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For Starters — A mix of faith, finances and volunteerism
FOUNDATIONS
Warehouse Worship
Having an evangelical mission and
vision has caused some pain for Community of Hope Lutheran Church in Rosemount, Minnesota—growing pains, to be exact.
“We have an open environment that says God can change your life,” says the Rev. Per Nilsen, pastor at Community of Hope. “Our whole emphasis is to equip people to bring their neighbors and friends to a relationship with Christ. People are more likely to come to church if a friend or neighbor asks them. We started with about 180
people in 2002 and now 550 people are worshiping every week.”
The rapid growth of the congregation has them planning their future very carefully when it comes to their worship space. The congregation first worshiped at Rosemount Middle School, but recently moved into a 30,000-square-foot industrially
designed church. Industrial? That’s right, this non-traditional approach
allowed the congregation to purchase land, build and move into the new church faster and less expensively than going a more traditional route.
“It’s good for the community of Rosemount; it’s very economical and it went up rapidly,” says Nilsen. “From when we broke ground to moving in was about five months. That’s unheard of for a church build.”
Plus, there is room to grow, and the property will be easier to sell if the congregation ever needs to move. If the church continues its rapid growth, Nilsen estimates they will need to make a change in seven to 10 years.
While the church is equipped with sufficient wiring and footings for
future shipping docks if the building is converted to warehouse use, it also has many crosses, windows and high ceilings to create a sense of awe and wonder. The church also has a 1,000-square-foot bookstore and a full-size basketball court for youth ministry.
“It’s literally an industrial building carved up,” says Nilsen. “We really haven’t done a whole lot, but that’s OK. We want our primary focus to be on our body of believers bringing people to Christ. Everything else pales in comparison.”
—Tara Perre
An industrious congregation: Community of Hope Lutheran Church in Rosemount, Minnesota.
HIGHER ARTS
A Musical Mission
Knute Ogren, a piano player, and his friend, guitarist David Piper, performed together for five summers at Calumet Lutheran Camp in Freedom, New Hampshire, and won raves. In 2002, when Ogren, coordinator of congregational life at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Hartford,
Connecticut, and Piper took over Wednesday evening song-leading duties at Emanuel, attendance jumped.
So when John Corgan, the church’s pastor, was planning a fund-raising campaign for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) New England Synod’s World Hunger Program that same year, he turned to Ogren and Piper. The three decided to produce a CD to raise money, but had no idea how big the endeavor would become.
“This shouldn’t have worked,” says Ogren, a Thrivent Financial for Lutherans member. “We had never produced a CD before—we had no experience marketing CDs. People gave us the
benefit of the doubt in the beginning.”
Musician friends stepped up to help, and the group A Bunch of Guys was born. Graphic artists, sound engineers and Bishop Margaret Payne gave a hand as well, and the first thousand copies of Take a Breath sold out in 28 days. The next 3,000 CDs flew off the shelves for sales of more than $50,000.
“[Our friends] took a risk and supported our effort,” says Ogren. “They believed in us and believed in God’s ability to work through people. They generously gave in
response to God’s gifts to them.”
The second effort—last year’s Christmas compilation Enough—featured more help from friends, and 16 New England congregations
covered production costs. Ogren
ordered 5,000 copies and raised more than $70,000 within 19 days. To date, the two CDs have raised $137,000 for the ELCA World Hunger Appeal. That includes $4,000 from the Care in Regions™ program of the Northeast Region of Thrivent Financial.
“We can make a difference,” says Ogren. “Our world needs more givers, and people in our country have so very much.”
—Ingrid Skjong
 
Incredible guys: These two CDs from A Bunch of Guys have raised $137,000 for world hunger relief.
Order CDs from A Bunch of Guys at www.takeabreath.org.
DID YOU KNOW?
Volunteer Variances
In the results from the 2004 Thrivent Financial Survey, which polled Americans on a variety of topics, there was an interesting contrast in volunteering habits among different income levels. In general, Americans with higher incomes were more likely to volunteer; however, Americans with lower incomes were more likely to put in more hours per month volunteering.
Based on telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of adult (18+) Americans conducted between November 29, 2004, and December 5, 2004.
SERVICE SCENE
Whale of a Sale
If you like rummage sales—and if you live anywhere near Minnesota—there is one sale you shouldn’t miss. It’s the annual Mega Sale at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, which last year raised nearly $120,000 for ministry at Prince of Peace and across the world.
The secret to their success? “We have 50 volunteer coordinators in charge of different areas, including household, toys, electronics and lawn and garden,” says Pat Olson, co-founder and co-chairman of the annual September event. “We are fussy about what we take in for items. There are no stains, no missing pieces and no broken parts. Clothes have to be clean, and electronics and toys have to work.”
Perhaps even more important are the 700 volunteers who help. Work for the sale begins in earnest Aug. 1, when the Donation Depot opens four days a week at the church for people to drop off their sale items. Hundreds of volunteers go through the items—sorting the high quality items by category and discarding the rest, sometimes to other nonprofit organizations who can use the items.
Actual set-up occurs the week before the sale,
Olson says, with items
divided into 11 different
areas—including housewares, toys and electronics—in the church’s two buildings and tents outside. Last year’s 14th annual event, sponsored in part by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, also included a Ministry Fair to educate and inform attendees about the numerous
ministry opportunities at Prince of Peace.
The sale traditionally is held the weekend after
Labor Day, with shopping hours set from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, which is half-price day. Also on Saturday afternoon, needy families
receive coupons that allow them to shop for free. This year’s sale will be held Sept. 8–10.
“The lines on Thursday start as
early as 4 p.m.,” Olson says. “We have people who come from throughout Minnesota and the surrounding states. They put it on their calendar and come every year.”
A wide variety of ministries—from local food pantries to organizations ministering on the other side of the world—receive the proceeds from the event. In addition, last year, the Southern Dakota County Chapter of Thrivent Financial, through the Care Abounds in Communities™ program, supplemented $8,500 of the dollars distributed locally.
“It truly is overwhelming,” says Kristin Swenson, Prince of Peace executive director of communications. “It’s inspiring to see all the people in the community that come together to pull this together and raise money for missions.”
—Donna Mulder
Want to hold rummage sale fundraiser? Read these tips.
MOVING FORWARD
Rollover Relief
Early on in their careers, Tom and Beth Olson of Omaha, Nebraska, dutifully socked away money in their 401(k) plans. They both changed jobs, but they didn’t change their 401(k) options. Admittedly, they weren’t paying much attention to the
accounts—until 9-11, when the stock market began a descent.
“We did what the experts told us never to do—we took our money out of the stock market,” says Beth. “And we took a big hit on that.”
The Olsons left Tom’s money in a cash account, while Beth reinvested hers into three or four different
savings vehicles. They didn’t want to lose more money, but they also weren’t sure where to turn for
advice. “We had money in different places, but it wasn’t clear how we would continue to meet our retirement objectives,” says Beth.
The Olsons met with Paul
Johnson, a financial consultant with Thrivent Financial in Fremont,
Nebraska. They had worked with Johnson earlier to secure insurance and knew they could trust him.
They began in 2003 by putting some of their money into a variable annuity fixed account, which was locked in at 3 percent. “They still weren’t back in the market, but it was a step in the right direction,” Johnson says.
Last year, Tom, 53, finally took the plunge and rolled his money into an IRA account with Thrivent Financial; Beth, 47, followed suit earlier this year. The result of the IRA rollovers with Thrivent Financial: The couple now has a diversified, monitored investing program with assets consolidated into two tax-advantaged retirement accounts.
“Whenever you make a big decision, there’s an emotional component,” says Tom. “You try to rationalize the financial side, but once you get through the emotions, it’s great. Paul pays attention to our needs, and that’s really important to us. He has the tools and wherewithal to make proper decisions, which I don’t have.”
The couple met with Johnson again recently to review their portfolio in light of their retirement goals.
“We’re starting down the right road,” Tom says. “When it comes to your finances, you really can’t wait; time makes a huge difference.”
—Donna Mulder
Thrivent Financial Consultant Paul Johnson and Tom and Beth Olson.
LABORS OF LOVE
Happy Hats
It was a “happy” day at Paramount’s Kings Dominion when nearly 900 families from the Mid-Atlantic
Region of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans converged at the southern Virginia amusement park. The
volunteers gathered to make more than 1,000 Happy Hats for critically ill children and their families. The jester-style hats are hand-sewn from soft, colorful material and decorated with ribbons and pompoms.
“I’m completely sold on the idea of bringing smiles to critically ill children,” says Judy Logan, manager of Lutheran community services for Thrivent Financial in the Mid-Atlantic Region and organizer of the event at Kings Dominion. “This is a holistic approach to volunteer service that crosses the generations, and it’s so necessary.”
Thrivent Financial members Susan and Ali Khorsand of Falls Church, Virginia, founded Glories Happy HATS Inc. The Khorsands, along with David Caprara, director of faith-based and community initiatives, Corporation for National and Community Service, and Greg Werkheiser, chairman of the Virginia Commission on National and Community Service, attended the service event at Kings Dominion.
“Through the actions of Thrivent Financial with scores of congregations and communities, together with
Glories Happy Hats, you are bringing joy to thousands of terminally ill
children and inspiring others to serve,” Caprara says.
Adults and children worked side-by-side to create the hats. The hats were later delivered to seven regional children’s hospitals in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. “The kids are told that if they put the hat on, they must be happy,” says Cal Schneider, Lutheran community services
specialist in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
When families completed their required minimum of one hat per family member, they could spend the rest of the day at the park. The cost was $5 per person, which
included park
admission, lunch and project materials. Each participant also received a Thrivent Financial hat.
Logan anticipates this event—called the Service Learning and Family Gathering event—will be the first of many for the region, in part because of the relationships that formed. “This wasn’t based on chapters or congregations; it included our whole region,” says Logan. “The park was packed, yet everywhere you went you saw someone wearing a Thrivent Financial hat. It was a day of helping others as well as realizing that we are all part of a larger, wonderful organization.” —Donna Mulder
A happy day: Thrivent Financial volunteers making Happy Hats.
Read about Glories Happy Hats
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