Membership in Lutheran churches worldwide increased by 3.57 million in 2004, according to the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), which puts that membership total at 69,527,817. Statistics provided by the LWF show growth of 5.4 percent for all Lutheran churches, from the…

The Synod’s Council of Presidents (COP) has set Sept. 12-14, 2006, for a National Circuit Counselors Conference.  It would be the first such conference since 1991. President Gerald Kieschnick and the COP’s Program Committee recommended to the COP that the conference…

International Student Ministry Inc. (ISM), an LCMS mission society, is sponsoring an “enabling and equipping” conference May 26-29 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The conference is designed for those who reach out to international students on U.S. college campuses, and…

A reunion for Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, alumni and their spouses and widows will be held May 31-June 3 on the seminary campus. The event is open to graduating classes from years ending in “0” or “5.”  Registration materials were mailed…

Objections remain to tenets and rituals of the Loyal Order of Moose, says a new evaluation of the lodge prepared by staff of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR). “The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod recognizes that the Loyal Order of…

The Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) is considering revising its policy for how it responds to those who notify the commission that they dissent from a doctrinal resolution or statement of the Synod. At its Feb. 14-16 meeting in…

By Paula Schlueter Ross The last time Rev. Andrew Elisa, president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sudan, spoke with Reporter, his church body had about 5,000 members in 23 congregations, and he was the only ordained pastor. That was in November…

Amendment A to the Synod’s Constitution has failed to receive the two-thirds affirmative vote of congregations necessary to make it effective, while Amendment B has been affirmed. Amendment A would have changed the wording of Constitution Article XI F 2, dealing…

Synod members and other Lutherans continue to give in record amounts for South Asia tsunami relief. Through Feb. 14 — the latest figures available — tsunami-relief donations to LCMS World Relief/Human Care totaled $4.1 million.  By early February, gifts to Lutheran…

“Chosen” is the choice for the theme of the 2007 National LCMS Youth Gathering, set for July 28-Aug. 1 that year in New Orleans. The theme came out of a Jan. 14-16 meeting in New Orleans involving the staff of LCMS…

By Kim Plummer Krull Posting personnel in Sri Lanka and Indonesia as quickly as possible and focusing on projects that assist with the “incredible” challenges of massive cleanup and long-term rebuilding are among key recommendations from two LCMS assessment teams…

As soon as LCMS mission-assessment teams recommended efforts for continuing relief work in tsunami-ravaged countries, LCMS World Relief/Human Care and LCMS World Mission began working to turn some key proposals into action. Dennis Denow, an LCMS World Mission education specialist,…

By Paula Schlueter Ross This year’s Association of Lutheran Mission Agencies (ALMA) conference attracted a few non-members, which actually makes a lot of sense, according to Rev. B. Steve Hughey, LCMS World Mission’s adviser to the organization. ALMA is a network of…

By Jeff Crilley When I was growing up as a preacher’s kid in Detroit, I just figured everyone’s father was interviewed on the news and quoted in the paper each week.  It seemed like there were always cameras in my father’s…

Registration is now open for Wheat Ridge Ministries’ National Symposium on Health and Hope, set for Oct. 13-15 in Denver. With the theme of “Living Well,” the event is being planned as a highlight of the organization’s 100th anniversary this year,…

The Board for University Education (BUE) and the Board of Directors of the Concordia University System (CUS) is seeking nominations/applications for the executive director BUE/president CUS.  The executive director/president is directly responsible to the Board for University Education and is…