LSA ministries are present in all 50 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The ministries often exist in the form of counseling services, shelters, food pantries and senior housing. More than 3,000 U.S. communities support Lutheran social ministry organizations, she said. Lutheran Social Services employs more than 100,000 people nationwide. Thirty-seven percent of those people are people of color or have a primary language other than English, Negstad said.
Volunteers are a significant part of the social ministry.
More than five million volunteer hours were logged in 1998, she said. In an informal poll, almost 75 percent of voting members said they had volunteered in some form of Lutheran social ministry organization.