12-03A: “To Encourage Lifelong
Catechesis in the Home and Church”; Res. 6-04: “To Support, Encourage, and Expect Continuing Education for all Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Pastors”). 6. Retain-Remodel-Replant is the strategy implemented by the PSD to properly steward the resources of declining and legacy ministries, redevelopment of property for new ministry, and maximizing facilities for mission. The Mission Training Center in Norwalk, California (Los Angeles), is an example of the R-R-R strategy where asset-based community development and spiritual formation work side by side to reestablish connections to the community for Gospel proclamation. It is our goal to establish additional context-specific outreach training centers in San Diego, Las Vegas, and Phoenix (Res. 1-02, “To Encourage the Planting of Churches”). 7.
Creation of Lu TEC: Lu TEC is the first career and technical education Lutheran micro-high school in the nation serving as a model to assist urban congregations with under utilized church and school campuses to reestablish relationship bridges with their neighborhoods, to educate students, to evangelize families, and to care for under served communities. The PSD schools report an increase of 6,000 new students over the last year (Res. 12-01A, “To Commend and Give Thanks for our Lutheran Early Childhood Centers, Elementary Schools, and High Schools”). 8. Church Worker Care provides regional, local, and individual support for workers, counseling referrals, workshops, retreats, and on-demand resources. The PSD said goodbye to beloved district pastor-counselor, the Rev. Ron Rehrer, who entered glory after 30 years of service to ordained and commissioned ministers. A new team of five dedicated individuals with unique gifts and areas of counseling specialty are now serving in partnership with the district president’s office to provide expanded opportunities to support and care for our church workers. Visitation of congregations and schools continues to be an important part of this focus (Res. 3-04A, “To Encourage Training of Our Pastors, Church Workers, and Congregations to Recognize and Provide Pastoral Care for Those Suffering from Clinical Depression, Mental Illnesses, and Other Mental Disorders”).
The 2022 Pacific Southwest District Convention: 1. Made the necessary adjustments to bring its bylaws into compliance with the resolutions passed at recent LCMS conventions (Res. 9-01, “To Amend Various Bylaws for Purposes of Clarification”). 2. Committed itself to pray for and enlist workers for the harvest field by identifying, encouraging, and financially supporting the formation of future church workers, through all available pathways, as commissioned and ordained ministers. (Res. 6-02, 6-03A) These resolutions include the following: a. Making a concerted effort to increase the number of PSD men and women preparing for church work professions for service in the PSD, understanding the increasing difficulty we are experiencing in calling church workers from other parts of the country to serve on the West Coast. b. Asking Synod to establish a third route to colloquy for LCMS members who receive a Master of Divinity equivalent from an accredited non-LCMS seminary. Currently,
LCMS members must complete the seminary’s residential Al- R47 ter native Route program and are not provided the opportunity Rocky Mountain District to apply for the general colloquy program available to pastors from other denominations. Despite the Rocky Mountain District (RMD) being the largest 3. Encouraged the LCMS to establish a task force to reconsider the contiguous district of the LCMS, our 168 congregations, 49 preuse of licensed lay deacons for Word and Sacrament ministry. schools, 28 elementary schools, and 1 high school remain unified The PSD believes that it is important to reconsider this due to and committed to preaching Christ crucified! The context may be an increasing number of congregations throughout the Synod different depending upon the location, language, and culture of our that are unable to support a pastor, the number of congregations congregations in Colorado; New Mexico; Utah; El Paso, Texas; Page, Arizona; or Big Springs and Venango, Nebraska, but the facing shared ministry, and the many potential closures. Gospel remains the same! New opportunities are given to us every 4. Made the commitment to strengthen the nonvoting advisory day in many different ways! delegate participation at (district) conventions. The 2022 PSD One of our Recognized Service Organizations, the Lutheran convention provided opportunities on all non election decisions to receive an advisory vote from 30 commissioned ministers, Hispanic Missionary Institute, led by the Rev. Richard Schlack, who were seated with the regular delegates and provided voting trains future Hispanic ministry leaders for work not only in the RMD, and not only with other districts, but also with Lutherans in devices. other countries. 5. Finally, the PSD officially identified prison ministry as a rec Similarly, one of our newest pastors, the Rev. Robert Bennett ogni zed mission field in our midst. Much is to be done in this has, by God’s grace, revitalized a congregation in the heart of the specialized area of Gospel proclamation. Mormon state of Utah with over half of Sunday’s attendance being Financial Accountability Mormons seeking to know about Christ crucified for them! The PSD is pleased to report that the 2022 district audit was And of course, we would be negligent if we did not thank the completed without a single comment! Audited financials are annually ongoing work of Deaconess Sara Smith, our District Life Coordiavailable. Regular summaries of finances are provided each time nator, who manages and promotes sanctity of life efforts across our a district conference occurs (Res. 8-03, “To Ensure Timely and vast geography with success! Transparent Financial Reporting in the Synod”). For me personally, care of our ministries and workers remains Concordia University Irvine one of the highest priorities, especially following the turmoil of the As district president, I serve as a member of the board of regents COVID-19 pandemic: at Concordia University Irvine. I am pleased to report that the univer1. Reconciliation training is happening to improve our ability sity is healthy academically and financially, benefits from out stand to respond to crisis and early disputes. ing leadership, and is faithful in its Lutheran identity as it prepares 2. Many of our workers have benefited from Doxology’s “Take students “to be wise, honorable, and cultivated citizens to serve soci Heart!” Respite Retreats, and more will continue to do so at ety and the church.” Lutheran identity is enshrined in the university’s our annual fall workers conference in Bre cken ridge, Colo hiring practices, as every faculty and staff member is a professing, rado. practicing Christian. Each full-time hire is interviewed for fidelity by Chief Mission Officer Rev. Dr. Steven Mueller, who also oversees 3. Our educators attended four offerings of “Nurturing the Human Resources. Some 65 percent of full-time faculty are members Faith” workshops (one day) throughout the RMD to uplift of LCMS congregations; 39 percent of full-time faculty are roster ed/ and encourage themselves and others. called church workers of the LCMS. All full-time faculty complete 4. In addition, our staff, district presidium, circuit visitors, and Vision-Mission-Vocation (VMV), a Lutheran higher education ori I are intentionally proactive in visiting our ministries. ent ation program. VMV has proven so important to enshrining our Lutheran identity and culture that Concordia is now building a VMV In closing, one of the key highlights from our district con training program for all staff (Res. 7-08, “To Aid Our CUS Schools in vent ion, aside from the normal business of bringing our bylaws Clear Confession”). into coordination with Synod (2019 Res. 9-01), was committing It is with gratitude and humility that the Pacific Southwest District ourselves to raise $150,000 in support of the Siberian Lutheran gives thanks to God for all its congregations, schools, church workers, Seminary in Novosibirsk, Siberia, a leading pastor training school laypeople, district staff, and others who served faithfully during the in Russia. We pray that this effort is blessed! difficult COVID-19 years. Restrictions required by local and state gov To Christ be the glory! ernments were particularly difficult in California and Nevada, where James B. Maxwell, President certain locations limited gatherings for many months—for over a year in some cases. Throughout those months, the work of God’s Church continued faithfully, offering hope, compassion, and the love of Jesus R48 to a very broken and frightened world. Today, we are in the midst of SELC District an incredible opportunity to bring the message of Christ to our world, with energy and without hesitation. Our world needs Jesus! We are For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of confident that the churches and schools of the Pacific Southwest Dis God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first trict will continue to be used by God for His glory and purposes. and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous Soli Deo Gloria Michael E. Gibson, President shall live by faith.” ()
It is God’s all-powerful Word that called the universe into existence. It is God’s eternal Word that became flesh and dwelt among us that He might shed His blood to reconcile us to God, and being reconciled to Him we would have forgiveness and life in His name. Through that same Word, God’s Spirit calls, gathers, and enlightens each one of us to know Him and live under Him in His kingdom. Through the living Word of God, the Spirit gathers us into His Church. The Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (SELC) District of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is the place in this time where God has called us to be and live out our faith in Him. In this communion, we are united in a common confession of His Word, we celebrate together at His table as His family, and we are joined together in His mission to proclaim His Word to the ends of the earth through baptizing and teaching. It is God’s will that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. This life and salvation only comes through the Word of God. “Faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (). The Word of Christ is the message of “Christ crucified” for the forgiveness of sins. There are many blessings which we celebrate and for which we give thanks to God. The congregations and pastors of the SELC continue to enjoy a deep level of fraternity and trust. This unity in Christ cultivates respect and mutual love in our district, which results in healthy conversation and dialogue among pastors, allowing the ability to express both agreement and disagreement while maintaining and deepening personal relationships between and among the brothers. Highlights of the past triennium have included updating our district communications and developing new ways to identify the SELC District. We have completely revamped the SELC communications and have capitalized on the use of technology for meetings, web in ars, and gatherings since COVID-19. While the COVID-19 pandemic has plagued our world in recent years, it has also revealed hidden opportunities to grow in ministry and outreach. Almost every congregation in the SELC responded to the challenge of quarantine by embracing various technologies in their unique situations to reach their flocks and their communities with the Gospel: parking lot services; radio broadcasts; phone call ministries; and Facebook Live, Zoom, and You Tube services, Bible studies, and devotions opened the doors of our churches to tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of hearers of God’s life-giving Word. The gifts of modern technology and the freedom of being a “district without borders” enable us to take advantage of the vast resources of the internet, email, social media, and a host of media platforms available to our generation to unite congregations and people across the United States and missionaries around the world.
SELC Missions Over the past 40 years, the SELC District has planted 15 churches that have been officially placed on the roster of the LCMS. We have also begun six ethnic ministries in urban areas that are worshiping groups (congregations) within the existing Anglo congregations and the two congregations function as one official church in the LCMS. In recent years, “Church Planting” has also taken the form of “satellite” churches that are separate from the “mother” church but still function under one board of directors and are therefore considered one church by the Synod. The SELC has started seven satellites. Over the last year and a half, a task force to design a new era in church planting has been meeting to retool our strategies to connect
those who don’t know Christ to His saving Gospel. We have also begun to develop a new mission strategy for the next generation of the SELC. The strength of the SELC in the last generation has been its ability to start and grow new congregations. It is the goal of the SELC District to focus our outreach efforts in the next decade to continue this strength and to start many new missions, particularly in the growing number of ethnic and immigrant communities in the United States. Even as the SELC District and the LCMS have our roots in ethnic immigration to America, so now our focus is on new groups seeking opportunity among us, including Chinese, Indian, and Spanish-speaking missions. Our goal in the next three years is to unite the congregations of the SELC, and their respective members, in a common mission to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in their congregations and communities across North America by supporting local congregations and planting new missions. The SELC District is facing two major challenges as we plan for the future. Our mission is to extend Christ’s kingdom by planting new churches. The greatest challenge is to find and raise up leaders, particularly ethnic pastors, who have the gifts and talents to establish new mission starts. The other important issue is helping smaller, aging congregations plan and prepare for a new future, either embracing a new vision for ministry or responsibly planning their legacy. Many pastors and congregational leaders have labored for years caring for the flock, trying to reach out and serve communities that are becoming more and more disengaged from church and organized religion. Fewer and fewer people are volunteering, and a generation of young people is increasingly lost from the Church. Pastors and lay leaders alike feel tired, discouraged, and burned out (this was exacerbated during COVID-19). A generation of pastors educated and trained in an era when Christianity and the Church were significant cultural institutions are frustrated when their faithful preaching and teaching do not bear more visible fruit as their congregations continue to age and decline. The Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit are our greatest strengths and assets. We are also tremendously blessed with wonderful and faithful pastors who serve in the SELC District who love and care for the sheep entrusted to them. The continued existence of many of our long-standing SELC congregations is found in the faithful and committed stewardship of longtime members who give generously, who serve tirelessly, and who pray fervently. Without them, the SELC District would cease to exist. Because of them, we are in a strong position to embrace the next generation of mission and ministry in our district without borders. The SELC continues to be zealous to Show Everyone Life in Christ by showing everyone love in Christ. We are excited for what our Lord is doing in His Church in this next generation. Respectfully submitted, Waldemar R. Vinovskis, President