So what exactly does a District President do?
Among his responsibilities to resource, serve, and support his district, the PSD District President serves on the LCMS Council of Presidents (COP) alongside the LCMS Office of the President and the 34 other District Presidents. The COP gathers four times a year for brotherly fellowship and to “do the work,” representing districts at a synodical level and collaborating on serving the Church. While these meetings are often held at the LCMS headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, the PSD in partnership with Concordia University Irvine (CUI) were privileged to host the November COP meeting at our respective locations.
What a great joy and honor it was to host presidents and many of their wives from all over the country, especially to have the opportunity to showcase how God is at work in the PSD! Their week began with a dinner reception at CUI President Michael Thomas’ home and ended with a Newport Harbor dinner cruise aboard the Wild Goose (thanks to very generous donors for making that possible).
The COP agenda included touring CUI, hearing directly from church worker faculty and students, participating in chapels, eating in the cafeteria, and touring CUI’s new Spectrum campus. Additionally, PSD and LCEF staff presented an overview of our innovative partnership in helping churches and schools maximize real estate for mission and ministry. Meanwhile, COP wives got to tour Orange Lutheran High School, visit the Nixon Presidential Library, and dip their toes in the sand at Huntington Beach. A particular highlight for the PSD staff was hosting everyone (nearly 100 people) at the District Office for a “SoCal Fiesta” with a taco cart and live music from Kedma Wenz, wife of Pastor Paul Wenz of Immanuel, Santa Barbara, and guitarist Andre Monari.
Reflecting on the very successful week, the staff of the Pacific Southwest District wants to thank all of you! It’s a joy to share how ministry looks “a little different out here on the west coast” because of you. Thank you for encouraging your students and young people to consider church work and continue their education at Concordia Irvine. Thank you for having forward-looking ministry mindsets that consider property utilization for the sake of the Gospel. Thank you for answering the call the Lord has placed on your life every day to bring the good news of great joy to a place that many see as a lawless Nineveh.
So what does a District President and his staff do? Resource, serve and support you. And we were honored to joyfully share God’s mighty work in the PSD with the COP – it is truly God @ Work through you!
Enable more stories of transformed lives through Jesus
Untold thousands are still in darkness, lost like “sheep that have gone astray”. But this is exactly the mission our Lord has created His Church for – reaching the lost for Jesus’ sake in as many ways as necessary. This is the purpose for which our 300 churches and 150 schools were founded in their many contexts. And “the fields are ripe for the harvest” right now!
Your gifts are critical and enable us to continue and expand our shared work together, fulfilling the PSD mission of effectively resourcing congregations and schools for transforming lives and making the Great Commission REAL!
Share Your Story
We love sharing the work God is doing in our district and would love to share what He is doing in your ministry!
