2026 LCMS convention news – Sunday, July 19

Headlines

• 2026 Convention rewind video — Sunday, July 19

• National Witness: Three resolutions adopted

• Convention feature stories, videos

• Consent Calendar, Day 1

• Floor committees hold open hearings

• Welcome to your hub for convention news

2026 Convention rewind video — Sunday, July 19

The 69th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod began with the Opening Divine Service on July 18, 2026. Delegates got down to business the next day, with the adoption of several resolutions from Floor Committee 1 on National Witness and the election of the Synod’s six vice-presidents.

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4:01 p.m. Mountain Standard Time

National Witness: Three resolutions adopted

PHOENIX — In the first voting session of the convention, three resolutions from Floor Committee 1 (FC1, National Witness) were adopted:

Res. 1-01A, “To Celebrate and Encourage All Nations Ministry in North America” (adopted by 95.47%);

Res. 1-02, “To Proclaim 2029 the 500th Year of Luther’s Catechisms” (adopted by 84.77%); and

Res. 1-03A, “To Give Thanks to God for 150 Years of Black Ministry” (adopted by 93.12%).

In a presentation prior to these votes, the Rev. Stephen Heimer, manager of LCMS All Nations Ministry, introduced several partners in ministry and shared, “People are coming to faith. Bottom line, people are hearing the Good News here in the United States from all different backgrounds and are coming to faith, and [they] also are loving being part of the LCMS, loving the theology.”

In accordance with the final Resolved of Res. 1-01A, the Synod in convention stood to sing the Common Doxology “in celebration of His mission in North America among people of all ethnicities and languages, giving thanks for the many individuals who have served in these ministries.”

The convention also stood to sing “Lord, Help Us Ever to Retain” (Lutheran Service Book 865) in accordance with the final Resolved of Res. 1-02. The hymn was sung “in thanksgiving to God for the gift of Luther’s catechisms and in prayer that He would use them to strengthen the faith of future generations”:

“Lord, help us ever to retain

The Catechism’s doctrine plain

As Luther taught the Word of truth

In simple style to tender youth.” (LSB 865:1)

Voting on resolutions brought by FC1 will continue tomorrow, July 20.

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2:06 p.m. Mountain Standard Time

Convention feature stories, videos

PHOENIX — In addition to the daily running convention news being shared in this space, Reporter is publishing longer feature stories about a variety of topics as well as sharing videos created by the LCMS video team.

Visit the Reporter landing page at reporter.lcms.org to see the latest convention stories and videos about:

• The historic convention gavel;

• The 1926 LCMS convention;

• The 2026 convention’s Opening Divine Service;

• LCMS All Nations Ministry;

• LCMS National Mission;

• LCMS International Mission;

• Lange re-elected first vice-president; Espinosa joins Praesidium;

• LCMS ‘simply the best thing going’: Harrison calls Synod in convention to love and unity;

• And more.

All convention coverage is also available at reporter.lcms.org/category/convention. Check back often for constantly updated content.

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1:42 p.m. Mountain Standard Time

Consent Calendar, Day 1

PHOENIX — The 2026 LCMS convention will make use of a tool known as a Consent Calendar, which is designed to quickly dispatch business on resolutions that have been determined to be “non-controversial, courtesy, or honorific in nature” (Convention Standing Rule 10).

Each day of the convention, the Consent Calendar will include resolutions that have been selected for consideration by the floor committees conducting business that day. Any voting delegate may request that a resolution be removed from the Consent Calendar; however, there will be no opportunity for the delegate to provide an explanation, nor will there be a need for a second or any opportunity for debate.

Following the removal request, the convention body will immediately vote on the proposed removal, which will require at least 10% of voting delegates to approve. If the resolution is successfully removed from the Consent Calendar, it will return to the floor committee.

On July 19, the Consent Calendar included three resolutions as submitted by the respective floor committees:

Res. 1-04, “To Give Thanks for 130 Years of Deaf Ministry”;

Res. 2-01A, “To Give Thanks for LCMS Ministry to the Armed Forces”; and

Res. 2-05, “To Give Thanks to God for 125 Years of Gospel Ministry, Partner Churches, and Mission in the Latin America and Caribbean Region.”

After a delegate came forward to request the removal of Res. 2-05 from the Consent Calendar, the convention voted on the proposed removal, which passed by 11%, leaving only Res. 1-04 and Res. 2-01A to be considered in the day’s Consent Calendar.

The convention then voted on the revised Consent Calendar, adopting it by a vote of 96.75% (864 votes) in favor and 3.25% (29 votes) against.

The next Consent Calendar will be considered by the convention tomorrow, Monday, July 20.

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11:45 a.m. Mountain Standard Time

Floor committees hold open hearings

Floor Committee 6 on Pastoral Ministry and Seminaries holds an open hearing on July 18 before the 69th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in Phoenix. (LCMS/Roy S. Askins)

PHOENIX — On July 18, the floor committees tasked with bringing forward the resolutions that will be considered by the convention met in open session. The open floor committee sessions are an opportunity for anyone who is interested to ask questions or offer comments or suggestions relevant to that floor committee’s work.

For the 2026 convention, there are 10 floor committees: National Witness, International Witness, Mercy, Life Together, Theology and Church Relations, Pastoral Ministry and Seminaries, University Education, Finance, Structure and Administration, and Ecclesiastical Supervision and Dispute Resolution.
An 11th floor committee — Registrations, Credentials and Elections — is not involved in the resolution process but oversees the elections held during the convention.

The first committee that will appear before the convention today, July 19, is Floor Committee 1 (National Witness), beginning at approximately 11:25 a.m. local time. To view the convention livestream, visit lcms.org/convention/livestream. Continue to watch this space for continuing daily updates about the work of all the 2026 convention floor committees.

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11:30 a.m. Mountain Standard Time

Welcome to your hub for convention news

PHOENIX — For the 2026 convention, Reporter is trying something a little different. Each day of the convention, there will be three types of coverage:

A continuing news update (you are looking at today’s installment right now), with brief reports shared regularly throughout the day as they become available;

Feature stories that dig into more detail on the convention’s big issues or that highlight various convention happenings and people; and

Videos, including daily recaps, feature videos and ministry-related videos shared on the convention floor.

Come back to this space throughout the day to find out the latest news and to catch up on anything you may have missed. Check the main Reporter landing page at reporter.lcms.org to see the latest feature stories and videos. And sign up for the Reporter email update to make sure you don’t miss a single story.

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2026 LCMS Convention

Under the theme “Christ Is Risen Indeed,” the 69th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod met July 18–23, 2026, at the Phoenix Convention Center in downtown Phoenix.

There are several ways to get convention news, including:

Web

• lcms.org/convention/national

Video

• lcms.org/convention/national/livestream

Audio

• kfuo.org

Social media

• facebook.com/lcmsconvention

Email

• lcms.org/reporter-signup

Posted July 19, 2026