This July, the Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society (LWMS) Legacy Endowment Fund and Rakow Endowment Fund provided approximately $20,000 to support the First Public Service Assistance project. Managed by WELS Foundation, the gift planning ministry of WELS, these endowment funds allow gifts made today to support ministry for generations to come. The funding helps new mission congregations reach their communities through direct mail, community outreach, follow-up, and other efforts that create a welcoming first impression and open the door to sharing Christ’s saving message.
“These dollars enable our missionaries to do things above and beyond what our budget allows for, and by doing this it helps them reach further into the community with the gospel,” says Mark Gabb, administrator of WELS Home Missions.
“At our first official service, this grant proved incredibly valuable in boosting conversations through a post-worship meal,” says Ross Chartrand, home missionary at Cornerstone, Bentonville, Ark. “It also enabled continued connections in the following weeks by providing quality follow-up gifts for our guests.” For some visitors, those first conversations become the beginning of a lasting connection to Christ and his church.
To learn more about how endowment gifts are helping bring the gospel to people who may otherwise never hear it, check out this video: Endowment Funds – WELS.
