Lutheran Social Ministry in the United States

Lutheran Social Ministry in the United States

The story of Lutheran social ministry is the story God's love poured out for God's people. And God's people, with overflowing gratitude, love their brothers and sisters in the human community -- next door and across the globe. Lutherans have directed that impulse to love the neighbor through individual and collective action for many generations.

Several examples:

• In the last half of the 19th century, in many rural towns and in many cities, Lutherans gathered their resolve and resources to begin orphanages and “family-finding” agencies to care for children left parentless by a variety of circumstances.
• Today, many of these Lutheran orphanages have grown into large organizations that meet a broad range of needs for children and their families.
• Each Lutheran social ministry organization can tell stories of faithful people, who, motivated by Christ's love, directed that care to others or advocated against injustice. Whether the need was for a place to care for aging people in a rural community or for opportunities for those marginalized by city life, Lutherans simply responded with little fanfare.

This fountain continues to bubble up. Congregations in urban neighborhoods create community for people struggling with mental illness, chemical dependency, and transition from prison. New missions mobilize the resources of neighborhoods to care for the lives of kids at risk. In suburbs and small towns, people of faith band together to ensure access to safe and affordable housing and services for people with disabilities. Congregations and social ministry organizations in rural areas join forces to provide healthcare, transportation and chore services for people as they age. People come together to advocate and to organize and to serve.

This story of Lutherans working in the world is a clear witness to the Gospel. There are 300 independent Lutheran health and human service organizations in thousands of communities all across the country and the Caribbean. The employees and volunteers in these organizations treat acute and chronic illnesses of body and mind, provide care for the whole person in need, and strengthen and empower individuals and families to care for themselves, for one another, and for their communities. Last year services were provided to nearly six million people -- or one in 50 Americans. The aggregated budgets of these organizations totaled over $10 billion dollars.

Through Lutheran Services in America, an alliance of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod and their related health and human service organizations, Lutheran work in health and human services is gaining broad recognition. LSA strengthens its members' ministries and Lutheran identity, facilitates work that is best done together rather than as individual organizations, trains board and staff leaders, connects social ministry organizations to one another and with partners of many types, and stimulates collective action through advocacy and programs.

A Brief History of Lutheran Services in America

In 1997, Lutheran Services in America (LSA) officially began as an alliance of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS) together with their then approximately 280 health and human service organizations.

LSA built on a history of connections between social ministry leaders.

• By 1995 two major networks, the Coalition of Executives and the National Association of Lutheran Ministries with the Aging, had joined together to form the Association of Lutheran Social Ministry Organizations (ALSMO).
• That same year in response to the Blue Ribbon Committee of the ELCA Division for Church in Society, a Design Task Force was established to create an alliance of ALSMO member organizations and the ELCA and the LCMS.
• During 1996 a structure and plan were developed.
• On April 18, 1997 at the Hilton Hotel in Milwaukee, WI, the annual meeting of ALSMO voted to become Lutheran Services in America -- the new, broader alliance.

Joanne Negstad, President of ALSMO, was selected as the President of LSA and the Rev. Nelson Meyer became the founding chair of the LSA Board of Directors. For the first several years, the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, an LSA member organization, incubated LSA with space and support at its St. Paul, MN office. In 2001, Jill Schumann became President and CEO.

In 2007, LSA celebrated its tenth anniversary at its annual conference in Baltimore, MD, where LSA is headquartered. There was much to celebrate including the remarkable voluntary engagement of alliance members, the expansion of individual and collective capacity, and the work of LSA in leadership development, public policy advocacy, peer consultation, collaborative projects, and system strengthening.

At the same time, the LSA staff and board leadership kicked off a year-long process to shape LSA's work for the next decade. A wide range of stakeholders were engaged to create a picture of possibilities has emerged that continues to strengthen the system and its members while shaping the future toward a vision for a more inclusive, more just human community.

LSA Partners with the ELCA and the LCMS

ELCA Presiding Bishop, Reverend Mark S. Hanson
LCMS President, Reverend Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS) are key members of the LSA alliance. They are active in LSA's governance, provide grant support, designate staff liaisons to LSA, and collaborate programmatically with LSA.

LSA, in turn, values the denominational relationships and seeks out ways to connect its work to that of the ELCA and the LCMS. LSA is guided by the doctrines and practices of the two churches and maintains good relationships with both.

LSA encourages its member organizations to strengthen their connections with the churches and local congregations, and to seek to understand and live out their Lutheran identities. Exciting new opportunities are emerging for LSA and its members to collaborate with other agencies and institutions of the ELCA and the LCMS including colleges, seminaries and a wide range of other ministries.