Update from our Dean, Dennis Beckmann, July 18, 2018

A very Blessed Day to all,
I would like to pass on some information and updates for our mission district, The Great Plains Mission District.
1. In the past year we have welcomed into our Mission District the following Churches: Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Abilene, KS, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church of Norway, KS, Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church of Axtell, KS, and Living Word Lutheran Church of Rogers, AR,
2. Our Mission District we currently have 5 churches engaged in the process of discerning if they should become members of the NALC.
3. At our last annual meeting we asked for volunteers to be on a team that would look at dividing our Mission District into at least 2 Mission Districts. The NALC recommends that MD’s not exceed 15 churches with 12 being suggested as an “optimal” number. We currently have 18 members with a likelihood of being at least 21-23 by our annual meeting this fall. So division is needed.
a. The recommendation from the team exploring this is for the district to divide into 3 districts. A southern portion which would encompass Arkansas, Oklahoma, and everything in Kansas and Missouri that lies south of Interstate 70 (this is still a large geographic area but does not have very many congregations). Another district would contain congregations in Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska that are north of Interstate 70 and west of Hiway 77. The third district would contain congregations in Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska that lie north of Interstate 70 and east of Hiway 77. There was another proposal that garnered some support for division into two mission districts with Hiway 77 being an east West dividing line. The proposal for three districts was recommended over this proposal because of the likelihood that one or both districts would be looking into a need to divide again in the very near future as the likelihood of more congregations leaving the ELCA and joining the NALC, or LCMC congregations deciding to jointly be LCMC and NALC was very good. It is hoped that the three district model would provide stasis for the new districts for several years (and then we pray that the Holy Spirit would prove this false by providing growth to the NALC)
4. My term as dean expires this fall, thus as we elect a new dean it looks like an excellent time to divide the MD and elect multiple deans to head the newly formed districts.
5. I would like to take this time to introduce you all to Pastor Cindy Cone, now serving at Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Axtell, KS, as well as Pastor Alan Aley (pronounced Daley without the ‘d’) now serving at Zion Lutheran Church in Everest, KS. Both churches and pastors joined together in ministry this July.
Yours in Christ
Pastor Dennis Beckmann,
Dean, Great Plains Mission District NALC