By Megan K. Mertz
PHOENIX — During the Opening Divine Service of the 69th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) on July 18, people from across the Synod brought their gifts for the 2026–2029 National Offering. As of July 20, $742,522 had been given toward this effort.
Under the theme “Christ Is Risen! Tell the Next Generation,” this triennium’s National Offering will support ongoing domestic work carried out at the local level by LCMS congregations, districts and others, and supported by LCMS Family Ministry, Youth Ministry, Campus Ministry and School Ministry. The theme is based on Psalm 78:4: “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that He has done.”
Gifts have been accepted online for several months — and will continue to be accepted throughout the triennium — but it is tradition for delegates to bring gifts from their home congregations in person to the convention. The total includes these online gifts as well as a generous $500,000 contribution given to kick off the National Offering by an anonymous family foundation.
“It was an eclectic group that came together during the opening service,” said Shane Smithson, interim executive director of LCMS Mission Advancement. “We received gifts ranging from nickels and dimes to Euros to a $30,000 check. The dollars that were given, and the types received, demonstrate the wide range of support that this National Offering is receiving.”
This year, 55 children participated in the service, where they served as singers, altar guild servers, crucifers and acolytes as part of LCMS Worship’s “Sing, Pray and Keep His Ways” initiative. Smithson said that as he and his staff — and their security escort, who decided to stay after his shift to help — were counting the gifts placed into the offering plates, some of these children were still talking and laughing in the hallway as they waited for their parents after the service.
“I couldn’t help but think that [having the kids there] tied in nicely with the National Offering’s focus on passing down the faith to the next generation,” Smithson said.
Learn more:
2026 LCMS Convention
Under the theme “Christ Is Risen Indeed,” the 69th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod met July 18–23, 2026, at the Phoenix Convention Center in downtown Phoenix.
There are several ways to get convention news, including:
Web
• lcms.org/convention/national
Video
• lcms.org/convention/national/livestream
Audio
• kfuo.org
Social media
Posted July 21, 2026
