[su_accordion]What should I do with all this convention material? It is overwhelming to read and sort. Is it worth the effort?
The first information I pulled out of my convention three inch three ring binder was the flag presentation documents. What do I do with it?
First, I decided it should go to our congregation’s Lutheran Women’s Mission Society (LWMS) contact person. After all, the presentation is given by ladies of the LWMS. There is a lot of information in these sheets. Am I duplicating effort?
This post should have been so simple. I grew up knowing about the LWMS. I wondered how this convention material would relate to what is on thier website, so I checked. After doing several searches I decided that maybe I really didn’t know what the LWMS is. Let’s look at the basics.
[su_spoiler title=”Mission Statement as posted on their website.” icon=”arrow”]
“LWMS is women dedicated to serving Jesus by increasing awareness of, interest in, and support of the mission outreach of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS).”
As WELS women we believe that Jesus was speaking to each of us when he directed his disciples to “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
To this end we freely give of the time, talents, and treasures with which God has richly blessed us.”[/su_spoiler]
I was really surprised to learn at convention what a large part of the Synod budget is funded by the LWMS. I don’t remember the exact figure, but it was a large percentage. Right then and there I realized there must be more to this ministry than I realize.
[su_spoiler title=”Search the LWMS site” icon=”arrow”]
There search function revealed a lot of blog posts concerning the activity regarding the different missions and activity of LWMS search, but not information about the missions themselves.[/su_spoiler]
I began a Google search on the missions mentioned in the Flag Presentation document. For instance, I did a search using “wels apache mission.” It returned a lot of information related to the Apache Mission including a video like this.
The search also gave returns to information on wels.net about the mission. Did you know Kingdom Workers is involved with our Apache Mission? Check out www.kingdomworkers.com/apache.php.
Did you know Kingdom Workers ministry is also involved with the WELS Christian Aid and Relief ministry? I find it interesting how the ministries of the different groups overlap. It is a good example of many parts, but one body. A lot can be learned from following the thread of links.
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Another exciting link is to our Sem’s online Essay Archive. There are essays having to do with the early work of the mission written by the descendants of the first missionaries. I love the archives. They are so full of rich information covering a wide variety of topics.
I started doing searches like this on all the missions mentioned and found it to be overwhelming. The resources are out there though. If you have a special interest in a particular mission the information is available.
Many are mentioned on wels.net/serving-others/missions. Another great resource is CELC – Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference.
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The Synod Convention has a long standing tradition of beginning with the LWMS Flag Presentation. The flags presented represent all the countries where the WELS has established a presents.
The following is material given to the Convention Delegates. I will be passing it onto our congregation’s LWMS contact people. The pages below are individual pictures good for printing or displaying digitally. Here is the online PDF version.
I think adding the Flag Presentation graphic files to your church’s website and Facebook page would be awesome!
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The Convention’s BORAM has a section dedicated to Missions. I really didn’t know what church board would act this information. I decided to send it to the LWMS contact person.
[su_spoiler title=”Board for Home Missions from the BORAM” icon=”arrow”]
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[su_spoiler title=”Board for World Missions information from the BORAM” icon=”arrow”]
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[su_spoiler title=”Joint Mission Council Information from the BORAM” icon=”arrow”]
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[su_spoiler title=”Summery Report” icon=”arrow”]
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The most exciting information involved Resolution No. 04 of Floor Committee 02. The thank offering gathered at the opening service was equally divided among the new Synods. The Lutheran Church of Ethiopia, Eat Asia Lutheran Synod, and the South Asian Lutheran Evangelical Mission.
No information was provided as to what the total of the offering was.
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[su_spoiler title=”Resolution ” icon=”arrow”]
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Once again I ask myself if my efforts are worth it. I have to say yes. I have personally learned a lot. I pray that this information is shared and helps promote the work of LWMS and our missions.
A lot of the information can be shared on an electronic bulletin board if your congregation has one. Things like the Apache Mission video can be shared like the WELS Connection videos.
As I said before, The Flag Presentation is great for use on your Church’s website and Facebook page.
Of course, there are many other ways. You, the layperson can make a huge difference. After all, You Are Synod!
Please share this information with your pastor and other people whom you feel would benefit from it.
[su_spoiler title=”Note to LWMS Contact” icon=”arrow”]
Dear _________,
This is some of the information related to LWMS which I brought back from Synod Convention. I encourage you to read it, and more importantly, to share it. I had never realized how extensive the ministry of the LWMS is and how important it is to the work of Synod.
Some of the information can possibly be shared on the Kiosk. Sharing a video (such as the Apache Mission video) after church would also be a neat option. You will need to talk to Pastor or the Board of Elders about this. I think adding the Flag Presentation to the church website would be awesome!
I know you folks are creative and will find ways to use this information. Thanks for all you do.
I encourage you to check out more information on my blog at synod-convention.biblegeek.org. Please let me know if there is any other way I can be of help to you.
Thanks,
Jim Baur
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