WELS has had a long history of funding its mission and ministries primarily through offerings submitted by congregations. The Congregation Mission Offering (CMO) has been and continues to be the primary way in which the work of the synod is supported. And that is the way it should be. Over the years, financial support for congregations has been a dependable, stable, and fairly predictable source of mission funding. To emphasize its approval of that approach, the synod in convention stated again in 2009 that offerings from congregations will continue to be the foundational support for what we do together as a synod. Congregations and their members recognize that the work of the synod is really an extension of the ministry carried on locally. The synod is a means to carry the gospel to places and people that individual congregations may not be able to reach.

There are also times when individuals desire to give a gift directly to the synod. Sometimes, those gifts are given with no specific designation. In that case, the offering is placed into the synod's general operating budget and is used to support the work that is in place or already planned. In other cases, individuals prefer to designate their offering to one specific area of the synod's work. It might be a particular mission field or synodical school. It might be a specific program that the individual wants to support with a special gift.

There have been some questions and perhaps a little confusion about how designated offerings from individuals are used to support the work of the synod. Some have wondered if a gift designated for a specific purpose will really be used for that purpose or if, instead, it is simply placed into the "large pot" of the synod's budget. Others have expressed a concern that if designated gifts are given to one area of ministry, budgetary support for that area will then be reduced by a similar amount.

Every member of the synod can be assured that any gift designated for a specific purpose will be used in keeping with the intent of the donor. Gifts given to World Missions, for example, will be placed into the divisional fund administered by the Board for World Missions. The area of ministry will consider the funds it has received in special gifts and will plan carefully how those funds will be used. Budgetary support for an area of ministry will not be automatically reduced as a result of such a gift. In fact, if sufficient additional gifts are received, the area of ministry may be able to plan new efforts and to expand its work.

We certainly encourage the members of our synod to support the work of the synod through their congregation's mission offerings. We are also very thankful for the blessing of direct individual gifts. If you choose also to give directly to the synod or to a specific ministry of the synod, you can be assured that it will be used only for that purpose.

Serving in Christ,
Mark Schroeder
President

To learn more about individual giving options, visit www.wels.net/give.