A circuit, in the
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...
(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
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
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 visitor is a
pastor
A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
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
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
, as opposed to
hierarchical
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
, in its extra-congregational structure. Nevertheless, there is a district president over the circuit visitors who is ultimately responsible for the pastors and congregations (generally numbering 100-300) in his district. The visitors were previously called circuit counselors, but the Synod's 2014 convention adopted, and the congregations ratified, an amendment to the Synod Constitution changing their title.
LCMS News and Articles: Congregations ratify ‘circuit visitor’ convention action
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See also
*Circuit preacher
A circuit preacher is a Christian minister who, in response to a shortage of ministers, officiates at multiple churches in an area, thus covering a "circuit".
Circuit preaching became common during and between the Second Great Awakening and Third ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Circuit (Lcms)
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
Types of Christian organization