Our Mission
With dignity and respect, Metro Lutheran Ministry helps families and individuals break the cycle of poverty, supporting them in achieving housing and personal stability, food security, and self-sufficiency.
MLM: 51 years of serving the community
Roots of the Kansas City Metro Lutheran Ministry can be traced to the 1960s. Pastors and lay member of the (then) Lutheran Church of America (LCA) and the American Lutheran Church (ALC) in metropolitan Kansas City began to explore how their churches could serve and support mission work in a changing urban climate.
After several years of discernment and planning, the Kansas City Metro Lutheran Ministry became a reality on December 5, 1971 with the primary purpose to serve Jesus Christ more effectively in the metropolitan area. Dr. Walter Kloetzli, former director of the Lutheran Church-USA, Department of Urban Planning was the first Council President. Luther Johnson became the first Executive Director.
Local congregations continued to join in the efforts until a total of 48 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) Lutheran churches are partners of MLM today. MLM serves clients from community assistance center locations in Jackson, and Clay Counties, Missouri, and Wyandotte County, Kansas.
Our Vision
To be a community that acts justly, loves mercy and walks humbly with God. (Inspired by Micah 6:8)