Mission boards prepare for convention

By Mary Henrichs

The LCMS Boards for International Mission (BIM) and National Mission (BNM) met via Zoom on Jan. 28 and 29, respectively.

BIM

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations,” prayed the Rev. Shauen Trump, director of the LCMS Africa region, based in Nairobi, Kenya, quoting Psalm 67:1–2 as he presented to the BIM.

Trump emphasized the huge demand in the Africa region for the work of the LCMS and the need for more missionaries to serve there: Currently, the LCMS is in fellowship with 10 church partners and has relationships with 40 church bodies across 24 nations in the region. Although 2025 saw the largest recruiting class for LCMS missionaries in nearly a decade, Trump pointed out that the current cohort of LCMS missionaries in Africa is the smallest it has been in 50 years. He fervently prays that the Lord will call more men and women through the LCMS Office of International Mission (OIM) to serve faithfully in the region, and soon.

Even as challenges remain, the OIM hopes to continue building on the past strong year of recruitment. During this meeting, four new missionaries were called: a communication specialist, DCE intern, and human care coordinator associate for the Latin America and the Caribbean region; and a business administrator for Eurasia.

Currently, 105 missionaries and 15 alliance missionaries are serving across 34 countries (counting family members, the number serving overseas is 345). By the time the board next meets, the first FORO in the Asia region will have been held in the Philippines, meaning that every region will be on its way to building on the FORO model so successfully begun in Latin America.

The BIM also heard a briefing from Concordia International School, Hanoi, Vietnam, and collaborated on overtures for the upcoming LCMS convention in Phoenix in July. One overture directs the BIM to study ecclesiastical supervision, pastoral care and Synod membership in international mission contexts.

The board also worked on several overtures to be presented from the Joint Mission Assessment Committee (JMAC), which is made up of members from both the BIM and BNM. Examined in both BIM and BNM meetings, the JMAC overtures include:

Commending and sunsetting the Synod’s current seven mission priorities;

Recommending “Tell the Next Generation” as the 2026–2029 mission and ministry emphasis; and

Streamlining the process for determining the mission and ministry emphasis in future trienniums.

The BIM will next meet April 30–May 1 in St. Louis.

BNM

During the BNM meeting, Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor, managing director of the LCMS Office of National Mission (ONM), provided updates to the board about the work being done in different ministry areas of the ONM. Highlights included:

Discipleship Ministry, which is developing new Bible studies for witnessing and improving the efficiency of CADDS (Congregational Assessment of Development/Decline Status);

Youth Ministry, which is developing the theme for the 2028 Youth Gathering; and

Campus Ministry, which is planning a staff conference slated to take place in early June.

The BNM spent time refining the overtures they have drafted for the upcoming national convention, which include proposed resolutions for increasing support to LCMS schools, building up campus ministries, and expanding the work of church revitalization and church planting.

Dedicating special attention to their worker wellness policies and overtures in the meeting, the BNM noted the need that every pastor and church worker has for pastoral care. Board members discussed ways to support LCMS districts as they seek to ensure that their pastors are cared for spiritually, including that pastors would have a father confessor available to them, and they honed the language in their overture for commending worker wellness and promoting wellness resources.

The board also heard a theological presentation from Dr. Beverly Yahnke, executive director for Christian counsel at DOXOLOGY, an LCMS Recognized Service Organization. Yahnke’s article, “Recovering the Art of Spiritual Care: Need, Deterrents, and Pastoral Responses,” was published in the Fall 2025 issue of Concordia Journal.

“The victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death is also a victory over shame. There is much teaching to do, and those caught in the trap of guilt or shame will benefit enormously from hearing their pastors speak routinely and confidently about such matters from the pulpit and in Bible study, regularly inviting personal conversations,” writes Yahnke.

The BNM will next meet May 7–8 in St. Louis.

Mary Henrichs is a staff writer for LCMS Communications.

Posted March 6, 2026