Official Workbook report source text
Official Workbook source-navigation report record. No analysis has been added.
- Report number/id
- R7
- Report title
- R7 Board for International Mission
- Workbook start page
- 54
- Workbook end page
- 55
- Source pages
- 54, 55
- Source status
- source_checked
- Committee
- Not available
R7 Board for International Mission The Board for International Mission (BIM) is charged with de- veloping and determining policies in support of mission and min- istry in foreign countries for the Office of International Mission (OIM). These policies shall embrace and apply the mission and ministry emphasis adopted by the national convention. BIM serves as the only sending agency through which workers and funds are sent to foreign mission areas of the Synod including 2026 Convention Workbook 55 OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS ing committee of the Synod’s two mission boards, the Board for National Mission (BNM) and the Board for International Mission (BIM). It is composed of two members from each mission board. Its primary task is to facilitate and oversee the execution of Bylaws 3.8.2.2 and 3.8.3.2, which task the BNM and BIM to work together for the “assessment and evaluation of the effectiveness of the Syn- od’s triennial mission and ministry emphases.” The JMAC assists the BNM and BIM in providing ideas and guidance to the Synod’s district conventions in order to fulfill their duty in accordance with Bylaw 4.2.1 (d) to “forward to the national convention a list of two or three triennial mission and ministry emphases for consideration by the national convention.” In addition to this responsibility, the BNM and BIM were tasked by the 2023 Synod convention (Reso- lution 4-02) to “to continue to assess, clarify, and further refine the process whereby a recommendation for the triennial mission and ministry emphasis is brought before the Synod in convention for consideration and adoption,” and to “recommend a new mission and ministry emphasis for consideration at the 2026 Synod con- vention.” The mission boards were also given the task (2023 Res. 4-03) to “recommend possible revisions to the mission priorities and possible bylaw revisions that would articulate both the process for developing mission priorities and how those priorities would function in the mission and ministry of the Synod.” B. Assessment and Conclusions from Conversations with District Leaders The JMAC first facilitated members of the two mission boards into conversation with all 35 districts to assess how the current mission and ministry emphasis (Making Disciples for Life) and the Synod’s seven mission priorities were perceived and being used in their district and among their congregations. Next, a survey was taken of a random sampling of pastors, church workers, and con- gregations throughout the Synod to gather more grassroots feed- back as to the awareness, visibility, applicability, and relevance of the current mission and ministry emphasis and mission priorities. As a result of these conversations and feedback, it was determined that: (1) many districts were coming up with and using their own mission and ministry emphasis in place of the Synod’s; (2) the Syn- od’s mission priorities, while good, were too many and too wordy to be easily remembered and employed; (3) the mission and minis- try emphasis and mission priorities were often confused, not clearly defined, and not coordinated; and (4) the process for developing and adopting a new Synod mission and ministry emphasis was too cumbersome, unworkable, and not being carried out. C. Recommendations The JMAC recommended to the BNM and the BIM that three overtures be offered at the Synod convention: 1. A new and streamlined process for assessing, evaluating, and proposing a mission and ministry emphasis; 2. To sunset the mission priorities of the Synod and in their place recommend attention to and use of the 10 objectives of Synod as listed in Article III of the Synod Constitution; and 3. To recommend to the Synod that Tell the Next Generation be adopted as the mission and ministry emphasis for the next triennium. The new process being proposed for assessing, evaluating, and proposing a mission and ministry emphasis will give the mission boards a more direct role in guiding the mission emphasis of the Synod in collaboration with the President of Synod and in fraternal C. BIM Policy Development The BIM established policies addressing multiple mission and ministry areas in its initial years of existence (2010–13) and has regularly updated these policies in support of programs carried out by the OIM. In 2023 the BIM approved a complete rewrite of its policies to focus on monitoring the strategic plan of the OIM and the supporting budget. The policies allow the BIM to monitor the OIM strategic plan to assure that OIM staffing and programs sup- port Articles II and III of the Synod Constitution and the mission and ministry emphasis established by the Synod in convention. D. Assessment of Mission and Ministry The Board for National Mission and BIM under Bylaws 3.8.2.2 and 3.8.3.2 are, during each triennium between national conven- tions, to gather sufficient information from Synod members to facilitate the boards’ assessment of the effectiveness of the Syn- od’s mission and ministry. See Report R8 of the Joint Mission As- sessment Committee. Based on this assessment, the boards jointly submitted two overtures for the 2026 convention’s consideration regarding the mission and ministry emphasis for the next triennium and proposed changes to the process for developing the same in the future. E. International Schools The LCMS schools in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Hanoi con- tinue to be exemplary academic college preparatory schools. These schools primarily serve children K–12 of expatriate families. Due to religious freedom restrictions in effect in China and Vietnam the ability to maintain a Lutheran identity and to proclaim the pure Gospel is constrained for Shanghai and Hanoi. In order to address these concerns, the Synod Board of Directors and the BIM working with the Chief Mission Officer and the OIM have established an International Schools Task Force that is researching options and de- veloping plans for the Synod’s international schools going forward. The task force is comprised of representatives from the BIM, Board of Directors, and officers of the Synod. The Hanoi and Shanghai schools are accredited by the National Lutheran School Accreditation Commission (NLSA) and the West- ern Association of Schools and Colleges. During 2026, the Hanoi and Shanghai schools will commence the process of re-accredita - tion with NLSA. While there are fewer restrictions in Hong Kong on religious freedom, the local school leadership in Hong Kong has not been supportive of the operating agreement provisions regarding the LCMS religious doctrine and education as well as governance mat- ters. Therefore, in the fall of 2025, the Synod filed a lawsuit against the local management group, Hong Kong International School As- sociation, Limited. John W. Edson, Chairman