To send a gift for disaster relief, make your check payable to LCMS World Relief and Human Care, 1333 South Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO  63122-7295 (Credit Card Gift Line:  1-888-930-4438).  In the memo line, indicate how you'd like the gift designate, e.g., "Midwest Tornadoes," "Where needed most," etc.  Thank you, and God's blessings.

As the disaster response arm of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, LCMS World Relief and Human Care works through a broad network of diverse partners to alleviate human suffering and enable people to build or regain self-sufficiency following natural and man-made disasters or emergencies.  LCMS World Relief and Human Care's disaster response partners include the following:

Missionaries and national Lutheran churches.  Wherever it is practical, LCMS World Relief and Human Care partners with national Lutheran churches and LCMS World Mission field staff to provide both physical relief and spiritual comfort and strength in the name of Jesus to survivors of disaster.  When mudslides devastated communities in and around Caracas, Venezuela, we worked through the Lutheran Church in Venezuela and through LCMS missionary Marc Kempf to provide shelter and basic necessities to those impacted by the event.  During recent ethnic tensions in Jos, Nigeria, LCMS World Relief and Human Care provided emergency supplies to Fulani people displaced by the violence through LCMS missionary Brent Friedrichs and Lutheran Church Nigeria.

International Lutheran partner Lutheran World Relief (LWR).  Following World War II, Lutheran World Relief was formed to respond to international need on behalf of the major Lutheran church bodies in the United States.  Through a sophisticated network of faith-based relief organizations and non-government organizations (NOG’s), Baltimore-based  Lutheran World Relief is able to play a major role in large- and small-scale disaster response efforts around the world.  As a non-evangelistic humanitarian organization, LWR is typically able to respond to emergencies even on behalf of U.S. Lutherans in areas where governments have closed their countries to Christian mission work—for example, India and Afghanistan.  Lutheran World Relief is also our partner in economic development efforts the world over.

LCMS congregations and districts in the United States.  Acting alone or in partnership with interfaith community disaster coordination groups, Lutheran congregations across the United States provide shelter and emergency supplies, as well as a message of comfort and hope rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  LCMS World Relief and Human Care provides support for congregations involved in relief and recovery efforts.  Often an LCMS district office plays a powerful role in coordinating emergency response efforts and long-term recovery; LCMS World Relief and Human Care provides support and coordination based on advice from our districts.

Lutheran Disaster Response.  Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) is a collaborative program of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to provide a unified Lutheran presence during emergencies and a single point of coordination during long-term recovery efforts.  As a shared program with administrative officers from both the LCMS and the ELCA, LDR offers a single point of contact for Red Cross, FEMA, and local government entities involved in large-scaled disaster response leadership.  LDR’s mission includes a long-term strategy to provide coordination for cleanup, repair and rebuilding efforts that last until life has stabilized for most of a disaster’s survivors.  In additional to working alongside national emergency response organizations, LDR will typically work through Lutheran social service agencies (e.g., Lutheran Social Services of the South) to coordinate relief efforts in a region or community.