Memorial #3

Reclaiming the Great Commission

WHEREAS, Our Lord Jesus Christ gave His Church the Great Commission to "Go, make

disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you..." and

WHEREAS, The Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 

America states in its Constitution that its purpose is to 

"Carry out Christ's Great Commission by reaching out to all people to bring 

them to faith in Christ and by doing all ministry with a global awareness consistent with the understanding of God as Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier 

of all" and

WHEREAS, This commission is being carried out in at least 235 "missionary outposts" of 

the synod in a region that in many respects is the "crossroads of our world", and

WHEREAS, There is no specific body in the synod charged with developing strategies for

implementing the Great Commission throughout the synod, therefore be it 

RESOLVED, That the 2003 Synod Assembly

1  Publicly re-affirm the commitment of this synod to carrying out the

Great Commission of our Lord in every missionary outpost of this synod.

2  Establish a synod Evangelism Commission of 12 persons appointed by 

the bishop that will enable the synod to carry out the Great Commission 

by:

a.  Creating a Metropolitan New York Synod strategy for reclaiming 

the Great Commission;

b.  Encouraging every pastor, rostered leader, and baptized member of

the synod to renew his or her commitment to carrying out the Great

Commission;

c.  Studying and developing models of ministry within this synod 

which identify, encourage, develop, and support the ministries of 

all baptized persons;

d.  Identifying resources for education and ministry formation to

support the carrying out of the Great Commission, taking into

account the unique needs of our synod;

e.  Networking with others including ecumenical partners who are

committed to the Great Commission to collaborate on developing

ministries within our synod and elsewhere;

f.  Encouraging communication between and among ministries about

ways to carry out the Great Commission; 

g.  Building connections between congregations in order to share gifts 

for ministry;

h.  Presenting recommendations to future Synod Assemblies about ways

we can develop and re-direct resources to carry out this vision more

effectively in this synod;

i.  In the first year's activities of the commission, include the formation

of a budget and spending plan for the commission.

j.  Amending Bylaw S11.22.02 to add a new item:

   "e. Evangelical Outreach".