Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 86

2026 Convention Workbook
51
OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
Graph 1: Giving to Congregations for Work at Home  
and Work at Large, per Confirmed Member
Thanks be to God for the generosity He bestows upon His peo-
ple, and the generosity they show to the church! It is encouraging 
to see not only steady growth in nominal giving but also steadiness 
in the face of the pressures of inflation.
Even as giving by individuals has remained strong, the pressure 
on congregational budgets has increased. The average congrega -
tional budget for work at home (in the congregation) plus work 
at large (district, Synod, etc.) increased from $103,017 in 1984 to 
$254,330 in 2024, a 147 percent increase. However, the purchasing 
power of that decreased by 18 percent over the same time.
Graph 2: Average Total Congregational Budget  
for Work at Home and Work at Large
The downward trend in the purchasing power of the gifts re-
ceived by congregations (the dotted line) is unmistakable. What 
drives this disconnect between the steady support of the people 
of the Synod and the decline in availability for the congregations? 
Simply put, the decline in total confirmed members of LCMS con-
gregations has outpaced the decline in the number of member con-
gregations. Since 1984, the number of member congregations of 
the LCMS decreased by only 5 percent. Over the same period, the 
number of confirmed members decreased by 37 percent.
The impact of this on the work of the Synod is significant, both 
at the congregation and beyond. The following table shows the 
trend of giving to the Work at Large of the Synod, and the portion 
of that passed on to corporate Synod, since 1984.
F. Facilities Management Services (FMS)
The LCMS is continuing our facility management partnership 
with Cushman and Wakefield at the IC. Cushman’s expertise in 
property management will help ensure the LCMS is adhering to 
industry best practices. The mission of FMS is to ensure a safe, 
healthy, and Christian work environment for employees at the IC.
G. Significant Accomplishments
(1) Completed major building capital projects to include: mod-
ernizing the IC’s three elevators, installing new building hot wa-
ter boiler system, replacing large HV AC unit on the North wing, 
and cracking/filling/sealing/striping parking lots. (2) Installed new 
front entrance camera/intercom to vet visitors before entering the 
building and new all building paging/intercom system that inte -
grates with our phone system. (3) Upgraded meeting room video 
conferencing hardware to better support Zoom and TEAMs meet -
ings. (4) Upgraded all the Multi-Function Printers at the IC and 
moved to the cloud-based PaperCut solution, allowing more ac-
curate and efficient tracking of prints to better control costs. (5) 
Continuing a comprehensive cyber awareness training program 
for employees, moving from KnowBe4 to Microsoft Defender for 
an annual savings of over $5000. (6) Migrated most LCMS data 
and Enterprise applications from onsite servers to the LCMS cloud 
M365 SharePoint environment further reducing the reliance on the 
IC for business operations. (7) Upgraded the Print Center high vol-
ume printer and added a wide format and envelope printer. This 
has provided additional cost saving to the LCMS and allowed us 
to expand this service to local LCMS congregations and schools. 
(8) Migrated from our Avaya IP phone system to Microsoft Teams 
V oice. This fully integrates our phone system within our Microsoft 
M365 environment. (9) Continue to work with Rosters and Statis-
tics to expand the LCMS Information Support Network (LISN) to 
meet the needs of the LCMS. 
Joel Rivers, Executive Director
R5.2
Chief Financial Officer
We are blessed to be part of a Synod that is built on the foun-
dation of our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and is governed 
and supported by a strong and educated laity and willing member 
congregations who have voluntarily chosen this walking together. 
As Chief Financial Officer, my primary focus is faithfully steward-
ing the financial gifts that are passed up through that structure to 
support our work together. In this effort, I strive to maintain trans-
parency regarding the Synod’s finances, while also looking to un-
derstand the broader context of those finances. The financials may 
vary from year to year, but the love of Christ remains.   
Synodical Context
Giving by individuals in the Synod remains strong. In my 2023 
convention report, I indicated that giving to congregations by in-
dividuals (as reported by congregations as dollars used for both 
“Work at Home” and “Work at Large”) had surpassed $1,000 per 
confirmed member for the first time in 2021. 2024 was again a 
record high, with the average confirmed member giving $1,124 
during 2024 to the congregation.