How will we support our "Serving Arms?"

In many ways our church agencies and institutions are like Serving Arms of the Body of Christ. They reach out with Christ's love every day to make a difference in people's lives with mercy and compassion. As serving arms, they do not serve in order to make a profit. Rather, they serve to make a difference-for Jesus' sake.

If our serving arms are to be strong for generations to come, they need our support-mine and yours. They need to build, gift-by-gift, strong endowment funds to sustain and grow their ministries. When current income from gifts falls short, as often happens, our serving arms are weakened. Some people may not be served. Future generations may not know the Christ-like caring that is so much a part of our Lutheran legacy.

The church is constantly receiving requests for help. The need for gifts from the estates of faithful Lutherans is clear. All across the country, campus ministries, like those in Manhattan, Lawrence, Stillwater, Norman and St. Louis, are experiencing growing interest from a growing student population. Yet, facilities for worship and other programs need updating and repair-and program budgets are always limited.

Our church colleges, like Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, provide education with a difference-the difference a faith community makes in the purposes of higher education. Bethany, like others, needs to build endowment to provide more scholarship assistance to students and to continue to build academic and student life facilities and programs.

Oaks Indian Center and Dakota Boys Ranch have waiting lists of children and youngsters who need their kind of residential living, their kind of around the clock caring and nurture. In particular, Oaks' board has a plan to expand facilities and program. And Dakota Boys Ranch has a new ministry site in Missouri for pregnant teens. They need our gifts both now and in the future to secure ministries that make a difference in the lives of Native American children and young women and their babies.

Our other residential care facilities-nursing homes like Bethany Home and homes for disabled people like Bethphage Mission and Martin Luther Home Society-are at a critical point. The recent good economy has made it difficult to keep skilled workers at the low wages these church facilities are able to offer. Although these facilities receive government funding, it's only for the bare necessities-not for the kinds and variety of services and activities that reflect Jesus' kind of caring.

For many children and families, our social service ministries such as Lutheran Social Services and Lutheran Family & Children's Services provide a last chance to strengthen their family life before breaking apart. Children who need to be adopted or placed in loving foster homes depend on LSS and LFCS to be there for them before some become entangled in the justice system web. Changes in our nation's welfare policies have placed more responsibilities for caring on the private agencies than has been the case for many decades. Our caring arms need our strong support.

Hospitals, such as Trinity Lutheran Hospital, in Kansas City, are finding it more difficult to provide chaplains on staff to meet the spiritual needs of patients who often face life-threatening illness. Trinity is building an endowment fund to support a full-time chaplain to serve patients far into the future.

Our camps and outdoor ministries, like Camp Tomah Shinga and Hollis Renewal Center, are serving more children and adults than ever. However, parents who cannot afford to send their children to camp need help-since financial stress keeps children from these experiences now more than ever. Both Tomah Shinga and Hollis need to expand both their facilities and their endowment funds for present and future ministry.

Our church's seminaries, including the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, need endowment funds for scholarships for pastoral candidates. In our two synods, I personally know several new pastors who have graduated in the past ten years, each of whom is burdened with seminary debts of $10,000, $20,000 or more. At the same time, these new pastors are serving in congregations where they have little hope of paying off such huge debts. The ELCA has started an endowment fund for seminary scholarships, and synods are looking at special funds to assist pastors in paying off debts acquired during seminary. Central States Synod has already established such a fund. Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod has concern for seminarians high on their priorities.

The needs are great. The possibilities for service in the name of Jesus are increasing. The need for current, out-right gifts is compelling. The importance of gifts from our estates is becoming clear-to build endowments that will both be a foundation for current ministry and secure Christ's care far into the future.

What does this have to do with you and me? Just this: It is our choice. You and I can choose to make a difference. You and I can be part of the solution. You and I can choose to care by sharing our accumulated assets through our will or estate plan. You and I have this opportunity, through planning, to establish a legacy by which we will make a difference, for Jesus' sake, for future generations.

If you would like more information about how you can plan your will or estate to make a difference, please write, call or e-mail me using the information listed on the 'Contact Us' page.

Peace be with you, Pr. Denny Hallemeier

Why Mission Endowment Funds?

Challenge the thought "the best way to kill a church is to give it an endowment" with another thought:
"Mission driven endowment can be one of the best ways to bring new life to a church" Then consider
Loren Mead's "top ten" list in favor of endowments:

1. Endowments proclaim-somebody trusts the church.
2. Endowments move us toward total stewardship-beyond the checkbook.
3. Endowments challenge us to plan how we will use accumulated assets.
4. Endowments awaken us to the weight of wealth.
5. Endowments sometimes preserve the possibility of ministry.
6. Endowments open doors to wider mission opportunities.
7. Endowments may help us through our current period of non-growth.
8. Endowments feed the grass roots, the pioneering spirit of local initiative for mission.
9. Endowments put us in touch with THE spiritual problem of our nation and society-how to be rich Christians.
10. Endowments challenge us to the vocation of being faithful stewards of all gifts.

Lutheran Planned Giving

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