Circuit (LCMS)
Encyclopedia
A circuit, in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
(LCMS), is a local grouping of congregations within one of the Synod's 35 districts
. Circuits typically include 8 to 12 congregations. In order to send a pair of delegates to the triennial Synodical convention, a circuit must have between seven and twenty congregations with a combined total of between 1,500 and 10,000 confirmed members; however, Synod by-laws allow the president of the Synod to make exceptions upon the request of a district's board of directors. In some situations where a circuit includes numerous small congregations spread over a large area, the circuit may be subdivided for visitation purposes but still count as a single circuit for voting purposes.
A circuit counselor is a pastor
who helps to oversee the other pastors within a circuit. The position is best understood as a peer advisor, as the LCMS has traditionally been strongly congregational
, as opposed to hierarchical
, in its extra-congregational structure. Nevertheless, there is a district president over the circuit counselors who is ultimately responsible for the pastors and congregations (generally numbering 100-300) in his district.
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 2.3 million members, it is both the eighth largest Protestant denomination and the second-largest Lutheran body in the U.S. after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Synod...
(LCMS), is a local grouping of congregations within one of the Synod's 35 districts
Districts of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is organized into 35 districts, 33 of which are defined along geographic lines. Each district has a president who oversees the congregations in his district, which are further subdivided into local circuits...
. Circuits typically include 8 to 12 congregations. In order to send a pair of delegates to the triennial Synodical convention, a circuit must have between seven and twenty congregations with a combined total of between 1,500 and 10,000 confirmed members; however, Synod by-laws allow the president of the Synod to make exceptions upon the request of a district's board of directors. In some situations where a circuit includes numerous small congregations spread over a large area, the circuit may be subdivided for visitation purposes but still count as a single circuit for voting purposes.
A circuit counselor is a pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
who helps to oversee the other pastors within a circuit. The position is best understood as a peer advisor, as the LCMS has traditionally been strongly congregational
Congregationalist polity
Congregationalist polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of church governance in which every local church congregation is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous"...
, as opposed to hierarchical
Episcopal polity
Episcopal polity is a form of church governance that is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a bishop...
, in its extra-congregational structure. Nevertheless, there is a district president over the circuit counselors who is ultimately responsible for the pastors and congregations (generally numbering 100-300) in his district.