Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 174

2026 Convention Workbook
139
OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
with a global network of partners. We work in areas where other 
Christian organizations are often not present and use local staff and 
volunteers who know the language and culture to create contextu -
ally relevant programs that most effectively share the Good News 
with individuals living in these regions. 
God’s Blessings Upon LHM’s Outreach in the 
Past Triennium
As we build upon LHM’s nearly 110-year history and move for-
ward into the mission field, great opportunities abound:
•	 Five billion people have yet to hear the saving message of 
Christ.
•	 Technology allows us to engage with each other more effi-
ciently and effectively than at any other time in history, espe-
cially as people crave a relationship with God and each other.
•	 We can use our gifts to make a real difference right where 
we are, among people we know and see every day. Our faith, 
put into action on a local level, can make an immediate and 
personal impact in our neighborhoods and beyond.
The following strategic priorities support our vision for the fu-
ture and Christ’s call to reach the world with the Gospel.
Impacting People Globally
Around the world, people long to hear the Good News in a way 
that speaks to their own lives. LHM stands apart from most global 
media ministries through the implementation of a ministry model 
that goes far beyond translation to transformation through the Holy 
Spirit. Our ministry model identifies and equips local leaders who 
understand the language, customs, and daily realities of their com-
munities. These cultural insiders are uniquely positioned to share 
Christ’s love in ways that connect with people, meeting them where 
they are and addressing the needs they face every day. Through lo-
cally developed programs, resources, and media in native languag-
es, LHM proclaims the hope of the Gospel in ways that build trust 
and open doors for lasting relationships. This personal connection 
draws people into fellowship and strengthens local Christian com-
munities across the globe.
Our establishment of a multidivisional global mission root-
ed in localized regional leadership moved forward with the hiring 
of a president of Asia Ministries based in Singapore, LHM’s first 
regional president living outside of the United States. By shifting 
leadership to regional presidents who are located closer to where 
ministry is happening, LHM can ensure that our mission is tailored 
to the unique needs of specific areas. 
Over the past couple of years, LHM has opened six new mis-
sion fields that uplift the next generation of Christian leaders to 
begin new ministries in partnership with existing ministry centers. 
Teams in Peru, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, the Democratic Republic of 
the Congo, and Bolivia are now sharing the Gospel in their home 
countries through teams of three local people focused on children 
and youth ministry, digital outreach through social media, and mul-
timedia content creation. In addition, LHM–Kenya started airing 
evangelistic radio spots in a new area—in neighboring Tanzania. 
By working with local Lutherans from Tanzania, the inspiring Gos-
pel messages are advertising LHM’s popular Bible Correspondence 
Courses via radio.
LHM continues to partner with SAT-7, the largest Middle East 
and North African Christian satellite network, to make God’s love 
visible to millions of people in more than 20 countries throughout 
The district supports a robust campus ministry in Laramie, 
Wyo., through St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church and Campus Center. 
Our congregations also reach out and serve students at their local 
community colleges.
In the fallout of government pressures on the Wind River Res-
ervation, the district suspended its Wind River Lutheran Mission in 
2023. Local congregations continue to serve our members from the 
reservation and have recently begun a renewed effort at outreach 
and catechesis.
The district provides theologically rich pastoral conferences 
and continuing education opportunities for our pastors. Winkel 
attendance is very high, and our circuit pastors regularly study 
Scriptures, the Lutheran Confessions, and pastoral application and 
casuistry. We enjoy 100 percent participation in the Post-Seminary 
Applied Learning and Support program for our new pastors. The 
district sponsors an annual Pastors’ Wives Retreat to support and 
thank our pastors’ wives.
The Synod’s Set Apart to Serve initiative is reflected in the ed-
ucational formation and recruitment of our youth in our congre-
gations, schools, and district activities. We actively recruit church 
work students for studies at our Concordia universities, at Luther 
Classical College, and at the seminaries, and we provide generous 
financial support to these students. The district helps with debt re-
duction for its former students and present church workers.
Our pastors and laymen enjoy an extraordinary unity in doc-
trine and practice, which also bears the fruit of love and friend-
ship across the many miles. Attendance at our annual evangelism 
convocation is very strong and includes many youth and young 
adults. Our annual camp for children and youth strengthens their 
love of Lutheran worship and hymnody, Lutheran doctrine, and 
the bonds of friendship. An annual Fathers and Sons Retreat aims 
at strengthening the fathers of our households in their vocations as 
Christian men.
Under the leadership of its Marriage, Life, and Family facilita -
tor, the district has grown in its engagement with state government 
and local communities. Some of our pastors have also served as 
teachers in the foreign mission field.
The district is active in fostering a culture of Lutheran faith and 
piety, sound worship and bold confession, marriage and family, 
and love of church work and church workers. God grant that our 
labors bear fruit in our midst and throughout the Church!
John E. Hill, President
R56
International Lutheran Laymen’s 
League (Lutheran Hour Ministries)
The International Lutheran Laymen’s League/Lutheran 
Hour Ministries serves as a grassroots auxiliary of The Lutheran 
Church—Missouri Synod and Lutheran Church—Canada and is 
proud to extend the mission and ministry of these two church bod-
ies by focusing our energies on a mission of Bringing Christ to the 
Nations®—and the Nations to the Church. The International Lu-
theran Laymen’s League (Int’l LLL) is the corporate name under 
which the organization does business; Lutheran Hour Ministries 
(LHM) is the public identity under which we conduct global Gos-
pel outreach. In fulfilling this year’s convention theme of Christ Is 
Risen Indeed, LHM is a trusted resource in Gospel proclamation