Synod boards hold final meetings of 2024

The LCMS Board for International Mission (BIM), Council of Presidents (COP), Board for National Mission (BNM) and Board of Directors (BOD) held their regularly scheduled fall meetings in November.

BIM

The BIM met Nov. 7–8 in St. Louis.

Dr. Doug Grove, head of school at Concordia International School Hanoi, spoke about the school’s core values and promising financial situation and shared the joys and struggles of serving in Vietnam. The interim head of school for Concordia International School Shanghai, Dr. Eric Semler, reported on the school’s strong start to the new year, the academic excellence of the school, and the intern teacher program. Both heads of school expressed a desire to remain tightly connected to the LCMS, particularly through placement of LCMS-trained educators.

The BIM also heard from:

LCMS Communications, regarding cooperative work with the LCMS Office of International Mission (OIM); LCMS publications, including the relaunch of Journal of Lutheran Mission in the new year; and the upcoming renovation of lcms.org;

The Rev. Kevin Robson, LCMS chief mission officer, regarding Set Apart to Serve, the LCMS Office of National Mission’s operations, LCMS Mission Advancement and more; and

The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, LCMS president, on plans for a new mission emphasis for the LCMS, an update on the Synod’s global church relations and the positive financial state of the Synod.

The Rev. Dr. Cory Rajek, OIM executive director, shared that the OIM is working through a staff training program on the fundamentals of Lutheran missiology. He also introduced the Rev. Dr. Brian Gauthier, who recently accepted the role of OIM managing director of global operations.

For the LCMS Asia region, the Rev. Charles Ferry joined the meeting from Sri Lanka. He reported on the OIM’s work in Asia, focused on Asia’s implementation of the OIM’s threefold pillars: spread the Gospel, plant churches and show mercy. The Lutheran Church of Australia recently voted to adopt women’s ordination. The LCMS has placed its support behind Lutheran Mission—Australia, a group of Australian confessional pastors attempting to hold to the Bible’s teaching on these matters. Other items of note are an upcoming Indonesian translation of the Bible and an emerging seminary in Taiwan.

Finally, the BIM spent significant time discussing work on two resolutions from the 2023 LCMS convention: Res. 2-03, “To Strengthen Pastoral Care of Missionaries and Clarify Ecclesiastical Supervision,” and Res. 2-06A, “To Study Synod Relationships with Independent Lutheran Congregations in Foreign Mission Areas.”

COP

The COP met Nov. 10–14 on the campus of Concordia University Chicago (CUC), River Forest, Ill. The COP was welcomed by CUC President Dr. Russell Dawn, who also shared an update on CUC. Additional CUC staff shared presentations on academics, church work programs, student life and Lutheran identity at CUC.

LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison reported on news from the Synod, including the 2024 International Church Relations Conference, support for Lutheran Mission—Australia, his recent trip to India, progress in the Church Planting Initiative, the continuing response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the first All Nations Council and plans for the 2025 March for Life.

LCMS First Vice-President Rev. Peter Lange shared updates on commissioned and pastoral colloquy and noted the retirement of his executive assistant, Karen Dowbnia.

The COP welcomed Concordia University System (CUS) President Rev. Dr. Jamison Hardy, along with the presidents of all the CUS institutions, who gave updates on their respective campuses. The COP also heard from the Rev. Tim Teuscher, president of Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC), who spoke about various challenges facing LCC, including the loss of Concordia University, Edmonton, Alberta, as a feeder institution for Concordia Lutheran Seminary, Edmonton. (The university broke ties with LCC and disavowed its Christian identity in 2015.)

The COP heard entity updates from LCEF President and CEO Rev. Bart Day and Concordia Plan Services President and CEO Jim Sanft. Later in the day, Lange led the COP in a discussion of exceptions for congregations to be served by a licensed lay deacon, per 2016 Resolution 13-02A, particularly the meanings and limits of the first, eighth and 10th resolveds.

BNM

The BNM met in St. Louis Nov. 14–15. After an opening devotion from LCMS Atlantic District President Rev. Dr. Dien Ashley Taylor, the board heard a report from LCMS Chief Mission Officer Rev. Kevin Robson that included updates on a wide range of items, including:

A recent visit to the LCMS International Center (IC) by a delegation from the Lutheran Church in Korea;

The Synod’s international schools;

The 2024 International Church Relations Conference;

Pastoral education and formation;

Developments in the Synod’s Mission Advancement and Communications units; and

The extensive work being done by the Concordia University System under its new president, the Rev. Dr. Jamison Hardy.

LCMS Office of National Mission (ONM) Executive Director Rev. Daniel Galchutt spoke to the board about work ongoing in the ONM, including:

The impending retirement of ONM managing director Rev. Dr. Mark Wood and the recent addition of a handful of new ONM staff;

Efforts underway to improve ONM reporting — to the board, IC staff and the greater church;

Plans for the upcoming 2025 LCMS Youth Gathering; and

Grants from Lilly Endowment Inc. for projects in the areas of youth and worship.

Robson presented a final version of the ONM’s strategic plan, which had previously been reviewed by the board, with the board offering feedback. The plan was unanimously approved by the board.

BOD

The BOD met in St. Louis Nov. 22–23.

It was reported that the Synod has passed its external audit for the previous year with “flying colors.” The audit committee reported that net assets are up $32 million from last year.

The audit noted that the LCMS has enough unrestricted funds to fund operations for six months. While the ideal range would be 6–12 months, the current situation is a dramatic turnaround from six years ago. Based on the Synod’s current operations and effort, the committee suggested that it is possible that the BOD should consider investing more in supporting the team working at the International Center to prevent overwork and employee burnout.

The board approved Concordia Plan Services’ (CPS) continued investigation of ways to assist LCMS congregations and entities in addressing an impending insurance crisis. CPS reported that one LCMS educational institution saw a 12% increase in insurance premiums despite having no claims; another Lutheran camp was not renewed by the insurance carrier; and last year, most LCMS secondary schools had greater than 10% premium increases with few or no claims.

Kevin Herweck, CPS vice-president and chief operating officer, stated that CPS wants to help LCMS congregations and ministries “keep the money in the ministry rather than paying insurance premiums.” The BOD’s approval gives CPS the runway needed to research methods and means for helping free LCMS ministries to focus on mission without worrying about excessive premium hikes.

The remainder of the BOD’s time was spent reviewing master plans presented by Concordia University Irvine, Irvine, Calif.; Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne; and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.

Posted Jan. 29, 2025