To Address Commissioned Minister—Teacher Student Debt

WHEREAS, Our Lutheran schools struggle to find rostered teachers to serve in the classrooms of our early childhood centers, day schools, and high schools, as in the 2019 Resolution 12-02A, “To Exhort the Congregations of the LCMS to Actively Encourage Future Lutheran School Teachers”:

WHEREAS, The number of new commissioned teachers has steadily declined since 2005 (Concordia University System [CUS] Board for University Education [BUE] statistics); and

WHEREAS, The fulfillment rate of requests for first- year Synod-trained candidates to LCMS calling entities has declined from 63 percent in 2010 to 30 percent in 2018 because of the lack of available Synod-trained candidates (CUS BUE statistics); and

WHEREAS, The CUS only graduated 23 early childhood educators, 39 elementary educators, and 32 secondary educators in 2018 (CUS BUE statistics) (2019 Proceedings, 222); and

WHEREAS, The fulfillment rate of requests for first-year Synod-trained candidates to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) calling entities has declined from 30 percent in 2018 to 25 percent in 2022, and the CUS only graduated 17 early childhood educators, 33 elementary educators, and 26 secondary educators in 2023 (CUS BUE statistics); and

WHEREAS, Research has shown that a primary reason for this is the lower salary offered for teachers within the Lutheran school systems, as in Theme 8 of the “LCMS Church Worker Wellness Insights” presentation by Rev. Robert Zagore, former Executive Director, Office of National Mission, to Gospel 2019:

• financial wellbeing is unique among worker needs in that the major problems are beyond the worker’s ability to change—most often the problem is that the workers are in a mathematically impossible situation;

• workers are under-paid for their skill level and workload;

• costs for health care are being pushed to the workers;

• young workers are burdened with significant student debt; and

• many calling bodies are unable to pay their workers what is necessary;

WHEREAS, Concordia Plan Services (CPS) reported in 2021 that 27 percent of LCMS church workers have student debt that averages $46,000 per student; and

WHEREAS, The reality of student loan debt is an important part of the decision to seek employment outside the Lutheran school; and

WHEREAS, The church has previously recognized the need for church worker student debt retirement by identifying and creating:

• MinistryFocus, a recognized service organization, in partnership with CPS which has, since 2015 given 258 debt retirement grants in the amount of $645,000.

• The Fidelity Student Debt Solutions loan repayment plan available to CPS 403(b) participants.

• BeFine App, available to all CPS retirement participants to assist in the development of a plan to pay off debt, including access to 1-on-1 coaching webinars.

• Lutheran Church Extension Fund and Lutheran Federal Credit Union offer debt consolidation services to LCMS rostered workers. Therefore be it

Resolved, That congregations and schools be encouraged to regularly conduct salary and benefit reviews using the CPS salary tool and/or district salary guidelines toward the creation of a plan to increase, over time, salaries and benefits; and be it further

Resolved, That congregations and schools be encouraged to assist teachers with student debt repayment as a regular employee benefit; and be it further

Resolved, That congregations prayerfully consider contributing to church work student scholarship funds at their respective districts and our Concordia Universities with the goal of reducing tuition costs and student debt; and be it further

Resolved, That congregations and schools be encouraged to promote the various resources already available such as MinistryFocus and other debt retirement options to assist with student indebtedness; and be it finally

Resolved, That all Synod congregations be encouraged to contribute towards an annual special designated offering in support of commissioned minister—teacher debt reduction to be taken during National Lutheran Schools Week administered by MinistryFocus in consultation with LCMS Mission Advancement and LCMS Communications, until the next convention