Membership That’s Magnetic—Whether you want to plan your retirement, maximize your charitable giving, trace a long-lost relative or even simply send your mom a birthday card, Thrivent Financial can help.

By Sarah Asp
Photos by Paul Najlis

Peterr and Jill Conroy, both 35, and their young son, Jimmy, 9, are a hypothetical member family who use Thrivent Financial to improve nearly every facet of their busy lives. Take a peek into their family calendar, and click on the events to see for yourself what opportunities with Thrivent Financial you might be missing.

Making The Most Of It—Mark and Kathy Smith want to help you find the tools to live a well-rounded life.

Mark and Kathy Smith of Lytle, Texas, have learned to make the most of their membership with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, and they’re not shy about encouraging you to do the same.

The Smith family’s commitment to Thrivent Financial goes right to their bottom line. For starters, each Smith, including 18-year-old Sam and 16-year-old Emily, has a term life insurance policy, and Mark has an IRA with Thrivent Financial.

But for the Smiths, Thrivent Financial is about more than just smart financial solutions. It’s about a shared belief system and common goals—and a set of resources that have helped them immensely in their volunteering and congregational work.

“When we realized how beneficial Thrivent Financial activities could be for our chapter and for our congregation, we thought, 'Why not take advantage of this?' says Kathy.

As leaders in the Hondo-Del Rio chapter of Thrivent Financial and Zion Lutheran Church in Castroville, Texas (Kathy has been events director, Sunday school superintendent, vice president and is now congregational coordinator at Zion Lutheran; Mark is the chapter’s current vice president), the Smiths appreciate the resources Thrivent Financial makes available to causes that are important to their family and faith. The chapter holds fund-raisers for Zion’s youth group, participates in Join Hands Day and encourages Zion members to get involved in giving back to the community.

The family also takes advantage of Thrivent Financial member benefits, including e-cards to stay in touch with friends and family.

And the Smiths are working hard to get the word out to other congregations in the Hondo-Del Rio region who may not be fully tapping Thrivent Financial’s services.

“We feel that, through Thrivent Financial, we are able to do things for our congregation and community that we may not otherwise do,” says Kathy. “We’re trying to get them involved in the chapter.”

For the Smiths, it’s about more than mere perks; it’s about values. “It’s not just a financial services company,” Kathy says of Thrivent Financial. “We could get that anywhere. Everything Thrivent Financial does is based on what we believe.”

—S.A.