Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 384

2026 Convention Workbook
349THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
WHEREAS, The practice of In v itro fertilization (IVF) involves 
the creation of human embryos outside the womb, often resulting in 
the destruction or indefinite freezing of embryos, which contradicts 
the biblical teaching on the sanctity of human life and proper 
context for procreation; and 
WHEREAS, The practice of IVF undermines biblical 
understanding, reducing the child to a product of human will and 
technological manipulation rather than seeing and receiving the 
child as a gift from God (Gen. 30:2; Psalm 127:3); and 
WHEREAS, The use of IVF introduces a separation between the 
procreative and unitive aspects of marriage, thereby undermining 
the integrity of the marital union as God intended it (Gen. 2:24; Eph. 
5:31–33; LC I 206–9); and 
W
HEREAS, The practice of IVF often involves surrogacy, which 
is the rental of another woman’s womb, also undermining the 
integrity of the marital union as God intended it; and 
W
HEREAS, IVF commodifies human life, treating embryos as 
objects to be used, purchased, stored, or discarded rather than 
recognizing them as persons created in the image of God (Gen. 9:6), 
deserving of dignity, protection, and all the rights thereof; and 
W
HEREAS, IVF commonly uses gametes (sperm and eggs) taken 
from a third party, thus violating the one flesh union and depriving 
the child of his natural right to his biological mother and father; and 
WHEREAS, The desire for children is good, right, and godly, but 
Scripture teaches that sinful means may not be used to procure a 
good end; therefore be it 
Resolved, That the Wyoming District affirm children conceived 
by IVF are created in the image of God; and be it further 
Resolved, That the district condemn the practice of IVF as 
contrary to the teachings of Scripture, the tradition of the Church, 
the sanctity of human life, and the one flesh union; and be it further 
Resolved, That the district urge its members to uphold the 
biblical understanding of procreation as a sacred act within the 
marital union, rejecting practices that treat human life as a 
commodity or a product of human will; and be it further 
Resolved, That the district commit to educating its members 
about the ethical and theological problems and spiritual dangers 
surrounding IVF and surrogacy, encouraging them to seek 
alternatives that respect the sanctity of life and the God -given 
dignity of all human beings; and be it further 
Resolved, That  pastors of the district  be exhorted to provide 
pastoral counseling and absolution for those who have engaged in 
the practice of IVF; and be it finally 
Resolved, That the entire pastorate of the Synod be encouraged 
to do the same. 
Wyoming District 
Ov. 5-22 
To Believe, Teach, and Confess Missio Dei 
Rationale 
Holy Scripture does not present God as static or withdrawn, but as 
living, active, and outward-moving in love. From the first chapters 
of Genesis to the sending of the Son, the outpouring of the Holy 
Spirit, and the sending of the baptized into the world, Scripture 
bears witness to a single, unifying motif: God is a sending God. This 
sending is not peripheral to who God is. It belongs to His very heart. 
The theological term Missio Dei —the mission of God—does not 
introduce a new theme into Scripture, nor does it impose a modern 
agenda upon the biblical text. Rather, it serves as a lens that reveals 
Scripture’s coherence, center, purpose, and direction. When read 
through this lens, the Bible emerges not as a collection of 
disconnected doctrines or moral instru ctions, but as the unified 
testimony to God’s gracious movement toward H is fallen creation 
in Jesus Christ. 
Much has been written about the c hurch’s decline in the modern 
world. Attendance is measured, programs are evaluated, and 
strategies are revised. Yet these concerns, while not insignificant, 
fail to name the deeper issue confronting the c hurch today. 
Whenever the church relegates its mission focus and priorities to 
activities, duties, and performances, it is guilty of being 
disconnected from the Missio Dei. It will be marked by distractions, 
disruption, and a disassembly from Christ’s apostolic authority, 
priority, and promises. The crisis of the church is not fundamentally 
numerical, cultural, or institutional, but theological and 
obediential— a resistance to God’s sending Word that shapes how 
Scripture itself is to be read. This crisis appears whenever mission 
becomes optional, the church turns inward, identity becomes based 
in human sentiment, and the Gospel becomes transactional. As a 
result, the c hurch throughout history has frequently come to 
understand herself as a religious institution with its  own mission, 
rather than as a sent body of believers—a people who exist because 
God sends the baptized in Christ. 
Therefore be it 
Resolved, That we as a Synod believe, teach, and confess that the 
Missio Dei —the mission of God— belongs to God alone, flows 
from His eternal love, and finds its center, fulfillment, and authority 
in the person and work of Jesus Christ, the One sent by the Father 
for the life of the world (John 3:16–17); and be it further 
Resolved, That we as a Synod  believe, teach, and confess that 
God is a sending God, and that His sending does not begin with 
human need or cultural crisis, but with H is own being and will, so 
that from the sending of the Son, to the sending of the Spirit, to the 
sending of the baptized, God reveals Himself as the Lord who goes 
out in love to seek, save, and restore who and what is lost; and be it 
further 
Resolved, That we as a Synod believe, teach, and confess that the 
Missio Dei  
is the primary lens through which Holy Scripture is 
rightly read and understood; because Scripture itself is the unified 
testimony of God’s sending heart—revealing who H e is, what H e 
has done in Christ, and how H e sends His people into the world; 
and be it further 
Resolved, That we believe, teach, and confess that Jesus Christ 
is the Sent One and the Sending One, vested with all authority to 
forgive sins and give life, so that all doctrine finds its center in the 
Gospel—that we are freely justified for Christ’s sake through  
faith— and all other teachings are either antecedent to this truth or 
flow from it; and be it further 
Resolved, That we  as a Synod  believe, teach, and confess that 
according to the Gospel all the baptized in Christ are co -heirs and 
co-associates with Christ, not by merit or office, but by grace alone, 
and are enjoined in God’s mission through Christ and for His sake 
alone; and be it further 
Resolved, That we as a Synod believe, teach, and confess that the 
church exists because God sends, and that the c hurch remains the 
church only insofar as she lives from the Gospel and is sent into the 
world in love, truth, humility, and hope; and be it further