wfn.org | Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Building for Future

[George Conklin <gconklin@igc.apc.org>]

LCMSNews -- No. 75
December 12, 2000

Synod¹s future is bright
from building perspective

 From a building perspective, congregation projects, mission plantings, and
urban and ethnic ministries all point to a positive future for The Lutheran
Church‹Missouri Synod, according to the president of the Lutheran Church
Extension Fund (LCEF).

³People do not usually build unless they are optimistic about the future,²
Merle Freitag said in his report to the Fall Leadership Conference, Nov.
17-19 in Houston.  ³Š[T]he increased requests for funds for building and
modernization are a significant indicator of the health of the Missouri
Synod. Indeed, dying organizations or decaying organizations do not invest
and plan for the future.²

Some 750 people attended the conference, sponsored annually by LCEF and the
LCMS Foundation.

Freitag also noted that the Synod planted 65 new congregations last year and
only 24 had English as their primary language.

During the 1999-2000 fiscal year, Freitag said, LCEF has provided loans for
12 ³new start² churches, to build or remodel buildings at 127 existing
congregations, to construct or renovate 21 school buildings and to build
facilities at three colleges.  LCEF also provided 15 strategic planning
sessions, 295 architectural consultations and 62 capital fund drives for
congregations, institutions and high schools.

Demand for LCEF loans has increased for the third year in a row and is
forecast to continue for the next three years, according to Freitag.

The number of LCEF investors has been declining over the past 18 months.
Freitag cited an aging LCMS population, trends for families to move from
conservative investments to higher returns and some ³negativism² in the
Synod.

He said LCEF has initiated new programs because loan demand is growing
faster than available dollars.

Freitag explained the new ³StewardAccount,² which allows electronic
deposits, electronic payments for fixed recurring payments, check writing
and a check card.   The StewardAccount has 621 individual and 303
organizations participating.

³These services and product improvements are essential to LCEF so that we
may ensure that no investor believes they are placed at a disadvantage as a
result of investing in the work of the church,² Freitag said.

A new program also allows investors to support the work of the church by
designating investments or donating the interest from investments to the Art
Haake World Ministry Fund.  The first loan from the fund was to a school in
India.  A loan also has been approved for Concordia International School
Shanghai in China, with two requests pending for Lutheran schools in Brazil.

In order to reach new investors and bring in more investments, LCEF is
offering 9- and 18-month certificates of deposit at a rate slightly higher
than market rates through Dec. 31.

The effort has been successful, Freitag reported. In the first six weeks,
$72.8 million was invested and almost 90 percent is ³new money.²  LCEF also
reached almost 4,000 new investors in six weeks.

If the investments continue at that rate, Freitag said, LCEF should be able
to meet the loan demand for at least the next 12 months. LCEF also has
introduced a KIDS program (Kids into Discipleship and Stewardship) designed
to attract and hold young investors.

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