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South Wisconsin District Case
Our Mission
The purpose of the South Wisconsin District of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is assisting congregations, leaders, and specialized ministries/agencies to be faithful to the command of our Lord Jesus: "Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
Our Beginnings
The South Wisconsin District of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is a community of God’s people who seek to serve their Lord and Savior by bringing the message of the Gospel to the lost. The Wisconsin District was organized in 1882 and by 1900 English mission work began. As the church rapidly grew, the Wisconsin District was divided to form two districts, the North Wisconsin and South Wisconsin Districts.
Today, our District, in its effort to reach people of all cultures, uses many forms of outreach vehicles to meet their needs, bringing them to Christ.
Our Church Today
Today, the 215 congregations of the South Wisconsin District, together with its schools and other agencies, are reaching out with the Gospel in communities large and small. In many cases these communities are very different from what they were 50 years ago. South Wisconsin has seen a rapid influx of people from all around the world. While we welcome these people into our communities, we also recognize this presents us with new opportunities and new challenges to spread the Gospel across cultural and language barriers. Right now, congregations in our District are providing ministry to the Hispanic, Chinese, Hmong, Afro-Americans and African immigrants, including French-speaking Congolese, and others. In addition, we continue to share the love of Jesus with those in hospitals, care centers and prisons. We also bring Christ to the deaf, not only in South Wisconsin, but in Ghana and India as well.
The South Wisconsin District has as its mission to assist congregations and agencies to carry out the Great Commission of our Lord to “Go and make disciples of all nations.” We do that by supporting the mission efforts of our congregations and agencies with resources, along with conducting mission work on their behalf. Working together as God’s people, we will continue to connect the faithful of Wisconsin with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our Challenge
Christ commissioned the church for all ages to preach the Gospel to all nations. The message of repentance and forgiveness is unchanging. Faithfulness to our Lord’s commission, to all things pertaining to his Word and the clear Confession of our church is a joyous and powerful calling.
The church lives and proclaims the Gospel in a rapidly changing landscape, with new nations coming to our doorstep. For example, most of the Hispanic population increase is occurring in the Midwest. Even though the most recent wave of immigrants are transitioning to English more quickly than any time in our country’s history, over 50 million Americans speak a language at home other than English. Wisconsin’s primary population increase over the next 20 years will be from this immigrant group. Our District has rich resources in urban facilities left by large congregations from previous generations. This opens the door to exciting opportunities for urban cross cultural mission work as robust as any other District of the Synod.
Our District’s landscape reveals a population shift away from urban centers, creating a widening urban ring in Milwaukee, Madison and other metro areas. Meanwhile, older communities and congregations have new faces, families and needs. With the widening ring of metro areas, the initiation of new church starts and related ministries in new communities, in close proximity to new residential and commercial developments, is an urgent need. Creative means for utilizing resources on the congregational and circuit level are being modeled within our District and Synod. The number of daughter congregations, specialized ministries, mission starts and satellite mission efforts can, by God’s grace and through new cooperative efforts, meet the challenges before us.
Our Needs
Throughout the district, several areas of need have been identified as our mission plan that requires an influx of new capital. Confessing that God is the head of the church and gives growth to his kingdom, the South Wisconsin steering committee asks for the Spirit’s blessing on our Ablaze! mission plan, which will be implemented in 2006 through 2017.
Mission projects to be funded by the Fan into Flame campaign include:
Education Ministries – Lutheran School Outreach Foundation – $500,000
- Our Lutheran schools are strategically positioned to reach out to the unchurched.
- The Foundation would provide funding for schools that develop innovative ways to encourage the enrollment of non-Christians in their community.
- Funds would be allocated by the foundation board, consisting of Lutheran School administrators, as grants up to $15,000 based on financial need, commitment to outreach and ability of a school to sustain outreach after the first year of a grant.
- Funding needed: $500,000 over three years.
New Church Plants – $400,000
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Funding needed: $400,000
- It is anticipated that this sum will be matched by local church partners such as: neighboring congregations and individuals.
- Funds are needed for feasibility studies, facility rental, worship needs (music, musicians, etc.), and initial salary for a called mission planter.
Crosscultural Ministries – $140,000
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French-speaking African immigrant mission start – $50,000 over three years
- Need is for hymnals, catechism, Sunday school and outreach materials in French, facility rental, and theological education, part time secretary and transportation support for Pastor Kabeo.
- There are 5,000 French-speaking immigrants living in the Milwaukee area.
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Hispanic music ministry - $50,000 over three years
- A Hispanic music ministry director is needed to utilize the best resources for Hispanic worship, especially to attract unchurched high risk youth in Racine and Milwaukee.
- Additional funding for salary and benefits for music director and instrument purchases.
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Multicultural, urban, EIIT and DELTO leadership training – $40,000
- The need is to provide theological education, church planting training, transportation stipend and outreach materials to raise leaders within each ethnic community – funding needed: $40,000 for scholarships over three years to Concordia University, Wisconsin and Concordia Seminary St. Louis.
Mission Hill, Waunakee – $50,000
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This is a mission start in a rapidly growing area on the northwest side of Madison.
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Its pastor, Jeff Corder, is an experienced mission planter.
- An urgent need for a Christian daycare exists. There is nothing like this in Waunakee today.
- New resources for the start-up of a daycare program are needed. To make modifications to the current building and for marketing of the program, $50,000 is needed. The daycare program will sustain itself through families paying for its services.
Deaf Ministry – $35,000
- The Deaf Institute of Theology seeks to expand, in order to train more lay leaders. Funding needed: $20,000 for the adaptation and development of theological education materials from hearing to non-hearing communication via Internet and other mediums.
- Deaf ministry has been doing video broadcasting of worship and Bible classes over the Internet. In order to upgrade technologies that can integrate into the World Wide Web, $15,000 is needed.
Church Revitalization (Church Resource Ministries) – $20,000
Fan into Flame
In light of the fact that two out of every three people in the world today have no relationship with Christ, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and its 29 church partners worldwide have initiated a mission movement to reach 100 million people by the year 2017. Entitled Ablaze!, this movement will deliver hope and spiritual renewal by communicating the message of the saving Gospel and igniting the flame of faith in the hearts of people everywhere.
In order for the South Wisconsin District to continue ministry work in support of our people effectively, and in response to the challenges presented by growth and deepening presence of new cultures, we plan to fund each priority area of our mission plan over the next decade. Therefore, we have joined with all districts and congregations of the LCMS during Fan into Flame.
Through Fan into Flame, we intend to allocate a minimum of $1,145,000, or 15% of each unrestricted pledge received throughout the District by its members and major donors, as seed money to this dynamic mission plan, enabling us to move Ablaze! forward.
Consider this appeal as your personal invitation to covenant with us in this historic effort, which, with the Spirit’s blessing, will bring the Gospel to millions and, in the process, revitalize our church body.