Last Saturday rostered and lay leaders from around the synod gathered for a day of mission and ministry planning.
Assembly which recommended the church use digital media and develop flexible networks to “increase collaboration and connections across this church.”
“LIFT helped us see that networking people who are
passionate about a wide variety of ministries allows us to include more people
and tap new energy for the mission of the church,” explained Bishop Steven
Ullestad in a May 2012 article in The Lutheran. “Creating the networks has opened new doors for more synod members to participate in the ministries and has already reduced costs associated with attending meetings in person.”

email, telephone conference calls, Skype and Facebook.
Each network relates directly to the Synod Council through a Synod Council liaison who is part of the network. An unexpected result from this new structure is that “Synod Council is more fun,” observes Bishop Ullestad. “Because Synod Council members are now part of a network, they are more directly involved in what is going on in the synod.”Because all of the networks meet together on this one day there is the opportunity for members of one network to run across the hall to network with other networks. This year Home Life and Hunger came together to work on an educational display for the 2015 Synod Assembly.
While some people do miss the social aspect of getting together in person on a regular basis, the new structure has proved to be very popular and has taken hold in our synod.

than on a fixed schedule has also helped spark creativity and allow networks to respond to needs as they arise.Bishop Ullestad talks about Synod Networks