Praying to the Lord of the Harvest, LCMS World Mission, in collaboration with its North American and worldwide partners, will share the Good News of Jesus with 100 million unreached or uncommitted people by the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.

LCMS World Mission adopted this new purpose statement in 2002 for the following 15 years to direct the mission effort entrusted to the organization by the Synod in its bylaws. Under the larger umbrella of the Ablaze! movement, it emphasizes four core components of the way LCMS World Mission approaches our Lord’s Great Commission task:

Prayer

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. (Psalm 2:8)

The purpose statement of LCMS World Mission intentionally begins with prayer. Truly, prayer is most important in any effort to share the Good News of Jesus with others for whom Christ Jesus died, for our Lord says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matt. 7:7) 

Partnership

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil. 1:4-6)

There are a growing number of Lutheran mission societies, such as Lutheran Bible Translators, People Of the Book Lutheran Outreach and Lutheran Heritage Foundation, which are involved in mission work throughout the world. These partners often work with LCMS missionaries, as well as our partner churches. LCMS World Mission desires to build strategic partnerships with entities such as these, so that our total LCMS resources can be used in the most efficient and effective ways possible.

Of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s 28 partner churches, the origins of 16 are connected with LCMS mission work. We humbly stand before our God as a church body, praising Him for using the LCMS to start Lutheran churches, many of which have also commissioned and sent out missionaries to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who have not yet heard. We desire to strengthen our partnership with these national churches, and with the approximately 30 additional emerging and established Lutheran church bodies in other countries in which the LCMS is involved in mission work, to serve these bodies in the most appropriate ways and to continue to work with them to build capacity for the mission endeavor, so that all the peoples of the earth might believe on the name of Jesus and be saved.

Proclamation

Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Matt. 13:8)

 

Sharing the Good News of Jesus is at the heart of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20a.) These were among the last words Jesus spoke before He ascended to heaven. As Lutherans, God has given us a great doctrine/understanding of His Word as related to the means of grace. We believe that conversion takes place through the power of the Holy Spirit, using God’s Word and the Sacraments. God has called each of us to mission involvement through our own conversion as His redeemed, forgiven people. We now have the privilege of sharing the Good News of Jesus with others.

LCMS World Mission places strong emphasis on witnessing to “unreached” or “uncommitted” people—those who are not already believers in Jesus Christ.

The figure of 100 million was chosen intentionally after much research, prayer and deliberation with our missionaries and mission partners. In our Lutheran understanding of conversion, God does the work of converting the unbelieving heart through His Holy Spirit. By setting this goal we are not limiting the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, the Holy Spirit will determine how many people will be touched by the Gospel through our efforts, but we will be faithful sowers of the seed and will hold ourselves accountable to sowing the seed of the Gospel in the hearts of 100 million people in North America and around the world.

Reformation

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Rom 12:2a)

One of the outcomes of the Reformation was the rediscovery that God’s grace is offered freely to all people through the Word and Sacraments. We have a precious message to share!

In the past, Lutherans have frequently celebrated significant church anniversaries by publishing a new book on the Reformation or the Confessions. As a church body that grew out of the Reformation, what better way is there to mark a historic anniversary in our Lutheran heritage, than to bring together Lutheran churches around the world to celebrate God’s blessings through sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with people who do not yet know Him?

Ablaze!

“They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’ They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon’”—Luke 24:32-34.

The vision of igniting a worldwide Lutheran mission movement to share the Gospel with 100 million people is expressed by the word, Ablaze! LCMS World Mission’s goal is to ignite a movement that will change the culture of our Lutheran church bodies to be one in which every member is fully engaged in personal mission involvement through the Seven Mission Responses: Go, Pray, Learn, Give, Tell, Send and Celebrate. While this is the expressed vision of LCMS World Mission, it is the organization’s intention to give this vision away, because it is God’s desire that all people be saved, and He has called all His children to participate in the task! This is a “Quantum Leap” forward in how we approach doing the work of the Lord’s mission.

Ablaze! is not a program or a campaign. It began as a mission vision with the hope of starting a mission movement. Each participating congregation, group, mission society, partner church, individual, etc. is challenged to pray about its own particular situation and the part of the mission endeavor it can impact and to design its own strategy to contribute to reaching 100 million people. LCMS World Mission is asking the church to develop mission models that work and can be shared with others. Ablaze! is not an answer…it’s an invitation!

The 2004 Synod convention marks the official launch of Ablaze!—a global Lutheran mission movement to share the Good News of Jesus with 100 million unreached or uncommitted people by 2017.

Q: What makes Ablaze! different from every other church evangelism program of the past?

A: First and foremost, Ablaze! is not a program. It’s a movement. Ablaze! began as a vision of LCMS World Mission, which was quickly shared with our partners in the LCMS and around the world. A movement is a coalition of partners—individuals, congregations, LCMS districts, mission societies, partner church bodies, etc.—that share the same values and commit to a common cause. Ablaze! partners share the goal of working together and doing whatever it takes to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with 100 million people worldwide by the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.

A “movement” is not static. A movement implies action. It is not a “one-size-fits-all” solution. Ablaze! partners agree to be accountable for doing this work and to count the number of seeds sown. They develop new models and resources to share the Gospel in the places where they can make the most significant impact, and they share these resources with others. Partners network and pool their resources to use them efficiently and effectively. Partners in the movement work to influence their constituencies so that all may understand the urgency of Christ’s mission, understand their baptismal call to be involved in mission and know the joy that results from sharing their faith with others. Ablaze! is not an answer…it’s an invitation!

Q: Are we really counting? If so, what exactly are we counting?

A: When one person gives a clear presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to another person, so that there is an opportunity for that person to respond, this activity “counts” toward the 100 million goal. A person may “respond” by receiving the message, rejecting it or asking for more information. An example: A congregation puts 1,500 flyers in the local paper. The 1,500 flyers do not count. But, any inquiries that came as a result of the flyers and opened the door for the congregation to share the Good News with an unreached or uncommitted person will count toward the 100 million goal. We are not counting baptisms or conversions. We are counting the number of Gospel seeds planted. We depend on the Holy Spirit to work the miracle of faith. One hundred million is a huge number, but compared to the 4 billion in this world who do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, it’s just a first step.

Q: How will we count?

A: By July 2004, LCMS World Mission will have a Web-based reporting system in place for individuals and groups to log on and report their data and Ablaze! activities. The accuracy of the ongoing count will depend on the willingness and accuracy of the people involved in the global Ablaze! mission movement to report. This system will continue to be developed and improved based on needs, the amount of usage it receives and user feedback. Please stay tuned to www.lcmsworldmission.org and upcoming issues of Harvest News for more details.

Q: Is Ablaze! a giving campaign?

A: The short answer is no. Ablaze! is primarily about sowing 100 million Gospel seeds worldwide in partnership with North American and global partners. The realistic answer, however, is that to continue current mission work in the parish, in the district and to the ends of the earth, the continued financial gifts of God’s people are required. To move beyond the “status quo” and expand mission work at all levels through the Ablaze! initiative, will require increased financial gifts from God’s people. As LCMS World Mission provides leadership to the global movement and increases its own level of North American and global work toward the united effort, LCMS World Mission will solicit increased gifts for its work in the name of LCMS World Mission Ablaze! See the document entitled “World Mission Ablaze!” in the “What is Ablaze” folder on this CD-ROM for an explanation of how gifts to LCMS World Mission will impact this global Gospel effort.

Q: How can I be involved?

A: Individuals, groups, congregations, districts, partner churches, etc., become involved when they adopt this vision for Ablaze!, share it with others and spark mission involvement that contributes toward building a worldwide mission movement.

LCMS World Mission uses the Seven Mission Responses—Go, Pray, Learn, Give, Tell, Send and Celebrate—as a guide for individual and group mission involvement.

Q: What are the Seven Mission Responses?

Go to your family, neighbors, colleagues and others who do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ and personally share the Good News with them. Encourage your congregation or group to develop a strategy to share the love of Christ and His Good News with those in your community who need to hear it. Serve as a short-or long-term volunteer missionary with LCMS World Mission.

Pray for the Lord’s harvest and for workers to go into the harvest. Pray for missionaries and indigenous leaders and their work among unreached peoples. Pray for your congregation’s and district’s mission efforts. Participate in “Keep the Vigil: One million Hours of Prayer for Ablaze!” using the resources for prayer included on this CD-ROM.

Learn about what your congregation, district, LCMS World Mission and others are doing in mission at home and around the globe, so you can be better informed on how to pray and support missions, and so you can better direct yourself and others in strategic mission involvement.

Give to support missions through your congregation, district and LCMS World Mission. A list of giving opportunities can be found on the LCMS World Mission Web site at www.lcmsworldmission.org.

Tell others about what God is doing in His mission. Spark their interest and involvement. Help them learn about God’s mission.

Send missionaries to those places where you cannot go yourself to proclaim the Gospel. Call the Together in Mission Program coordinator at 1-800-248-1930, Ext. 1651, to learn how you can sponsor a missionary.

Celebrate God’s plan of salvation for all peoples, and how He is using His baptized children in mission! Resources for mission celebration are included on this CD-ROM in the “Ablaze Banner Designs” folder and the “Ablaze Worship Service” folder.