# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2023_S83
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
tional legislators to ensure that the interests of faith-based organizations were represented in any legislative action. These interests
included making churches eligible to receive forgivable Paycheck
Protection Program loans, which helped sustain countless churches
and church workers economically through the early months of the
pandemic. The CPS legal and communications teams also were active in helping ministries and members understand the impact of
pandemic-related legislation.
The concordiaplans.org website served as a central home for
online resources for ministries and workers during the pandemic.
The site included resources from the LCMS, Lutheran Church
Extension Fund, LCMS Foundation, several RSOs, and others so
those in need could quickly find information critical to their health,
finances, and more.

A.2. Focus on Worker Wellness
The CPS mission is to “Serve ministries … care for workers
… so that the Word of God spreads.” In alignment with this mission, CPS is dedicated to providing the plans, as well as tools and
resources that nurture the well-being of all church workers.
During the last triennium, we expanded our wellness resources
to care for LCMS workers and their families. During the pandemic,
we introduced a new text-based care program so members could
more easily receive care at home with shorter wait times than some
telemedicine options.
We introduced a new virtual physical therapy program to reduce the number of in-office visits required. In 2021, 55 percent of
participants reported a reduction in pain within 12 weeks, and 57
percent reported a reduction in intent to have surgery. These results
are positive for the member and the health plan overall. Other significant results in wellness programs in 2021 include 6,977 pounds
lost by participants in one program and 62 percent of diabetic medications eliminated by participants in another.
The menu of mental health tools and resources available to
ministries and members also expanded, including a new toolkit
that helps ministry leaders create a workplace culture that supports
mental health. Emotional well-being resources from other LCMS
entities also were curated on our concordiaplans.org.
CPS continued to develop resources to help workers on their
financial wellness journey. These included more one-on-one sessions with workers, additional content through webinars and videos, and the launch of a financial planning app custom built for
LCMS workers.

A.3. Ministry Resources
CPS has introduced and expanded services in the last triennium
to assist ministries in addressing common challenges.
CPS introduced human resources services, providing them at
no cost early in the pandemic. HR services provides ministries with
information and resources to help them be compliant and keep up
with legal changes that relate to personnel issues.
The Compensation Decision Support Tool continued to grow in
scope and usage. New positions were added to both the church and
school tools, giving those calling or hiring more information about
compensation benchmarks in a variety of roles. More than 16,000
compensation estimates were created in 2022.

B. Serving the Synod
Our staff continually looks for new and better ways to serve

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and support ministries and workers. Examples of impactful connections include the following:
1.

During the height of the pandemic, CPS staff members
were regular participants in calls with district business
managers and education executives, sharing expertise on
legislation, coverage changes, and more.

2.

Our worker wellness team met with nearly 3,300 LCMS
workers one-on-one in the last triennium, helping them
better understand their personal finances today and into
the future as they plan for retirement.

3.

We identified a need for communications professionals
in district offices to connect and collaborate and established a “District Communicators Roundtable” for them
to share best practices and resources.

4.

Our connections with LCMS education have strengthened, including cohosting the 2020 Lutheran Education
Association Administrators Conference.

5.

Our Ministry Engagement team worked with districts to
host online town hall meetings to reach more ministries
than ever with details on health plan elections and enrollment for the coming year. This was essential during the
height of COVID-19 due to travel restrictions.

C. Conclusion
C.1. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and
Threats
Strengths include:
1.

Our 2022 customer survey resulted in Net Promoter
Scores (the percentage of respondents who would recommend an organization to others) among ministries
and customer satisfaction among members significantly
higher than industry averages.

2.

Our most recent staff engagement survey revealed an 86
percent engagement score, more than 20 points higher
than the global average. We have twice been named a
“Top Workplace” in St. Louis. We were also named a
“Top Workplace USA” in 2023 based on staff survey responses.

3.

We have a strong board, leadership team, and staff and
work with the highest quality vendor partners and consultants.

Organizational weaknesses:
1.

Our online system for administering benefits has been
difficult to use for some. A new system launched earlier
in 2023 that should ease challenges for those who administer benefits online.

2.

The design and cost of the Concordia Heath Plan and
Concordia Disability and Survivor Plan have been challenging for some ministries. We’ve studied the situation
and are introducing modifications and flexibility to better
serve ministries.

Opportunities include:
1.

A stronger connection could be made between lay leaders of LCMS ministries. CPS is providing them an opportunity to connect and share resources through an
2023 Convention Workbook