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LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 441

System, and the Executive Director of the Office of Pastoral 
Education as a non-voting advisory member; and be it finally 
Resolved, That, to effect the above, Bylaw 3.10.4.6 be amended 
as follows: 
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING 
D. Pastoral Formation Committee 
… 
3.10.4.6 The Pastoral Formation Committee shall  comprise the 
following members: 
Voting Members: 
1. The Chief Mission Officer of the Synod, chairman 
2. The presidents of the seminaries 
3. One district president appointed by the Council of Presidents 
4. One faculty representative responsible for overseeing a pre -
seminary program , appointed by the Institutional Advisory 
Council of the Concordia University System 
Nonvoting Advisory Member: 
The Executive Director of the Office of Pastoral Education 
 
Christ, La Mesa, CA; Circuit 9 (Decatur), Indiana District 
Ov. 6-68 
To Amend Bylaw 3.10.4.6 to Revise  
Composition of Pastoral Formation Committee 
WHEREAS, Our Lord says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the 
laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest 
to send out laborers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2); and 
WHEREAS, The objectives of The Lutheran Church— Missouri 
Synod include that it shall (Constitution Article III): 
• recruit and train pastors, teachers, and other professional 
church workers and provide opportunity for their continuing 
growth (III 3); 
• Aid congregations by providing a variety of resources and 
opportunities for recognizing, promoting, expressing, 
conserving, and defending their confessional unity in the true 
faith (III 6); and 
• Encourage congregations to strive for uniformity in church 
practice, but also to develop an appreciation of a variety of 
responsible practices and customs which are in harmony 
with our common profession of faith (III 7);  
and 
W
HEREAS, These godly objectives exist for the purpose of 
serving congregations in their bold witness to the Gospel through 
their Word and Sacrament ministry; and 
W
HEREAS, The Pastoral Formation Committee (PFC) has been 
established to help carry out these objectives; and 
WHEREAS, 2013 Resolution 5- 03E, “To Provide Procedure for 
Establishing Policies Governing Specific Ministry Pastor 
Program,” established “t hat the Chief Mission Officer and one 
representative from each seminary shall, in consultation with the 
Council of Presidents, provide leadership, coordination, and 
oversight for the Specific Ministry Pastor program” and “that each 
seminary shall select its own representative” (Proceedings , 138–
39); and 
W
HEREAS, The current PFC reflects this same composition, with 
the addition of the executive director of the Office of Pastoral 
Education as a nonvoting member of the committee (Bylaw 
3.10.4.6); and 
WHEREAS, Such composition consists of individuals who are 
very gifted and able, yet not directly accountable to congregations 
and laity of the church in the same way as those called and elected 
to congregational and district offices; and 
WHEREAS, The district presidents and laypeople do have such 
accountability and, together with pastors and other church workers, 
serve “on the ground” in congregations and are therefore closely 
acquainted with congregational needs regarding pastors and 
pastoral formation; and 
WHEREAS, The need for sound doctrine and practice is the same 
for all congregations of the Synod, while the application of the same 
may be affected by region and local context; therefore be it 
Resolved, That the PFC include a broader representation of those 
served by the committee, including those who have more direct 
accountability to the congregations of the Synod and are living out 
the very needs that the PFC seeks to meet; and be it further 
Resolved, That Bylaw 3.10.4.6 be amended as follows: 
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING 
D. Pastoral Formation Committee 
3.10.4.6 The Pastoral Formation Committee shall  comprise the 
following members: 
Voting Members: 
1. The Chief Mission Officer of the Synod, chairman 
2. The presidents of the seminaries or their representatives 
3. One (1) district president from each geographical region of the 
Synod, to be 
selected by the district presidents within that region. 
4. One (1) lay member of a member congregation of the Synod 
from each geographical 
region of the Synod, to be selected by the district presidents 
within that region, and 
from a district distinct from the district president representative 
on the committee. 
Nonvoting Advisory Member: 
The Executive Director of the Office of Pastoral Education 
Board of Directors 
Southeastern District 
Ov. 6-69 
To Amend Bylaw 3.10.4.6 to Expand  
Pastoral Formation Committee 
WHEREAS, An explicit purpose of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod, along with missions, is to provide pastors for the 
congregations of the Synod (Constitution Article III 3); and 
WHEREAS, The current system of graduate level residential 
training at an approved seminary continues to struggle to provide 
both the sorts and the numbers of pastors that the congregations of 
the Synod desire; and 
W
HEREAS, Questions surround how to maximize the specific 
ministry pastor program appropriately to maximize the benefit of its 
existence; and 
W
HEREAS, The Synod has established a Pastoral Formation 
Committee (PFC, Bylaw 3.10.4) of just three members to oversee 
the overall approach to pastoral formation; and 
2026 Convention Workbook
406 PAST ORAL MINISTRY AND SEMINARIES