Official Workbook report source text
Official Workbook source-navigation report record. No analysis has been added.
- Report number/id
- R49
- Report title
- R49 South Dakota District
- Workbook start page
- 133
- Workbook end page
- 134
- Source pages
- 133, 134
- Source status
- source_checked
- Committee
- Not available
R49 South Dakota District The 2026 Synod convention theme, Christ Is Risen, Indeed, is a powerful promise of hope couched in the reality that death, the devil, and sin are defeated by God’s own Son, our Savior. This re- ality guides our congregations forward in a sure and certain hope, which results in love of God and service to those around us. A. Hope, to Support Immigrant, Native, Deaf, and School Ministry Our congregations continue to support many ethnic ministries. Pastors trained through the Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theol - ogy preach primarily in English, but they also use Swahili, Lu- ba-kasi, French Amharic, Oromo, and Kunama. Native American ministry remains active on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reserva- tions. Deaf ministry is offered through a Sioux Falls congregation, and the pastor travels to give the gifts of Christ to those in other communities. The district has 18 preschools, 5 elementary schools, and 1 high school. Sioux Falls Lutheran School is our most compre - hensive school, nurturing faith in students from infants to twelfth graders in the sure and certain hope that Christ is risen, indeed! 2026 Convention Workbook 134 OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS planters in place seeking to move them to charter. One other church plant is underway in Slinger, but has not yet reached critical mass. We continue to have our target list for at least 10 new starts in the coming years. Our Lutheran Neighborhood Schools Initiative that was launched in 2023 has continued to grow. A new partnership with WeTeachTruth schools in the Milwaukee area seeks to broaden the base of this effort as well as export the microschool model out to our district in an attempt to help smaller schools remain viable so that they are able to use education in the process of faithful stew- ardship of the Gospel. Third, the district has honored our Christ-centered vocations. Seeking to confess Christ using our hands and feet, district congre- gations have stepped up in the number of Lutheran Early Response Team (LERT) deployments. This included one deployment in the Milwaukee area that was the result of a rainstorm that dumped a foot of rain in 11 hours. The response from our congregations and members was remarkable. We were able to physically assist 65 households in cleanup. In addition, with the assistance of LCMS Disaster Response, we were able to make grants available to a total of $300,000 for congregations and households to assist with dam- age not covered by insurance. Fourth, the district has embraced its community. Through our urban ministry we have started to “close the circle in mission.” Social ministry that feeds, clothes, and houses people but is not directly connected to Word and Sacrament ministry is not mission. Using strategies to gather contact information as well as strategic microgrants from the district have enabled these ministries to en- gage difficult neighborhoods with the Gospel. This has led to bap- tisms, new members, and even more opportunities for engagement. Over the coming triennium the district will be launching an ef- fort called MissionField Milwaukee. This will be a collaborative ef- fort between Milwaukee congregations, district Mission and Mer - cy, and LCEF’s Ministry Solutions to help redefine the ministry focus of our congregations from survival to faithful stewardship of the Gospel. Congregations will assess their Lutheran identity, fi- nancial health, and neighborhood connections while seeking to live out 2023 Res. 1-02A in establishing partnerships that will embold- en our stewardship of the Gospel. These partnerships will include congregations, recognized service organizations, and individual efforts to Confess Christ for the Next Generation. These efforts and others that the Lord will open to us will only come as we faithfully proclaim, “Christ is risen indeed!” Nathan M. Meador, President