Solicitations from LCMS

Like any charitable organization, Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod's World Mission wants to keep you connected to its work of Gospel proclamation.  As part of a larger family of LCMS agencies, there is some sharing of lists that occurs within the LCMS.  It has recently come to our attention that a few supporters receive solicitations from other operations of  the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) after they have sent in financial support of God's work in Uganda.  We were not aware of LCMS World Mission's policy of exchanging lists within the network of LCMS agencies but want to assure you that it is simple to opt-out of any such exchange.  LCMS World Mission has released a statement which we think explains the issue well:

In a donor base as large and diverse as LCMS World Mission’s, names are identified in many different categories. We are thankful to have a strong base of regular supporters for LCMS World Mission and our other Synodical ministries. But, no matter how hard we work to retain our donors, we do experience attrition, losing a number of donors each year that we depend upon to support our missionaries and support our operations. Due to that attrition, approximately once a year we sign agreements with other LCMS agencies who are involved in Gospel outreach to share names in specific categories. We share names within our church because these Christian donors tend to have a giving spirit and passion for helping others, coupled with the fact that receiving mailings from other Lutheran ministries once a year gives the donor an opportunity to learn more about God’s work through the various services and ministries with whom we work.

It is always possible to limit the use of a name or to withhold a name at the donor’s request. We honor such requests regularly. Any donor may ask to be coded for limited contact, do not mail, do not call, or do not trade name. Such requests normally come after the fact of receiving a letter or phone call, and will be honored as soon as received. To restrict contact with World Mission, simply make your request by E-mail to jackie.peterson@lcms.org or by phone at 800-433-3954 Ext. 1017.

If you have received any unwanted mail, phone calls, or solicitation from LCMS agencies, simply contact them as indicated above and they will gladly recode your name to discontinue all inter-agency sharing.  And feel free to let us know if you ever have any concerns about our sending organization - we're all in this together.   Thank you for your generous support.  -Shauen