In case ya’ll missed it last week, from the inbox:"...baptized membership throughout the Synod decreased by an estimated 34,913 (to 2,383,084) for the year and confirmed membership dropped by 21,719 (to 1,835,064).
On the "plus" side, the number of reported "specialized ministries" grew dramatically, and total contributions rose by an estimated $44,316,144 (to $1,399,774,702) compared with 2006, with the total for work at home increasing by nearly $50 million. The average amount given during 2007, per communicant member, is estimated at $762.79 -- an increase of $32.79 from the previous year."
I wonder if by “specialized ministries” LCMS, Inc. means people paid to churches and convince them that they just aren’t giving enough. I wonder if this also means the prayer teams praying for congregations like mine that “the Lord would open their hearts to participating in Ablaze!” during their Sunday worship service.
The email does go on to say that “specialized ministries also included satellite worship sites -- with 122 congregations (39 more than in 2006) reporting that they host 139 such sites -- as well as focused worship opportunities.” Satellite worship sites can mean meeting in movie theaters and like places with a video feed to the host congregation.
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