“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10)
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” (Romans 12:4-6a)
Through gifts of your time and talents, as well as financial gifts, you can support the mission of Messiah Lutheran to Look Up, Look Around, and Look Outward. Messiah provides several ways to give. Whether you want to make one-time gifts, set up recurring giving, or use traditional weekly envelopes, we try to make the process as easy as possible for you.
Giving Online
Make Your Weekly Contribution Online
Not able to make it to Messiah on Sunday or just want to make your weekly offering contribution online? Click on the button below and you’ll be directed to a secure online payment page for your offering. In a matter of seconds, you can make a weekly offering or respond to a special appeal, no login or account set-up required. You can use credit/debit, bank, or Apple Pay right through your computer or smart phone. It’s easy to make fast one-time donations or select the option to make gifts recurring.
To view your giving history, set up a recurring gift, or modify your existing recurring giving, log in to Church Center using your phone number on file at Messiah. Church Center is an app that centralizes your own personal information, volunteering, registrations, giving, and directory, as well as basic information about Messiah Lutheran. If you’re on your phone, click the image to the right to download the Church Center app for free on iOS and Android. For more questions on Planning Center Giving or setting up one-time or recurring gifts, please contact revenue@messiah-nc.org.
Frequently Asked Questions about Messiah's Switch to Using Planning Center Giving
We always strive to be good stewards of the finances given to our church. After careful consideration, our financial team has identified a great way for your giving to go further without asking you to increase your giving, and that’s by switching our online giving platform. In 2024 alone we spent $2862 in processing fees by using Vanco. By switching, we estimate that we could save a lot in processing fees. (Vanco currently charges 2.90% for plus a $.45 fee per ACH and credit card transaction; Planning Center Giving charges a flat $0.30 fee per ACH transaction, and only 2.15% plus $0.30 processing fee per credit card transaction)
Your historical giving data and privacy are safe, and will remain our priority through the transition. We are working with a trusted third-party organization who has migrated many churches from their previous systems over to Planning Center and have extensive experience navigating these migrations. All historical donation data (from 2018 – present) is being migrated over to Planning Center Giving and linked with your Planning Center profile; this process will be complete by December 1, 2025.
All members of Messiah and individuals who have donated to Messiah at least once since 2018 have a Planning Center profile, accessible through Church Center. If you have registered for any events and/or have been volunteering on Sundays, the Gathering, MomCo, or Youth Group, you likely have already accessed your profile on Church Center. You will now also be able to access your donation history, giving statements, and create/modify/cancel recurring payments here: https://messiahlutheranclt.churchcenter.com/giving/profile/donations. To log in, all you will do is use your cell phone number and then verify with a quick, one-time code.
If you are a recurring giver, via credit card or ACH, our current donation gateway (Vanco) will be kept open for those gifts until Stewardship Sunday (November 23, 2025) without interruption. If you have never set up recurring giving before, now is a great chance to do so!
We will be reaching out to all recurring givers and will be working with you to set up your gift on Planning Center before we close Vanco. We appreciate your generosity. If you’d like to speed up the process, follow the steps below.
To Make the Switch Yourself:
Step 1: Visit Messiah Lutheran Church Center – Recurring Donations to set up your recurring gift on the new system.
Step 2: Visit https://secure.myvanco.com/L-YWT7/home and log into our previous system to end your current recurring gift. *If you forget to complete this step or are unable to log in to Vanco, we will take care of ending your gift on the previous platform.
Other Ways to Give
Check
You can give with paper checks in three ways:
- Place your check in the offering plate during worship
- Drop it off at the church office
- Mail it to Messiah Lutheran Church, 8300 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28277
Cash
You can give cash during regular weekly worship services or drop it off at the Messiah church office during normal business hours (see bottom of this page for office hours).
Stock
Please contact a member of our Finance team to initiate a stock transfer: Tim Ponseti (treasurer@messiah-nc.org) or Jan Remer (revenue@messiah-nc.org)
IRA Distributions
The bulk of gifts given to the church are in check, cash, electronic transfer, and via credit card, but many members who participate in retirement plans such as a 401(k), individual retirement account (IRA), or 403(b) choose to direct some of those resources to the church as well.
Those age 70 ½ and older with an IRA may make charitable distributions directly to the church (up to $100,000 per year for an individual tax-free; up to $200,000 for couples). Transfers aren’t taxed and also count towards your annual RMD (required minimum distribution). These tax-free gifts are particularly wise for those who no longer itemize deductions for income tax purposes. Moreover, some Messiah members have arranged for future gifts by identifying the church as the recipient as a beneficiary of a retirement plan. Doing so allows your family to enjoy the assets now while directing to the church any remaining funds in the future. Many members choose to give gifts through stock and/or mutual funds. It’s a simple process, most commonly made electronically from the donor’s account. Please contact Jan Remer (revenue@messiah-nc.org) if you desire to do so.
Thrivent Choice Dollars
If you are a Thrivent member, you have a choice about how you can direct your allocated “Choice Dollars.” Simply follow the instructions below to make your selection. Choice Dollars designated during the calendar year can be directed until March 31 of the following year.
To Designate Your Thrivent Choice Dollars Online:
- Visit www.thrivent.com/thriventchoice.
- Click “LOG IN” at the top right of your screen and enter your Thrivent user ID and password. If you do not have a user ID and password, click “Register Now.”
- Look for your designated Choice Dollars amount on the right side of the screen.
Click on “Direct Choice Dollars button.” - Enter “Messiah Lutheran Church” in the box and find the Charlotte, NC option.
- Click the “Direct Now” button, then enter your desired amount.
To Designate Your Thrivent Choice Dollars By Phone:
- Call 800.847.4836 and when prompted, say “Thrivent Choice.”
- Press 1 to direct Choice Dollars (a representative will assist you).
Note: if you would like to receive a statement of your contributions, please be sure to include your name and address with your gift.
Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF)
You can use your savings to help fund the growth of church projects around the country and world through Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF). While your savings dollars increase through interest earned, those dollars also help provide capital for Lutheran ministries and projects. In fact, our own ministry expansion campaign secured funding through LCEF for our new building expansion. Lutheran Church Extension Fund has served as the financial extension of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod since 1978. To learn more or invest with LCEF go to www.lcef.org.
Endowment
A SUSTAINABLE GIFT TO MINISTRY AND MISSION FOR NOW AND FUTURE GENERATIONS
What is an Endowment?
Our endowment fund is a permanent fund of assets, held by our church, that is invested to generate income for ongoing support of our mission, with the original principal remaining i ntact. This long-term, sustainable funding model allows Messiah Lutheran Church to avoid reliance on inconsistent annual fundraising by providing a predictable stream of income from the investment earnings, rather than spending the initial donated capital. MISSION Our mission is to praise our triune God in word, sacrament, prayer and praise; support one another with our God-given gifts; and be a testimony to Christ our Savior by sharing His love.
Mission
Our mission is to praise our triune God in word, sacrament, prayer and praise; support one another with our God-given gifts; and be a testimony to Christ our Savior by sharing His love.
History and Purpose
Messiah Lutheran Church Endowment Fund was created in 2012 to receive and accept donations, gifts and bequests for use in support of the mission and ministry of Messiah Lutheran Church over and above Messiah’s General Fund.
Mission opportunities outside of Messiah can also receive financial support from Messiah’s Endowment Fund. They include:
- Circuit 15 churches
- Southeastern District missions
- LCMS missions
- LCMS colleges and seminaries
- LCMS recognized service organizations
Lasting Impact
Endowment funds are kept separate from the regular funds of Messiah Lutheran Church. Changes to the Endowment Fund can be made only with the approval of a two thirds majority vote of Messiah’s voters.
Gifts in any amount are accepted. Gifts can take many forms: checks, property, stocks and bonds, life insurance policies, gift annuities or charitable remainder trusts.
All donations are invested with the LCMS Foundation, Lutheran Church Extension Fund, or Thrivent Financial, so that on-going income from these investments can fund our ministries.
Enduring Confession of Faith
When the Lord calls you home, who will carry forward your values, your faith and your commitment to sharing Jesus with the world?
Endowments are a special type of charitable gift that extend the spending of a donation out over a very long period of time. The endowment continues to give support year after year to the mission and ministry work you care most about, even after the Lord brings you to your home in heaven.
Please prayerfully consider a donation today and how you might include our Messiah Lutheran Church Endowment Fund in your estate planning.
For more information…
…on how to donate to Messiah’s endowment, contact our treasurer (treasurer@messiah-nc.org).