News Thrivent looks at expanding its services
financial products such as annuities, life insurance, mutual funds and bank products to members of Lutheran churches. “We have been consider- ing this [change] for many years,” said Thrivent President and CEO Brad Hewitt. “We are seeing changes in society and in member trends that make the question and consideration a little more pressing.” Since Thrivent runs as a grass- roots operation, members would have final say. “We know we have many Thrivent members who come to the organization by way of a gift given to them as infants, and also that some of the overall membership is not active in a Lutheran church,” Hewitt said.
COURTESY OF THRIVENT FINANCIAL FOR LUTHERANS
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans President and CEO Brad Hewitt says the organization may expand to a broader, ecumenical membership.
T
hrivent Financial for Lutherans may head as early as 2013 toward opening its services to Christians outside of Lutheranism. The fraternal benefit society’s 2.5 million members nationwide would make the decision, and two-thirds of them agree in Thrivent surveys that expansion is the best option for the future, according to the nonprofit organization.
Such a vote would require a
“50 percent-plus-one” majority to change the society’s articles of incor- poration, including redefining the so-called “common bond” of being a strictly Lutheran entity. Currently, Thrivent provides
“Even the definition of being Lutheran is interesting,” Hewitt said, noting that some members of ELCA full communion partner churches, for example, are served by a Lutheran pastor. So Thrivent, which has grown into a Fortune 500 entity with more than $75 billion in assets under man- agement, would be able to maintain and build on its heritage of serving Lutherans while expanding its mis- sion if it were to enlarge its boundar- ies, Hewitt said. Thrivent’s roots go back 110
years, and it took on its current name in 2002 when Aid Association for Lutherans in Appleton, Wis., and Lutheran Brotherhood of Minneapo- lis merged. Though Thrivent is head- quartered in Minneapolis, many of the 3,000 corporate employees are in Appleton. If Thrivent members decide to go outside of the Lutheran circle, they would have to define their new audi- ence, and that most likely would be accomplished by defining “Chris-
tians,” Hewitt said.
Thrivent experienced 5 percent to 6 percent compound annual growth rates in each of the past three years. Thrivent’s revenues grew to $7.9 billion in 2011 from $7.5 billion in 2010 and from $6.7 billion in 2009. It had $170.2 billion of life insur- ance policies at the end of 2011, with $310 million paid in dividends. It had an adjusted surplus—funds above the reserve required to pay future insurance benefits—of $5.4 billion.
Thrivent also reported giving $175.5 million in direct support to schools, congregations, chari- table causes and needy people, and awarded $15.1 million in grants to Lutheran institutions and to Minneapolis-area and Fox Cities, Wis., nonprofits. Would a name change be in the future? Hewitt said it’s too early to know and, in any case, Thrivent’s members would be the ones to make such a decision.
Sandra Guy
Guy is an ELCA member and reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times.
Corrections
In “So vets can be ‘at ease’” (July, page 16), Lutheran Fam- ily Services of Nebraska’s CEO is Ruth Henrichs. The website of Vets4Vets is
www.vets4vets. us. Claire Burkat was 60 at the time of her re-election on May 4 to a second term as bishop of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (July, page 37).
For more news, visit
www.thelutheran.org/feature/august 12 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52