wfn.org | Lutheran Men In Mission Plans Summer Events, Reaching Goals

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 24, 2005

Lutheran Men In Mission Plans Summer Events, Reaching Goals
05-052-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of Lutheran Men in Mission
(LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA), met here March 17-20 to plan for an assembly and
gathering this summer, and for achieving its goal of being
"financially self-sufficient by the end of 2005."
     Much of the meeting was spent in training, said Heber Rast,
LMM president, Cameron, S.C.  Members of the board and the LMM
development council took part in sessions designed to help the
organization meet a challenge grant.
     Last year the LMM board said one of the organization's goals
was "to strengthen LMM resources so that the organization might
be financially self-sufficient by the end of 2005."  An anonymous
couple said it would give $500,000 to LMM if the men's ministry
could raise $1 million.
     "Without the challenge grant, we couldn't do it," Rast said.
"The plan for the challenge grant is to increase our endowment by
at least $1.5 million, both in present gifts and in deferred
giving.  We hope this will build a good solid foundation for us
that will help provide some income for us in the future, some
fairly steady income," he said.  "As with any endowment fund, the
principal will never be touched."
     "We know there's an awful lot of work ahead of us in a short
period of time, but we're enthused about the opportunities for
Lutheran Men in Mission and what this will mean for this
ministry," Rast said.
     "We have finally reached the point where we hope we're about
to realize a long-term dream of Lutheran Men in Mission.  That is
to become a self-supporting organization," Rast said.
     "We are the men of the church, and we want to be able to be
independent yet with a strong relationship to the ELCA," he said.
The board studied a revised LMM constitution that will accomplish
that, Rast said.
     Proposed changes to the constitution will be on the agenda
of the LMM Assembly, he said.  The board appointed committees,
nominated men for different responsibilities and prepared for
elections as part of its planning for the assembly.
     The LMM Assembly will be July 21-22 and the Lutheran Men's
Gathering, "Run the Race: Keep the Faith," will be July 22-24 at
the Embassy Suites Convention Center, Charleston, S.C.
     "We're really excited about the gathering.  In addition to
some tremendous speakers we've lined up, we're going to be doing
some interactive things," Rast said.  The center's exhibit hall
will include rope courses, rock-climbing walls and other
activities designed to draw younger men to the gathering, he
said.
     In 2003 LMM established the LMM Young Men's Ministry
Council, which organized a "Road Trip" event last fall at YMCA of
the Rockies near Estes Park, Colo.  The council is also involved
in planning the Charleston gathering.
     Working with Habitat for Humanity, LMM gathering
participants will be involved in building projects -- possibly
tool sheds and Habitat playhouses -- for the Charleston area,
Rast said.
     "We'd ask everyone to keep our ministry in your prayers,
particularly at this time," Rast said.	"Our number one goal, the
vision that we have in front of us in everything we do, is for
every man to have a growing relationship with Jesus Christ."
-- -- --
     The home page for Lutheran Men in Mission is at
http://www.elca.org/lmm/ on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news