If you have not been a part of the Lutheran church for long, or you just doze off during the presentation of the annual budget, you may not be be familiar with the term Synodical Benevolence. Yes, it's there in the budget and you know it goes to somewhere called the synod, but beyond that? So, why do we, as smaller congregation, send over $7,000 out of the church? I mean that's enough to build a playground, buy a used van for the church, pay a nice piece of the mortgage, send the pastor and family on an all expense paid trip to Disney...okay not that last one, but you get the point. It's a lot of money. So where does it all go and why give it?
Well, first it goes to the North Carolina Synod of the ELCA. in Salisbury. That is our regional body that helps coordinate the ministries of Lutheran church across the state. They in turn send half of it one the national offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Chicago, our denominational headquarters. So we got location down, now the purpose. Some of the money goes to boring, but necessary things. Utilities, maintenance, upkeep etc. etc. Like a church, the synod and church wide offices own things and those things cost money. But a vast majority of the money goes to changing the lives of millions of people. Wait? Changing the lives of millions of people....Really?
Really! It's not just a line they make all pastors parrot. In North Carolina we support 4 church camps that serve adults, youth and children through a variety of camp experiences and weekend retreats throughout the year. The camps help teach the gospel to young and old alike. These camps reach thousands of people each year, some that do not have a regular church home . We also support numerous campus ministries at colleges across NC, giving spiritual care & helping form the maturing faith of college students. Our synod also supports mission congregations like Montagnard Mission Post, a new congregation which specifically serve Hmong and other ethnic tribes in Southeast Asia. In addition, the synod supports the education of seminary students preparing for ministry as pastors, musicians, youth directors and leaders in the church. They give grantsto congregations starting new projects and ministries. The synod gives guidance and provides candidates when churches are looking for a pastor. They have free workshops on church finances, renewal, stewardship, evangelism, church growth, renewal, youth ministry and senior care, to name a few. They support the work of Lutheran Services Carolinas which serves retirement age adults in need of care at nursing facilities and at home. Seriously look at that last paragraph, it's not complete and that's just NC.
The ELCA does even more and on a larger scale. They provide yearly grants to brand new mission congregations across the country so that the gospel can come to new people in new places. They coordinate the assignment of new pastors out of seminary and ensure each church has good, solid, biblically grounded, faith filled, leaders through a seminary education. They coordinate the National Youth Gathering every three years. This bring 35,000-40,000 youth together for worship, service and spiritual growth.
The ELCA also provides disaster relief after storms and hurricanes. It coordinates national and international campaigns against world hunger, poverty, malaria, AIDS, slavery, child abuse, genocide, unjust war, the abuse of women, refugees and the exploitation of women and children through the sex trade. It is also winning these fights. Our church has a reputation around the world of not just responding immediately, but staying till the problems are solved. From water, to food, to health care to fair trade, we have helped whole community go from utterly dependent on others to self-sustaining places of life, pride & joy. It supports prison ministries, including two ELCA congregations solely made up of inmates. It provides educational opportunities at Lutheran colleges & universities. This list goes on and on and on. Oh, and last but not least, in addition to all that, we continue to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news that informs all we do and inspires us to do it! We have bishops, staff members, missionaries, pastors, youth workers, seniors, middle aged volunteers and short term prophets that work for the national office and help all these amazing ministries to happen. They go around the country and the globe and help the kingdom of God to grow and the Spirit to move. When our benevolence dollars help pay their salary, we don't just give them a living, we give them to a world in need, so that others may live more grace filled and faithful lives in Christ.
Really! It's not just a line they make all pastors parrot. In North Carolina we support 4 church camps that serve adults, youth and children through a variety of camp experiences and weekend retreats throughout the year. The camps help teach the gospel to young and old alike. These camps reach thousands of people each year, some that do not have a regular church home . We also support numerous campus ministries at colleges across NC, giving spiritual care & helping form the maturing faith of college students. Our synod also supports mission congregations like Montagnard Mission Post, a new congregation which specifically serve Hmong and other ethnic tribes in Southeast Asia. In addition, the synod supports the education of seminary students preparing for ministry as pastors, musicians, youth directors and leaders in the church. They give grantsto congregations starting new projects and ministries. The synod gives guidance and provides candidates when churches are looking for a pastor. They have free workshops on church finances, renewal, stewardship, evangelism, church growth, renewal, youth ministry and senior care, to name a few. They support the work of Lutheran Services Carolinas which serves retirement age adults in need of care at nursing facilities and at home. Seriously look at that last paragraph, it's not complete and that's just NC.
The ELCA does even more and on a larger scale. They provide yearly grants to brand new mission congregations across the country so that the gospel can come to new people in new places. They coordinate the assignment of new pastors out of seminary and ensure each church has good, solid, biblically grounded, faith filled, leaders through a seminary education. They coordinate the National Youth Gathering every three years. This bring 35,000-40,000 youth together for worship, service and spiritual growth.
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| Seriously, this is worth the $7,000, all on it's own. |
The ELCA impacts millions of people a year in ways that our congregation, by itself, never could. But with just $7,000, good people, and the grace of God (the most important ingredient here), we literally touch millions through our synodical and national ministries. This is some one the best money our church spends all years because there is no other way for us to reach some many people in so many ways. We fulfill our commission from Christ. We make disciples and care for the least of these. If you ever have a doubt about the good this money does, go to www.elca.org and look at the Faith in Action section. It is truly inspiring. So be proud of the ministry God has given our congregations to do, it is a blessing and privilege to serve our community. And be thankful for the ministries we do together, because it is by working together that the Spirit of God multiplies what little we each have into a feast for a world hungry for a new life and a new kingdom founded in the love of Christ.
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