Reports - Central Illinois District - Lutheran Church Missouri Synod

∑ Gutting of National Stewardship department into fund-raising activities.∑ All districts shared the Stewardship duties with a variety of other responsibilitiesbecause of reduced revenues while trying maintain high mission spending. (Same forall district responsibilities.)∑ Church conflict: Often sited are from National to district to congregational.∑ No real seminary education in the last 5 to 10 years in stewardship, evangelism, andother similar areas.∑ Sending “money directly.” TIM (Together in Missions) and Current LCMSMissionary raise your funds programs has seen reductions in sending missions dollarsto district to send to synod.∑ Higher costs of running the local congregations.∑ Nationally shrinking pool of 10% plus givers in local congregations.∑ Our U.S. society continues to remind 50% unchurched and higher in the world.Our vision is to reach out with the Good News of Jesus Christ. That is what makes all thedifference for us and all we come into contact. Again Stewardship is a sanctified—HolyLiving (Good Works) in response to the Good News of Christ. Let our directions for thefuture be “Back to the Basics:”∑ Revitalize our Sunday Schools∑ Increase our Worship attendance. (bring back the inactives of our congregations.)∑ Seeking the lost.∑ Provide resources to our families.∑ Providing Christ-centered vision and planning to reach out.∑ Increase our stewardship education and training.∑ Continue to train our church leaders and workers in Christian leadership skills, andvarious areas of the congregations ministries.May God continue to use us, our people, and our churches to “Tell the Good News aboutJesus.In Christ,Rev. Wesley Reimnitz2009 Convention Section B – Reports Page 37