Services Concordia Plan Services (CPS) has been charged with managing the Concordia Plans (the employee benefit plans and trusts of the LCMS) and providing other ancillary programs, including supplemental insurance and administrative services that serve the needs of ministries and church workers. CPS serves a critical component in fulfilling the 10th formation objective of our Synod: Directly aiding in the care of our church workers and their families. CPS administers benefits that improve and support the health and financial wellness of LCMS workers so that they can focus on spreading the Word of God. Approximately 6,000 ministries, 30,000 workers, 41,000 retirees and beneficiaries, and 53,000 covered dependents count on CPS to help them be well to serve well.
A. Responding to Needs
Transfer the Blessings
A.1. COVID-19 Response
Transfer the Blessings, the Foundation’s gift planning ministry to LCMS organizations, continues to demonstrate its value in assisting LCMS donors in creating their Lifetime Plan for Giving. This Transfer the Blessing ministry pairs a Foundation gift planning counselor with a congregation to work directly and intention-
CPS is an active member of the Church Alliance, comprised of nearly 40 faith-based employee benefits organizations. Church Alliance members were active during COVID, working with na-
CPS was blessed to serve and support LCMS ministries and workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.tional legislators to ensure that the interests of faith-based organizations were represented in any legislative action. These interests included making churches eligible to receive forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans, which helped sustain countless churches and church workers economically through the early months of the pandemic. The CPS legal and communications teams also were active in helping ministries and members understand the impact of pandemic-related legislation. The concordia plans.org website served as a central home for online resources for ministries and workers during the pandemic. The site included resources from the LCMS, Lutheran Church Extension Fund, LCMS Foundation, several RSOs, and others so those in need could quickly find information critical to their health, finances, and more.
A.2. Focus on Worker Wellness
The CPS mission is to “Serve ministries … care for workers … so that the Word of God spreads.” In alignment with this mission, CPS is dedicated to providing the plans, as well as tools and resources that nurture the well-being of all church workers. During the last triennium, we expanded our wellness resources to care for LCMS workers and their families. During the pandemic, we introduced a new text-based care program so members could more easily receive care at home with shorter wait times than some tele medicine options. We introduced a new virtual physical therapy program to reduce the number of in-office visits required. In 2021, 55 percent of participants reported a reduction in pain within 12 weeks, and 57 percent reported a reduction in intent to have surgery. These results are positive for the member and the health plan overall. Other significant results in wellness programs in 2021 include 6,977 pounds lost by participants in one program and 62 percent of diabetic medications eliminated by participants in another. The menu of mental health tools and resources available to ministries and members also expanded, including a new toolkit that helps ministry leaders create a workplace culture that supports mental health. Emotional well-being resources from other LCMS entities also were curated on our concordia plans.org. CPS continued to develop resources to help workers on their financial wellness journey. These included more one-on-one sessions with workers, additional content through web in ars and videos, and the launch of a financial planning app custom built for LCMS workers.
A.3. Ministry Resources CPS has introduced and expanded services in the last triennium to assist ministries in addressing common challenges. CPS introduced human resources services, providing them at no cost early in the pandemic. HR services provides ministries with information and resources to help them be compliant and keep up with legal changes that relate to personnel issues. The Compensation Decision Support Tool continued to grow in scope and usage. New positions were added to both the church and school tools, giving those calling or hiring more information about compensation benchmarks in a variety of roles. More than 16,000 compensation estimates were created in 2022.
B. Serving the Synod Our staff continually looks for new and better ways to serve
and support ministries and workers. Examples of impact ful connections include the following: 1.
During the height of the pandemic, CPS staff members were regular participants in calls with district business managers and education executives, sharing expertise on legislation, coverage changes, and more.
2. Our worker wellness team met with nearly 3,300 LCMS workers one-on-one in the last triennium, helping them better understand their personal finances today and into the future as they plan for retirement.
3. We identified a need for communications professionals in district offices to connect and collaborate and established a “District Communicators Roundtable” for them to share best practices and resources.
4. Our connections with LCMS education have strengthened, including co hosting the 2020 Lutheran Education Association Administrators Conference.
5. Our Ministry Engagement team worked with districts to host online town hall meetings to reach more ministries than ever with details on health plan elections and enrollment for the coming year. This was essential during the height of COVID-19 due to travel restrictions.
C. Conclusion C.1. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Strengths include: 1.
Our 2022 customer survey resulted in Net Promoter Scores (the percentage of respondents who would recommend an organization to others) among ministries and customer satisfaction among members significantly higher than industry averages.
2. Our most recent staff engagement survey revealed an 86 percent engagement score, more than 20 points higher than the global average. We have twice been named a “Top Workplace” in St. Louis. We were also named a “Top Workplace USA” in 2023 based on staff survey responses.
3. We have a strong board, leadership team, and staff and work with the highest quality vendor partners and consultants.
Organizational weaknesses: 1.
Our online system for administering benefits has been difficult to use for some. A new system launched earlier in 2023 that should ease challenges for those who administer benefits online.
2. The design and cost of the Concordia Heath Plan and Concordia Disability and Survivor Plan have been challenging for some ministries. We’ve studied the situation and are introducing modifications and flexibility to better serve ministries.
Opportunities include: 1.
A stronger connection could be made between lay leaders of LCMS ministries. CPS is providing them an opportunity to connect and share resources through an
online networking and information-sharing platform that launched in 2023. 2.
3. Through financial one-on-ones, web in ars, and other tools, we can continue to reach more church workers to help elevate their personal financial knowledge and help them be retirement ready. We also can continue to grow usage in wellness point solutions to help more workers be well to serve well. Membership in our plans can grow, bringing in ministries that once—or never—were in the plans.
External threats: 1.
We will continue to closely monitor activities in Washington, DC, and work to represent the interests of ministries and church workers with respect to continued significant legislative and regulatory activity.
2. In light of economic volatility and uncertainty, CPS works closely with industry-leading consultants and advisors to manage expected investment risk and return dynamics over a long-term horizon while adhering to certain fundamental principles such as diversification, portfolio rebalancing, and liquidity management.
3. The Concordia Plans are built on the strength of large participation numbers, and any ministries choosing to leave the plans create an impact our board and leadership would be required to navigate.
C.2. Goals As a ministry partner, we want to be viewed as a trusted member of a ministry’s team that brings valuable solutions to employee benefit and business challenges. As a worker advocate, we want to not only be the source and resource for all matters related to the care of church workers and their families but also to be these workers’ physical, emotional, and financial wellness champions. In the short term, we are focused on the following projects to enhance the way we serve: 1.
2. Introducing a new online portal to ease the benefits administration process and improve the member benefit experience for those who prefer to interact online Enhancing the product designs of the Concordia Health Plan and Concordia Disability and Survivor Plan to meet the varied needs of ministries and provide a comparable level of care to LCMS workers
3. Enhancing the value and ease of enrollment in the Concordia Plans, including reducing administrative burden by performing essential ministry business functions
4. Further supporting the mental health of LCMS workers
5. Utilizing an online platform to connect LCMS lay leaders in order to collaborate, share resources, and access expert materials
6. Continuing to cultivate a culture focused on delivering exceptional customer experiences
Concordia Plans is dedicated to serving LCMS organizations and church workers. We bring together thousands of ministries of all sizes, enabling us to offer affordable, quality benefits and business solutions that allow ministries and workers to focus on what really matters: spreading the Word of God. James F. (Jim) Sanft, President and CEO