From: Kevin Robson, Chief Mission Officer, and Mark Hofman, Executive Director of Mission Advancement
Our work is centered on the Gospel, to be sure; but, it’s made real to another person when we love that neighbor in the name of our Savior, Jesus. Our work as the Church is, in fact, philanthropy.
Philanthropy
Love for all humanity
(1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; John 3:16)
The love shown to our neighbor
(Mark 12:31; John 15:13)
Please accept this as a personal invitation to be part of a special group of people, gathering in a one-day, but very uncommon working session. The purpose of our get-together is to explore how we might walk together more effectively to share with more people the deepest JOY that comes when they give of themselves to share the Gospel with others.
What we want to do is create a shared understanding and approach to serving those with a contributing spirit — one that’s truly worthy of the Savior we serve, worthy of His mission, and inspirational for others.
And we want to inspire the contributions people make by first recognizing and celebrating the contributions you make every day.
After all, we are in this mission and ministry together, serving one Savior. Regardless of whether your formal role includes “development” or “donor relations” you play an indispensable role in inspiring contributions to the mission of the LCMS.
In that spirit, we invite your full participation as we explore a new way thinking about contributions – and contributors – as we walk together. This is not a working session for silent bystanders; rather, it is a place for active, vocal, and contributing members of a growing circle of friends. This is one time when silence is definitely NOT golden; we are quite confident that you will have much to offer.
During our time together — the equivalent of one full working day — we will draw on the experience and wisdom of everyone in the room (each of you intentionally and specifically chosen to gather diverse perspectives and experiences) so we all more fully understand and appreciate our shared dedication to the work we do in Jesus’ name as the LCMS.
And we will learn from each other how to best to bring out of others the same kind of dedication, passion and hope you already possess. We will sharpen the gift of leadership.
We can promise your attention and investment of self will be richly rewarded.
During the session, we hope you will find yourself saying things like “Nobody has ever asked me that before” … “I never looked at it that way” … “Who could imagine that would be possible?”
There’s something else we would like you to know: This working session is designed for leadership growth, not as mere “fundraising training” or “skill building.” In your work, you lead and influence others in ways you may never have imagined.
The session will take place over eight hours, from noon on one day to noon the next (or thereabouts) so that you have the luxury of an overnight period (a “sleep”) to rest and reflect. More details will be shared with you after you RSVP, a sign that you are ready to invest yourself in something we believe will be immensely meaningful to you.
In service to our Savior,
Kevin and Mark