We Are In This Together

By: District President Dr. Tony Steinbronn

       In a recent mailing to the congregations and church workers of the New Jersey District, I provided a brief “state of the New Jersey District,” along with identifying seven pressing ministry challenges that we are facing today.  Also included in that mailing was a copy of the district’s salary guidelines for professional church workers, developed and approved by the New Jersey District Board of Directors, for your prayerful consideration and congregational action.

     As I noted in “ministry challenge #3,” approximately one-third of NJD congregations are “stand alone” congregations; that is, they have the membership and financial capacity to fully compensate a pastor and to sufficiently fund their congregational ministry without receiving additional income from “non-member sources.”  

     Last evening, in order to help us better understand and to demonstrate our urgent need “to be in this ministry together,” I gathered the recorded data on congregational size and financial giving from the years 1974, 1983, and 1991 for New Jersey District congregations and here are the main findings from that data:

+. 1974

     +. the average congregation had 540 baptized members, 358 communicant members, with an average worship attendance of 172
     +. 22% of the congregations worshipped less than 100 members on a Sunday, with the smallest congregation experiencing an average worship attendance of 46 and the largest congregation worshipped 506
     +. the average amount of funds available for “work at home – local congregation” was $43,453 (the 2020 dollar equivalent would be $226,393) and $8,478 for “work at large – district and synod” (the 2020 dollar equivalent would be $44,174)
     +. in terms of today’s dollars, the average communicant member gave $631 for “work at home – local congregation” and $123 for “work at large – district and synod” (the median income for those residing in the Northeast was $11,604 -- which was 1.25% of their median household income)

+. 1983

     +. the average congregation had 511 baptized members, 368 communicant members, with an average worship attendance of 154
     +. 33% of the congregations worshipped less than 100 members on a Sunday, with the smallest congregation experiencing an average worship attendance of 40 and the largest congregation worshipped 505
     +. the average amount of funds available for “work at home – local congregation” was $84,158 (the 2020 dollar equivalent would be $217,129) and $9,232 for “work at large – district and synod” (the 2020 dollar equivalent would be $23,819)
     +. in terms of today’s dollars, the average communicant member gave $588 for “work at home – local congregation” and $65 for “work at large – district and synod” (the median income for those residing in the Northeast was $27,686 -- which was 0.92% of their median household income)

1991

     +. the average congregation had 470 baptized members, 332 communicant members, with an average worship attendance of 146
     +. 40% of the congregations worshipped less than 100 members on a Sunday, with the smallest congregation experiencing an average worship attendance of 28 and the largest congregation worshipped 324
     +. the average amount of funds available for “work at home – local congregation” was $123,068 (the 2020 dollar equivalent would be $232,599) and $17,893 for “work at large – district and synod” (the 2020 dollar equivalent would be $33,818)
     +. in terms of today’s dollars, the average communicant member gave $699 for “work at home – local congregation” and $101 for “work at large – district and synod” (the median income for those residing in the Northeast was $33,467 -- which was 1.27% of their median household income)

     One of the key observations from this data is that the average congregation in the New Jersey District had, in term of today’s dollars, for its “work at home” operation $226,393 in 1974, $217,129 in 1983, and $232,599 in 1991; and was able to contribute for its “work at large – district and synod” dollar amounts of $44,174 in 1974, $23,819 in 1983, and $33,818 in 1991.  These more-than-adequate financial resources were due to two factors: the medium to large size of congregational membership and the significant number of members who worshipped each Sunday (since the actual, average percentage of giving for each communicant member was remarkably low when one considers that charitable giving back in the late 20th century was around 3% for communicant members of Lutheran congregations in the US).

     When one reflects on these membership and financial realities, one can see how it was much easier for a congregation to be able “to stand alone” as a self-supporting entity and why today we need to be more receptive to alternative ministry partnerships.

     As noted in “ministry challenge #3,” approximately two-thirds of NJD congregations are experiencing a ministry situation in which it might be prudent to consider one of five options for their future ministry so that they will have sufficient funds to compensate their called church worker, operate and maintain its facilities, and fund its essential ministries of edification, evangelism and human care:

+. form a dual parish with a sister LCMS congregation in which they are served by a shared pastor

+. sell its current facilities and establish its ministry in a new location

+. two congregations join to form a new congregation, with each congregation selling its current facilities and establishing its ministry together in a new location

+. three to five congregations enter into a ministry partnership in which they are served by three, full-time pastors; with each congregation retaining its congregational identity and church property and the pastors functioning in a team ministry to meet the worship and pastoral care needs of the five congregations
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+. a congregation enters into a ministry partnership with the New Jersey District in which it receives a weekly sermon message from The Kairos Network that is displayed on a digital video screen and receive the Lord’s Supper at least once a month from a circuit-rider-type pastor; during the Sundays when the pastor is not present, the worship service is led by an elder (or a team of elders) who have been trained to lead the congregation in its worship life, with its pastoral care and catechetical needs met through a ministry agreement with a pastor of a nearby LCMS congregation

     We are not alone when it comes to experiencing these kinds of shifts in congregational health and membership; for example, in 2018 the median average worship attendance within the 6,000 LCMS congregations was 71 (that is, one-half of all LCMS congregations had 71 people or less in worship during any given week) compared to a median average weekly worship attendance of 100 just eleven years ago in 2007.

May the Lord give us the vision and wisdom that we need for ministry in this place and in this time.

Your brother in Christ and in His mission,

Tony Steinbronn
District President