Go With Us...
Your partnership is needed — be part of the LFS team that God is calling to meet the needs of His children.
...For A Week In The Life Of LFS
Through the stories shared below, go with us to one meeting each day for one week. Hear the stories of people helped, in their own voice. Now take those seven appointments and multiply by six for each day, then by about 300 days each year. Multiply by 30, to account for each LFS worker. While you’re at it, multiply again by 10 or more to factor in all those people who love the person who has been restored. That’s a lot of impact and return on your investment with us.
If God has blessed you so that you have enough to share, then join us today with a gift to support this growing work. Your partnership is needed to serve people like those you have met here, and many more with similar stories.
May God bless you for your generosity, for the love you have for people who are struggling, and for your partnership with us in this life-changing, life-saving work!
Monday: School Counseling
LCMS Deaconess Faith Muehler joined the LFS team this year to work full-time in schools. Embedding LFS counselors within our Lutheran schools makes it possible for teachers to focus on teaching; and for students and their families to get the specialized help they need.
"I have opportunity to walk alongside schools offering Christ-centered care and practical resources. Amidst any noise or pressure kids face, I get to remind them of their identity in Christ and the immeasurable, unshakeable hope found in Him."
– Deaconess Faith Muehler
Click here for a video to hear more from Deaconess Faith about her work.
Tuesday: Gender Identity Support
Our culture brings deep confusion and pain to families —through gender identity crises, suicide, mental illness, abortion, and more. Because of the stigma surrounding these struggles, many Christian families suffer in silence. When they do seek help, they need care that is accessible, effective, and rooted in Scripture and the Gospel.
"The isolation is crushing, because you don't know who it's safe to openly talk about it, or mention it. And for the first time since all of this happened, I have a safe place to go."
– Lisa, Transgender Support Group participant
Click here for a video to to meet Lisa and listen to her story in her own words.
Wednesday: Pregnancy Counseling
Your partnership makes it possible for LFS to provide life-affirming unplanned pregnancy support to women across the midwest, following God’s good design for life: seeing their baby grow in their own care, or in the care of another family through adoption.
"If we can open that door of ministry, I think it's important that she understands that a love of parenting coincides with our love from the Father. That every child is created for a purpose, and every child is loved by God. We let them know that we're with them all the way through."
– Kari Smith, LFS Pregnancy Counselor
Click here for a video to meet Kari and hear more about LFS pregnancy support.
Thursday: Mental Health Counseling
No matter the issue or circumstance, Lutheran Family Service counselors are here to help with professional skill and resources, coupled with a shared belief in Jesus’s promise of peace: He has overcome the troubles of this world; and in Him, so shall we.
"I was really fighting these bad and dark places. Today is so much better. I'm not in those dark places. I feel like I'm a more present father, more present husband. It wasn't just 'you're another patient.' It's 'you're a person loved by God, and we want to be there to help you'."
– Brad Peterson
Click here for a video to meet Brad and hear his story of overcoming trauma.
Friday: Down Syndrome Adoption
With your support —and without charging fees — LFS helps two families each year adopt a child with Down Syndrome. It’s making a difference: so far, three babies are now thriving in safe, loving Christian homes.
"We saw her as a beautiful child, created by God, special and unique. She was fearfully and wonderfully made. Lutheran Family Service took such a load off of us, financially, mentally, and emotionally ... Just comforting in how they were there for us."
– Sarah DeJong
Click here for a video to meet the DeJong family and their daughter, Grace.
Saturday: LWML Fellowship
Since their beginning in 1942, members of the LWML have officially partnered with Lutheran Family Service, as they faithfully supported children in the orphanage. Today, through LWML partnerships at every level, people in need receive Christ-centered care – thanks to these faithful mission-minded women.
"Over the years, LWML ladies have offered countless prayers, in-gatherings, gifts, grants, and more – all built on the notion that so much can be accomplished when we work together in Jesus’s name."
– Rev. Max Phillips, LFS Executive Director
Click here to see how God is working through the LWML and LFS.
Sunday: Church Worker Wellness
With a focus on wellness, LFS counselors — some of whom are themselves church workers — provide direct care for church workers and their families crisis response, mental health and marriage counseling, and consultation for difficult parish counseling situations.
"Lutheran Family Service literally saved my ministry. I would not be a pastor today if it was not for my counselor. They listen, they share, but then they speak God's Word and let that do its job. It's a blessing just to know that there's this resource out there."
– Rev. Andrew Noble
Click here for a video to hear Pastor Noble share his church worker wellness story.
God has a way of multiplying blessings, which is certainly the case here at Lutheran Family Service. Today, He’s calling us to grow, and we’re prepared to follow Him through the doors He is opening that lead into more new places than ever in our 124-year history.
Thank you for going with us!
Lutheran Family Service is a Recognized Service Organization of the LCMS and does not seek or use government funds, ensuring our work remains fully Christ-centered. This decision makes it possible to serve others in Jesus’s name, faithful to Scripture and God’s design for life. Your partnership enables us to hire professional Christian counselors who integrate faith into their care. It also allows us to continue our traditional adoption model — placing infants with married moms and dads who are active in their Christian faith.
