Outreach / Mission

Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church is a servant church in the city of New Brunswick, NJ.

The mission statement of Emanuel proclaims welcome to people from all walks of life, regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. Emanuel's mission is also "to reach out to the local and world communities." On these pages, you can find what Emanuel is doing to reach out to the local community of New Brunswick and across international borders through the partnership with our sister church in El Mirador, Guatemala.

You can also find out more information about Emanuel's status as a Reconciling in Christ congregation, a program of Lutherans Concerned/North America to recognize Lutheran congregations which welcome lesbian and gay believers.

You can also meet the Social Ministry and Evangelization Committee of Emanuel, the committee that provides leadership to the congregation in terms of Emanuel's mission.

KIVA

Website: www.Kiva.org

Kiva is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending in order to alleviate poverty.

Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

To help those in our community and around the world, Emanuel provides loans to entrepreneurs through Kiva. By helping to fund projects ranging from agricultural ventures to small stores, Emanuel helps people and communities lift themselves out of poverty and realize their dreams.

Kiva works with microfinance institutions on five continents to provide no-interest small business loans to people without access to traditional banking systems. One hundred percent of each loan is sent to these microfinance institutions who administer the loans in the field. Through Kiva, you can lend to an entrepreneur anywhere in the world. Kiva’s field partners ensure that your loan is repaid. You can either withdrawal the funds after receiving repayment, or you can use the funds to issue a loan to another borrower.

Hunger Ministry

Integral to the life of Emanuel is a commitment to outreach -- reaching out to the local community in love, in the name of Christ. Emanuel is a founding church for the largest soup kitchen that is operating in New Brunswick, Elijah's Promise.

Financial Ministry

Emanuel strives to be a good steward of its financial resources. Although Emanuel is not a large congregation, it is consistently the 10th or 11th most generous congregation of the 186 congregations in the New Jersey Synod when it comes to giving to the Synod and the ELCA. Emanuel’s endowment is structured in such a way that the interest from the endowment is used to fund new initiatives in ministry in the community. Emanuel also makes substantial financial contributions to local agencies such as Elijah’s Promise and the housing organization MIPH, both of which were founded at Emanuel, as well as to the advocacy work of the Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry and Lutherans Concerned, to name a few.

Endowment

The Endowment Committee

Initially, in May 2001, this committee was established by a congregational amendment to our church constitution, to handle the investment of a bequest from the estate of a member. Other monies have since been added to this amount. The committee is composed of a chairperson and 8 members and reports to the Church Council on a quarterly basis. A report is also presented to the congregation at its Annual Meeting.

Endowment Sources

Any “Undesignated gift” given to the church in excess of $5000 is handled by the Endowment Fund. Contributions to the Endowment Fund can come from many sources, for example:

  • Bequests

  • Outright gifts in honor of a special celebration

  • Gifts in honor of another person

  • Gifts in memory of a loved one

These monies will be invested according to the recommendations of a “Registered Financial Adviser”. Utmost effort will be put into investing these monies in a “socially responsible” manner.

Endowment Requests

The Endowment Committee is made up of 9 people. A portion of the interest earned/profits is available for funding new initiatives in ministry. Requests must be made for use in local ministry projects. The principal amount remains intact. Application forms must be completed for the use of endowment monies and are available from the pastor or a member of the Endowment Committee. Requests are then reviewed by the committee, and interviews may be conducted with results reported to the church council. Upon Church Council approval, applicants will be notified and a check written by our church treasurer to fund the approved ministry projects.

Planned Giving

We urge all of our members to remember the church and its Endowment Fund in their will. We practice good stewardship of our own resources when we use them to minister to those in our surrounding community. We are the instrument of God’s love when we help others.

Application Form

This is a link to the application form and general application process, in PDF format.