‘The 72’ needs congregations for outreach-training teams

“The 72” wants to hear from congregations interested in hosting teams of trained volunteers to help boost those congregations’ outreach in their communities and their work to retain members who are inactive.

A key component of the LCMS Office of National Mission — Witness and Outreach Ministry, “The 72” is faced with “a good problem to have,” according to its director, the Rev. Al Tormoehlen.

With 15 teams already equipped to help congregations and with a potential 14 others expected to complete The 72’s outreach training Sept. 8-12, “this is likely to be a record number of 29 teams available to work with congregations,” Tormoehlen told Reporter.

He added that those 29 teams could potentially partner with 58 LCMS congregations over the next two years, before other teams are trained for the ministry.

The “rub” is that The 72 office doesn’t know of anywhere near that number of congregations that have requested or are interested in hosting an outreach-training team.

“We are anxious to help members of as many congregations as possible to be missionaries in their local mission fields,” Tormoehlen said, as he added encouragement for more congregations to host teams.

To date, The 72 has served 328 LCMS congregations with volunteer outreach-training teams since that ministry was first offered in 1990 as “Harvesters for Christ.”

A team usually serves with a host congregation for two or three weeks, although there are several options for the total time the team works with each congregation.

For the outreach training, there are 18 modules — each featuring a separate method or component of outreach. Any member of a host congregation may attend training for any of the modules the congregation chooses for the team’s training.

Each host congregation covers the costs of its team’s housing, transportation, meals and supplies.

For more information about hosting an outreach-training team or to request an application, contact Tormoehlen at al.tormoehlen@lcms.org or 314-996-1287, or Robbie Clasen at robbie.clasen@lcms.org or 314-996-1732. Or, visit lcms.org/the72.

To hear a July 22 Worldwide KFUO interview with Tormoehlen about The 72, click here.

Posted July 24, 2014