Funding the Mission
Where your offerings goes, and why to give it
“God’s work. Our hands.” It’s an idea pervasive throughout the ELCA’s three expressions – congregations, synods and the churchwide organization. When we volunteer to feed the hungry, serve those who suffer, provide education, advocate for justice, and open new congregations in communities that need a place to worship and gather, we are doing God’s work – and we are sharing God’s boundless love with the world.
And we are able to it for one reason: God’s grace that is reflected in the generosity of people like you.
Each week, millions of ELCA members give an offering to the ELCA at their local congregation. It’s natural to ask – where does that money go? What is God doing in people’s lives through our giving?
Your Local Congregation
More than 90 percent of that money goes toward supporting ministry in your local congregation – and the programs it supports in your community.
|
|
Your Synod
ELCA congregations provide a portion of the collected funds, called mission support, to support broader missions through their synod. The synod shares a portion of this mission support both locally and through companion synods around the world.
|
|
The ELCA Churchwide Organization
The 65 synods then share a portion of the funds with the ELCA Churchwide Organization, which distributes it back to local ministries across the U.S. and the Caribbean via grants, services, programs, and resources, and throughout the world.
|
You can also give directly to support the ELCA’s mission by offering a Good Gift to Vision for Mission. This will ensure that your gift will reach wherever the need is greatest.
To see an example of the good that God does through your giving, take a look at how mission dollars are spent.