National Work | The Lutheran Church

National Work

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Today, as the ethnic diversity of the United States increases, so does the diversity of mission outreach to these different cultures. The Lutheran--Church Missouri Synod declared the United States to be a "world mission field" in 1992 at its Synod convention. In 1998, the Synod adopted Pentecost 2000 as a special initiative to start 1,000 new cross-cultural ministries in the United States by the year 2000. Since in 2001, that goal was still not met, the Synod convention again voted to extend the mission effort as Pentecost 2000+ until 2004, at which time the goal had been exceeded.

LCMS World Mission efforts in the United States continue to build on and rely on partnerships with LCMS districts, congregations, mission societies, and other mission-minded organizations. Under the global Lutheran mission movement, called Ablaze!, the LCMS in its 2004 convention voted to together:

share the Gospel with 50 million unreached or uncommitted people in the United States;
plant 2,000 new congregations;
help revitalize the mission focus of 2,000 congregations;
train thousands of new workers and laity to address the mission efforts required in the United States.

National mission efforts are extensive and diverse, not only among urban and rural populations but also among ethnic and various immigrant groups and special needs groups, such as the Deaf and Blind. LCMS World Mission also gives leadership to seminary programs to train missionaries for church-planting among these groups in the United States and to congregations that desire to grow in their missional approach to their communities by offering resources, seminars, and other kinds of training.

For a complete list of National Mission projects, click here.