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	September 30, 2003 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 112

	Pilot launches 'Igniting' events -- seven to follow

	By Paula Schlueter Ross

	Personal one-on-one contact is still the best way to reach
another adult for Christ, and sharing your own story of faith often
makes a surprisingly big impact, according to participants at the first
"One Mission Ablaze: Igniting Congregations" event, Sept. 12-13 at St.
John Lutheran Church, Ellisville, Mo.

	Pastors and "key" lay leaders from 10 St. Louis-area
congregations were invited to take part in the conference -- a pilot for
seven to follow -- because of their record in confirming adults.
Subsequent events will bring together leaders from the top 30 Synod
congregations in each of seven categories -- adult confirmations,
church-worker recruitment/retention, growth in worship attendance, the
number of new missions planted/attendance growth at new missions,
increase in the number of non-Anglo worshipers, attendance growth in
non-metropolitan congregations, and ratio of communicants to adult
confirmands.

	The "Igniting Congregations" events are part of Synod President
Gerald Kieschnick's initiative to "move our church forward as a dynamic
church body that will reach many people for the Lord Jesus Christ."

	"I cannot stress enough the urgency of this task for our
church," said Kieschnick, addressing participants at the pilot event.

	He shared statistics such as:

	* In the past decade, the United States has seen a 9 percent
decrease in the number of adults who call themselves Christian, and a 6
percent increase in the number of adults who claim no religious
preference.

	* Only 49 percent of adults in this country belong to a
Christian church. "This means that about 149 million people in the U.S.
are unchurched," he said.

	"We stand at a pivotal time in the history of The Lutheran
Church--Missouri Synod," Kieschnick said. "We are determining the course
of our vision, both present and future, whether we're going to be a
church in mission -- or a church in remission."

	Kieschnick shared a quote from Secretary of State Colin Powell
about the peace process in the Middle East: "We have to move urgently,
we have to move with great speed and deliberateness."

	Likewise, he said, we, as Christians, "are in the process of
bringing everlasting peace to the world through Christ. The mission is
urgent. The time is critical. We must be deliberate and we must move
with great speed. The time to act is now."

	Kieschnick encouraged conference participants to lead their
congregations "to even greater gains in adult confirmations," share
their expertise by mentoring other congregations and sharing their
ideas, and work with others to "further these objectives."

	Conference participants brainstormed their congregations'
values, such as "openness to non-Christians" and "willingness to
change," then shared methods for reaching adults. Among them were:

	* "FRAN" -- an acronym for remembering that all Christians know
four unchurched people each that they can share their faith with: a
friend, a relative, an associate or co-worker, and a neighbor.

	* teaching and encouraging congregation members to tell their
faith stories and invite others to church activities.

	* encouraging congregation members to pray for one another, and
for others in the community. One way to do this is to fill a basket with
names and pass it around at Sunday worship -- each person draws a name
and prays for that person or family during the week.

	Participants also shared "trade secrets" of their own successful
congregations, which included:

	* the understanding that the church is not the mission -- it is
established by God to accomplish the mission.

	* fun children's ministries.

	* involved lay people.

	* effective organizational structures.

	* excellence in music.

	Rev. Stephen Hower, senior pastor of the conference host
congregation, St. John, Ellisville, called the event "an excellent
opportunity to think out loud about the future of our shared mission,
vision and strategies to reach those who are lost wthout the knowledge
of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior."

	Rev. Vernon Gundermann, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church,
Kirkwood, Mo., called the conference a "very positive" experience.
"There was good information shared, and there was a stirring challenge
issued," he said.

	Feedback from those taking part in the pilot was "very
positive," Kieschnick said, and provided an opportunity to "fine-tune
some procedural aspects for the upcoming larger weekend events."

	"All in all, I believe this was a great launch for encouraging
our congregations to be focused on accomplishing the 'critical event'
that will be vital for increasing the kingdom of God through The
Lutheran Church--Misouri Synod," he said. He described "critical event"
as "when one Lutheran Christian gives witness about Jesus of the hope
that is within him or her with another person so that person can
encounter Christ."

	"Our people are called to be the human 'means' of delivering the
spiritual 'means' through which unbelieving people in the world receive
the beauty and blessing of God's grace in Jesus Christ," Kieschnick
said.

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	PLEASE NOTE :

	Donations to help those affected by Hurricane Isabel (see
LCMSNews release No. 110) also may be made through the LCMS Giving
Catalog at catalog.lcms.org <http://catalog.lcms.org>  .

	****************************************

	If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release,
contact Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org or (314) 996-1231,
or Paula Schlueter Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org or (314) 996-1230.

	****************************************

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