<\/p>\n
Dear Friend,<\/p>\n
\u201cShould we scale back 100 Missions in 10 Years?\u201d That\u2019s a question I hear frequently. With the number of pastoral vacancies and ever-increasing ministry costs, it\u2019s a valid question. God has called us to be good stewards of the resources he has given us. So, as we count the cost of 100 in 10, do we need to be less aggressive and scale back our goal? I\u2019ve thought about this\u2014a lot\u2014and I\u2019ve come to this conclusion: No, at least not yet. Here\u2019s why . . .<\/p>\n
From the start, 100 in 10 was an aggressive initiative that stretched us all in our vision, our stewardship, and our trust in the Lord\u2019s promises. Three years in, 100 in 10 is nearly keeping pace, having approved 28 new starts and 24 enhancements. We\u2019re seeing the gospel\u2019s power at work in places like Boston, Mass.; Marquette, Mich.; Queens, N.Y.; Houston, Texas; Kronenwetter, Wis.; Folsom, Calif.; and more, bringing hope and peace to the lost and hopeless.<\/p>\n
The 100 in 10 initiative has also been a catalyst for exciting work throughout our synod. It has forged and strengthened partnerships across WELS. It has brought greater collaboration with others and sparked new ministry ideas and efforts. God\u2019s people have responded generously, investing more than $4.3 million in the initiative. I have seen firsthand how the Lord is blessing efforts, transforming hearts, and impacting lives through the good news of salvation through Jesus.<\/p>\n
The Lord has a history of doing this. We read about it in the pages of Scripture. We witness it in the history of our church body. Christ works through us to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. It really is a joy watching Christ work through his people to spread the light of his Word \u201cfrom age to age,\u201d which is \u201cour chief endeavor\u201d (\u201cGod\u2019s Word Is Our Great Heritage,\u201d Christian Worship<\/em>).<\/p>\n This is where you come in. Planting new missions is costly but worth it! Financial gifts from God\u2019s people help cover costs and make a difference. Our missionaries will tell you that and thank you profusely for your gifts. I can also tell you how major gifts from God\u2019s people make a lasting impact, allowing us to plant new missions where we never thought we could.<\/p>\n On average, WELS Home Missions invests nearly $2 million in each new mission. Together, the ongoing gifts of God\u2019s people help us keep planting \u201cyet one more\u201d so more people may hear the message of peace and hope we have through Christ. This is what 100 Missions in 10 Years has always been about: Christ working through us to reach the lost. As you consider how God has generously blessed you, will you consider giving a generous gift to Home Missions to plant \u201cyet one more\u201d mission so we can reach more people with the gospel?<\/p>\n Your gift helps support existing missions, strengthens outreach efforts, and ensures that new gospel outposts are planted in new communities across North America. Together\u2014and only together\u2014we keep pressing forward with boldness, trusting that the Lord will use our combined efforts as he sees fit and in ways we never imagined.<\/p>\n \u201cNow to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen\u201d (Ephesians 3:20-21).<\/p>\n In Christ, Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, you send out your church to proclaim your good news to all creation. We praise you for allowing us to participate in your mission and for blessing our efforts. Continue to guide our church body as we prayerfully aim to open 100 missions in 10 years and enhance 75 existing ministries. We thank you that, so far, we\u2019ve been able to open 28 missions in the past three years. We pray that you would guide our mission churches on their path from new starts to thriving congregations so they can bless their communities for years to come. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dear Friend, \u201cShould we scale back 100 Missions in 10 Years?\u201d That\u2019s a question I hear frequently. With the number of pastoral vacancies and ever-increasing ministry costs, it\u2019s a valid question. God has called us to be good stewards of the resources he has given us. So, as we count the cost of 100 in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[700,955,290],"class_list":["post-20206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-daily-verse","tag-mission","tag-start","tag-wels"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Rev. Mark Gabb
Administrator, WELS Home Missions<\/p>\n