In reply to Pastor Steve Bartell.

We believe that approaching our future requires an accurate knowledge of how we got to our present. And the math simply shows that a declining birthrate is a big part of the reason why the MO Synod is shrinking. This is simply a "First Article" fact. What we make of that fact and how we respond to it in faithfulness is another matter - but facts are facts and must be accounted for.

Rev. Heath Curtis
Coordinator for Stewardship, LCMS