What is Ablaze!

Ablaze! is the global mission initiative of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod adopted in the summer 2004 convention.

The goal is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with 100 million unconverted people, 50 million of them in the U.S. by the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.

LCMS World Mission's goal is to ignite a movement that will change the culture of our Lutheran church bodies to be one in which every member is fully engaged in personal mission involvement through the Seven Mission Responses: Go, Pray, Learn, Give, Tell, Send and Celebrate.

Ablaze! - Mission Vision

Ablaze! is not a program or a campaign. It is a vision of mission with the confident hope of igniting a mission movement.

Each participating congregation, group, mission society, partner church, individual, etc. is challenged to pray about its own particular situation and the part of the mission initiative it can impact and to design its own strategy to contribute to reaching 100 million people.

LCMS World Mission is asking the church to develop mission models that work and can be shared with others.

Churches ask: "How can we help our people become comfortable with sharing the Gospel?"

The Center for U.S. Missions offerstools and services to implement the Ablaze! initiative

Ablaze! Worship Service [Download free 48 page PDF] - Worship Theme: Hearts Ablaze to ignite the World with Christ's Love! This service is designed to be usable/adaptable in planning contemporary, blended or traditional services.

Friendship Ablaze! - Free download of materials for Christian churches to help members invite their friends to know Jesus.

Ablaze! Start-up Resources [PDF] - Free download of personal evangelism tools for individuals and districts.

Ablaze! Seminars

• One-day learning experiences for districts and congregations
• Special pricing: $750 plus the travel expenses of the presenter. See details on hosting a seminar.

Available Seminars

• Igniting Congregation Events - Special events for congregations actively engaging their communities through outreach evangelism. They are brought together to help them take the next step in becoming more effective in their own ministry and to design ways to help other congregations learn from the blessings God has given them.
• Developing a Positive Community Image - Why does your congregation exist? What is the image people in your community have of your church? This seminar will help you look outward to those who are not churched. You will study your community, look at your strengths, and develop means to provide a positive image that reflects the Body of Christ at work in this place. You will design a plan for letting your community know that you are there to serve them in the name of Jesus Christ.
• Intentional Follow-Up - This seminar helps ministries understand that an event is only one part in the process of moving seekers and unconvinced people from one time or infrequent guests to regular participants in our ministry. Your ministry will learn and develop a process for following up with guests that is relational in its approach and will move the ministry beyond hoping guests will come back to a strategy that intentionally teaches them that you want them back because they are people who matter.
• Welcoming Guests Well - Most congregations have guests on a regular basis. This seminar helps congregations distinguish between visitors and guests, view the church from the guest's perspective, evaluate current ministry design as it relates to guests and develop a comprehensive strategy to help the congregation welcome guests well.

Resources for Purchase

Reaching the Lost - God's Mission and Ours is the name of an evangelism study developed by Dr. William Sieman.
A leader's manual, and an accompanying power point on CD, is available from the Center for U.S. Missions to help the leader and participants study, discuss, and prepare to meet the challenges of evangelizing the unchurched in our 21st Century.
$20
Buy Now

Developing a Mission Plan for Your Congregation encourages you to ask the following questions: Why do we do what we do? What are we suppose to be doing? Who are we trying to reach? What will our future look like? How are we going to get there? Who is going to do it? And, how are we doing?

Materials written by Aubrey Malphurs and Ken Behnken will guide you through a process to help your congregation develop a mission plan with values, mission, vision, and strategies.  Your congregation will find new life as you re-focus on being in mission for Christ in your community.
$20
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DVD's of Igniting Congregations Events initiated by LCMS President Dr. Jerry Kieschnick for congregations actively involved in outreach evangelism.

• Daughter Church Planting
  $15
  Buy Now (note: link to Store)

• Igniting Congregations
  6-DVD set $50
  Buy Now (note: link to Store)

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If we might assist you in any way, please email us or phone us at 949-854-8002 X1780.