Donations and Outreach

Where Does My Church Donation Go?

We are grateful for the donations we receive at King of Kings. While a portion of your gift goes directly to our congregation, you’re also supporting a number of other important causes.

St. Paul Area Synod

King of Kings is a member of the St. Paul Area Synod of the ELCA. This annual contribution supports the work of the synod both in the eastern Twin Cities and in the global community. Locally, it supports a variety of programs and activities that bolster congregational vitality. Globally, we answer God’s calling through synod companion church relationships in Guatemala and Tanzania. These international connections enrich our ministries by exposing us to global challenges and new perspectives. Together, we work to build up the body of Christ and our world.

Missionary Support 

Daudi and Kellen Msseemmaa serve as Regional Representatives in East Africa. Their work includes connecting with Lutheran churches in the region and developing relationships between the ELCA and our partners. We have been sponsoring Daudi and Kellen since 2021.

Quilters

Using donated and purchased materials, the King of Kings Quilters is a group of women who meet twice monthly to sew quilts for various needs. In 2023 the quilters donated a total of 75 quilts: 18 lap quilts to Stonecrest Memory care residents, 22 quilts to St. Paul Area Project Linus, 15 quilts to local shut – ins, 9 quilts to the Tubman women’s shelter, 9 quilts to the Connect Center and 2 to recent Honduran immigrants.

Annual Gift to Kilolo

Kilolo, in the Iringa Diocese in Tanzania, has been a King of Kings partner parish for over 20 years. This partnership through the St. Paul Area Synod is part of the Bega Kwa Bega program. The annual gift King of Kings sends to Kilolo Parish is used for building projects, evangelism and healthcare outreach.

Bega Kwa Bega/ Kilolo Scholarships

The St. Paul Area Synod is part of the Bega Kwa Bega program. In Swahili, Bega Kwa Bega means shoulder to shoulder. This reflects the way we aspire to relate to one another—as equals and companions in ministry.  The pillars of the companion relationships are prayer, presence and projects. Through Bega Kwa Bega, King of Kings supports Kilolo in several ways, but especially with scholarships.

Iringa Hope Micro Loans 

Iringa Hope is an economic development organization based in the Iringa region of Tanzania. Through microloans, marketing and training, they assist small scale farmers in Tanzania. King of Kings supports our companion congregation, Kilolo, to continue building and developing their Iringa Hope program throughout their community.

Tanzania Health Partnership

Tanzania Health Partnership was launched in 2003 with a focus on community health in rural villages. Today, it is a 125-bed medical center. From safe childbirth and surgeries to dental care and family medicine, DCMC  provides reliable, high quality health care throughout Tanzania. In 2024, Tanzania Health Partnership is expanding into agricultural support for the area.

ELCA young Adult Global Mission

The ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission Program invites ELCA young adults ages 21 – 35 into a year-long journey in international service. These young adults are shaped by our global neighbors to become the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. They provide critical support to ministries and projects in communities of need. Over the course of the year, volunteers take time for self-reflection to consider their sense of identity, God’s work in the world and their place within it all.

The Connect Center

The Connect Center helps families and youth as they work toward long-term goals around their finances, education, employment, transportation and housing. TCC helps families break the barriers that block financial & housing stability. TCC also has AmeriCorps Housing Resource Navigators that help singles find housing.

Loaves and Fishes

Loaves and Fishes is an on-site meal program in which King of Kings members volunteer to prepare and serve an evening meal to those in need. King of Kings serves  300-375 meals at St. Matthew’s Church in St. Paul on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Due to the increase of clients coming through along with the cost of food supplies, we have increased this budget line in 2024.

Camp Wapogasset Sponsorship

Camp Wapogasset is a Lutheran Bible Camp located near Amery, Wisconsin. It offers year-round opportunities, but with specific focus on summer camps for youth and families. King of Kings has supported Camp Wapo annually since 2019.

King of Kings ELCA college Scholarships 

King of Kings provides scholarships to our students that plan on attending an ELCA college in the fall. We have continually gone over the budget line in order to support our amazing students.

Open Cupboard

Open Cupboard is a food shelf working to address food insecurities in our community. They distribute more than 4 million pounds of food each year. In 2021, Open Cupboard opened a fresh, free market called Today’s Harvest, which provides fresh produce, meat, dairy and bakery items that were rescued from local grocery stores and other partners. This market helps thousands of families in our community meet their food needs each week. 

Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala 

ILAG,  Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala, is a church sponsored by the St. Paul Synod.  It has 3,000 members located in 18 communities in Guatemala City and remote areas throughout Guatemala. More than 10 of these congregations are partners with churches in the Twin Cities area. Espiritu Santo is King of King’s partner church. It is located in an extremely remote village, El Porvenir, in northwestern Guatemala. With only 14 families in the village, Espiritu Santo supports a small elementary school with 9 students. Our 2023 donation went to both our partner congregation and to disaster relief in the ILAG community following the destruction of crops by Tropical Storm Pilar. 

Lutheran World Relief

Lutheran World Relief tackles global poverty by helping people adapt to the challenges that threaten their livelihoods and well-being. LWR provides aid during emergencies and helps families restore their lives.  

Every Meal 

Every Meal’s mission is to fight child hunger. They fill the gaps children face on weekends, extended breaks and summer when school meal programs are no longer available. Every Meal serves more than 10,000 children across 400 locations.  

Lutheran Social Services 

Lutheran Social Services grounds their work on two principles– God loves all people without condition and God yearns for us to love our neighbor. These principles call on us to ensure that children and families will have safe homes, people with disabilities will have access to social services and older adults will have a choice in the services they need.

Prayer Shawl Ministry

King of Kings Prayer Shawl Ministry creates homemade knitted/crochet shawls that are prayed over and given to those experiencing difficult times.

Local Outreach Event

Provides an opportunity to host events where the community is invited to service projects, meals and fellowship.

Undesignated

We designate these funds for emergency situations our partners experience or within the community. Recipients of these funds have included Union Gospel Mission, Feed My Starving Children, Loaves and Fishes, Second Harvest, Guatemala and Woodbury area schools.