All power in the Church belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ, its head. All actions of this synod are to be carried out under his rule and authority.

This synod shall have a Synod Assembly, which shall be its highest legislative authority. The powers of the Synod Assembly are limited only by the provisions in the Articles of Incorporation, this constitution and bylaws, the assembly’s own resolutions, and the constitutions and bylaws of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The Synod Council shall be the board of directors of this synod and shall serve as its interim legislative authority between meetings of the Synod Assembly. It may make decisions which are not in conflict with actions taken by the Synod Assembly or which are not precluded by provisions of this constitution or the constitution and bylaws of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Southern Ohio Synod Mission Territory Vision 2025 Narrative

While our Vision 2025 Narrative is not a governing document it is a guide to how we fund and develop ministries in our synod for the next 10 years. This document was presented at the 2015 Synod Assembly and is the basis for the Vision Implementation Team’s work over the next few years.

Synod Visioning Document

Southern Ohio Synod Gift Policy

The Southern Ohio Synod Finance Team encourages churches to use this policy as a starting point for your own congregation gift policy. We also encourage you to designate a portion of major gifts for the Synod. Such gifts are welcome and needed in addition to regular mission support since the SOS routes 40% of our Mission & Ministry receipts to the ELCA.

SOS Synod Gift Policy – Revised 1 17 2021