National Offering to support ‘Witness, Mercy, Life Together’

Gifts to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s National Offering — a special churchwide appeal launched every three years in conjunction with the LCMS national convention — will support a wide variety of programs and projects that relate to the church body’s threefold emphasis of Witness, Mercy, Life Together.

Contributions to the 2016 National Offering will impact the Synod’s work of:

Witness — planting new congregations in the United States, providing Bibles for LCMS Youth Gathering attendees this summer in New Orleans, equipping LCMS missionaries worldwide with evangelism and teaching resources, and more.

Mercy — protecting life from conception to natural death, caring for disadvantaged children, improving living conditions among the poor, and more.

Life Together — providing scholarships and training for church-work students in the LCMS and its overseas partner church bodies, revitalizing struggling U.S. congregations, and more.

LCMS congregations are encouraged to receive contributions for the National Offering on Sunday, June 12, or an alternate date that best fits their schedules. Packets of resources are being mailed to all LCMS congregations this month. Resources that may be downloaded from the National Offering website include bulletin inserts and responsive prayers.

Offerings should be brought to the opening worship service of the Synod’s 66th Regular Convention July 9 in Milwaukee.

Every contribution to the offering will be used to “empower ministry work” through the LCMS offices of National Mission, International Mission and Pastoral Education — none will go toward personnel or administrative costs.

“These are gifts for action and impact in the lives of others,” notes the National Offering website.

“Every three years,” as the Synod “unifies around a common goal — the National Offering — the collective passion and generosity of individual donors and congregations is awe-inspiring,” said Leah S. Sieveking, director of Member Engagement with LCMS Mission Advancement. “What a powerful force for the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! God has used offerings from previous trienniums to do some amazing things, and the 2016 LCMS National Offering will be no exception.

“Through your participation, lives will be changed for eternity. It doesn’t get any better — or more exciting — than that,” added Sieveking, and she thanked donors in advance “for showing such great love to brothers and sisters in Christ all around the world.”

National Offering contributions from individuals and families can also be made:

online at lcms.org/givenow/NO2016.

over the phone at 888-930-4438.

by mail. Make checks payable to “The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod,” write “2016 LCMS National Offering” on the memo line and mail to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, 2016 LCMS National Offering, P.O. Box 66861, St. Louis, MO 63166-6861.

Gifts of appreciated securities, property and other assets also are welcomed. For information or to make such an offering, contact the LCMS Foundation at 800-325-7912 or lcmsfoundation.org.

For more information and resources relating to the 2016 National Offering — which will remain open until May 2019 — visit lcms.org/national-offering .

Posted May 12, 2016