| International Convention of the Int'l LLL Shares the Salvation Story of Jesus
Greensboro, NC, Jul. 17, 2009 — "Share His Story" is the theme embraced by the 92nd International Convention of the International Lutheran Laymen's League, now underway in Greensboro, North Carolina. To kick off the event, around 750 attendees joined in an opening worship service led by the Rev. Dr. Jon Diefenthaler, President of the Southeastern District of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
 Highlights of the International Convention's opening general session included greetings from the Rev. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick, President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and Rev. Robert Bugbee, President of Lutheran Church—Canada.
Dr. Kieschnick celebrated that the story of the LCMS is characterized by remarkable doctrinal unity. "We are exceptionally united in what we believe, teach, and confess," he said. Rev. Bugbee shared a moving story from his own past—an account of how The Lutheran Hour®, the long-running radio program that is the flagship of the Int'l LLL and its Lutheran Hour Ministries, had kept him close to God while he was in college and had been a powerful influence in his decision to enter full time church work.
Opening day included special events for both women and men attending the International Convention. LHM's Phyllis Wallace hosted a Ladies' Luncheon during which she recorded a special episode of the Woman to Woman® program with guest Pattie Petty, wife of auto racing legend Kyle Petty. The program focused on the story of Victory Junction, a camp for children with chronic diseases, which the Pettys founded to accomplish a dream of their son Adam, who lost his life at age 19 in a racing accident.
While the ladies were enjoying front-row seats at a recording of Woman to Woman, more than 200 men from the Convention visited the Petty family's Adaumont Farm to celebrate the progress of the Men's NetWork, LHM's newest ministry. During a savory North Carolina barbecue meal, the men learned that 2,000 congregations of the LCMS and LCC, along with congregations from a number of other church bodies, had registered as Men's NetWork users. After lunch, the men spent an hour skeet shooting, fishing, tossing washers, or hiking across the rolling fields at Adaumont Farm.
Among the events yet to come at the International Convention are Friday's "LHM Visits Mayberry" Family Night activities and Saturday's inspiring Lutheran Hour Ministries Celebration, featuring a message from God's Word by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour.
Lutheran Hour Ministries is a Christian outreach ministry supporting churches worldwide in its mission of Bringing Christ to the Nations—and the Nations to the Church. It is also a volunteer movement more than 100,000 people strong. LHM produces Christian radio and TV programming for broadcast, as well as Internet and print communications, dramas, music, and outreach materials, to reach unchurched people in the United States and more than 30 other countries. LHM's flagship program, The Lutheran Hour, airs weekly on more than 900 stations in North America.
"Come and listen, all who fear God, and I will tell you what he has done for me." —Psalm 66:16
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