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LWML Convention Presence
Celebrating Our Partnership in Mission with LWML
by CHAD FIX
The Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) welcomed nearly 3,000 people to its convention in Lexington, Kentucky, June 24-27. As a partner in mission, LHM sent staff to lead two lunchtime presentations, host a reception, and share ministry information through its exhibit booth.
Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour, brought greetings from the mainstage and hosted a special interest luncheon where he discussed LHM’s holistic outreach programming in Cameroon that was funded by a grant awarded by the LWML at their 2019 convention. Sharing the Gospel through vocational training programs like the Divine Sewing School allows LHM–Cameroon to educate young women in a practical skill that helps them earn money to provide for their families. In addition to the training, women are enrolled in LHM’s Bible Correspondence Courses to learn more about Jesus.
Ashley Bayless, LHM’s curriculum development manager, led an information-gathering luncheon about the second part of our three-fold outreach philosophy, Households of Faith, that was developed in partnership with Barna Group. “Sharing with a room full of moms, grandmas, aunts, and sisters on how to nurture faith within their households was a huge honor,” says Bayless. “I gave tangible ideas about instituting prayer, devotions, hospitality, and spiritual conversations to help them grow spiritually
vibrant homes. Lots of women came to the about instituting booth afterwards to grab our 30 Days of prayer, devotions, Household Devotions booklet and joined our 30-day challenge!” The exhibit booth allowed attendees hospitality, and spiritual conversations to help to learn more about the two lunch-time them grow spiritually topics as well as other LHM ministry efforts around the world. The booth featured vibrant homes.” stories and photos of women impacted by the mission grant, displayed clothing items created by students from the Divine Sewing School, and offered a photo opportunity inside the “I’m Building a Household of Faith” display. Giveaway items included glowing globe pens, prayer wallets, Project Connect booklets for kids and adults, and informational materials.
“Visitors to our booth loved seeing what our Households of Faith resources have to offer and picking up our kids’ booklets to encourage faith-sharing with their grandkids,” says Nicole Heerlein, associate director of strategic engagement for LHM. “Those who had their photo taken in the ‘household’ will also be able to relive the experience of building a spiritually vibrant home by being reminded to apply spiritual disciplines, extend hospitality, and engage in spiritual conversations.”
Supporting LHM’s Mission with Convenience
by CHAD FIX
Generosity has positive effects in human relationships. When one person gives freely, the recipient often forwards the kindness to others. In the Christian life, the impetus is much greater. In Acts 20:35, Jesus taught us that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Like most nonprofit organizations, LHM relies on generous donors like you who partner with us financially to fulfill our mission. When you support LHM, you are helping share the gift of Christ’s love and hope with hurting people around the world. This urgent mission is why LHM is always looking to make your gift-giving options as convenient as possible. Here are just a few ways you can show your support wherever and whenever is most convenient to you.
Mission Monthly
Mission Monthly is a core group of ministry partners who commit to sharing Christ’s love with those who need to hear it by making a gift of their choice each month, either by check, online, or through automatic payments from their bank account or credit card. Many Mission Monthly members choose automatic payments because they are convenient, work for any type of budget, and can go to work immediately making an impact on people in places you may never go! To become a Mission Monthly donor, visit lhm.org/missionmonthly.
Thrivent Choice
Eligible Thrivent members receive designated Choice Dollars at various times throughout the year, based on their qualifying insurance premiums or contract values. These funds can then be directed to thousands of nonprofit organizations nationwide. Choice Dollars designated during the calendar year can be directed until March 31 of the following year. Supporting LHM through Thrivent Choice is very simple. Go to thrivent.com/thriventchoice, click “Search for an Organization,” and then enter “Lutheran Hour Ministries” or “LHM”. Or call Thrivent at 1-800-847-4836. Please remember that you must now go through the gift direction process every time you receive notification that Choice Dollars are available.
New Grant Supports Ministry in Mongolia
During the convention, LHM was one of 28 recipients to receive a mission grant for the 2021-2023 biennium. The LWML accepted LHM’s mission grant titled “Gospel Outreach to Women and Children in Mongolia” in the amount of $100,000.
Mongolia is a country that is less than one percent Christian, and the people traditionally come from very poor nomadic populations where they have little opportunity to hear the Gospel. The women face many challenges due to the economic situation, unemployment, alcoholism, and general religious apathy among the male population. These concerns are prevalent because of their historic roles within society, prejudice, education, language barriers, and other issues.
Fortunately, Mongolia’s political climate today provides LHM with new opportunities to expand ministry in the region. This grant will help LHM focus on three areas:
• Sharing the Gospel with women and their children who participate in monthly Women’s
Listener groups after hearing our Christian radio programs. The women study the Bible, pray, do handicrafts, and share their faith. LHM staff also help them to build their identities as women in the modern world, assisting with vocation, child-rearing, communication skills, and self-identity. The women receive Christian booklets, Bible studies, radios and MP3 players with the Bible and Gospel messages and the children receive a special Bible story and activity booklets about Jesus. • Reaching and engaging families and youth through youth activities and social media presence. Some of the youth activities include
a youth camp with Bible studies, games, and crafts. The Good News of Jesus is also shared at youth athletic camps where participants are encouraged in the faith. • Through religious radio broadcasts, family members and relatives are impacted by the
Gospel in their homes. LHM has the media expertise to ensure the Gospel message is brought to a region where the population has not heard the Gospel. Family-oriented Christian programming is produced and broadcast by LHM and Christian resources are being distributed including Bible studies and booklets.
“We are extremely grateful for the continued partnership of the LWML,” says LHM President & CEO Kurt Buchholz. “It is a true blessing to be able to come together in mission to share God’s Word with those who have not heard it.” =
AmazonSmile
Amazon offers a service called AmazonSmile that allows online shoppers to support a cause of their choice—at no cost to you or the nonprofit you want to support. When shopping through AmazonSmile, you can select a charity such as LHM, and Amazon will donate 0.5 percent of all your eligible purchases to that organization. You can change your charitable organization at any time. To get started, visit lhm.org/smile.
Text to Give
Two-thirds of the world’s population now have a mobile phone. Smartphones are also the world’s preferred choice for going online, accounting for a greater share of web traffic than all other devices combined. That’s why text-to-give is not only convenient for the donor—the secure process generally only takes a few simple steps—but it’s also become a much more painless process for nonprofit organizations to implement as part of their fundraising strategies. By texting the word “GIVE” to 417-815-8105, you will receive prompts to follow on how to donate to LHM through the convenience of your cell phone. Standard message/data rates may apply.
Facebook Fundraisers
The social aspect of this type of donation encourages your Facebook friends to also donate since there is an option to share the fact that you donated through a Facebook fundraiser. In addition to donating through a specific giving campaign, individual Facebook users can solicit donations for the ministry as a birthday fundraiser, which encourages your friends to support a cause that is important to you in celebration of your birthday. To start a Facebook fundraiser, log into your Facebook account and navigate to the “Fundraisers” section.
Employer Matching Gifts
An increasing number of companies offer matching gift programs, which means they may match the gifts employees and spouses make to a qualified non-profit organization such as Lutheran Hour Ministries. Visit lhm.org/employermatch to find out if your generous gifts to LHM may qualify for a match with your company!
Information about how you can support LHM through other direct and planned giving options can be found at lhm.org/give. =
