Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 81

2026 Convention Workbook
46 
OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
used by the Synod’s districts and national office; and
o mapping and 
analysis of congregations and schools 
by district and circuit.
•	 Implementation of a new online reporting tool for congre-
gations to manage and submit lists of seventh–twelfth grade 
students in support of Set Apart to Serve and recruitment ef-
forts by the Synod’s universities and seminaries.
•	 Redesign and upgrade of the LCMS internet locators 
(locator.lcms.org) with a focus on heightened security to 
thwart the increased level of attempts by external parties to 
scrape Synod’s data; this included adding a log-in element to 
access the information on rostered church workers.
•	 Acquisition of new scanning hardware to support the contin-
ued updating and accessing of Synod’s roster archives.
•	 Implementation of the collection of an array of new statis-
tical data points covering enrollment capacity, programs, 
staffing data, finances, and admissions practices on behalf of 
LCMS School Ministry.
Research Services provides a full range of research and anal -
ysis services for the Synod and its agencies. Close integration of 
Research Services with Rosters and Statistics and the Office of the 
Secretary, as well as close interaction with ministry units at the In-
ternational Center, the Council of Presidents, and Synod’s partner 
agencies (CPS, LCEF, etc.) has proven fruitful in exploration of 
new approaches and fields of study with potential to impact the 
present and future ministry of the Synod and its constituents; the 
same connections will continue to grow in importance as core tech-
nologies and access to analyzable data continue to be enhanced.
Some of the key reports delivered in the past three years include 
the following:
•	 Multiple studies on pastoral formation and routes to pastoral 
ministry.
•	 Extensive study of church worker wellness, surveying ros-
tered workers, congregation leaders, and district presidents.
•	 Research support for the Circuit Alignment Task Force (Res. 
9-06A), including surveys of parish pastors and district pres-
idents.
•	 Research support for the Created Male and Female Task 
Force (Res. 1-04A), including two major surveys of rostered 
workers.
•	 Multiple yearly surveys of congregations, church workers, 
and LCMS youth in support of Set Apart to Serve.
•	 Program evaluation support for major events, including the 
2023 Synod convention, the 2024 Worship Institute, and the 
2025 LCMS Youth Gathering.
Scott Kostencki, Director
R5
Board of Directors
A. Relationship to the Synod
It is necessary to understand clearly what the Synod is when 
considering a report from the Synod Board of Directors (BOD).
The Synod is an organization of congregations. The congrega-
tions created the Synod to carry out specific activities that congre-
Officer position, an abortive attempt to replace the Synod web-
site, and a now-underway effort to replace and vastly increase the 
scope of corporate Synod’s constituent relationship management 
system—all touching on important aspects of the Office of the 
Secretary—have curtailed bandwidth for other important projects, 
like data analytics and the Commission on Constitutional Matters’ 
effort to revise congregational constitution guidelines. With a new 
triennium, hope may be renewed. Part of that hope rests on the 
board’s proposal to revise the Operations Team structure, to con-
solidate the Chief Financial and Chief Administrative Officers into 
one Chief Operating Officer and then build out under that officer a 
rank of high-caliber leaders for important areas of corporate Synod 
function, including legal, compliance, and information functions. It 
is hoped that some of the work that falls to this office can find its 
new and proper home, were that realignment to be achieved.
G. Conclusion
I conclude with a note of appreciation for the many folks 
throughout the Synod whose concern for the Synod’s well-being 
and cooperation have made our work, to the extent it has been ac-
complished, possible.
In Fiscal Year 2026, including the commissions and dispute res-
olution and expulsion, the staff of Rosters, Statistics, and Research 
Services, and all overhead, the office cost each parish in the Synod 
about $326, on which we earnestly attempt to deliver value, and to 
do so all the more effectively in years to come. (The Secretary also 
maintains the Council of Presidents budget, which amounts to an 
additional $44 per parish per year.) We remain deeply grateful for 
and humbled by the Synod’s investment in this work. Even though 
now augmented with the new position, we daily find ourselves taxed 
beyond capacity but with no shortage of opportunities for new and 
improved work with significant promise. The Synod is worth it and 
needs our work if it is to accomplish its vital objectives, for and on 
behalf of our member congregations. The Lord prosper the work of 
our hands so that the investment of the “diversity of gifts” in us may 
truly be “for the common profit.”
John W. Sias, Secretary
R4.1
Rosters, Statistics, and Research Services
The Department of Rosters, Statistics, and Research Services 
(RSRS), reporting to the Office of the Secretary, provides the core 
“organ of recollection and administration” for roster, leadership, con-
tact, and statistical information related to congregations, individual 
members, schools, districts, and other agencies and affiliated entities 
of the Synod. Some of this information is published in The Lutheran 
Annual or to the Synod webpage; some is utilized by districts and 
others in the Synod for ministry, administrative, and research purpos-
es. The preceding three years have continued to produce meaningful 
changes for the department. Using updated systems and optimized 
processes, RSRS continues to transform from a transactional da-
ta-entry unit into a strategic information and user support provider. 
Noteworthy accomplishments include the following:
•	 Implementation of two new applications to support LCMS 
District offices with
o
 the call 
process and general roster management of 
ordained and commissioned ministers—unifying, for 
the first time, the roster management system jointly