Date posted:
LCA Ministry Support Fund
by Peter Schirmer
LOVE COMES TO LIFE when we manage God’s gifts with integrity, as good stewards, so that his kingdom may grow. There are five Churchwide departments that provide services to support agencies and congregations of the church as they undertake mission and ministry across Australia and New Zealand.
The Church Worker Support Department serves the Church by assisting employing and calling bodies to work towards seeing that church workers can start well, stay well and finish well. This includes providing resources and advice to establish good and effective systems and practices.
The Communications team works hard to create and support effective communications channels across the LCA/NZ and to encourage engagement between churchwide, district and local levels. The channels developed and made available include websites, social media, eNews and, of course, The Lutheran.
Finance and Administration provide behind-the-scenes support in areas such as accounting services, IT, payroll and pastor transfers. The team provides advice and assistance to congregations as they seek to navigate an increasingly complex regulatory and compliance world.
Lutheran Archives gathers and holds a harvest of stories of the congregations, departments and the people of the church. It advises on managing records and receives records that are deposited for safe-keeping. A wide variety of people access these records and therefore the stories of the LCA/NZ are shared across the church and with the wider community.
The Professional Standards Department assists congregations and other bodies to promote high standards of ethical behavior, and especially care for children and vulnerable people. This includes the delivery of a training program; and providing advice to congregations and agencies as they work through difficult situations that may place people at risk.
The ministry support provided to agencies and congregations by Church Worker Support, Communications and Finance & Administration is sustained by the generous and gratefully received the assistance of the LLL.
Peter Schirmer is the Executive Officer of the LCA Ministry Support Office. In the financial year 2019/2020 the Ministry Support department received $1,742,980 from LLL Permanent Fund grants, Directors allocations and through the provision of services.
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Business office staff
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LCA communications staff
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Church worker support staff
The LLL prides itself on providing savings accounts that are simple to operate, with a variable interest rate and no fees or charges. The LLL has a variety of savings accounts: personal and joint accounts; guardian accounts for children; and business accounts, including for self-managed super funds and not-for-profit organisations.
As an Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI), the LLL is regulated under the Banking Act and by APRA.
