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What is the Transfer the Blessings program?

Every Christian with a Lifetime Plan for Giving™

The comprehensive resources and expertise of the LCMS Foundation are available to your ministry. Working with you, we seek to bring the spiritual gifts of encouragement and generosity together in promoting Christian stewardship through gift planning.

The LCMS Foundation supports your mission and ministry. By virtue of our charter and our relationship with you we are "agents" of your LCMS ministry. Our role is to encourage charitable gift planning and prompt members to care for their family as Christ has instructed. We envision "Every Christian with a Lifetime Plan for Giving."

How can you empower your congregation to be a blessing for generations to come? Introducing a comprehensive gift planning initiative (referred to as Transfer the Blessings in our publications) to support and grow the stewardship service to God's people is an important endeavor. God has called us to be stewards of His creation.

Transfer the Blessings – for your congregation

Leadership Team

An initial training will be held for the congregational leadership team. Leaders are a vital link between the Word and Sacrament and fulfill a pivotal role for your congregation as a communicator and ministry support liaison. Your leaders can encourage generosity through charitable gift planning within your congregation in partnership with the LCMS Foundation's resources.

At the training your leaders will be invited to participate for a two-year period of prayerful service as a volunteer partner for the congregation's gift planning team and its initiatives. Below are essential focuses that we hope will develop.

Ministry Team

The congregation will develop a Transfer the Blessings team to serve as gift planning advocates. The team will create awareness and a program of service that is dynamic and recognized within the congregation. The expertise of the LCMS Foundation and LCMS resources are available to support the congregation's mission and ministry and its endowment program. Learn more about the ministry team.

Gift Planning Emphasis

The Transfer the Blessings team will develop a theme that supports the future ministries and endowment policies of the congregation and plan activities around that theme. The LCMS Foundation suggests an annual calendar to schedule, create and sustain events.

Communication

The Transfer the Blessings team will provide gift planning information to members through presentations, bulletin and newsletter notes, etc. Helping members complete the gift plan that God has placed in their heart is a blessing to all involved.

Congregational Gift Planner

Some congregations build and sustain a gift planning ministry in their congregation and establish a congregational gift planner volunteer position. A Congregational Gift Planner Volunteer job description is available to view online.

LCMS Training

The LCMS Foundation provides a training process - "Lifetime Plan for Giving Seminars" - for pastors, lay leaders, ministry CEOs, principals and development directors for all types of ministries.

Gift Design Center

When you send an e-mail or call the LCMS Foundation your questions go directly to our Lifetime Plan for Giving Gift Design Center. Your needs are directed to the expert who can best serve you. To reach the Gift Design Center call 314-996-1680 or email LCMSGiftPlan@lcms.org.

Thank you for partnering with the LCMS Foundation as we serve your members by helping them plan and direct their passion for giving to their families and the ministries they love today, tomorrow, and forever.

Visit the Downloadable Resources page for Transfer the Blessings materials.