Tag Archive for: Called To Prepare 2021

Preparatory Schools

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Pictured above:
Elijah Ha volunteered at St. Paul, Saginaw, Mich., as part of his Taste of Ministry experience at Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

Luther Preparatory School, Watertown, Wis., and Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Saginaw, Mich., prepare high school students for future service as pastors, teachers, and staff ministers. For the 2020–21 school year, Luther Preparatory School has 401 students and Michigan Lutheran Seminary has 184 students.

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 lps.wels.net or mlsem.org.

Luther Preparatory School senior Gabriel Bickelhaupt gave evening chapel in March 2020. Senior males are given this opportunity to work with a dean to prepare a message from God’s Word for the student body.

 

 

 

 

Kaitlin Butler volunteered  to serve Trinity, Castries, St. Lucia, in December 2019, as part of a Project Timothy trip as a student at Luther Preparatory School.

 

 

 

 

Michigan Lutheran Seminary students went Christmas caroling in December 2019. The school is currently made up of students from 13 states and 4 different countries.

 

 

 

 

Michigan Lutheran Seminary Fast Facts 2019

  • 70 MLS alumni at Martin Luther College
  • 20 MLS alumni at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary

Luther Preparatory School Fast Facts 2019

  • 215 LPS alumni at Martin Luther College
  • 43 LPS alumni at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary

 

Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary

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Pictured above: Teaching during a pandemic
The seminary has adjusted its teaching during the pandemic as necessary. Here President Earle Treptow teaches a class outdoors in the seminary’s newly renovated courtyard in fall 2020. In spring 2020, the seminary held its graduation and call day online. Twenty-five graduates received diplomas for successfully completing their seminary studies and received calls into the ministry.

In fall 2020, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS), Mequon, Wis., began the school year with 134 students. WLS prepares men to begin pastoral ministry by providing them with spiritual, theological, and professional training. Students attend classes for two years, serve as full-time vicars during their third year, and then attend classes and write a thesis in their fourth year. Throughout their time at the seminary, students receive opportunities to serve in a variety of ministries and to experience other cultures to help prepare them for their future calls.

The seminary also provides pastors with opportunities for continued growth in all their callings through its institute, Grow in Grace. Grow in Grace offers continuing education courses, a mentoring initiative for new graduates, a clearinghouse of resources for pastors, and an annual retreat for pastors who are celebrating milestones in their ministries.

The Pastoral Studies Institute, a partnership between WLS and WELS Missions, guides and assists non-traditional students through their pre-seminary and seminary training so they can become pastors. This includes second-career students as well as cross-cultural students.
For more information, visit wisluthsem.org.

 

Winterim

Many seminary students participate in Winterim, a two-week session in between the first and second semesters that gives students an opportunity to study in areas of personal interest not normally part of the curriculum. Pictured is John Jordan, who worked on an outreach project at Living Faith, Midlothian, Texas, in January 2020. Jordan and 16 fellow students participated in street evangelism, interviewing, and data gathering, as well as worked on a strategic planning process that showed different ways to begin or enhance a congregation’s outreach. Part of the students’ work was to assemble and distribute almost 3,000 reusable totes for a local food drive and then collect the donations several days later.

“Winterim provides a nice change of pace for both students and faculty,” says Rev. Earle Treptow, president of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. “Students who go on a mission trip—and almost every student will during their time at the seminary—gain invaluable experience in engaging the community. Those who participate come back with an increased commitment to preparing themselves for service as pastors.”

Dialogue Education Conference

Eighteen participants spreading God’s Word on five continents attended a Dialogue Education Conference hosted by the Pastoral Studies Institute. In partnership with WELS Missions, the Pastoral Studies Institute of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary guides and assists spiritual leaders around the globe through their pre-seminary and seminary training.

 

Mission and Ministry 2020

Each winter Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary hosts an event titled Mission and Ministry for its students. During Mission and Ministry, students learn about the various ministries that exist throughout WELS for them to participate in and take advantage of as they need them. Ministries bring displays and information for students, and speakers from Home and World Missions as well as Congregational Services lead sessions on topics pertinent to them in their future ministries.

Did you know?

The seminary’s library has more than 58,000 books, and almost all of them are theological.

Martin Luther College

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MLC President Rev. Richard Gurgel

Martin Luther College (MLC), New Ulm, Minn., is celebrating its 25th anniversary during the 2020–21 school year. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has changed some of the practical ways that MLC’s students learn, the college is still committed to training a corps of Christian witnesses who are qualified to meet the ministry needs of WELS and who are competent to proclaim the Word of God faithfully and in accord with the Lutheran Confessions in the Book of Concord. In fall 2020, 714 undergraduates were participating in this training, which took place both on campus and virtually.

To meet the current ministry needs of WELS, Martin Luther College:

  • prepares men for pastoral training at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary;
  • prepares men and women for service as teachers and staff ministers in the synod’s churches, schools, and other institutions;
  • prepares men and women for other church ministries, both full- and part-time, responding to the needs of WELS;
  • prepares international students for ministry in partnership with WELS mission fields; and
  • provides programs of continuing education that meet the ministerial needs of WELS.

For more information, visit mlc-wels.edu.

Equipping Christian Witnesses

Student Joey Behm shares details about the college’s comprehensive campaign known as “Equipping Christian Witnesses” with members of Sola Fide, Lawrenceville, Ga., during the 2020 spring choir tour. The three pillars of the campaign are shown below. For more information, visit mlc-wels.edu/mlc-campaign.

 

 

 

 

Jordan Massiah

Chapel livestream

Junior and senior men who were scheduled to preach for evening chapel in MLC’s Chapel of the Christ in spring 2020 preached from home after the school had to close its in-person instruction. These students sent their chapel videos to MLC for livestreaming and sharing on social media—potentially reaching more people than they would have in the campus chapel. Jordan Massiah (pictured), a member of Hope, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was one such student. Massiah notes, “The comfort I had in knowing that God’s Word works, no matter the circumstances, took away the nerves. It turned into a beautiful passion, which was to make my devotion simple enough to relate to people, but also advanced enough so that people wouldn’t lose interest. That’s something I’ll take with me into my future ministry.”

 

Lynn Jungen

Continuing Education

During the 2020–21 school year, 919 students are enrolled in Martin Luther College’s continuing education program. One hundred forty-six of those are pursuing graduate degrees in theological studies, educational administration, or education. Pictured is Lynn Jungen, who graduated in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree from Doctor Martin Luther College and in 2020 with a master’s degree from Martin Luther College. Jungen serves as an early childhood director in Manitowoc, Wis.

 

Did you know?

The Conference of Presidents issued 150 assignments on call day in May 2020. It was the first time the call service was held virtually. MLC’s spring graduation service was also streamed online rather than being held in person. The college sent graduates celebratory packages with their graduation essentials, including their diplomas and gowns.