Mission Support

What does the Synod do with Mission Support money?

Ministry

Southwestern Washington Synod ministers to you and your congregation:

• Bishop Hofstad and Assistants Pastor Hoyum and Pastor Morse regularly worship with SWWA congregations, seeking to become acquainted with worshipers during ordinary time as well as in times of particular need; they are willing to teach, preach, and/or preside.
• The Candidacy Process nurtures and supports candidates for the office ministry (Pastors and Associates in Ministry) in the ELCA.
• The Call Process matches Congregations with Pastors, providing the best possible candidates for leadership.
• Synod Staff work with congregations to facilitate conflict resolution during times of crisis.
• Synod Staff provide for ongoing pastoral care, and set up transitional ministry during times of pastoral vacancy.
• SWWA Assembly meets annually to vision our mission, elect synod officers, adopt the synod budget; keynote speakers and workshops provide practical and useful tools for congregational ministry.
• Synod Staff act in an advisory capacity concerning issues of congregational administration such as Human Resources, Constitutions and Bylaws, liability issues, helping to assure the good order of the church
• Seven Boards provide for the ongoing work of the Synod:
  • Outreach oversees mission and redevelopment congregations and provides resources for witness and evangelism .
  • Congregational Ministries provides resources that congregations may more effectively fulfill their mission and ministry.
  • Church in Society provides opportunities for the Church to be visible in the world: Lutheran Public Policy, Campus Ministry, Lutheran Community Services, Prison Ministries, Stand with Africa, and the World Hunger Appeal.
  • Leadership Support provides for Call Process, Continuing Education, Candidacy, and Interim Ministry.
  • Fiscal Board prudently plans the budget of the SWWA Synod.
  • Mission Endowment Fund Board monitors synod endowments.

Mission

Southwestern Washington Synod Partners with you in the mission of the greater church,

• Region One
  • We are six Synods that constitute Region One; we partner in providing and pooling our resources:
  • (1) Northwest Washington
  • (2) Southwestern Washington
  • (3) Eastern Washington/Idaho
  • (4) Montana
  • (5) Oregon, and
  • (6) Alaska
  • The core purposes of Region One are to:
  • (1) promote common mission and companionship,
  • (2) provide financial and administrative services,
  • (3) provide ministry services, via Regional Staff and
  • (4) via Churchwide deployed staff.
  • Common ministry allows the six synods to more effectively do things together that could not be done as well separately, and to facilitate our connections and resources
  • We partner in supporting such agencies as Lutheran Public Policy, Campus Ministry, Lutheran Educational Network and Support LENS), Consultation to Clergy, the Region One Resource Library, and the Financial Services Office.
• Churchwide
  • ELCA missionaries serve in 45 countries around the world
  • Campus Ministry is provided on 252 college campuses
  • Eight ELCA seminaries train students to serve as pastors and leaders of congregations
  • The Presiding Bishop, and several divisions and departments in Chicago serve 10,764 congregations of the ELCA and provide needed resources for their mission and ministry. These include but are not limited to the Division of Outreach, Division of Research and Evaluation, Division for Congregational Ministries, Division for Church in Society, Division for Ministry, Division for Global Mission.

The mission of the Southwestern Washington Synod is to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ by empowering congregations and church leaders to grow in worship, education, outreach, stewardship, and other ministries.