ELCA Mission Investment Fund Challenges Fund for Leaders to Build Up the Church

The Fund for Leaders announced a $1.5 million challenge gift from the Mission Investment Fund (MIF) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at a recent seminary student debt consultation convened by Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson.  The MIF gift—the single largest cash donation ever given to the Fund for Leaders—challenges the Fund to raise $3 million over a three-year period in order to receive the gift.  The resulting endowment will provide scholarship assistance to eligible students enrolled in a qualified mission developer program at any of the eight ELCA seminaries.  

“We are delighted to receive this gift and this challenge from the Mission Investment Fund.  Its size and scope are transformative to our church’s approach to training and supporting those who want to start new ministries,” said the Rev. Paul Hanson, director of the Fund for Leaders.

 “This church needs pastors who have the gifts and passion for starting new congregations,” said Christina Jackson-Skelton, ELCA treasurer and president of the Mission Investment Fund.  “And those who are called to the ministry of congregational development need the financial support of this church to make it possible.  Through the establishment of the MIF Mission Developer Scholarship, MIF is supporting the development of pastors who will lead our outreach efforts in the coming years.  It is core to what the Mission Investment Fund is all about—supporting the growth of the Lutheran church.” 

In 2007, the ELCA, through local and synod partnerships, started 42 mission congregations in 27 states around the USA and the Caribbean.  There are currently 172 mission congregations at various stages of development.  

The Rev. Ruben Duran, director for development of new congregations, said, “Mission developer pastors are uniquely qualified to enter diverse settings and build Christian communities of disciples for Jesus Christ, serving both the church and the world on behalf of the ELCA.”

“The Mission Investment Fund is constantly looking for ways to build up and assist the ELCA in its vital ministry of starting congregations.  We saw a unique opportunity to directly support and encourage leaders who will start new ministries and further God’s kingdom,” stated Eva Roby, vice president for the Mission Investment Fund.

Paul Hanson hopes that the matching-gift challenge for the endowed MIF Mission Developer Scholarship will encourage more people to support the formation of leaders for the church.  “This is a special opportunity for our church.  We need new mission developer pastors who can concentrate on developing a new ministry instead of worrying about how to pay back their seminary loans.”

The Fund for Leaders is a seminary scholarship program created by the ELCA to ensure that new leaders can accept the call to ministry.  Since 2000, almost $3 million in scholarship support has been distributed to 280 ELCA seminary students enrolled at the eight ELCA seminaries.  Today, 38 Fund recipients are serving in congregations and other ministry settings.

The Fund is currently engaged in a three-year, million-dollar matching-gift challenge.  The “Leadership Rising” challenge, announced in October 2007, was initiated after several donors pledged $1 million to match 50% of gifts given to the Fund for Leaders.  The goal of the challenge is to double the Fund’s endowment balance from $15 million to over $30 million by 2010.

Paul  Hanson says that the MIF challenge gift will compliment the ongoing matching-gift challenge.  “Members of the church will now have the option to financially support ordained and lay ministers either through the general Fund for Leaders scholarship program or to specifically support new mission developer pastors through the endowed MIF Mission Developer Scholarship.”

“Both opportunities remove the obstacles of seminary tuition debt.  More than 70% of seminary graduates enter their first call with $38,000 of education debt on average.  It is crucial that we as a church address this issue together,” Paul Hanson said.  “We have found that Fund recipients graduate with 1/3 less debt than their classmates and are more able to accept calls in the types of congregations where others cannot afford to go.” 

When students are not burdened by debt, they are better stewardship leaders within their congregations, Hanson added.