Our Mission

Serve, strengthen, and equip congregations for bold, faithful, Christ-centred witness.

Our Vision

A unified, confessional body of believers fulfilling the Great Commission.

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Truth

We value Scripture as the inerrant, written Word of God and the only rule and norm of faith and practice.

We Value Truth | Column by President Teuscher

Grace

We value Grace as the free and undeserved gift of God through Christ Jesus which empowers believers to show forgiveness and mercy to others.

We Value Grace | Column by President Teuscher

Unity

We value unity in doctrine, proclamation, and practice, as expressed in Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

We Value Unity | Column by President Teuscher

Vocation

We value each person’s unique God-given gifts, talents, and abilities, enabling them to witness Christ’s redeeming love in all aspects and stations of life.

We Value Vocation | Column by President Teuscher

Sanctity of Life

We value life as a gift of God to be cherished, nurtured, and protected from conception to natural death.

We Value Sanctity of Life | Column by President Teuscher

Trust

We value telling one another the truth in love, doing what we say we will do, and stewarding all ministry resources to the glory of God.

We Value Trust | Column by President Teuscher

Relationships

We value and respect one another as children of God, demonstrating love in all things because He first loved us.

We Value Relationships | Column by President Teuscher

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Disciple Making Culture

Serve, support, and equip congregations and partner ministries for mission and discipleship.

Mission Outreach

Pursue bold domestic and international outreach and ministry.

Equip Leaders

Recruit, educate, and support ecclesiastical, diaconal, and lay leaders for the church.

Organizational Effectiveness

Use and strengthen synodical structure, services, and processes to foster unity, transparency, and relationships.

Fiscal Resources and Responsibility

Gather, manage, and allocate financial resources to increase and optimize mission impact. 

Strategic Communications

Cultivate open, consistent communications to inform, engage, and encourage awareness and response throughout the synodical family.

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About the Process

The Purpose & Priorities Planning Process involved many voices across our church body. This process provided exceptional feedback and direction on our challenges and our opportunities as a synod, leading to the development of a strategic framework to:

• Clarify our mission and priorities;
• Define measurable outcomes and accountability standards;
• Guide resource allocation and funding priorities;
• Enhance communications and transparency, and;
• Position LCC for mission expansion and congregational vitality.

LCC’s Board of Directors, together with synodical leadership, enlisted the services of Zacharias Advancement Consulting to help with this planning process. A series of internal assessment interviews with individuals from across synod (pastors, lay leaders, auxiliary leaders, seminary leaders, and synodical leaders) highlighted some key challenges affecting LCC. As a result, the Purpose & Priorities Planning Committee was established to gather feedback from many different voices across our Synod and develop a multi-year plan for mission and ministry.

Breakdown

Listening and information gathering were the centrepieces of the Purpose & Priorities Planning (PPP) Process, which can be broken down into these key areas:

• Planning to Plan: An online Formative Survey was developed using data already gathered from the internal assessment interviews by Zacharias Advancement Consulting. The survey was sent to pastors, leaders, and a broad spectrum of the laity to determine perceptions, attitudes, hopes, and concerns for LCC. Over 300 responses were received.
• Environmental Assessment: Eight Focused Leadership Events were conducted virtually with over 100 participants (including pastors, lay leaders, LCC board members, donors, and laity of various age brackets) to determine attitudes and perceptions of LCC and our collective vision of the future.
• Clarify & affirm Mission, Vision, Values & Priorities: An in-person Planning Retreat was held on April 7-8, 2022, in Winnipeg. Representation from pastors, deacons, and laity, together with LCC’s Board of Directors and synodical leadership, gathered to discuss the distilled feedback generated from the online survey and virtual focused leadership sessions. Our goal was to establish clarity around LCC’s mission, vision and values and focus on areas of need to position LCC for mission expansion and congregational vitality. Based on the group’s response, the retreat accomplished what it set out to do. Our thanks to all the participants.
• Refine the Framework & Plan: The PPP Committee and LCC leadership worked to identify initiatives and measurable outcomes for the the Mission and Ministry Plan.
• Present the plan at the 2022 Synodical Convention: As the inaugural convention of our new structure, where all of our congregations or parishes will come together, it presented an excellent opportunity to highlight the passion our church body has for its future and bring forward the excitement of expanding our mission. The full presentation before the assembly at the 2022 LCC Synod Convention can be viewed on our YouTube Channel. David Friesen, LCC’s Director of Advancement, and Alan Zacharias, president of Zacharias Advancement Consulting, shared the results of the planning process.

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Each of LCC’s strategic initiatives support a goal statement and are part of LCC’s four-year workplan with an aim to answer the question, “How can LCC and its agencies better partner with you and your congregation?” The PPP Committee, LCC leadership and staff, and the Board of Directors, have been involved in developing these initiatives since the national convention in 2022. Strategic initiatives are time sensitive, quantifiable, and have responsible parties involved in delivering the key intended outcomes over the quadrennium. These outcomes include:

• A focused approach and plan that aligns resources and builds unity throughout LCC.
• Support to all congregations, including small, rural, and struggling parishes, providing programs, training, and encouragement to develop lay leadership, volunteers, and inter-congregational engagement.
• A communication strategy to build awareness of LCC’s mission and ministry and encourage engagement in the same.
• A review of how our new structure is working and, where necessary, develop improvements to this structure to enhance the work we do together.
• An expansion of pastoral formation options and pastoral/church worker recruitment efforts to better serve parish needs.
• Development of a long-term funding model to maintain and increase the mission and ministry efforts of our synod. 

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