The 20th Convention of the Nebraska District LCMS was held June 24-25, 2022 at the Younes Conference Center in Kearney. One of the first items on the agenda of each Convention is the District President’s report which summarizes the mission and ministry of the previous three years.
President Snow started his report with a video showing the renovation work done at the District office in Seward and the University Lutheran Chapel in Lincoln, giving glory and thanks to God for the successful capital campaign which was launched at the 2018 Convention. He was pleased to report that, “with the remaining pledges…we no longer hold debt” for the renovations and there is no outstanding mortgage. The campaign continues to collect pledges, with the last scheduled pledge payment due in April of 2025. Congregations and individuals are still encouraged to consider donations to help replenish the district asset replacement fund used to settle the renovation debt.
The focus of the triennium ahead is based on Ephesians 4:15-16, and centers around the keywords Growing + Building + Reaching, or GBR. While he didn’t choose those words to match the familiar GBR acronym, he is happy to know that it should be easy for everyone in Nebraska to remember. He emphasized that the whole Body of Christ needs to be doing this work. We can see this in practice in the mission emphases of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod: Mercy, Witness, Life Together. In Christ, for the Church and the World. “This work that we do in terms of our life together… This is the work of God. It’s not our human effort. It is God at work in us, and God working through us. Every part doing its work.”
President Snow also reminded the delegates that when he speaks of the “work of the District,” he means all of us, in every congregation. “The Nebraska District isn’t twelve people in an office in Seward. The Nebraska District is you. It’s 235 congregations sharing the love of Christ, enriching God’s people with His gifts of Word and Sacrament, reaching out to others with this love as we show them the mercy, compassion, and the Word of God. The whole Body is needed.”
Other highlights include:
- The focus of the District’s strategic plan is healthy church workers (sabbath rest, marriage and family, and spiritual growth), healthy congregations (engaging their communities and inactive members), and a healthy district (financial responsibility, ministry planning, etc.).
- Congregations are encouraged to begin or continue with the Every One His Witness outreach training from Concordia Publishing House. The District office still has some grant funds available to offset the cost for a congregation to purchase a kit. (See page 7 for more information)
- A new Set Apart to Serve initiative from Synod hopes to address the need for church workers, encouraging children and young adults to seek training in church work as pastors, teachers, Directors of Christian Education, etc.
Visit https://ndlcms.org/convention-home/ to watch the full video of President Snow’s report at the District Convention.
Originally printed in the August 2022 Post-Convention Nebraska District Reporter