Governance and management

The Committee for World Service acts as the board for the LWF World Service. It consists of LWF Council members, as well as representatives of related agencies.

The LWF Council

The Council is the highest governing authority in the LWF between Assemblies. It is composed of 50 members, coming from all the LWF regions. The Council is elected by the LWF Assembly, which is normally held every six years. Its composition must comply with LWF policies adopted by previous Assemblies regarding the participation of women, men, and youth (at least 40% women, 40% men, and 20% youth). The Council does much of its work through committees, which oversee the programmatic work of the LWF.

The Committee for World Service

In accordance with the LWF Constitution and Bylaws, the Committee for World Service (CWS) is appointed by and responsible to the Council. The Committee members are drawn from Council members representing all LWF regions, and from related agencies. The Committee meets twice in a year, once in conjunction with the LWF Council.

The overall purpose of the Committee is to give strategic guidance to the work of LWF World Service, and recommend the approval of plans and budget to the Council. The current CWS members are listed below.

LWF World Service Management Team

The work of LWF World Service is led by the Management Team, composed of the World Service Director and heads of each World Service unit at headquarter level, in Geneva. Its current members are listed below.

  • Rev. Barbara LUND, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (USA)
  • Rev. Dr Karin ACHTELSTETTER, Canadian Lutheran World Relief
  • Ms Karin AXELSSON-ZAAR, Act Church of Sweden
  • Mr Roger FASTH, DanChurchAid, Denmark
  • Ms Agnes GABEE, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea
  • Mr Tim GÖTZ, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria (Germany)
  • Rev. Dr Arnfriđur GUĐMUNDSDÓTTIR, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland
  • Mr Ikali KARVINEN, Finn Church Aid, Finland
  • Mr Martin KESSLER, Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (Germany)
  • Bishop Steven LAWRENCE, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia
  • Ms Toromare MANANATO, Malagasy Lutheran Church (Madagascar)
  • Ms Isabella REIMANN GNAS, Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil
  • Presiding Bishop Fredrick Onael SHOO, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania
  • Mr Michael STOLZ, Australian Lutheran World Service
  • Dr Pepijn TRAPMAN, Kerkinaktie (The Netherlands)
  • Maria Immonen, World Service Director
  • Chey Mattner, Head of Operations
  • Guillaume Remy, Global Finance Coordinator
  • Petra Feil, Head of Quality and Accountability
  • Bobby Waddell, Global Funding Coordinator