LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 88

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88 SYNOD REPORTS

Action Team, LCEF generously commissioned a second study en-
titled “Rostered Church Worker Survey.” This study, conducted by
Behavior Research Center, Inc. of Phoenix, Arizona, involved one
thousand in-depth telephone interviews with rostered LCMS
church workers (ordained and commissioned) in the United States
during late May and June 2006. Results were presented in July
2006. The complete report of survey results is available at
cmgs.lcms.org.
Several key findings are revealed in the research:
¢ Upwards of 15 percent of LCMS rostered church worker house-
holds appear to be experiencing stress in their lives due to their
current levels of personal debt. The worker subgroups who ap-
pear to be the most susceptible to financial stress are younger
workers, newer workers, lower income workers, small congrega-
tion workers, and females.

Three out of four worker households (77 percent) are comfortable
with their current level of debt, while one out of four (23 percent)
was uncomfortable.

When workers are probed regarding how concerned they are with
1] financial concerns people may have, we find that a majority
indicated they are concerned (‘‘very concerned” plus “somewhat
concerned”) with three of the items tested: rising health insurance
costs (83 percent); retirement planning (71 percent); being able
to pay for your kids’ education (56 percent).

One-third of church workers (33 percent) indicated they have ex-
perienced stress from being in debt to the extent that it negatively
affected either their ministry work or personal life. One-third of
these workers indicated that such stress is a continuing issue,
while two-thirds indicated it has been resolved. Of particular in-
terest is the finding that 16 percent of church workers have con-
sidered leaving their ministry work because of financial problems
or issues.

When workers are asked if they agree or disagree with each of
seven financial-oriented questions, we find that two out of three
workers (65 percent) did not consider the financial ramifications
when they first started to think about going into church work as
their calling, while roughly one-half of workers receive continu-
ing financial support that is not job-related (52 percent) and
would not tell a leader in their congregation if they had debt from
school (48 percent).

Of particular interest is the finding that significant numbers of
workers say there is sometimes conflict in their family regarding
money-management issues (37 percent) or that their level of per-
sonal debt negatively impacts their desire and ability to support
healthy stewardship principles in their congregation (24 percent).
Only about one out of ten workers indicated they received ade-
quate education about money-management issues and financial
literacy during their church work training experience (11 percent)
or feel a personal sense of failure or shame because of their un-
paid debt (11 percent).

Forty-eight percent of all workers incurred debt in order to com-
plete their undergraduate, graduate, or seminary education, and
11 percent of workers currently have outstanding educational
debt.

Eighty-eight percent of church-worker households are able to pay
all of their current bills, as well as keep up with any debt pay-
ments they have twelve out of twelve months a year. In compari-
son, 8 percent are able to pay all of their current bills a majority of
the time (seven to eleven months), while 4 percent are able to pay
them only half of the time or less.

Roughly one out of three church workers (30 percent) indicated
they have consulted with a financial professional for assistance
with money-management issues. The individuals/organizations
that workers have most commonly used for financial advice are
professional financial advisors (35 percent) or Thrivent Financial
for Lutherans (34 percent).

¢ Sixty-eight percent of Lutheran workers indicated they would ei-

ther definitely (26 percent) or probably (42 percent) consider
speaking with a financial professional at the district or national

2007 Convention Workbook

church level if they were experiencing debt problems that were im-
pacting their ability to fulfill their ministry.

* Less than one-third of Lutheran church workers (30 percent) are
aware that programs and services are available within LCMS to
assist workers who are experiencing debt problems. Forty-one
percent of workers are unsure that such programs exist, while 29
percent say they do not. Eighty-seven percent of workers aware of
LCMS programs would use them if the need arose, and 91 per-
cent of workers unaware of the program feel such programs
should be available.

When workers are asked to indicate what they feel is the number-
one thing the LCMS could do to assist church workers to better
deal with career-threatening debt and financial issues, more fi-
nancial training and higher salaries received the greatest response,
with readings of 27 percent and 26 percent, respectively. Also re-
ceiving noteworthy response are more financial training at the
seminary level (13 percent) and Jower tuition/cost for seminary
students (10 percent). Teachers (36 percent) and other workers
(31 percent) made particularly frequent mention of higher
salaries.

In response, the Economic Vitality Action Team (EVAT) is
committed to helping LCMS professional ministers (ordained and
commissioned) and the church body establish economic vitality.
The action team intends to equip them (professional ministers and
church body) to make wise decisions centered in faith, hope, and
love for joyful service to the Lord, identifying and coordinating re-
sources for emergency financial assistance to workers in crisis.
The EVAT Plan pursues a vision to create collaboration for
stemming the tide of rising debt among professional ministers and
a plan to eradicate debt and create a culture of care and vitality of
economic decision making and leadership in stewardship among
the leaders of the church.
Initial efforts of the EVAT include:
¢ A communication campaign to increase awareness of the impact
of church-worker indebtedness upon every aspect of the church
body;

¢ Providing access to resources with the potential to raise the level
of financial literacy among those training for ministry in the
LCMS (seminaries in Fort Wayne and St. Louis are considering
how to incorporate specific financial-literacy components into ori-
entation activities);

¢ Compilation of a list of “Best Practices” regarding the efforts of
the Synod’s districts to assist professional ministers with educa-
tional loans, encouraging every district to consider what level and
type of assistance will be appropriate in their respective areas.

¢ Providing access to resources for professionals in ministry to
assist in evaluating their financial condition and making wise fi-
nancial decisions. (See cmgs.lcms.org.)

¢ Evaluation of curriculum resources for strengthening financial lit-
eracy at every level of education within The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod, including elementary schools.

Results the Economic Vitality Action Team will be working to
accomplish in the future include:

¢ Research and development of strategies to be engaged by every
entity of Synod (workers, congregations, educational institutions,
circuits, districts, etc.) in pursuit of economic vitality;

¢ Strengthen and continue the campaign to increase awareness of
the impact of worker indebtedness on the ability of the LCMS to
proclaim the love of Christ;

¢ Discovery, development, and implementation of a coordinated,
managed, and comprehensive personal financial education pro-
gram.

— The Critical Incident Support Team—Chaired by Rev.
Thomas Acton, Burnsville, Minnesota, is one segment of the
LCMS Disaster Response Plan and responds in the aftermath of a
critical incident to provide Professional Church Workers of the
LCMS with spiritual and personal care.