New research informs worker wellness

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By Stacey Eising

Amid record levels of mental illness in our society, the subject of wellness is getting more attention than ever.

But the Christian church has been concerned about the well-being of its people, and of its church workers, since the time of Acts. And we know the true source of wellness: to be in Jesus Christ and sustained by our brothers and sisters in His church.

The LCMS has many mechanisms of care for its workers — through the districts; Concordia Plan Services (CPS); relief grant programs out of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Office of National Mission (ONM); and, especially, the care that takes place locally within each congregation, school and LCMS organization.

Since 2016, spurred on by several convention resolutions, the Synod has been gathering data about the wellness of its church workers in order to develop intentional strategies for meeting needs and filling gaps in current care. From 2017 to 2019, it undertook the largest study ever on the wellness of LCMS pastors and church workers. The results were made public in 2019. They demonstrated what many in the LCMS knew anecdotally: that LCMS church workers can face high levels of stress that impact their well-being. For example, the study found that 24% of workers had been diagnosed with depression or anxiety, 55% had experienced financial stress, and a majority had a BMI considered overweight or obese. The LCMS began work on plans to address these issues.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. LCMS Church Worker Wellness quickly pivoted and turned its focus to addressing immediate crises of wellness related to the pandemic.

Now, a few years beyond the pandemic, the LCMS is well into its work of re-focusing on the overall well-being of its church workers. In 2022, an LCMS Church Worker Wellness alliance group was formed. Comprised of leaders from several LCMS districts, CPS and various LCMS mission units — and also interacting with LCMS Recognized Service Organizations, Synod entities such as LCEF, and LCMS auxiliaries that support worker wellness — this group is working to align the efforts of the whole Synod on this issue.

“We want to steward God’s gifts to us so that we don’t have duplication of efforts when we could have been working together,” said Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor, ONM managing director of Human Care and Ministerial Support. Manor convened the alliance and leads ONM Worker Wellness.

Shortly after the alliance formed, the 2023 convention reaffirmed the LCMS focus on worker wellness through Res. 1-06A (“To Direct Districts and Council of Presidents [COP] to Provide Strategic Plan for Addressing Wellness of Church Workers”). While the convention assigned this work primarily to the districts, the alliance group is supporting this work and helping the COP in the development of aligned strategies to carry out the work assigned by the convention.

The leaders in the alliance group quickly settled on a key emphasis for the Synod’s worker wellness: communication with lay leaders. “We realized our laypeople are key,” said Manor, “because they are the ones who are locally involved in the church workers’ lives and making decisions at the congregational level that will impact the wellness of the workers.”

This focus on resourcing and supporting lay leaders in caring for their workers was added to the extant focus on “personal stewardship,” or encouraging church workers to attend to their own well-being in a number of areas: spiritual, relational, emotional, physical, vocational, financial and intellectual. With these focuses in mind, the LCMS conducted a new study in the early months of 2024, this one on the attitudes and opinions of both lay leaders and church workers. The survey findings, which factor in the responses of 213 congregations and 511 church workers (225 ordained, 108 teachers and 178 other commissioned workers), reveal:

Lay leaders recognize their responsibility to care for church workers but are sometimes unsure of how to do so and would appreciate more resources to this end.

Lay leaders desire that church workers share more about their well-being.

Church worker wellness statistics echo the 2019 survey, indicating that church worker care during the pandemic was effective at keeping at bay significant declines in wellness.

Younger workers consistently gave themselves lower ratings across all areas of well-being.

In response to these survey results, a number of resources are in development, as requested by the Synod’s districts. “We listened, we heard you, and we’re taking your advice and suggestions,” said Manor.

In the coming months, LCMS Church Worker Wellness will be putting out content according to quarterly themes, focusing on one aspect of the Wellness Wheel (spiritual, intellectual, relational, emotional, physical, vocational and financial well-being) at a time.

To hear the latest updates about the new work of LCMS Worker Wellness, subscribe to the ONM’s God’s Mission Here newsletter and stay tuned to the “God’s Mission Here” podcast. Visit lcms.org/wellness to learn more.

Posted June 6, 2024