ELCA Lutherans are Making Christ Known

PITTSBURGH (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America willexplore how it will transform its congregations into vital faith communities through 21st century media and with a warm welcome. About 850 clergy and lay leaders gathered here for "Making Christ Known: Congregations for the 21st Century," Nov. 21-23.
"Our world is gripped by self-centeredness. Many are feeling trapped and restrained in today's world. Brothers and sisters this culture needs to hear the words of a God who opens doors," said the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, at the opening worship. "God opens hearts and God opens minds. Making Christ known is more than telling a story. It is sharing in God's liberating work," he said.
Sponsored by the ELCA's Department for Communication and the Division for Congregational Ministries, the conference offered 35 workshops. Topics ranged from designing a web page for a congregation to telemarketing as an approach for reaching the unchurched, from evangelism through radio ministries to outreach through cable television.
A new series of resources combining communication and evangelism called, "Go Public!" was introduced. The kit is made up of an interactive video workshop, books, audio cassettes and compact disk to introduce and cite examples of effective outreach and communication to a wider community.
"People listen, watch and learn using multimedia experiences in every day life. The Go Public! resource provides tools for a congregation to connect with its audience using all of the multimedia senses," said John L. Peterson, ELCA director for public media ministry.
Participants phoned Pittsburgh homes at a "phone bank" created to provide information about Zion Lutheran Church in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Pittsburgh. "Our goal was to call 6,000 homes in the Mount Washington area and bring Zion Lutheran Church a great list of prospects," said the Rev. Glenn M. Zorb, Washington Crossing, Pa.
"Roughly half of all Americans do not go to church. In our campaigns we learned that about 25 percent of these people will ask for information to be sent to them, and about 10 percent of the people who receive the mail will attend worship," he said.
Of the 2,000 calls made by conference participants, about 100 residents agreed to receive information about Zion Lutheran Church. More than 500 residents said they belong to other churches, reported Zorb.
"It is a noisy world as we go into the 21st century. There is a flood of choices in which people can get information, ways people can seek out connections to other people. People are in fact striving for meaning and spirituality. People want meaning, connection and community," said speaker Kathryn Tunheim, Bloomington, Minn. Tunheim an ELCA Lutheran, is president of Tunheim Santrizos Company.
"In making Christ known, our motive should be to make room for people," said the Rev. Walt Wangerin, Jr. "Invite people to come in the household of God. Provide a space within you for their pain, fears, anxieties and for all that make life difficult for them," he said. Wangerin is host of "Lutheran Vespers," the ELCA's radio ministry.
The Rev. Asha Mary George-Guiser, assistant to the bishop for the ELCA's Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, preached at the closing worship. "Jesus is on-line, all the time. Jesus is the hard-drive that re-engineers the world, not Microsoft or Bill Gates," she said. The Rev. Barbara Berry-Bailey, pastor for Trinity Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, and Lori Claudio, assistant to the bishop for the ELCA's Metropolitan New York Synod, served as the conference's Bible study leaders.
"The major motivations for communicating the gospel are compassion, community, challenge, responsibility and commitment," said Dr. Kennon L. Callahan. "What people long for and look for in Jesus Christ is compassion and community. People look for the bread of compassion and the wine of community. They do not look for the kerosene of commitment," he said.
"Christians are different because Christ is in their life. We have to believe in these differences and treat them as something to be celebrated," said Dr. Stephen L. Carter, a plenary speaker. "A successful democracy desperately needs religion. Democracy isn't just a bunch of people that vote; it involves the commitment of people to a common understanding of the world to liberate the spirit. God doesn't want us to live our faith just for ourselves. God wants us to share with the world how we are different from our Christian faith," he said.
ELCA congregations and synods were honored in a communication and evangelism award banquet at the conference. Congregations and synods awarded "have become experts at communicating with their members, guest, neighborhoods and communities," said the Rev. Robert N. Bacher, ELCA's executive for administration.

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