Tag Archive for: Called to Prepare 2018

Using God’s gifts

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I gave chapel for the first time in fall 2016. It was nerve-wracking, of course, but it was also an excellent chance to learn and receive encouragement from classmates and friends. 

Participating in chapel is wonderful, too, of course. It’s not only a worship opportunity, but it’s also such a great resource for us as future ministers of the gospel. To hear the message in many different ways from many different, excellent leaders is honestly invaluable. 

I actually started at MLC with majors in secondary instrumental music and elementary education. During my Early Field Experience my sophomore year, I realized that although I enjoyed leading music, it wasn’t the only thing I wanted to do. My parents reminded me that I could be asked to lead or perform music as a pastor, too, and they helped me see that I have gifts to be a pastor that might not otherwise be used as a music teacher. 

It’s been a busy transition, to say the least. I’ll be attending MLC for five years. This semester has been the hardest, challenging me with three different languages—Greek, Hebrew, and German—at once. I wouldn’t have it any other way! 

Carl Boeder
Reprinted from Martin Luther College In Focus, Spring 2017

MLC Day

Supporting MLC students

MLC Day has become an annual event each spring that brings together all who support MLC around the world. MLC supporters send messages to the college, pray for its ministry, share its ministry with others, and give gifts to assist in carrying out its mission. MLC students (pictured) then share their stories and thanks with supporters. 

Launched for the 2016–17 school year, the Congregational Partner Grant program also supports many Martin Luther College students as they train for full-time ministry. The program encourages congregations to support their students who attend MLC with up to $1,000 per student, which is then matched by MLC. During the first year of the program, 78 churches participated, providing 106 incoming freshmen with grants. In the second year, 145 churches participated, supporting 239 freshman and sophomore students. To learn more, visit mlc-wels.edu/go/cpgp.

Taste of Ministry

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Michigan Lutheran Seminary (MLS), Saginaw, Mich., and Luther Preparatory School (LPS), Watertown, Wis., prepare high school students to attend Martin Luther College for future service as pastors, teachers, and staff ministers. For the 2017–18 school year, Michigan Lutheran Seminary has 200 students and Luther Preparatory School has 415. 

Both schools offer “Taste of Ministry” opportunities for students, which include shadowing called workers to learn more about their work. Students also are given firsthand gospel ministry experiences on campus and during mission trips. 

For more information, visit mlsem.org or lps.wels.net. 

Michigan Lutheran Seminary students shadow pastors and teachers to learn more about the ministry. Pictured is Nathaniel Boertman spending time in a classroom at St. John, Bay City, Mich.

Many Luther Preparatory School students participate in Project Timothy mission trips, which offer them the opportunity to help a congregation with outreach. Here Alexys Blodgett volunteers at a soccer camp for Christ Our Redeemer, El Paso, Texas.

The “Holy Ordinary”

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Every year for more than 150 years, men have gathered in the classrooms at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary to study the Bible in-depth. Paul O. Wendland, president of the seminary, calls this the “Holy Ordinary,”
that year-in and year-out men say, “Here am I, send me!”

Wendland notes, though, that preparing pastors for the worldwide
mission of WELS isn’t just about being in the classroom. “It is so valuable for a seminary student to have a wide range of experiences because it helps him transfer what is in his head and heart to his feet, his hands, and his mouth,” he says. 

That’s why the seminary offers classroom experiences as well as practical experiences. Some students serve youth in urban ministries, others reach out to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, some visit nursing homes and assisted living facilities, others participate in prison ministry, and still more teach English as a Second Language classes.

Second-year students spend Tuesday mornings in Lutheran elementary school classrooms, learning how to teach catechism class to seventh and eighth graders. Two seminary students are assigned to one congregation. The first two weeks they simply observe the local pastor. The next six weeks, they alternate teaching so that each student ends up preparing and teaching three lessons.

“This is one way that our guys can get real world experience as part of their training,” says Prof. Tom Kock, who oversees the program. “It’s one thing to teach them the mechanics of putting a lesson together; it’s quite another thing to teach a lesson to real students.”

For more information, visit wls.wels.net.

Did you know? Grow in Grace, the institute for pastoral growth at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, coordinates a Pastor Partners Mentoring Initiative that includes 64 experienced pastors who serve as mentors to 74 newer pastors. Pastor Partners provides mentors for seminary graduates for the first three years of their ministry. 

Pictured above: Ethan Boese teaches catechism at David’s Star, Jackson, Wis., as part of his seminary training. 

Paul Spaude

Each Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary senior completes a thesis—a capstone paper in an area of his choosing. Students are encouraged to work with WELS congregations or ministries on research that will benefit the church. Throughout their senior year, under supervision of an advisor, they research and write the thesis. In the spring, the students present their research and papers. Pictured is Paul Spaude, a 2017 graduate, who researched adult learning techniques for his senior thesis. In his paper, Spaude offers steps that congregations can take to help potential members assimilate more naturally into congregational life.

Equipped to do God’s will

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Martin Luther College (MLC), New Ulm, Minn., embarked on a new six-year strategic plan in 2017. Titled “Equipped to do God’s will,” this plan keeps the college focused on its central purpose, which Rev. Mark Zarling, president of MLC, describes as “to train even more gospel servants to seize the ever-growing opportunities to go and tell.” 

MLC continues to be the WELS college of ministry, bestowing a bachelor of arts degree for those who complete preseminary training and a bachelor of science degree for those studying early childhood education, elementary education, secondary education, special education, and staff ministry. The college also offers a master of science in education, a master of science in educational administration, and other continuing education programs. 

As Zarling notes, “MLC remains a dedicated college of ministry, seeking by the Spirit’s grace to be Bible-based and Christ-centered in all we do.” 

Those outside the college have recognized MLC’s commitment to its purpose as well. The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools wrote, “This institution is blessed with faculty and staff members who are exceptionally committed to the mission of preparing students for ministry, who are exemplary in their care for and involvement with students, and who are gracious in their relationships with colleagues.” 

During the 2017–18 school year, MLC served 756 undergraduates and 995 students pursuing graduate degrees or continuing education.

For more information, visit mlc-wels.edu.

Early Experience

MLC provides many experiential learning opportunities for its students, including early field experiences that allow students to plan and execute lessons in Lutheran elementary school classrooms.

Vicar year experiences

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Russell Scoggins (pictured) was born and raised in Austin, Texas. For the 2016–17 school year, he and his wife lived in the Washington, D.C., area where he served as a vicar at Grace, Falls Church, Va. During his vicar year, he put into practice what he had learned in the classroom at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis.

Reflecting on his vicar year experiences, Scoggins says, “The Washington, D.C., metropolitan area has a little over six million people. Here, on any given day, we would drive past hundreds of thousands of people who are navigating through life without the true forgiveness, hope, and comfort that is found only in Jesus. On the one hand, that is a bit of a discouraging thought; on the other hand, it is motivation to keep moving forward and keep finding new ways to bring the Good News to those around us. There are almost an infinite number of barriers between you and others in the area—race, language, culture, or socioeconomic status. Even if it appears you have nothing in common with someone, you must remember that you have the need for a Savior in common.”

While serving as a vicar, Scoggins also worked closely with some who were fighting addiction. “With the growing opioid problem in America,” says Scoggins, “I think that it will be important for our churches to turn more attention to ministry to addicts in the coming years. After the seminary, I intend to continue study in addiction and counseling.”

Noah Willitz

Noah Willitz spent a year as a vicar in a mission setting at Victory of the Lamb, Katy, Texas. Willitz notes, “In all our classes, professors often say things like, ‘In your ministry, you’ll find people who . . .’ or, ‘Someday, someone in your church will . . .’ Serving in a congregation has allowed me to replace hypothetical situations with real names and faces. I often remember a specific piece of advice offered in the classroom and apply it to an interaction with the man standing in front of my desk or the woman lying in the hospital bed.”