The Pacific Southwest District is honored to welcome the Synod to our district as the 2026 Synod convention gathers in Phoenix around the theme Christ Is Risen Indeed. The mission of the district is to effectively resource congregations and schools for transforming lives and making the Great Commission REAL! Here are 10 highlighted ways that this mission is being fulfilled as we partner together to proclaim the risen Christ. (References to applicable 2023 Synod convention resolutions are included at the bottom of each section.) The 47th Convention of the Pacific Southwest District gathered under the theme Redeemed to Tell, inspired by Psalm 107:2: “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.” The convention, held June 25–27, 2025, at the beautiful La Quinta Resort in the desert of Southern California, reflected the hope and joy in which 265 congregations and 136 schools came together to tell the stories of God’s abundant faithfulness to the 36 million people who live within the district.
Evangelism, Mission, and Church Planting The district continues to pursue the creation of 100 new Gospel-proclaiming ministries by 2031, the 100th anniversary of the district. To date, over 50 intentional Gospel-proclaiming ministries have begun. The Lutheran Mission Society of San Diego, under the guidance of Mission Director Rev. Dr. Tardelli Voss, is working with over 50 lay evangelists who come from many different cultures and are individually connected to local San Diego County congregations. Many of these individuals are now pursuing LCMS pathways into roster ed church work. The Coastal Mission Society has become a guiding force for church planting in the district. Rev. John Alwood, a career church planter who recently colloquized into the LCMS, leads this equipping and planting effort that has already launched 13 new locations that will soon qualify as “new church starts.” On Sept. 30, 2025, the district, in partnership with the LCMS Office of International Ministry, hosted a FORO in San Diego that introduced mission opportunities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. President Omar Garza of the Lutheran Synod of Mexico participated. (Res. 1-03A, “To Plant More Churches”; Res. 11-03A, “To Love and Disciple Peoples of All Ethnicities, Languages, and Skin Colors”; Res. 1-05A, “To Increase Mission Efforts to Immigrants and Various Cultural Groups in North America”; Res. 2-07A, “To Commend Use and Attendance of FOROs”)
A Next Generation of Church Workers Recruiting future church workers is a top priority in the district. The recruitment committee works tirelessly to foster growth for these vocations. Concordia University, Irvine (CUI) has seen encouraging growth in church work students, with a steady rise in district enroll ees. Working in partnership with Set Apart to Serve, congregations and schools are encouraged to invite young and old to serve in professional church work. We are pleased to report that in the 2025–26 academic year, 49 men from our district are participants in the various pastoral formation pathways offered by our Synod. The recent triennium has seen a growing partnership between the Synod’s Post-Seminary Applied Learning and Support (PALS) and the West Coast districts’ Ministry Applied Practice. Rev. Jonathan Manor, director of PALS, is an annual presenter and participant. The exchange of resources and practices is a blessing to both. (Res. 6-01, “To Affirm and Strengthen Set Apart to Serve in Word and Action”; Res. 1-06A, “To Direct Districts and Council of Presidents to Provide a Strategic Plan for Addressing the Wellness of Church Workers”; Res. 6-06A, “To Support and Participate in Post-Seminary Applied Learning and Support and Preach the Word”)
Celebrating Our Schools The district’s 136 schools continue to be a cornerstone of Gospel ministry, reaching over 19,000 students and their families. We have embraced a bold vision to become the private schools of choice in the Southwestern U.S. District schools have established several artificial intelligence (AI) lab classrooms to learn how to appropriately integrate AI educational technology into Lutheran school classrooms. 2025 marked a leadership transition as we said goodbye to Executive Director of Schools Rachel Klitzing after 28 years of service to the district and the Synod. At the same time, we welcomed Executive Director of School Administration Xavria Schwarz, who serves alongside fellow Education Executive Superintendent of School Innovation Eun Chu Kim. We are pleased to report that Eun Chu Kim participated in the effort to produce uniform Lutheran Academic Standards for Synod schools. (Res. 12-04A, “To Commend and Give Thanks for Lutheran Schools”; Res. 1201A, “To Produce a Uniform Set of Lutheran Academic Standards for Our Schools”)
Equipping the Saints The Mission Training Center (MTC) has blossomed into a vibrant platform, offering ministry training to laypeople so that they can better serve alongside their pastors. MTC is a partnership of the Northwest, California-Nevada-Hawaii, and Pacific Southwest districts and CUI. Seventeen online courses are now available, making quality instruction accessible and affordable. Foundations of Lutheran Teaching (FLT), offered through MTC, helps non-Lutheran educators in our schools learn what is Lutheran about Lutheran education and deepen unity in doctrine and mission. We pray that FLT will lead to more teacher colloquy and roster ed educator status. (Res. 6-04, “To Affirm and Provide Guidance for the Service of the Laity”)
Small and Multi-Congregation Parishes With a growing number of smaller congregations, many of which can no longer afford a pastor, the district works closely with small congregations and multi-congregation parishes. Congregations are personally engaged through the work of District Ministry Executive Rev. Jim Henkell, who brings local and shared resourc-
es available through Office of National Ministry to assist congregations in finding a path in a changing season of ministry. (Res. 1-02A, “To Aid Small Congregations and Multi-Congregation Pastors and Parishes”)
Koinonia Project The district hosted a Koinonia Project to discuss pathways for pastoral formation. The gathering was held in Las Vegas Jan. 7–8, 2026. One hundred and twenty individuals representing twenty LCMS districts participated. The Synod resources created by the sainted Rev. Dr. Herbert Mueller were used to shape the event and guide the conversations. Seven brief presentations primed the pump for significant times of table discussion and captured content. A report is available on the district website. (Res. 4-01A, “To Commend and Encourage Continued Use of the Koinonia Project and Give Thanks to God for the Sainted Rev. Dr. Herbert C. Mueller, Jr.”)
Disaster Response—LA Fires From Jan. 7 to 31, 2025, wildfires devastated parts of the Los Angeles area, with Santa Ana winds blowing up to 100 miles per hour. Over 200,000 people were evacuated, with fire destroying more than 18,000 homes and structures. The communities of Altadena and the Palisades were significantly impacted, including numerous members of district congregations who lost everything. The response to the disaster from within the district and across the Synod was amazing. Special thanks to Rev. Dr. Ross Johnson and LCMS Disaster Response for their guidance and resources. A year later, Rev. Chris Schaar of Historic First Lutheran, Pasadena, and Rev. Dr. Martin Lee of Holy Cross Lutheran, Palisades, continue to provide outstanding ministry to their members and community. The resources received by the district enable these congregations to provide both the spiritual and financial support necessary for many years of rebuilding. Thank you to all in the LCMS who provided support in this crisis. (Res. 3-04A, “To Commend and Give Thanks for Synod Work regarding Disaster Response”)
Rejecting Racism The district is greatly blessed by its racial and cultural diversity. To ensure our continued unity, a video and discussion resource was created for use during the 2025 district convention as an effort to reject racism, rectify past wrongs of commission and omission within the district, and focus on future opportunities in ministry within our communities. This resource is available for circuits and congregations to use as they walk together. (Res. 11-02A, “To Reject All Forms of Racism and Affirm Our Witness to All People”)
Innovative Stewardship—Real Estate Solutions The district is working in partnership with Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) and the Real Estate Solutions team to help congregations strategically re purpose property for ministry sustainability. Proposed district projects exemplify this effort to build new housing, community spaces designed to support mission, housing for workers, and to generate sustainable ministry income. The district is grateful for the outstanding leadership and trusted partnership of LCEF.
A New Home for District Ministry In September 2024, the district moved its office to CUI’s Spectrum campus. The relocation was possible thanks to a close partnership with CUI and an agreement to “swap” the previous district office building (located on the main campus) for a new space on the third floor of the Spectrum campus building. The district is grateful to CUI for building out this welcoming and effective space. The new facility is tailored for 21st-century ministry support, featuring a 70-person high-tech conference center, breakout rooms, an area for catering and receptions, and collaborative work spaces that better serve district congregations and schools. It is with gratitude and humility that we give thanks to God for the congregations, schools, church workers, laypeople, district staff, and others who have served faithfully during the past triennium. We look with excitement to future ways that the churches and schools of the district will be used by God to proclaim the risen Christ! Soli Deo Gloria.