Delegates adopt resolutions on sending missionaries, short-term mission teams

The Rev. Daniel F. McMiller, executive director of the LCMS Office of International Mission, speaks on Res. 2-06 on July 24 during the 2019 LCMS convention in Tampa, Fla. (LCMS/Frank Kohn)

By Megan K. Mertz

TAMPA, Fla. — On Wednesday, July 24, delegates to the 67th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) adopted the final five resolutions brought by Floor Committee 2 on International Witness.

When Res. 2-06, “To Encourage Support of Short-Term International Mission Activities,” was presented, the Rev. Daniel F. McMiller, executive director of the LCMS Office of International Mission (OIM), apologized for the confusion caused by a short-term mission “best practices” document previously issued by his office.

The resolution, which passed with 97.8 percent of the vote, calls on the OIM to revise this document and make it available on the Synod website by the end of the 2019.

“We want to support and expand the fruits of congregation-sponsored short-term missions,” McMiller said in his introductory remarks to Res. 2-06.

“My co-workers and I stand ready to support you,” he continued. “Do you want to send or be on a short-term mission team from your congregation? Then talk to your friends at [the LCMS Office of] International Mission. Let them help you by making the introductions to your sent career missionaries and your overseas church partners. Those are the folks who will live with your work long after you return home.”

Next up was Res. 2-07, “To Strengthen and Encourage the Partnership of our Congregations in International Mission through the Board for International Mission.” This resolution asked the Synod in convention to “reaffirm her commitment to working within the voluntary partnership described in Bylaw 3.8.3, while giving thanks for the 19,602 congregations, households and others who directly support the Synod’s missionaries.

“The committee wants to assure and sincerely emphasize to the convention that we did our very best to take into careful consideration all of the overtures related to Bylaw 3.8.3, including the detailed overtures submitted by six districts as well as numerous congregations,” said the Rev. Peter K. Lange, committee chairman and president of the LCMS Kansas District. “The issues under consideration here are not just about one bylaw, but about the way we live, work and walk together as a Synod — because our Synod is a balance of what we, the congregations of the Synod, do independently and what we do together.”

The resolution passed with 88.6 percent of the vote.

Finally, delegates adopted the following three resolutions by unanimous voice votes:

Resolution 2-08, “To Give Thanks for Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Ministry to the Armed Forces”;

Resolution 2-09, “To Encourage and Support International Theological Education by the Synod and Our Seminaries in Aid of World Lutheran Churches,” which calls on the Synod and seminaries to continue to support theological education around the world by sending professors, developing resources and providing financial support for the Global Seminary Initiative; and

Resolution 2-10, “To Commend the Lutheran Heritage Foundation on its 25th Anniversary.”

Posted July 25, 2019

The 67th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod met July 20–25 in Tampa, Fla., at the Tampa Convention Center under the theme “Joy:fully Lutheran.” For more convention news:

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