Official Workbook PDF page source text

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 congregations to manage and submit lists of seventh–twelfth grade students in support of Set Apart to Serve and recruitment efforts 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 continued updating and accessing of Synod’s roster archives.

• Implementation of the collection of an array of new statistical 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 International 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 technologies 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 rostered workers, congregation leaders, and district presidents.

• Research support for the Circuit Alignment Task Force (Res.

9-06A), including surveys of parish pastors and district presidents.

• 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 congregations created the Synod to carry out specific activities that congreOfficer position, an abortive attempt to replace the Synod website, 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 consolidate 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 accomplished, possible.

In Fiscal Year 2026, including the commissions and dispute resolution 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, contact, 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 purposes. 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 data-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