MILWAUKEE (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, presented the
first of the ELCA's new strategic directions, evangelism
outreach, at the 2003 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Each day of the
assembly the presiding bishop will focus on one of the strategic
directions.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of
the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 11-17 at the Midwest Airlines
Center. There are about 2,500 people participating, including
1,031 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is
"Making Christ Known: For the Healing of the World."
Hanson is presenting his report over five days, discussing
each of the strategic directions in detail. Hanson explained that
"evangelical outreach" is more than a document in a three-ring
binder that gets mailed out to churches. "We are not coming to
Milwaukee to market a mission strategy; rather, we seek to renew
the vocation of all the baptized to witness to others about what
God is doing in the world."
Hanson pointed out that, according to the 30,000 members of
the ELCA who participated in the strategic planning, evangelism
has been by far the most frequently cited priority for the next
10 years.
Hanson said that to grow as a church, members of the ELCA
must grow in three areas: witnessing, inviting and being willing
to change. He encouraged the assembly to identify the persons and
Scripture passages that have shaped witness, and asked each
person present to invite an unchurched or "de-churched" person to
join in worship.
"My prayer is this -- that God may grant us the courage so
that like Peter and John in the Book of Acts, we will say, 'We
cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard,'"
said Hanson.
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Information about the ELCA Churchwide Assembly can be found at
http://www.elca.org/assembly/03 on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
