MAS Mission Support Storytellers

Here are a few article ideas, just waiting to find their way into a bulletin, a newsletter, or perhaps a website! Use them any way that makes sense to you. Please also feel free to share your articles here in the comments.

• Equipping your congregation to talk about money / stewardship at home
• Why we give our offerings

ELCA Quick Facts (.pdf)

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America resulted from a union of three North American Lutheran church bodies: The American Lutheran Church, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church in America.

The three churches agreed to unite in 1982. They formed a 70-member Commission for a New Lutheran Church, which planned the merger. The plan was approved by church conventions in 1986, and the ELCA constituting convention was held April 30-May 3, 1987, with the church actually beginning operations on January 1, 1988.

The ELCA meets in assembly every two years; at its 2001 Churchwide Assembly it elected its third bishop, The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, who was re-elected at the 2007 Churchwide Assembly held August 6-12 in Chicago.

MEMBERS:

• Baptized Members: 4,850,776
• Communing and Contributing Members: 2,256,700
• Congregations: 10,549
• Synods: 65 in nine geographic regions
• Members of Color
  African-American/Black: 54,354
  American Indian/Alaska Native: 7,095
  Arab/Middle Eastern: 1,779
  Asian/Pacific Islander: 21,950
  Latino/Hispanic: 39,157
  Multiethnic: 12,261
  Other: 11,096

LEADERS:

• Clergy: 17,694 (3,140 female; 570 people of color)
• Associates in Ministry: 1,082 (867 female; 215 male; 18 people of color)
• Diaconal Ministers: 105
• Deaconesses: 62
• Missionaries: approx. 270 adult missionaries serving in over 48 countries, of which 79 are self-funded volunteers
• Campus Pastors and Ministries: 185 campus ministry sites supported by synod and/or churchwide funds
• Federal Chaplains: Approximately 706
  (383 Retired Military, 96 Armed Forces Active Duty, 183 Reservists,
  37 Veterans Affairs, 7 Federal Bureau of Prisons)
• Chaplaincy, Pastoral Counseling and Clinical Education: Approximately 965 ecclesiastically endorsed ordained and lay rostered people serve in the areas such as general health care, correctional, substance abuse, long term care chaplaincy and clinical education ministry.

INSTITUTIONS:

• Theological Seminaries and Deaconess Community:
  8 Seminaries
  2 Seminary Extension Centers
  1 Deaconess Community
• Colleges and Universities: 28
• Schools:
  14 High Schools
  296 Elementary Schools
  1573 Early Childhood Programs
• Social Ministry Organizations:
  280 parent corporations, providing service to 6 million people in 3,000 communities, and serving one in 50 Americans every year
• Camps and Retreat Centers: 145, serving 450,000 yearly
  (summer programs 175,000, retreats and conferences 275,000)

FINANCES:

• ELCA Churchwide Current Fund Results:
  2005 Revenue $81,791,720
  2004 Expense $78,317,968 (plus Church Council Designated funds of $4,000,000)
• Total 2005 Income of Congregations: $2,676,901,588
• Average Giving Per Confirmed Member: $598.75

Statistics as of December 31, 2005

Minneapolis Area Synod

Who Are We: Quick facts about the Minneapolis Area Synod

The Minneapolis Area Synod consists of 167 congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in and around the “City of Lakes.” The synod (a word which means “meeting together”) includes urban, suburban, and rural communities in the greater metropolitan Minneapolis area. It is the largest of the ELCA’s synods and home to some of the largest Lutheran congregations in the world.

Fast Facts:

Read the rest here.

Download the document here. Minneapolis Area Synod Quick Facts (.pdf).

• **New** Singing Your Praises - Half Sheet
• Making Christ Known - A Call to Ministry
• Your Mission Support - Prison Ministry
• Video Game Violence - How YOU Are Making a Difference!

Where does your offering go when shared with the Minneapolis Area Synod?

Click on the link above (or image below) to download a pie chart of how your congregations Mission Support is used for ministry in the Minneapolis Area Synod.

Please call or email if you need help or would like this chart emailed to you!