Interpreting the contemporary world

from a Lutheran Christian perspective

may 2011

A Special LCMS Report

Blessings
Gifts
Challenges

®
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Blessings, Gifts and Challenges
A
t my request, The Lutheran Witness staff has
put together this issue to inform the good folks
of Synod about the financial realities that we
face. The funding of this multi-billion-dollar institu-
tion called The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is
complex, to say the least. It took me a good five to six
years working at the International Center before I actu-
ally began to understand it. The first step in address-
ing a challenge is honesty about its existence and its
probable causes. But this must be done with
an eye on our blessings, which are truly
extraordinary. We are in a definite
predicament, but it’s hardly all
doom and gloom.
The first step
in addressing a The challenges
The Synod headquarters
challenge is honesty is in a financial crisis. It is,
however, a very specific cri-
about its existence sis—that is, a lack of undes-
. . . but this must be ignated/unrestricted dol-
lars. Years of stopgap mea-
done with an eye sures and overspending rev-
enues have caught up to us.
on our blessings. Throughout this current fiscal
year, Synod headquarters has
functioned with the equivalent
of only eight days worth of unre-
stricted resources on hand, whereas a
minimum of 30 days is where a nonprofit of
our size should be functioning. On top of that, Synod
had already borrowed some $11.1 million from funds
designated for other purposes . . . just to operate!
The crisis involves the quickly shrinking pot of
undesignated funding ($19.3 million, down almost
$10 million in the past decade), most of which comes
from districts.
> e-mail: president@lcms.org > Web page: www.lcms.org/president
blog: www.wmltblog.org
LW: from the president
What got us here?
> The Synod has consistently spent every penny it
receives and more.
> There has been a very significant yearly reduction
in dollars given by congregations to districts and
districts to Synod. These unrestricted funds are
used to pay the bills for things you can’t easily
raise funds for—like keeping the lights on, main-
taining a system for reconciliation and a hundred
other things.
> LCMS World Mission had consistently overspent its
revenues, such that year by year, millions of unre-
stricted dollars had to be pulled away from other
areas of need. Fan into Flame, while bringing great
blessings, has cost significantly more and raised
significantly less than projected.
> There has been a very definite shift in the way
people prefer to give. Donors (individuals, congre-
gations and districts) want to give to very specific
needs, so it’s harder and harder to fund the basic
operations (i.e., the “plumbing” it takes to get and
keep a missionary in the field, or a program or
service to the church, like maintaining Synod’s
roster and statistics, or accounting/auditing, or
a Commission on Constitutional Matters, or a
Concordia University System Board).
> Some 26 percent of the unrestricted dollars
received go to service the $20 million in historic
debt of the Concordia University System, including
interest and to subsidize educational operations.
> Theological disagreement and institutional distrust
have affected congregational and district giving.
What’s been done thus far?
> We have significantly reduced spending and elimi-
nated (with great pain) close to $2 million in staff-
ing paid for by unrestricted dollars.
continued
on page 3
1
lcms.org/
witness
 On behalf of the staff of The Lutheran Witness
and the LCMS Office of the President, we thank

Witness
®

for assisting
in funding this special May issue. For Thrivent’s
TM generosity, we are truly grateful. —The Editor

Providing Missouri Synod

laypeople with stories and
®
information that complement
congregational life, foster personal

contents
growth in faith, and help interpret the
contemporary world from a Lutheran
Christian perspective.

Official periodical of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod
From the President............. 1 Righting the Financial Ship
staff by Matthew C. Harrison .................................. 10
David L. Strand executive director, Learn more about the Synod's bless- by Kim Plummer Krull
communications ings, gifts and challenges.
James H. Heine executive editor Learn how one district got out
Adriane Dorr managing editor of debt and back on budget.
Vicky Schaeffer senior designer
Robert Sexton marketing manager,
advertising sales The Constancy of Change...... 4 The Lord Gives
Jim Stange
Carla Dubbelde
production coordinator
editorial manager, by Lawrence R. Rast Jr. Christians Manage........... 12
district editions The LCMS has suffered from and by Jerald C. Wulf
Karen Higgins editorial assistant survived challenges since its Why is trust the key to giving?
beginning.
Editorial office: 1333 S. Kirkwood Road,
St. Louis, MO 63122-7295
314-996-1202

© 2011 The Lutheran Church —Missouri

Body and Soul Work............ 6 LCMS Agencies............... 14
Synod. Reproduction of a single article by Albert B. Collver/Kim Plummer Krull by Agency Representatives
or column for parish use only does not
require permission of THE LUTHERAN Why does caring for others’ Interested in what the Synod’s
WITNESS. Such reproductions, however, spiritual and physical needs go agencies have to offer you?
should credit THE LUTHERAN WITNESS
as the source. Cover images are not hand-in-hand?
reproducible without permission. Also,
photos credited to sources outside the
LCMS are not to be copied. Mission Heritage LCMS Seminaries............ 16
Published 11 times per year by
Concordia Publishing House
.................................... 7 by Roland Lovstad
3558 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, MO
63118-3968 by Kim Plummer Krull Discover why the Synod’s
Find out why the Synod’s number seminaries are magnets for
Individual subscription $22.00 per year.
Organized congregation subscriptions of career missionaries has Lutherans worldwide.
and district editions offered at reduced
rate if submitted through local churches. changed.
To subscribe, renew, or to give a gift
subscription, call Concordia Publishing
House at 1-800-325-3040. Fan into Flame .................. 9 LCMS Schools................. 18
For subscription information or address by Kim Plummer Krull by William D. Cochran
changes, e-mail: magazines@cph.org.
How much has the campaign Has Lutheran education proved
The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod raised and what’s left to go? its worth since its Reformation
1-888-THE LCMS (843-5267)
www.lcms.org
beginnings?
e-mail: lutheran.witness@lcms.org

Member: Associated Church Press

Evangelical Press Association
May 2011 (ISSN: 0024-757X)
Vol. 130, No. 05 You can download a Lutheran Witness widget for your church's (or
your personal) website or blog at www.lcms.org/lutheranwitnesswidget
Cover photo by Rich Abrahamson/
The Fort Collins Coloradoan
 Martyria, witness
(1 John 5:7-8)
Diakonia, mercy
(Mark 10:45)
Koinonia, life together
(1 Cor. 1:9)
The Concordia University
System ......................... 20
by Adriane Dorr
What is unique about the
education the Concordias offer?
Witness, Mercy, Life Together
and Restructuring............. 23
by Albert B. Collver III
Read more on what the newly
restructured Synod will look like.
The Future Is Here............ 26
by Barbara A. Below
Where does the Synod go
from here?
on the web
> Go to lcms.org/witness to download the
full text of this issue.
> Visit lcms.org/reporter for more on
— The church body’s response to the
March 11 earthquake and tsunami
in Japan,
— Why some 2,800 Lutheran educators
spent three days in Cincinnati, and
— Plans for the new Vacation Bible
School program from Concordia
Publishing House.
> “Let’s go!”
from the president
continued
from page 1
> We’ve taken action to cease overspending in LCMS World
Mission.
> We have eliminated whole departments and areas of ser-
vice and significantly consolidated staff for efficiency.
> We are launching the “Koinonia Project” to begin to deal
with the theological issues that have caused us to distrust
each other. We are attempting to lead in a way that does
not divide.
The new structure of the Synod is focused laserlike on
Witness, Mercy, and Life Together—the heart and soul of what it
means to be the Church.
The blessings
It’s the devil’s trick to make us think that somehow we
are hurting financially or that we don’t have the resources col-
lectively to do what the Church needs to do for the sake of
Christ and His Gospel. This is the Missouri Synod’s worldwide
moment, and together we have the resources to step forward
with the Gospel and Luther’s teaching on the worldwide
platform awaiting our arrival.
> Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF), with only
4 percent of the LCMS participating, manages $2 billion
in investor assets, which are used to provide afford-
able loans to congregations and other LCMS entities.
Thankfully, Synod headquarters has not needed to draw
on its line of credit with LCEF in over two years.
> Concordia Plan Services manages another $3 billion in
retirement and disability assets—kept healthy through
the constant influx of young teachers and pastors.
> Concordia Publishing House (CPH) has the blessing of
$30 million in the bank—revenue due largely to a wildly
successful new hymnal!
> The LCMS Foundation is doing well as it manages the
various financial assets entrusted to it by congregations,
organizations and individuals.
> Even as undesignated giving from districts has declined,
folks from those same districts have exploded in pro-
viding designated funds for specific mission and mercy
needs!
> Through the prudent management of resources, LCMS
World Relief and Human Care is currently operating with
a healthy reserve of over $3 million, affording it flexibil-
ity to address critical needs during turbulent times. The
Synod should strive to operate in the same way.
By the grace of God and for the sake of the mission of
this church, it’s time for us, together, to get our financial
house in order. We are working hard at it here in St. Louis.
Will you help? Will you assist your congregation and district
in resolving this challenge? I know you can. I pray you will.
Pastor Matthew Harrison
Mark 1:38 3
lcms.org/
witness
 LCMS History
The Constancy of Change
by lawrence r. rast jr.
Economic collapse, rapid social
change, troubling finances . . .
is this the LCMS of 1911 or 2011?
C
limate change, economic collapse, familial
displacement, rapid social change, changing
morals—so chaotic were the circumstances
of life that some began to predict the imminent
end of the world. These were the conditions that
faced our Synod. Were. This situation, which seems
so familiar to us today, was precisely the one into
which C. F. W. Walther and F. C. D. Wyneken, the
first two presidents of the LCMS, stepped as they
established and led the Synod during uncertain and
challenging times. We could just as easily say that
they are the circumstances that face our Synod
today, for we, too, live in a period of rapid and
somewhat unsettling change.
Blessings and challenges
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod offers
one of the great stories of American Christianity: a
story of blessings and challenges. Founded in 1847
with just 12 pastors and 16 congregations, it was
merely one among many small Lutheran synods
(at least 58 were formed between 1840–1875). Why
did Missouri survive? More pointedly, why did it
thrive?
One key reason was its willingness to engage
its context and apply its confession in creative
ways. What the Synod attempted didn’t always
work according to human standards, and at
other times, it did so in incredibly difficult
circumstances.
Missouri at its beginning was German, and its
outreach was to immigrants. However, by 1911, the
Synod welcomed the English Evangelical Lutheran
4 > Rev. Oliver Harms served as president of the
may 2011
Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States into its
structure as the non-geographical “English District.”
Between 1917–1936, more than two-thirds of the
Synod’s congregations moved to using English in
worship.
Even as the Synod shifted its language, it
began to take on some of the characteristics of
an American denomination. As its institutions
flourished, its assets and holdings increased, its
bureaucracy began to expand and more institutions
competed for limited dollars.
The result was a budget shortfall. In 1917,
a group of twelve laymen addressed the Synod’s
$100,000 debt and then continued their efforts,
eventually forming the Lutheran Laymen’s League
(LLL). Their next project was to raise $2.7 million
to fund a pension plan for professional church
workers.
The roaring twenties, however, were a time of
limited numerical growth for the LCMS. The Synod
simultaneously began to accrue a significant deficit,
which, by 1928, totaled more than $750,000. But
things were about to get worse.
The LCMS was hit hard by the Great Depression.
Synod’s programs were trimmed, the budget expe-
rienced extreme tension and receipts declined. The
people of the congregations were generous in their
support, but their discretionary spending was lim-
ited. The result was real hardship. Not surprisingly,
congregations struggled to support their pastors,
and many graduates of the seminaries endured
sustained waits for calls into the ministry.
Finally, depression gave way to war, which in
turn gave way to a “baby boom” and a period of
incredible numerical and institutional growth for
the LCMS. The Synod doubled in size. Its bureau-
cracy and budget expanded even more. So fast was
the expansion that the Synod began to experience
stress.
In the 1960s, a new set of financial and theo-
logical pressures arose. As some became concerned
over what they perceived were “changes” in theolo-
gy and centralization/bureaucratization, they with-
held their offerings in significant enough amounts
to impact the Synod’s budget. In 1962, Synod
LCMS from 1962–1969.
 Oh, save your people and bless your
heritage! Be their shepherd and carry
them forever (Ps. 28:9).

adopted the “Faith Forward” effort, but it did not entirely new to them and then providing the vision-
generate meaningful interest. Even as Synod tried ary leadership to move the Synod forward in vigor-
to trim down, the pointed remarks of an active ous mission and ministry.
missionary told the real story: “Synod says it has no The story of the LCMS leads us to rejoice in
money. We in the mission fields feel like crying.” God’s faithfulness, even as we have no illusions
In response, in 1965 the Synod approved a about the human challenges before us. However,
major “thank offering” to be held within the next as we frame our life together in terms of God’s rich
two years. By January 1966, The Lutheran Witness and abundant grace, we can recognize that God has
reported that President Oliver Harms would soon given us, through our predecessors, extraordinary
proclaim 1967 as the “Ebenezer Year.” The goal of gifts and a capacity beyond anything our parents in
“Ebenezer” (“Stone of Help” or “Rock of Salvation” the faith could have dreamed. The challenges are
[1 Sam. 7:12]) was to raise at least $40 million. indeed great. God’s blessings are even greater. 
But Ebenezer was by all accounts a failure. The
1969 convention heard that less than $15 million
had actually been received. As a result, the Synod
had to pare its mission efforts back even further.
Difficult years followed as membership peaked in
1971 and declined in most years since. Still, at the
end of the 1970s, “Forward in Remembrance,” the
largest capital campaign by an American Protestant
church up to that point in time, highlighted how
God had blessed the LCMS.
Today we find ourselves again in a challeng-
ing time. Finances are tight. Membership has not
increased as we had hoped as we approach the
500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.
Things seem to be changing more quickly than ever.

In the midst of change

Blessings and challenges: That is the way of
history as we move through a world toward a
future that is, humanly speaking, uncertain. But we
have always faced change and will continue to do
so until that absolutely certain day, that final day
when our Lord returns and gathers all of His people
to Himself.
Photo courtesy Concordia Historical Institute

In the meantime, we pray to be faithful in the

midst of change. And here the experiences of our
Synod over time—both positive and negative—can
be instructive. The early leaders of our Synod
helped people through difficult periods of transi-
tion. They did so by simultaneously holding fast
and firmly to biblical doctrine as faithfully con-
fessed in the Lutheran Confessions, successfully
interpreting a rapidly changing culture that was
President Oliver Harms presided over the 1967 Synod convention and over the
Ebenezer Year.

> Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr. (lawrence.rast@ctsfw.edu) is aca- 5

demic dean of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. lcms.org/
witness
 Mercy Uniquely Equipped for Body
and Soul Work
b y a l b e r t b . C o l lv e r I I I
and kim plummer krull

T
hroughout its history, LCMS World Relief Ministries (an LCMS Recognized Service
and Human Care (WR-HC) has cared for Organization based in Cabot, Pa.) and carried
people in body and soul in response to out by the ELCK, an LCMS partner church.
disasters, hunger, poverty and other needs. Through this home-based care program,
Apart from disasters, some of the best-sup- more than 400 children have what generous
ported programs involve the care and help of donors and ministry partners want for every
children, such as the 1001 Orphans Program. child—a caring family and the love of Christ.
This program also demonstrates how a proj- (Sponsors include individuals, families and
ect focused on Mercy can be integrated with congregations who provide $400 annually
Witness and Life Together. for “their” orphan. Many children still need
Rev. John Fale vividly recalls the faces of sponsors, and gifts of any amount strengthen
hungry and homeless children from a 2003 general program support.)
trip to Kenya. “Everywhere we looked, we saw At the rescue centers, the children par-
these street children, mostly orphans whose ticipate in Bible and catechism clubs where
parents had died from HIV-AIDS,” says Fale, they compete to develop dances, chants
interim executive director with WR-HC, who and songs based upon Scripture verses and
served on a team that trekked to Africa at the Luther’s Small Catechism. This happens under
request of the Evangelical Lutheran Church the direction of Rev. David Chuchu, 1001
in Kenya (ELCK). “Many had suffered abuse— Orphans project administrator for the ELCK.
physically, sexually, emotionally.” After this While receiving care for their bodies (Mercy),
trip, WR-HC began to work on ways to assist the children learn the Scriptures and the
these Kenyan children in need (Mercy) by Small Catechism (Witness). The entire per-
partnering with the ELCK (Life Together). son, body and soul, is cared for. In addition,
As the needs of children in Kenya became a project designed to take care of the needs
known among LCMS members in the United of underprivileged and orphaned children
States, other opportunities for Life Together in Kenya (Mercy) works to build up a Life
emerged. Over the years, Together between the LCMS and the ELCK, as
WR-HC has partnered well as among RSOs, districts and volunteers
with North Dakota volun- within the LCMS.
teers to open orphan res- The 1001 Orphans Project in Kenya
cue centers (or halfway (which is working to expand into other coun-
houses) in Kenya through tries) is not the only example of Mercy fos-
Project 24 and start an tering Witness and Life Together. In fact, the
orphan support program goal of all LCMS WR-HC projects is to foster
in partnership with the the three-fold emphasis as the love of Christ
New England District. is shared in support of the entire person,
In 2009, the Synod’s body and soul. 
mercy arm expanded
orphan care through
1001 Orphans (www.lcms
.org/1001) in partnership
with Concordia Lutheran Read more about our Lutheran foundation for mercy
Photo courtesy Hans Springer, WR-HC

in “Theology for Mercy,” written by Pres. Matthew

C. Harrison when he was WR-HC executive director.
(Request the booklet or download a copy at www.shop
.lcms.org.) To learn more about WR-HC mercy work,
A young student at an ELCK school visit www.lcms.org/worldrelief or call 800-248-1930,
in Kenya. ext. 1380.

6 > What can I do to help contribute to Mercy? > Go to lcms.org/elckbibleclub to watch students from
may 2011 Go to lcms.org/projects the Othoro Rescue Center recite Luther's Small Catechism.
 Witness
Stage for Global Reach
by kim plummer krull
I
n 1971, a peak high of
more than 350 LCMS
missionary families dedi-
cated their lives to serving
the Lord in foreign fields.
Today, 59 such career mis-
sionary families (which
Photo courtesy LCMS World Mission
often include both a hus-
band and wife with calls
to serve) work in other
countries. But instead of
focusing on decline, Dr.
Dave Birner (DB), associate
executive director, inter-
national, for LCMS World
Mission, explains to The Lutheran Witness
staff (LW) that those numbers say more about
dramatic changes in our world and how our
church bears witness in the 21st century.
LW: Briefly explain why the Synod’s historic
practice of sending career missionaries into
the field has changed.
DB: In 1895, the Synod began mission work
in India, our first foreign mission field. The
LCMS sent its first international missionary
50 years after the Synod was established.
That’s worth noting because many of our
partner churches are just now reaching that
50-year mark themselves. It’s around that
time when a church body, with the benefit of
two to three generations of believers, has the
ability to sustain its own missionary force,
which is what we’re seeing today with many
partner churches whose roots are in LCMS
mission work.
LW: Why the decline in the number of career
missionaries over the past 40 years?
DB: A variety of issues have contributed to
the decline, including geopolitical, economic
and cultural factors. The logistics of over-
seas travel (including visa requirements)
and unpredictable world politics have made
> What can I do to help contribute to Witness?
Go to lcms.org/projects
Mission Heritage Sets
it more difficult. The social upheavals of the
1960s and 1970s and the changing role of the
United States abroad made people more reluc-
tant to venture into a hostile world. Reflecting
the changing American lifestyle and economic
standards, baby boomers coming of age in the
1970s and 1980s were accus-
tomed to different needs and
challenges than their parents quick facts
and grandparents who came
As of March 2011, the LCMS
out of the Depression and
supports 59 international career
World War II.
missionary families, filling 69 paid
Changes within our
positions (some husband-wife cases).
Synod also impacted mis-
sion work. Internal conflicts
> 33 clergy
in the 1970s dramatically
> 1 deaconess
disrupted the mission board
> 4 DCE/DCO
and missionary recruitment.
> 8 teachers
During the same period, the
> 2 medical missionaries
Synod made the decision to
> 21 laypersons
grant partner-church status The team also includes:
to a number of church bodies > 53 international educators
that began as a result of mis- serving in 6 countries in Asia
sionary work. Those partners > 80 GEO (globally engaged in
often replaced the work of outreach) missionaries serving
missionaries with workers 1–2 years
from their own countries. > 476 individuals served on short-
Just as the Saxons who term teams throughout 2010
founded our Synod started a > 72 individuals served or are
school before they started a serving in short-term opportunities
church, the LCMS helps our during 2010–2011
career missionaries
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
> To learn more about mission work, 7
go to lcms.org/missionaries
lcms.org/
witness
 Mission Work Heritage

continued
from page 7

partners put into place ministries to sustain

a believing community with schools, semi-
naries, clinics and other human-care work.
We’ve also seen dramatic increases in
costs to support a missionary family over-

Photo courtesy LCMS World Mission

seas—at least $500,000 to support one mis-
sionary family for the first five years of mis-
sionary service. We have expenses we didn’t
have in the 1960s and 1970s (health care,
insurance, retirement, children’s education,
etc.), and at the same time, people are giving
less to the church.

LW: In spite of changes and challenges, you

sound enthusiastic about the future of LCMS

LCMS Ministry to the mission work. Why?

Armed Forces Sunday

DB: There are exciting opportunities! We’ve
seen a dramatic increase in the number of
short-term missionaries who supplement the
May 22, 2011 work of long-term, career missionaries. The
world is more accessible today to our con-
gregations, and they are responding. They
have a mission passion and want to go serve.
But at the same time, we also need more
www.lcmsworldmission.org/armedforces
career missionaries. They are the ones who
Download Resources invest years to learn language and customs
Order Free Bulletin Inserts and become close friends with our partners.
Eventually, those partners build their own
Support Our Chaplains missionary force.
Today, our partner churches are working
shoulder to shoulder with LCMS missionar-
ies around the world. In some countries, our
partner-church missionaries have discovered
a natural affinity for work among a particular
people.
Heal me, O LORD,
So as we join with our brothers and
for my bones are troubled. sisters who share our Lutheran roots and
My soul also is greatly troubled. church family tree, we are discovering that
But you, O LORD how long? a brand new global missionary force is
Psalm 6:2-3 emerging to meet the needs of the 21st
century world.
God used LCMS missionaries to plant
new church bodies in the last century, and
I believe by doing so that He prepared us.
Now He is placing us within a global body
of believers for mission. And He will use us
powerfully within this expanded multina-
tional missionary force to plant even more
sustainable communities of believers in the
many parts of the world that long for hope
and Good News. 

1333 S. Kirkwood Rd., St. Louis, MO 63122-7295

1-800-248-1930 ext. 1337
> Kim Plummer Krull (kimkrull@sbcglobal.net) is a member
of St. Pauls Lutheran Church, Des Peres, Mo.

Fan into
Flame
Update
by kim plummer
krull
How much has the
capital campaign
raised, and what's
left to go?
T
he capital fund-raising campaign Fan
into Flame has led to blessings as well
as challenges.
That’s important for LCMS members to
know, says LCMS President Rev. Matthew C.
Harrison, because “in order for us to solve our
financial challenges, we must be honest, trans-
parent and clear with the people who provide
the money.”
The campaign, endorsed by the 2004 Synod
convention, seeks to secure $100 million to
further mission work in the United States and
abroad. “The campaign has brought and contin-
ues to bring tremendous blessings,” Harrison
says. “Much is happening around the world for
the sake of the Gospel that would not be occur-
ring without Fan into Flame.”
Through March, the campaign had raised
$63.8 million in cash and pledges. Of that
amount, $44.9 million has been collected in
cash. To achieve the original goal, $36.2 million
still needs to be raised by Reformation Day,
Oct. 31, when the formal campaign ends.
Challenges persist. Fan into Flame was
designed to incur operational costs of no
more than $10 million of its original $100
million goal—the lowest reasonable operational
expense in order to maximize new funds for
work in the mission field. But those expenses
(which include costs for materials, management
and staff) have exceeded $18.3 million.
The economic recession and additional
operational expenses (not included in the
> LCMS congregations had a median budget
of $175,000 in 2009.
Fan into Flame
Photo courtesy LCMS World Mission
Rev. Joshua Hollmann (center) moderates a 2008 Muslim-Christian public dialogue.
His outreach work for his congregation, Ascension, Montreal, Canada, and the
SELC District was aided by Fan into Flame gifts.
original campaign budget) have contributed to
increased costs.
While some districts chose not to take
part in Fan into Flame, other districts have
been enthusiastic and successful participants.
Another plus: The campaign enabled the Synod
to connect with some 8,000 new donors. “These
are good people who care about the ministry
of the church and simply want the Gospel to go
forth and want to use their gifts to help make
that happen,” Harrison says.
The LCMS president expresses great appre-
ciation for the Synod’s principal gift officers,
people who visit with donors and connect them
with giving opportunities. “They believe deeply
in the Gospel and the mission of the church,”
Harrison says of the development staff. “They
operate with complete integrity, and I couldn’t
be more proud of them.”
“We’ve learned a great deal from Fan into
Flame,” Harrison says. “Blessings from those
gifts will continue for years and years to
come—into eternity.” But, he adds, the solu-
tion to the Synod’s financial challenges doesn’t
reside at the LCMS International Center in
St. Louis. “The solutions are sitting in the
pews of our churches every Sunday morning,”
he says. “They are the people who want—
and need—to be informed.” 
"The campaign has brought and continues
to bring tremendous blessings."
> The Fan into Flame campaign generated 9
roughly 20,000 gifts. lcms.org/
witness
 District Giving
Righting the
Financial Ship
by kim plummer krull
W
e were spending a lot more than we
were receiving,” says South Wisconsin
District (SWD) President Rev. John
Wille, explaining as simply as possible why
that district had fallen into an operating defi-
cit of $880,000 and a capital indebtedness
of $5.5 million when he became president in
2006. Today, the SWD is back on a smoother
financial track, operating within a
balanced budget and enthusiasti-
cally reaching out through local
congregations as well as national
LCMS ministries.
In this edited interview with
Photo courtesy Herman Strozier
The Lutheran Witness (LW), Wille
(JW) discusses how his district of
215 congregations and 120,000
baptized members shifted finan-
cial gears and now touches “more
people and more cultures with the
Gospel than ever before.”
South Wisconsin
District President LW: How did the SWD right its financial ship?
Rev. John Wille JW: We locked in austerity measures, elimi-
nating district positions we couldn’t afford.
We changed some of our value system to bet-
ter reflect the reason why the district exists:
for the purpose of helping our local parishes
carry out their mission of reaching the lost.
Our capital indebtedness is now $3.5 million.
We have made the commitment to spend only
what the congregations entrust to us. Every
one of those dollars is very precious so we
use them wisely.
LW: One might assume that the SWD, after
going through tough financial times, now
holds tightly to financial resources and is
reluctant to share beyond the district. How
does the SWD support the Synod and why?
JW: We support the national church, although
not at the level that we once did. We hope
to improve. We have very enthusiastic
support for the Dominican Republic as our
10
may 2011
foreign mission field in cooperation with LCMS
World Relief and Human Care (WR–HC), LCMS
World Mission (WM) and Bethesda Lutheran
Communities. Over the past few years, we
have raised over $100,000 in the SWD for work
in the Dominican Republic. It’s exciting. We tell
our congregations that the best way to reach
people is to channel their support through
those who are trained, experienced and who
can see that the work is accomplished.
At the same time, we have been able to
reach more people of various cultures here
in South Wisconsin than ever before. People
may think our district is primarily of German
descent, but Hispanics and immigrants from
Africa, Southeast Asia, China and other coun-
tries live here. Our newest congregation is
the International Lutheran Church of Zion,
made up of immigrants from the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. They worship at
Benediction Lutheran Church in northwest
Milwaukee. Our congregations are our partners
in reaching those cultures here. In those cases,
they are our direct link to accomplishing our
mission of getting out the Word to save the
lost.
LW: How does your district act as the Synod
in the SWD?
JW: It’s easy for us to work here in the SWD,
but we can’t reach out into the world by our-
selves, to the Dominican Republic, to Haiti,
to Thailand and China. That’s where our part-
nership with the LCMS is vital. We are able to
accomplish so much more for the Kingdom
working together than we ever could alone.
[That work] is prayers and dollars, mission
trips and partnerships. I don’t have the exper-
tise to coordinate that mission and tackle the
challenges, for example, in the Dominican
Republic. As Christian people with a heart and
passion for reaching the lost, it is essential
that we work together, that we cooperate and
collaborate. It is what church is about. 
> The LCMS has 35 districts and roughly 2.3 million members.
There are over 6,000 congregations in the LCMS.
 The unrestricted monies that districts send to Synod have been
trending downward for years. Other trends are more difficult to
chart: (1) Congregations are sending less to districts; (2) Districts are
responding to local opportunities; and (3) Designated gifts to Synod
from individuals and congregations increased substantially through
2007 before beginning to decline. (See the chart on page 13.)

Photo courtesy SED

LCMS District Pledges 2011–2012
Increase/(Decrease) Baptized
District Pledge ($) Pledge ($) Percent Members

35,702

Turning
Atlantic 59,500 (1,000) (1.7%)
Cal-Nev-HA 175,000 (25,000) (12.5%) 44,295
Eastern 73,000 (44,000) (37.6%) 45,906
English
Florida/Georgia
Illinois-Central
203,000
258,000
552,000
2,000
(87,000)
(76,500)
1.0%
(25.2%)
(12. 2%)
57,418
62,450
70,551
a Corner
Illinois-Northern 667,274 (45,415) (6.4%) 127,882 Like most LCMS districts, the
Illinois-Southern 249,600 (2,850) (1.1%) 43,005 Southeastern District (SED) has
Indiana 745,000 (95,000) (11.3%) 109,910 experienced a decline in giving from
congregational budgets during the
Iowa East 143,000 (7,000) (4.7%) 43,210
economic downturn. But despite financial
Iowa West 754,650 (19,350) (2.5%) 62,089 challenges, SED congregations have
Kansas 543,000 (192,000) (26.1%) 60,251 enthusiastically supported the Fan into
Michigan 1,883,250 (465,000) (19.8%) 211,216 Flame campaign. At the same time, the
district continues to increase giving to the
Mid-South 461,986 (17,054) (3.6%) 28,839
Synod, making support for the national
Minn. North 612,136 5,536 0.9% 59,734 church a stewardship priority.
Minn. South 1,350,000 (50,000) (3.6%) 127,679 In this edited interview with The
Missouri 560,000 (90,000) (13.8%) 138,631 Lutheran Witness (LW), SED President
Montana 134,000 4,000 3.1% 14,493 Rev. Jon T. Diefenthaler (JD) discusses
how the district encourages healthy
Nebraska 1,147,500 (27,500) (2.3%) 107,562
giving habits in an ailing economy and
New England 117,585 (7,695) (6.1%) 19,030 how district support for the work of the
New Jersey 50,000 9,500 23.5% 14,125 national church models stewardship that
North Dakota 227,868 2,868 1.3% 21,813 God has blessed. The SED includes 206
congregations and nearly 70,000 baptized
Northwest 170,050 (99,450) (36.9%) 65,387
members in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia,
Ohio 308,700 (21,300) (6.5%) 63,550 North Carolina and South Carolina, plus
Oklahoma 200,000 0 0.0% 21,937 Washington, D.C. and York County, Pa.
Pacific Southwest 200,000 0 0.0% 99,206
Rocky Mountain 230,000 (30,000) (11.5%) 53,520
LW: Despite challenging economic times,
the Southeastern District has healthy
SELC 206,000 2,000 1.0% 16,958
giving habits. How have you helped your
South Dakota 310,400 0 0.0% 30,672 district grow in good stewardship?
Southeastern 490,116 6,410 1.3% 67,241 JD: The SED has experienced a decline
Southern 131,000 0 0.0% 29,804 in income received from congregational
budgets during the recessionary period
Texas 1,711,000 (143,100) (7.7%) 132,988
that began in 2008. But from the
Wisconsin North 645,000 (255,000) (28.3%) 101,886 beginning, we made a commitment to
Wisconsin South 315,000 0 0.0% 116,773 remain faithful to all our commitments to
Wyoming 151,000 10,000 7.1% 13,848 our new missions and their workers. We
have also made efforts to stay connected
Totals 16,035,615 (1,758,900) (9.9%) 2,312,111

continued
on page 25

> What can I do to help? Give to WMLT where > District pledge information provided by the 11
needed most at lcms.org/projects LCMS Accounting Department and Business Services. lcms.org/
witness

© Shutterstock, Inc.
Why do we give to the church?
Is it because it makes us feel good or
because everything we have is the Lord’s?
I
t is suppertime, and the telephone rings.
With a certain amount of apprehension, you
pick up the receiver. Caller ID does not show
a familiar name, so you wonder, “Which will it
be: a telemarketer, a political poll or an appeal
for monetary support from a charitable
organization?”
Across the phone line comes a plea to help
victims of some disaster or other. The story
pulls at your heart, and when the inevitable
request for a gift is presented to you, usu-
ally proceeded by, “If only you make a dona-
tion, how good you will feel because you have
helped someone in need,” you cannot help
but respond.
But if we only give because it makes us
feel good about ourselves, have we failed to
acknowledge the Source of all things?
It is important for Christians to acknowl-
edge that God is the creator—and owner—of
everything. If you do not believe this important
truth, read Job 41:11, wherein God, as He is
talking to Job, lays claim to all of creation. Or
read Ps. 24:1, where the Psalmist acknowledges
God’s ownership of not only the world, but all
12 > Unrestricted gifts are funds the Synod can use
may 2011 where needed most.
Giving
The Lord
Gives.
Christians
Manage.
by jerald C. wulf
who dwell therein. Christians must realize that
they are merely stewards, not owners, of the
bounty that our God has bestowed and contin-
ues to bestow on us. The Lord gives. Christians
merely manage. Only when this basic truth is
understood can Christian giving occur.
The most important element of Christian
giving is trust. When we place our Sunday
morning offerings on the altar or when our
member congregations share with their dis-
tricts, we trust that the officers will administer
those gifts in a God-pleasing way. So, too, when
our 35 districts send a portion of the resources
that God has entrusted to them to our beloved
Synod, they trust that the officers will use those
resources in supporting the ministries and
other activities that have been delegated
to Synod.
The key term is trust. We first and fore-
most put our “trust in God above all things,”
as the explanation of the First Commandment
bids us. We trust that our congregational lead-
ers, our district leaders and our Synod leaders
have all been selected with the guidance of the
Holy Spirit. When we trust that the Holy Spirit
guides those selections, why are we hesitant to
allow those servants the latitude to administer
our gifts to meet the needs of the ministries
we have decided to do together, as a district or
as the Synod? It is time for us to return to the
Lord, putting our trust in Him, confident that
He will reward those who are “good and faithful
servants” and will deal appropriately with those
who are not.
> Restricted gifts are funds used only for the purpose
designated by the donor.
 30
Unrestricted Giving
$28.7
25
$25.6
$24.7 $24.1
$23.8
20 $21.9 $21.6 $21.6
$20.8
$19.3
15

Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Restricted Giving
60
$59.5
50
$48.8 $48.2
$46.8
40 $44.7
$41.6

30 $33.8 $35.4
$31.8 $32

Trends of Giving to Synod $ in millions

At the same time, we must realize that at Ecclesiastical Service and Commissions 3%
least a portion of each gift will be used to pay Supplemental Retirement/Vets of the Cross 1% Synodical Officers
KFUO 2% & Administration
for utilities, postage and other administrative 8%
Black Ministry 1%
needs of the soliciting organization. These
activities are vital to the support of the orga-
District and
nization. This is true for congregations, dis- Congregational Services 11%
tricts and the Synod. The challenge is to be as
efficient as possible so that the administrative General and
Administrative
support costs are kept to a minimum. Communications 2% 13%
In the past few years, total giving (both
restricted and unrestricted) to districts and to
the Synod has decreased. While restricted gifts Human Care 12%
have been declining, yet they have increased
since the early part of the decade. (That dra-
matic increase in restricted funding—it should
be noted—reflects the outpouring of gifts in Missions 37%
response to Hurricane Katrina and the Indian University Education 6%
Ocean tsunami.) Both kinds of giving are need-
4%
ed and certainly welcomed. But church mem- Pastoral Education
bers must understand that it is not always in
the best interest of the ministries to receive a
majority of restricted gifts. LCMS, Inc. Operating Budget 2010–2011
Gift restrictions do not allow the flexibility
to address ministry opportunities as needed.
Study the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed
For example, if gifts are donor directed solely
and its explanation. Reflect on the Scripture
for the relief of victims of the Japanese earth-
citations above and consider the many blessings
quake, but an earthquake occurs in New
the Lord has poured out upon you, the greatest
Zealand, resources received for Japan cannot
of which is the assurance of the forgiveness of
be directed to earthquake relief in New
sins through the life, death and resurrection of
Zealand. A generous portion of unrestricted
our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, who willingly
gifts are necessary to allow leaders to address
wore the crown of thorns that we deserved so
needs and ministry opportunities as they
that we may wear the crown of life. 
occur.

> For more, read “Funding: What’s at Stake?” and > Jerald C. Wulf (jerald.wulf@lcms.org) serves as 13
“Funding the Mission” at lcms.org/witness. the Synod’s chief financial officer (CFO).
lcms.org/
witness
 LCMS Agencies

LCMS Agencies

© iStockphoto.com
© Concordia Publishing House

Concordia Concordia Plan

Publishing House Services
Synod's Publisher Synod's Benefits

From coal-fired steam presses in 1869 Since 1965, the LCMS has
to the most advanced digital technology entrusted Concordia Plan Services
today, the purpose of Concordia Publishing with administering the Concordia
House has remained the same: to provide Plans for LCMS workers and their
the churches, schools and homes of The families.
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod with Benefits include health, retire-
resources that are faithful to the Holy ment, death and disability plans. A
Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. staff of 110 supports 32,000 work-
CPH is the largest and oldest continually ers, 58,000 dependents, 17,000
operating Lutheran publishing house in the retirees and 6,000 employers
world, employing 220 staff and reaching out (congregations, schools, etc.). All
across the globe in a variety of languages. together, the employee benefit trust
The number of resources that CPH provides funds represent $3.2 billion of
is impressive. From Arch Books to advanced assets under management.
commentaries, the goal of all resources from
CPH is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Blessings
Christ to the glory of God. • A highly qualified board dedi-
cated to our mission.
Blessings • Strong relationships with Synod
• One in Christ—new day school curriculum leaders and ministries.
with educational technology included. • High participation in benefit
• PrayNow—the first Lutheran daily prayer programs.
app for Apple devices (Android coming • New products and services, such
soon). as a retirement savings plan with
• The Lutheran Study Bible—first-ever Study match incentives, health cover-
Bible using exclusive Lutheran resources age for seminarians and families,
(in print and digital formats). retirement planning workshops,
wellness programs and financial
Challenges education.
• Educating people on the dangers of other
publishers’ materials that claim to be Challenges
Christ-centered and faithful to Scripture, • An increasingly complex regu-
but actually are neither. latory environment, including
• Ever-growing demand for our uniquely health-care reform.
Lutheran resources, and responding to • Prudently managing the trusts
those needs as quickly as possible. in a new economy.
• Educating workers and employers
on the value of collectively par-
ticipating in Synod’s self-funded
benefit plans.

14 > CPH's exhibit at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 was > Agency: An instrumentality that the Synod
may 2011 awarded the grand prize for excellence of workmanship has caused to be formed to further the
and materials. Synod’s objectives.
 Be steadfast, immovable, always abound-
ing in the work of the Lord, knowing
that in the Lord your labor is not
in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).

© Shutterstock, Inc.

© Concordia Historical Institute

LCMS Lutheran Church Concordia
© iStockphoto.com

Foundation Extension Fund Historical Institute

Synod's Gifts Synod's Financial Synod's Repository
Resource

Since 1958, the LCMS The Lutheran Church Extension Concordia Historical Institute
Foundation has provided expertise Fund (LCEF) provides funds and is the Department of Archives and
and services to help Christians services for ministry expansion and History of the LCMS. It preserves
plan and direct their passion for enrichment. The 200 national and the records of the Synod from its
giving to family and ministries of district staff members are stewards founding to the present and makes
the church. Through the gift plan- of a $1.9 billion portfolio with loans them available to help the church
ning process, individuals make to 3,000 partners supported by appreciate God’s blessings and plan
personalized plans for distributing nearly 60,000 investors. for the future.
their assets both during their life- Three full-time and eight part-
time and when the Lord calls them Blessings time Institute employees man-
home. • Dedicated investors that help age and preserve the collections,
Each year, the Foundation maintain a strong asset base, answer requests for information
processes over $40 million in cur- even during tough economic and assist scholars doing research
rent gifts, prepares $75 million in conditions. on the history of Lutheranism in
future gifts and distributes over • Organizations and rostered America.
$20 million in matured planned church workers committed to
gifts. The Foundation has 79 full- conducting their ministry using Blessings
time and part-time employees, LCEF’s loans and services, such • The Institute is blessed with the
manages $900 million in assets and as capital funding, demograph- largest collection of resources on
provides stewardship-based gift ics, architectural expertise and the history of Lutheranism in the
planning training to over 100 indi- construction assistance through country.
viduals from ministries throughout Laborers For Christ and NAILS. • The Institute has received gen-
the country. • New opportunities to serve erous support from the Synod
through stewardship education and individuals to meet special
Blessings and school marketing. needs.
• Extensive partnerships in • International ministries assisted
biblical stewardship-based gift by loans and investments, such Challenges
planning. as those in Kenya, Latvia, Vietnam • The Institute needs to make the
• Over $1.2 billion distributed to and Brazil. church more aware of its history
ministries since 1958. and of the treasures available
• Excellent investment returns. Challenges in the Institute’s collections.
• Responding to the changing needs • The Institute needs ongoing
Challenges of the LCMS and its support to engage adequate staff
• To help more Christians create members. and to use current technology
personalized gift plans. • Elevating LCEF’s exposure among to manage its collection and
• To equip church professionals younger members. provide services to the church.
and volunteers with gift-planning • Providing appropriate financial
skills. tools and resources to ministries
facing economic difficulties.
© Shutterstock, Inc.

> In 1927, Concordia Historical Institute was 15

incorporated into the church to provide for the
lcms.org/
preservation of its records.
witness
 LCMS Seminaries
LCMS Seminaries
What does it take to be an LCMS pastor? And what
makes the seminaries that form those pastors so unique?
b y ROLAND LOVSTAD
What comprises a seminary curriculum?
Pastoral ministry students at the LCMS
seminaries—Concordia Theological Seminary
(CTS), Fort Wayne, and Concordia Seminary
(CSL), St. Louis—can be divided into two
categories: residential and contextual (dis-
tance education). The seminaries also enroll
women in programs leading to deaconess
certification. Additional students are enrolled
in graduate programs. Regardless of what
they study, the students receive the same
high-quality instruction from seminary
professors.
The substance of their study is in four
areas: understanding and interpreting
Scripture (exegetical theology), the life and
heritage of the Church (historical theology),
the pastoral care of souls (pastoral theol-
ogy) and Christian doctrine and the Lutheran
Confessions (systematic theology). Plus, stu-
dents apply their learning through field edu-
cation, cross-cultural and vicarage/internship
experiences in congregational settings.
Residential students attend classes on
campus in the traditional format of higher
education, which usually involves four years
of seminary enrollment. Both seminaries
offer residential programs in pastoral
ministry and deaconess studies.
Contextual students already are serving
in ministry situations, such as a rural con-
gregation, a specialized parish responsibility
or ethnic ministry. Typically, these students
listen to lectures, participate in discussion
groups and turn in assignments via the
Internet. They meet personally with a
pastor-mentor and attend an annual two-
week course on campus. Both seminaries
offer distance education for pastors, and
CTS also offers deaconess studies via
distance education.
Photo courtesy Concordia Theological
Seminary, Fort Wayne
16 > Enrollment of deaconess students during 2010–
may 2011 2011: 39 at Fort Wayne and 28 at St. Louis.
MAGNETS FOR
WORLDWIDE
LUTHERANISM
What is the cost to educate a
seminarian?
The operating budgets of the two semi-
naries for the fiscal year ending June 30,
2010, were $18.5 million at St. Louis and
$11.1 million at Fort Wayne. Of this amount,
about 2 percent (some $374,000 in St. Louis;
$280,000 in Fort Wayne) was provided in
subsidy direct from the LCMS operating
budget. The major sources of income to
the seminaries are tuition, fees and direct
contributions from LCMS congregations and
individual donors.
It would be unfair to attribute all the
operating costs directly to educating a semi-
narian. Faculty, whose salaries and benefits
comprise a significant part of the budget,
also teach continuing-education classes in
the field for pastors and laypeople. They
serve as presenters for district conventions
and pastors conferences, on LCMS commis-
sions, as resources to the church on con-
temporary topics and as authors on subjects
benefitting the church at large.
The seminary campuses also serve a
wider function in the church, hosting church
groups or lending books and materials from
their libraries.
How is the cost worth the outcome?
The most direct answer is that the
care of souls provided by pastors has eter-
nal implications for all who are entrusted
to their care. Dr. Glen Thomas, executive
director of the former Board for Pastoral
Education, says that the seminaries are more
than mere “preacher factories” or “trade
schools for pastors.”
“While our seminaries instruct students
in skills they will utilize in preaching, teach-
ing and many other aspects of pastoral min-
istry, excellent skills must be accompanied
> The campus of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort
Wayne, was designed by the architect of the St. Louis
Gateway Arch, Eero Saarinen.
 Devote yourself to the public reading
of Scripture, to exhortation, to
teaching (1 Tim. 4:13).
by deep theological knowledge
and understanding, drawn from
and shaped by God’s Word and
the Lutheran Confessions,” says
Thomas.
“When St. Paul writes that an
overseer should be ‘apt to teach’
(1 Tim. 3:2),” he says, “we believe
he implies that a pastor must not
only know ‘how’ to teach, but of
even greater importance, he must
have knowledge and understanding
of the content he is teaching so that
he can apply God’s Word in ways
that are faithful and meaningful.”
Why do the seminaries draw
students from church bodies
worldwide?
The graduate programs of the
LCMS seminaries draw students
from every denominational back-
ground and from the four corners
of the world. International graduate
students cite three reasons
for attending an LCMS seminary:
confessional Lutheran theology,
learned professors who are also
skilled teachers and study that
is relevant to the ministry of the
Church.
The seminaries also offer inter-
national students the skills to share
that knowledge upon returning
home where they serve in signifi-
cant teaching and leadership roles.
International graduates include
seminary professors, heads of
church bodies and executive staff in
partner churches, as well as church
bodies not formally in fellowship
with the LCMS.
> Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, was founded
in 1839 in Perry County, Mo., by a group
of German immigrants.
Dr. Dien Ashley Taylor,
Redeemer Evangelical
Lutheran Church, Bronx, NY
Often the presence of these
students helps to develop rela-
tionships between the LCMS and
church bodies that are not partner
churches. Seminary faculty who
serve short- and long-term teaching
assignments in partner churches
and in mission areas where current
and future pastors need theological
instruction also aid in those rela-
tionships.
What is the average debt of a
seminary graduate?
Data compiled by Thomas indi-
cate that the average educational
debt that 2010 seminary graduates
carried into the pastoral ministry
was a little over $32,000. This fig-
ure includes debt incurred during
undergraduate education, a concern
that has led the seminaries to delay
admission for some with exces-
sive incoming debt. Compounding
the concern are cases in which the
applicant’s spouse has also accumu-
lated a large educational debt.
“Our seminaries are working
hard to keep costs down and God’s
people are responding generously
to support our future pastors,”
Thomas adds. “The average amount
of financial aid awarded per stu-
dent last year exceeded $15,000 at
both seminaries. We thank the Lord
of the Church for this support. It
demonstrates the high priority we
place upon the preparation of our
future pastors and how thankful we
are for those who desire to serve
our Lord in this special way.” 
> Roland Lovstad (roland.lovstad@lcms.org)
is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church,
Perryville, Mo.
© Photo courtesy Authur Currie
Will there be enough LCMS pas-
tors to replace those who will
retire over the next two decades?
The two largest groups of active LCMS
pastors are those 55–59 and 60–65
years old, totaling 36 percent of all
active pastors. While 62 percent of
active LCMS pastors are 50 years old
or older, only 16 percent are under
40. The LCMS clergy roster is heavily
weighted toward the upper end of the
age range, which suggests that the
demand for seminary graduates will
increase in the near future.
What about the demand for pas-
tors over the next two decades?
In recent years, a growing number of
non-calling pastoral vacancies (598 in
February 2011 versus 418 in February
2007), pastors delaying retirement
or serving after they retire and a
devastating economic downturn have
contributed to a shortage of calls for
seminary graduates. While no one can
predict the future demand for pas-
tors with absolute certainty, it seems
likely that the demand for pastors
will sharply increase over the next
two decades and that our seminaries
will need to be prepared to meet that
demand.—Dr. Glen Thomas
17
lcms.org/
witness
 LCMS Schools
A Snapshot of LCMS
Pre-K–12 Education
by william D. cochran
Q. How have LCMS schools grown over
the last 40 years?
A. There has been a steady growth in the total
number of Lutheran schools, which peaked
at 2,525 schools in 2006. That includes a sig-
nificant growth in the number of free-standing
early childhood centers, which reached a high
of 1,406 in 2009. In addition, there has been
growth in the number of Lutheran high schools
to a high of 108 in 2009. During the last three
years, the economy has had an impact on the
number of elementary schools. The church has
lost over 100.
Q. How many students are currently
enrolled in school?
A. The 2010–2011 school year saw 243,212
students enrolled in all Lutheran schools. That
number includes 128,351 enrolled in early child-
hood programs, 98,213 enrolled in grades K–8
and 16,648 students enrolled in Lutheran high
schools.
Q. How many schools are currently
in existence?
A. There are currently 2,382 Lutheran schools in
the United States. That number breaks down to
1,393 free-standing early childhood centers, 899
pre-K–8 schools and 90 Lutheran high schools.
Q. How many teachers are there?
A. There are about 16,000 teachers serving the
2,382 Lutheran schools. That number includes
both full- and part-time teachers.
Q. What is the number of rostered
teachers?
A. Of the 16,000 teachers in Lutheran schools,
6,000 of those are on the roster of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod. An additional 3,800
are non-rostered Lutheran teachers.
18 > 59 percent of LCMS congregations operate
may 2011 schools and centers.
Q. What is the average teacher’s salary?
A. The average starting salary for a first-year
teacher in a Lutheran elementary school in 2010
was $28,800. For an experienced teacher with
a bachelor’s degree serving in an elementary
school, the average salary is $32,167. The aver-
age starting salary for a Lutheran high school
teacher in 2010 was $29,000 with the average
for all high school teachers with a bachelor’s
degree being $37,855.
Q. What makes the LCMS parochial school
system unique?
A. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod oper-
ates the largest, single-denomination, non-
Catholic, Christian school system in the United
States. While those numbers have declined in
the past decade due to demographic and finan-
cial issues, the church has been able to maintain
and enhance the quality of her school system.
The large schools are getting larger, and many
are becoming the school of choice in their
neighborhoods.
Average cost per pupil
Early childhood centers $2,909
Elementary school $6,024
High school $9,960
Average number of attendees
Early childhood center 48
Elementary school 110
High school 187
> In the 2010–2011 school year, 36,556 students
are enrolled in before- or after-school care.
 The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge
(Prov. 1:7).
Ethnicity of students in LCMS schools
Caucasian 82 percent
Black 7 percent
Hispanic 5 percent
Asian 3 percent
Other 3 percent
Student–church affiliation
LCMS operating congregation 39 percent
Non-Lutheran church 36 percent
Un-churched 17 percent
Other LCMS congregation 5 percent
Other Lutheran church 3 percent
Top five schools by enrollment
Faith Lutheran—Las Vegas, Nev.
Lutheran High of Orange—Orange, Calif.
Prince of Peace Christian—Carollton, Texas
Rockford Lutheran—Rockford, Ill.
St. John's Lutheran—Orange, Calif.
Photo courtesy St. Paul
Lutheran School, Des Peres, Mo
> William D. Cochran (william.cochran@lcms.org)
is the Synod's director of school ministry.
Illustration © Concordia Publishing House
Historical Foundations
in Lutheran Education
by Susan Mobley
[Martin] Luther [and his co-worker Philipp] Melancthon developed
the principles that underlay the Evangelical educational reforms of
the sixteenth century, and their ideas still inform Lutheran education
today. Although Luther was the leader of the education reforms at
Wittenberg in 1518 and had a very clear vision of the purpose and
content of education, he was not the primary force in the reform
of education in sixteenth-century Germany. When Luther became
preoccupied with religious affairs after 1518, Melancthon assumed
the leadership of education reform, and was so influential that his
contemporaries dubbed him praeceptor Germanieae, or “teacher
of Germany.”
Melancthon stressed the importance of . . . subjects, such
as language, rhetoric, history, dialectic, and poetry, but he also
emphasized the value of moral philosophy, natural philosophy, and
mathematics (especially arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy). All
of these subjects led students to a greater understanding of God’s
creation, and thus indirectly to a greater understanding of divine will,
of God’s law. Such understanding could not but help students to
develop a greater insight into the condition of man, which would lead
them to the Gospel.
Lutheran education has proved its worth over the centuries.
Lutheran education retains the Scriptures at its heart, but also
teaches students about the world in which they live. Lutheran
education today still makes a connection between faith and learning,
a connection that Luther and Melancthon instilled in education. An
active faith is an educated one; learning should help students to build
character as well as to develop knowledge and skills; to serve well in
the world, Christians need to know something about the world and
its people. These were worthy goals in the sixteenth century. They
remain worthy goals in the twenty-first century. Thus, the mission
of Lutheran education in the twenty-first century is . . . the same as
it was in the sixteenth century: to help students to develop in mind,
body and spirit for service to Christ in the Church and in the world.
By Susan Mobley, “Historical Foundations in the Lutheran Reformation,”
in Learning at the Foot of the Cross: A Lutheran Vision for Education, ed. Joel
D. Heck and Angus J. L. Menuge (Austin: Concordia University Press, 2011).
To order this new resource on Lutheran education, go to
21
www.concordia.edu and search for “Concordia University Press.”
lcms.org/
witness
 Concordia University System

The Concordia University

System (CUS)
by adriane dorr

All photo courtesy CUS

Q. What is the Concordia University Q. What is the current number of students
System (CUS)? enrolled in a church vocation, and how
The CUS consists of: does that compare to past years?

Ten colleges and universities 2010 1,954

27,000 students 2009 1,900

Over 2,000 full- and part-time faculty 2008 2,034

Over 200 programs of study 2007 2,237

One solid foundation, God’s Word, for a 2006 2,406

Christ-centered educational environment  Five church-work professional programs saw
increased enrollment in the 2010–2011 aca-
demic year: pre-seminary, teacher, director of
Christian outreach, deaconess, and director
of parish music.

20 > Concordia College, Selma, recently began a 35-acre > The inaugural class of 71 students began at
may 2011 expansion, doubling the campus's current size. the Pharmacy School at Concordia University
Wisconsin in September 2010. 
 For no one can lay a foundation other
than that which is laid, which is
Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11).
30,000
25,000
21,839
20,091
20,000
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
(CUS) Headcount
Q. What do the 2010–2011 CUS
enrollment numbers look like?
This has been a record-breaking
year for many of the Concordias.
Selma posted one of its highest
student enrollments—a 10 per-
cent increase over last year—and
Seward’s total enrollment for fall
2010 was the largest in its 117-year
history.
Mequon, WI 7,485
River Forest, IL 5,223
Irvine, CA 2,969
St. Paul, MN 2,842
Austin, TX 2,573
Seward, NE 2,146
Portland, OR 2,114
Bronxville, NY 777
Ann Arbor, MI 668
Selma, AL 657
> Concordia University, Portland, projects
fall 2011 for the completion of the new
Law School building in Boise, ID.
27,454 For 18 consecutive
25,516 years, enrollment has
increased at a pace
23,318 of five to seven percent.
The church vocation
student count for 2010
is up 54 students from
2009.
Q. Is there financial aid avail- ues in the local congregation and
able to church-work students? culminates in centers of higher
A. Each of the ten campuses, in education, the church’s colleges/
addition to the national office of universities or the seminaries.
CUS, raises funds to provide finan- Serving as church professionals,
cial aid to students. In the 2009–10 the workers model the joy of shar-
academic year, the CUS offered ing the love of Jesus Christ though
more than $88 million in financial uplifting words and actions. CUS
aid to students. While individual programming options prepare
awards will vary, the average finan- pastors, teachers, deaconesses,
cial aid package for church-work directors of Christian education,
students was $10,615 in that same Christian outreach, family life
year. ministry, parish music, and lay
ministers.
Q. Are the Concordias recog-
nized outside of the LCMS for
the quality of the education
they provide?
A. For the 11th consecutive year,
all 10 of the Concordia colleges/
universities were included in the
annual rankings of “America’s Best
Colleges” by U.S. News & World
Report.
Q. How do individuals prepare
to serve as church-work
professionals?
A. God prepares future workers for
the church through a process that
usually starts in the home, contin-
> For additional information, please visit us 21
at www.lcms.org/universities or email
lcms.org/
cus.info@lcms.org witness
 Concordia University System
How can I encourage a young person
to consider church work?
> Pray regularly for the Lord to > Help students attending non-
send workers into His harvest,
as well as for those who serve in
congregations, schools, missions
and other ministries.  intentional effort to stay in touch
> Keep professional church-work
professions, Synod schools, and
the need for more workers con-
stantly before the eyes of the
congregation.
> Offer opportunities for both
youth and potential second-
career church-work students
to participate actively in the
life of the church.
A CUS Q&A with Dr. David Maier
Q. What makes the Concordia
University System (CUS) unique?
A. The Concordias are distinct because
they provide a Christ-centered, Lutheran,
foundational education.
Photo courtesy David Maier
Q. Why is the CUS so important in the
training of church workers?
A. I believe these colleges are capable of
influencing the world. Not only are there
numerous pastors and other church work-
[The Concordias] ers who have gone through one of the
Concordias, but also many who now serve
are gems we just as lay leaders—engineers, doctors, lawyers,
architects, communication and art direc-
can't let go. tors and small business owners. And now
they are using the gifts that God has given
—President David Maier,
them to serve Him.
Michigan District
Q. What challenges does the CUS
face?
A. Some of our schools have struggled
both in terms of finances and leadership.
But we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that
we’re also in a battle. We’re fighting Satan.
By the grace of God, however, things
are turning around. Capable leaders are
now heading these institutions and more
people are recognizing the value of our
Concordias. They are gems we just can’t
let go.
22 > Adriane Dorr (adriane.dorr@lcms.org) is the
may 2011
Lutheran colleges make contact
with campus pastors and nearby
Lutheran churches. Provide an
with them.
> Invite former members who have
entered full-time church work
to return to your congregation
to speak or meet with interested
youth and adults.
> Visit www.whataway.org or blog
.whataway.org for more informa-
tion on church-work programs.
Q. What does the CUS do for the
church?
A. Eternity is important. Kids vary in
terms of their spiritual maturity. But when
they get their foundational religion and
doctrine classes at a Concordia, they’re
enlightened and inspired. They’re strength-
ened. They’re equipped to go into so many
fields, enabled to see what’s wrong and
right, to stand for truth and live in respect-
ful awe of the grand design of an awesome
God.
Q. How can LCMS members encourage
students to consider a Concordia?
A. It takes parishioners and professional
church workers praying that we take these
particular gifts of God—students and our
colleges—seriously. God will answer, for
He is far more willing to give than we are
to receive. Everyone can do something.
We should be continually talking about our
Concordias, taking our youth on trips to
a Concordia. Ask, “Have you ever consid-
ered . . . ?” Highlight the eternal difference
young people can make with the Jesus who
is for them, in them and works through
them. If it’s in church work, great. If not,
that’s great too. No matter what, God is
ready to use and bless all His children.
—A.D.
managing editor of The Lutheran Witness.
 Restructuring

Witness, Mercy,
Life Together and
Restructuring b y a l b e r t b . c o l lv e r I I I

A
mong the blessings, gifts and
challenges that our Synod faces
is the task of restructuring.
With the passing of Res. 8–08A at
the Synod’s convention in July 2010,
the Synod decided to create a more
Witness Mercy Life flexible organization by aligning its
(1 John 5:7–8) (Mark 10:45) Together work around two mission boards.
(1 Cor. 1:9) The President’s Office was given the
• International monumental task of (1) continuing
• Mercy Care and • Lutheran Day
Evangelistic Community Schools/Early existing activities throughout the
Outreach Development Childhood world and (2) consolidating the for-
around the World mer seven program boards and six
• International • Stewardship
commissions around the Board for
Church Planting • Disaster Response
and Development and Recovery • Youth National Mission and the Board for
International Mission.
• Worship
• International • Mercy Medical The job of restructuring an
Theological Teams • Pastoral Education organization that has a total budget
Education
• RSO Granting and between $72 million (2011–2012)
• Sanctity of Life
• International Management and $87 million (just over a decade
Schools • National Housing ago) presents many challenges. At
• Parish Nursing
the same time, the Lord provides
• Military Chaplaincy • Institutional • Revitalizing/ blessings and gifts in the restruc-
Chaplaincy Strengthening turing, one of which is seeing the
Congregations restructuring through the lens of
• Veterans/Soldiers for Outreach
of the Cross Witness, Mercy, and Life Together.
• National Outreach The internal structure of the
and Church national office of The Lutheran
Planting
Church—Missouri Synod is not of
• Black, Hispanic, interest in and of itself but only in
and Ethnic its role in service to the work of the
Congregational church. According to the Augsburg
Outreach and
Support Confession, Article 7, the church is
the “congregation of saints in which
• Communications the Gospel is purely taught and the
• Fund Development Sacraments are correctly adminis-
tered.” Christ’s church is primarily
• Partner Church about gathering sinners around the
Relations
preached Word and the Sacraments
• Rural/Small Town of Holy Absolution, Holy Baptism
Outreach and Holy Communion for the for-
giveness of sins.

> To download a word study on Witness, Mercy, 23

Life Together, go to www.lcms.org/emphasis
lcms.org/
witness
Know that the Lord, He is God!
It is He who made us, and we
are His; we are His people,
and the sheep of His pasture
(Ps. 100:3).
The LCMS President’s Office established a Restructuring Work Group
to assist in the restructuring efforts mandated by the 2010 LCMS convention.
From left to right, Myron Koehn, executive director, LCMS Information
Technology; Albert Dowbnia, communications director, LCMS World Relief and
Human Care; Travis Torblaa, personnel-care manager, LCMS World Mission.
Standing, restructuring consultant Jim Lowitzer of Collierville, Tenn.
That is the emphasis of Witness (martyria).
Once there are two or three believers, the church
has a Life Together (koinonia). When individual
Christians or the body of Christ sees the neigh-
bor in need, the love of Christ and faith produce
works of Mercy (diakonia). The activities of the
church can thus be described as Witness (mar-
tyria), Mercy (diakonia), Life Together (koinonia).
With this in mind, President Harrison asked
his staff and the Restructuring Work Group to
develop a structure for the national office mod-
eled after the threefold emphasis. This structure
not only reflects the three important emphases
for today’s church but also echoes the operation
of the first-century church as described by Paul
in Gal. 2:7, 9–10. “On the contrary, when they
saw I had been entrusted with the Gospel to the
uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted
with the Gospel to the circumcised . . . And
when James and Cephas and John, who seemed
to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given
to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship
to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the
Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they
asked us to remember the poor, the very thing
I was eager to do.” The apostles proclaimed the
Gospel (Witness). The apostles extended the right
hand of fellowship to each other (Life Together).
The apostles remembered the poor (Mercy).
The basic premise of the new structure is to
take the work formerly done by the seven pro-
gram boards and six commissions and to orga-
nize it into the three basic categories: Witness,
Mercy, Life Together. The chart on the previous
page shows the basic activity for each area. The
Witness (martyria) area focuses on activities
centered on the preaching of the Lord’s Word
24
may 2011
Photos courtesy Jon Vieker
and the administration of the Sacraments. The
Mercy (diakonia) area centers on human care
and compassion. The Life Together (koinonia)
includes aspects of the church’s life that help
and support the church’s work of Witness and
Mercy.
While not included as “program areas”
operated by the President’s Office through the
Chief Mission Officer (CMO), conceptually, the
Concordia University System, the seminaries,
the various commissions (e.g., the Commission
on Constitution Matters [CCM], the Commission
on Structure, the Commission on Handbook, the
Commission on Church Relations and Church
Theology [CTCR] and so on) are a part of our Life
Together, as is communications, fund develop-
ment and partner-church relations.
The structure of the LCMS as seen through
the lens of Witness, Mercy, Life Together helps
every person who serves the church find a place
where he or she can contribute according to his
or her position and vocation. It helps us keep our
attention on the work of the church while we live
and exist in this world of budgets, organizational
charts and all the other necessary items that
go along with being a church whose legal exis-
tence is as a nonprofit corporation in the state
of Missouri. It helps us keep a churchly, biblical
focus.
The threefold emphasis of Witness, Mercy,
Life Together is scalable from the Synod at large,
to districts, to congregations and even to the
individual as we live out our daily Witness, show
Mercy to our neighbor, and have a Life Together
in Christ under His cross of forgiveness. 
> Dr. Albert B. Collver III (al.collver@lcms.org) is
the director of church relations and assistant to LCMS
President Rev. Matthew C. Harrison.
Turning a Corner
continued
from page 11
to our congregations and their leaders. Since last fall, we have
offered to conduct an “SED Sunday” in any district congregation
to let the people in the pew know about the ways the mission
continues to move forward throughout our district. We don’t ask
for money. We thank congregations for their support. Nearly 90
of our congregations have taken us up on this offer so far, and we
expect more will do so. We are also looking for some good ways
to conduct an SED “stewardship renaissance.”
LW: It can be tempting to keep gifts close to home. How has the
district encouraged financial support for the work of the national
church?
JD: We have made financial support for the Synod a matter of
stewardship for ourselves and for our congregations. Our board
of directors made a promise before the economic downturn to
increase the percentage of what we pass on to the Synod from our
congregations by a half percent each year. We decided to keep that
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promise in 2008, and we have continued to do so each year since
then, believing that if we want our congregations to act in a similar
fashion with respect to the work of the church beyond themselves,
we must set the example as a district. We also know that God will
bless this kind of stewardship. In 2010, in fact, we finished the
year in the black.
LW: Why is it important for districts to support the national
church?
JD: For me, the driving force is the concept of partnerships. There
are features of the work of getting the Gospel out to people in
our world that may seem impossible for any of us to do all by
ourselves, but [that work] can and does get done when we partner
with one another as the district and the Synod. The work of the
Gospel involves not just the local congregation but the cluster of
congregations in the circuit, the district and the Synod operating
in the global context of today’s world.—Kim Plummer Krull
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lcms.org/
witness
 The Future Is Here

The Future Is Here

by barbara A. Below

O
n a beautiful ordination of the first Dominican Republic
spring eve- Lutheran pastor.
ning in Palmar Together with Rev. Ted Krey, LCMS
Arriba, Dominican Regional Director for Latin America, the
Republic, as pictures mission work in the Dominican has never
were displayed on slowed down and has now expanded to
a makeshift screen include several congregations and preach-
set up in the street ing stations, where people gather weekly to
outside the three- hear the Gospel proclaimed and to receive
bedroom home, little the Sacraments.
Ramona stood in the While the Dominicans were learning
spotlight and danced. about the Church through the Scriptures
Along with over 200 and the Lutheran Confessions, the mis-
other people who sionaries were also teaching them how to
gathered from the be the Church by reaching out with Christ’s
community, Ramona mercy to the many orphaned and disabled
enjoyed the dedica- children in the Dominican Replublic. These
tion of the Good little ones are cared for by the government
Shepherd Lutheran in institutional settings, where they receive
Home, a group home minimal attention, limited medical treat-
for children with ment, no education and no therapy services
disabilities, where to improve their condition.
she and five other That’s why, from the beginning, the
children with devel- Lutheran mission desired to better the lives
opmental disabilities of and care for these children through acts
now live. This is their of Mercy. Over many years of working with
Photo courtesy LCMS WR-HC

new home, the com- and visiting these institutions, an agree-

munity in which they ment was reached in December 2010 with
attend church and the Dominican government to allow the
school. This is their first six children to be placed at the Good
new life. This is their Shepherd Lutheran Group Home.
future. While everyone involved gave thanks
It was just and praise to God for His great wonder
Barbara Below spends five years ago that Danelle Putnam, LCMS and many glories revealed in the Witness
time with a child from Developmental Disabilities Outreach and Mercy work of the mission, the
the Good Shepherd Missionary, and Rev. Walter Ries, Jr. of the Dominican Republic Lutheran Mission was
Lutheran Home in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brazil, came to also expanding its role in the koinonia or
Dominican Republic. the Dominican Republic and began the Witness Life Together emphasis of the mission. In
emphasis of this LCMS mission through evan- September 2010, the mission opened the
gelistic outreach efforts and theological educa- doors of Concordia Lutheran School in
tion. Five years ago, Willy Gaspar had asked Palmar Arriba. There the school provides
the missionaries to come to Santo Domingo a Lutheran education to 80 children with
and “teach us about Jesus.” In March 2010, the plans to double enrollment next year. In
Witness efforts of the mission resulted in the March 2011, mission leaders signed an

26 > For more stories on Witness, Mercy, Life > "We have therefore for our synodical work a clear and simple rule:
may 2011 Together, visit www.lcms.org/partnerstories Everything that does not serve the course of the Gospel . . . does not
belong in the circle of our considerations" (Friedrich Pfotenhauer, 1911).
 God is faithful, by whom you
were called into the fellowship
of His Son, Jesus Christ our
Lord (1 Cor. 1:9).

agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran

Church of Argentina to assist in theologi-
cal education with the goal of establishing a
Lutheran seminary in the Dominican Republic
by 2017.
No wonder Dr. Jack Preus of Bethesda
Lutheran Communities of Watertown, Wis., at
a recent partnership meeting in the Dominican

Take a Fresh
Republic, spoke in favor of the President’s
three-fold emphasis and humorously quipped
that “The Dominican mission was doing

Look aT LCeF.
Witness, Mercy, Life Together long before
President Harrison came up with the idea.”
While Witness, Mercy, Life Together is the
President’s emphasis for our Synod, it is also

www.lcef.org
the way in which the New Testament church
operated (Gal. 2:9–10). Both Jews and Greeks
bore Witness to the Gospel, extending the
right hand of fellowship in Life Together and
showing Mercy to the poor. As this was the
LCEF’s redesigned website
model for the first-century church, so also has makes it easier for you to find
it become the way of life for the Dominican
Republic Lutheran Mission and a way to move
an investment product, loan program
forward into the future for The Lutheran or a ministry service that works for
Church—Missouri Synod.
The President’s Transition Team and the
you and the ministry you serve.
Restructuring Work Group, charged with devel-
oping recommendations for a new structure,
used these three emphases to think about how It’s a brand new way
best to reorganize and focus the work of the
national office. The recommendations adopted to dIscover LceF!
by the President will organize the national
office around work teams and program units
that focus on the emphasis of Witness, Mercy, Find us on Facebook too!
and Life Together.
Just as in the Dominican mission field
Witness efforts are done side-by-side with
Lutheran Church Extension Fund
Mercy and Life Together efforts, so too must 10733 Sunset Office Drive, Suite 300
the program units of the national office work St. Louis, MO 63127-1020 • 1-800-843-5233
side-by-side, thus ridding the national office
LCEF is a nonprofit religious organization; therefore, LCEF investments
of a “siloed” culture, one of the desired accom-
are not FDIC-insured bank deposit accounts. This is not an offer
plishments for restructuring mentioned in
Res. 8-08A.
to sell investments, nor a solicitation to buy. The offer is made
solely by LCEF’s Offering Circular. Investors should carefully read
continued the Offering Circular, which more fully describes associated risks.
on page 28
Copyright © 2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

> Barbara A. Below (barbara.below@lcms.org) serves as 27

assistant to LCMS President Rev. Matthew C. Harrison. lcms.org/
witness
The Future Is Here
continued
from page 27
As Ramona danced, she celebrated
the new life and future she is able to
enjoy at the group home. Many oth-
ers recently celebrated the ordination
of the first Dominican Lutheran pas-
tor, Rev. Willy Gaspar, and the bright
future of the Lutheran Church in the
Dominican Republic.
We in the LCMS have much to thank
and praise God for because of all that
He has accomplished in the Dominican
Republic. The wonders He has done
there show us that our own future with
the Lord is a bright one as our Synod
presses forward to bear Witness to the
Gospel, to grow in showing Mercy and
to rejoice in our Life Together around
a common confession of Jesus Christ,
our crucified and risen Savior. To God
alone be the glory! 
RETIRE IN PARIS
Grace Lutheran Village, a retirement
community of independent living units
with a community center. No buy in. Low
monthly rent. Ground level,1300 sq.ft.,
2 bedroom, with attached garage, owned
by Grace Lutheran Church.
Contact us at Grace Lutheran Village
140 Concordia Drive
Paris, Illinois 61944
or call
Janet, the Secretary  217-463-4663;
or residents Gerald 217-463-1207
or Norma 217-463-2068
Web site: www.luthvillage.org
e-mail: glvillage@comwares.net
28
may 2011
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French Canada Cruise


14-Daysfrom $1698*
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

Rose Parade Tour
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Enjoy Reserved Grandstand Seats!
Exclusive Pre-Parade Float Viewing!
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
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 Depart Friday, December 30, 2011—

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






Hawaiian Tour
15 Days “Come home with me to Hawaii” 4-Islands
Departs February 6, 2012 from $2018*


               

                  
              




*Price per person, double occupancy, includes taxes. Airfare is extra.
 X11JS02

The LCMS Joint Seminary Fund

Support our seminary students today with your prayers and generosity.

• Give online at www.lcms.org/PastoralEducation

• Give by telephone by calling 1-888-930-4438, option 3
• Mail your gift to:
LCMS Joint Seminary Fund
1333 S. Kirkwood Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63122
For information on how you can include The LCMS Joint Concordia Concordia
Seminary Fund in your estate plan please call Theological Seminary Seminary
Rev. Paul D. Kienker at 1-800-327-7912 ext. 1675. Fort Wayne Saint Louis
 CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE
3558 SOUTH JEFFERSON AVENUE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI 63118-3968 U.S. POSTAGE PAID
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED Burlington, WI
Permit No. 12

Official Periodical of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

May 2011 www.lcms.org/witness
®

PRAY FOR OUR GRADUATES

On May 20, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
will grant graduate degrees to approximately
130 students, bringing a close to its 172nd
academic year. We send forth these students
into the world to faithfully serve in The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Please
pray for them as they begin their ministries.

 
YES! I want to support future pastors and deaconesses
with a gift. Enclosed is my gift of $___________.
Please use this offering for:

 Student financial aid

Wherever it is needed most

Name _______________________________________
Address _____________________________________
City __________________________ State _________
ZIP __________ Phone (_______)_______________
E-mail _______________________________________

Make checks payable to Concordia Seminary

and send to:
Concordia Seminary
801 Seminary Place
801 SEMINARY PLACE • ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI 63105 • WWW.CSL.EDU
LUTWIT90 St. Louis, MO 63105
314-505-7000 • ADMISSIONS 1-800-822-9545 • ADVANCEMENT 1-800-822-5287