(OIM) in the selection and calling of missionaries. Currently the OIM has over 100 missionaries and over 300 missionary family members in foreign mission fields. A high priority of the BIM is to encourage the recruitment of new missionaries to expand our presence in foreign mission areas of the Synod and to provide missionaries to fill positions as current missionaries retire or accept calls to serve in other contexts. The BIM also works closely with the Office of Ministry to the Armed Forces (MAF) to call military chaplains. The recruitment, orientation, and deployment support efforts carried out by both the OIM and MAF are exemplary.
B. BIM Policy Development
The BIM established policies addressing multiple mission and ministry areas in its initial years of existence (2010–13) and has regularly updated these policies in support of programs carried out
During the past quadrennium, the OIM and BIM have experienced some turnover in staff and board members. Most notably, in March 2022, Bernie Seter, our chair of the board since 2010, was called home to his Savior. Bernie’s commitment to the church, his teaching skills, and his sense of humor are missed by the board. John W. Edson, Chairman
BNM/BIM Joint Report: Triennial Priority Guidance During the course of each triennium between national conventions, the Board for International Mission (BIM) and the Board for National Mission (BNM) gather pertinent and sufficient information from the Synod’s members that will facilitate the boards’ assessment and evaluation of the effectiveness of the Synod’s triennial mission and ministry emphasis. The boards develop accordingly a joint overture to the national convention.
A. Joint Mission Assessment Committee (JMAC) During 2021, the BIM and BNM jointly formed a committee to carry out their duties under the Bylaws to gather information and assess and evaluate the Synod’s triennial mission and ministry emphasis. Two members from each board were appointed to the committee. The committee developed a methodology to interview all district presidents and, if the district president so chose, to include other district leaders in the interviews. These interviews were conducted in the fall of 2021 and winter of 2022. A member of the BNM and the BIM participated in each interview and summarized the information gathered. The JMAC collected all the information and summarized it for the two boards.
A.1. Mission and Ministry Emphasis
The current triennial mission and ministry emphasis Making Disciples for Life, established in 2019, has only just begun to serve our Synod, to give direction to districts and congregations, and to guide the policy-making work of mission and ministry through the BNM and BIM.
A.2. Mission Priorities
The Synod district presidents, along with members of their respective staffs, had mixed reactions to the Synod’s current mission priorities. Many recognized them as a self-evident description of the Bible’s theology and practice of mission and ministry. Others indicated that, while faithful to the Scriptures and the Confessions, the priorities did not play a significant role in giving direction to their work at the district. The Synod’s current mission priorities are contemporary applications of the Synod’s Article III objectives.
A.3. Reaffirmation
In support of the information gathered, the BNM and BIM jointly submitted two overtures asking the Synod in convention to reaffirm the Synod’s current mission priorities and mission emphasis as they exemplify our fervor in being faithful to the Lord and loving our neighbor and to also encourage their use to affirm our Synod’s unity as lived out by congregations, national servant leaders, district servant leaders, and circuit servant leaders. Steven C. Briel, BNM Chairman and John W. Edson, BIM Chairman