By Stacey Eising
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Board for National Mission (BNM) and Board for International Mission (BIM) held their first meetings of the triennium in September. The boards issued missionary and chaplaincy calls, welcomed new board members and discussed strategic plans for the coming triennium.
New members welcomed
The BNM welcomed members elected at the 2023 convention:
- Stephen Weller, lay member from the Central Region, an engineer and economics professor who is a member of Grace Lutheran Church in McPherson, Kan.; and
- The Rev. Craig Niemeier, ordained member from the Great Plains Region, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Worms, Neb.
The BIM also welcomed new members:
- The Rev. Dr. Scott Yakimow, ordained member from the Great Lakes Region, professor of theology at Concordia University Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, Mich.; and
- The Rev. Dr. Terrence Chan, ordained member from the West-Southwest Region, pastor of Christ for All Nations Lutheran Church in San Francisco.
Elections and committees
The boards also elected their officers and appointed new committee members for the coming triennium.
The BNM elected the Rev. Dr. Al Espinosa as chairman, the Rev. Dr. Dien Ashley Taylor as vice-chairman, and Crysten Sanchez as secretary. The board appointed Espinosa and Weller to the Joint Mission Assessment Committee (JMAC, a joint committee with the BIM); Sanchez, Niemeier, Taylor and the Rev. Peter Bender to the policy committee; and Carol Hack Broome to serve as BNM member on the LCMS Foundation Board of Trustees.
The BIM elected John Edson as chairman, James Wolf as vice-chairman, and Michael Hawk as secretary. In addition, the board added the Rev. Dr. Daniel Preus to its executive committee and appointed the Rev. James Douthwaite and Terrence Lung to the JMAC.
Calls and appointments
The BNM approved solemn calls to two Specialized Spiritual Care ministers:
- Kirk Van Natta, who will serve as a Specialized Spiritual Care worker at Providence St. Joseph SCS Hospice in Chehalis, Wash.; and
- Dr. Jared Yogerst, who will serve as a Specialized Spiritual Care worker at Providence Place in Minneapolis.
The BIM approved several missionary calls and appointments:
- Jordon Andreasen, who will serve as a career missionary to Romania, and his wife, Alison;
- Stanley Stigdon, a commissioned teacher, who will serve as a career missionary to the Dominican Republic; and
- Dana Stigdon, who will serve as a GEO (Globally Engaged in Outreach) missionary to the Dominican Republic.
Other business
Both boards heard reports from the Rev. Kevin Robson, LCMS chief mission officer, on proposed improvements and revisions to strategic plans for the Offices of National Mission and International Mission over the coming triennium. The boards will submit feedback on these plans before they are finalized and endorsed by the boards at their respective upcoming meetings.
The boards also heard reports on the assignments given to them and their respective offices by the Synod convention and reviewed proposed timelines for carrying out this work.
The BNM’s next meeting will be held Nov. 7–8.
The BIM’s next meeting will be held Nov. 30–Dec. 1.
Posted on Oct. 23, 2023/Updated Nov. 6, 2023
