Official Workbook report source text
Official Workbook source-navigation report record. No analysis has been added.
- Report number/id
- R1.2
- Report title
- R1.2 Chief Mission Officer
- Workbook start page
- 15
- Workbook end page
- 16
- Source pages
- 15, 16
- Source status
- source_checked
- Committee
- Not available
R1.2 Chief Mission Officer Working under Bylaws 3.4.3–3.4.3.8, the Chief Mission Offi- cer (CMO) is responsible to the President for all mission, ministry, programmatic, and coordinative functions, implementing Board for National Mission (BNM) and Board for International Mis- sion (BIM) policies. He supervises the Office of National Mission (ONM), Office of International Mission (OIM), Office of Pastoral Education (PED), and the Synod’s Mission Advancement (MADV) and Communications (COMMS) units, ensuring appropriate re- sources, planning, and coordination within and across these teams. The CMO serves on the Operations and Administrative Teams, chairs the Pastoral Formation Committee (PFC), represents the Synod and/or its President on several LCMS established or affili- ated entity boards (including the Concordia University System and others by appointment) and regularly interacts with various agency and auxiliary heads and church partners of the Synod to further LCMS mission objectives. For the sake of our common unity and mission in the Gospel, the CMO and units reporting to the CMO strive to serve the Synod’s members in full accord with and fulfillment of the direction provid- ed by our congregations and church workers (i.e., as occurs at the Synod’s national and district conventions), such service and fulfill- ment often functionally accomplished through district offices and staffs (Bylaw 4.1.1: “The Synod is not merely an advisory body … but establishes districts in order more effectively to achieve its ob- jectives and carry on its activities”). Over the past triennium, units reporting to the CMO have worked to advance the Synod’s current mission and ministry emphasis, adopted under 2023 Resolution 4-02: Making Disciples for Life (Proceedings, 135–36). For a summary of accomplishments within the ONM, OIM, PED, MADV , and COMMS units, see Reports R1.2.1–5 imme- diately following in this convention workbook. Significant items specific to the CMO’s office over the past few years include: • Rev. Kevin Robson faithfully served as CMO for the first two years of the triennium (through August 2025), just as he had served in this role for the past decade. We give thanks to God for Rev. Robson and his commitment to and diligent work on behalf of the LCMS and in our Lord’s mission. • Rev. Daniel Galchutt began working as interim CMO in Sep- tember 2025. • The office created a new strategic planning process and for- Mission Province in Sweden, MPS 39. Confessional Lutheran Church in Switzerland, CLCS South East of Lake V ictoria Diocese, SELVD-ELCT (Tan- zania) 40. Lutheran Church of East Africa, LCEA (Tanzania) Istanbul Lutheran Church, ILK (Turkey) 41. The Lutheran Ministerium and Synod, LMSUSA (U.S.) Other Churches, Working toward Faithful Ecumenism (22) 42. Evangelical Lutheran Synod, ELS (U.S.) Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, WELS (U.S.) 43. Bangladesh Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church, BNELC Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belarus, IELCB 44. Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in Burundi, HELCB Confessional Lutheran Church of Colombia, ICC 45. Church of Faithful Confessing Lutherans in Congo, CFCL- CO Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, EECMY 46. Gambella Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ethiopia, GELCE Evangelical Lutheran Conference and Ministerium of Kenya, ELCMK 47. Himalayan Evangelical Lutheran Fellowship, HELF (Ne- pal) Evangelical Lutheran Church Society , DELK (Norway) 48. Norwegian Lutheran Mission, NLM Lutheran Church of Rwanda, LCR 49. Lutheran Church in Singapore, LCS Lutheran Church of the Republic of China, LCROC 50. Lutheran Church of Australia, LCA Japan Lutheran Church, JLC7 51. North American Lutheran Church, NALC (U.S.) Anglican Church in North America, ACNA (U.S.) 52. Anglican Catholic Church, ACC (U.S.) Anglican Province of America, APA (U.S.) Jonathan E. Shaw, Director Endnotes 1. ICRC 2023, resources.lcms.org/multimedia/international-church- relations-conference-2023-video-presentations/. ICRC 2024, resources.lcms.org/multimedia/international-church- relations-conference-2024-video-presentations/. 2. The Lutheran World Federation, “Study Guide,” LWF Thirteenth As- sembly, Kraków, Poland, September 13–19, 2023, p. 21. 3. Jonathan E. Shaw, “The Lutheran World Federation Today: Missio Dei, Imago Dei and the Ongoing Reformation” (LCMS, 2024), resources. lcms.org/reading-study/church-relations-the-lutheran-world-federation- today/. 4. Jonathan E. Shaw, ed., Women’ s Ordination through the Lens of the Apostles’ Creed: A Fraternal Dialogue of the Lutheran Church in Ko- rea and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, rev. ed. (LCMS, 2024), resources.lcms.org/reading-study/lcms-church-relations-booklet-womens- ordination-through-the-lens-of-the-apostles-creed/. This book is available in English, Korean, Japanese, Russian, and German. 2026 Convention Workbook 16 mat at the beginning of the triennium and annual strategic plans for mission units have since been developed in con- junction with the BIM and BNM. • The office gathered information and conducted numerous interviews with district presidents, pastors, and laypeople in preparation for PFC reports included in this workbook; see Reports R13.3–6. • The office coordinated efforts to use funding from the 2023– 26 National Offering to expand available faithful Lutheran resources for Gospel witness and theological education na- tionally and internationally. The most notable CMO objectives for the coming triennium fall under the following categories: • Expanding the Synod’s mission and ministry to proclaim the Gospel of Christ, especially with the development of 2026–29 National Offering theme: Tell the Next Generation (Psalm 78:4), including efforts to give partnership grants to congregations and schools. • For ONM: Church and school planting in U.S. mission field, expansion of the Synod’s work among ethnic immi - grant groups, improved support for Lutheran education and schools, increased efforts toward evangelism by providing additional resources, and enhanced collaboration with dis- tricts and other Synod entities and agencies. • For OIM: Recruitment and deployment of LCMS and alli - ance missionaries and sustaining the Synod’s premier role in global Lutheran theological education, especially through overseas seminaries in all four of the Synod’s international regions. • For PED: Set Apart to Serve church worker recruitment ini- tiative. • For MADV: Informing and fully engaging current and new contributors who find fulfillment, gratitude, and joy in their participation in the Synod’s mission and ministry. • For COMMS: Increased reach and engagement of stakehold- er audiences and a major transition into a new and improved digital platform. • Through PED, PFC, and other Synod agencies, facilitate on- going study, analysis, and conversations regarding the Syn- od’s pastoral formation programs and routes to ordination, church worker recruitment, and continuing education. • Address evolving challenges and opportunities among the Synod’s international schools in Asia pertaining to Lutheran identity and strategic alignment with LCMS mission empha- ses and priorities. Daniel M. Galchutt, Interim Chief Mission Officer