ELCA members in more than 9,300 congregations in the United States and Caribbean give approximately $1.75 billion in regular offering to support ELCA ministries in their local communities and worldwide. When members give through their congregations, a percentage of that money is then shared with the local synod and the national churchwide organization.

This unrestricted giving, called Mission Support, gives us both the foundation and the fuel to do God’s work in the world and a portion of the gifts circle back to support ministries in synods and local congregations. Of these unrestricted gifts, the churchwide organization receives around 2.6 percent. This represents the largest portion of the ELCA churchwide organization’s operating budget.