Tag Archive for: Called to Prepare 2024

Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary

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Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS) prepares men to serve in the 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.

On May 26, 2023, 39 students graduated. The day before, the seminary held its assignment service, where nine of those graduates were assigned to home and world mission fields, including Caleb King (pictured middle in the inset photo), who was assigned to a mission start in North Collin County, Texas. After the service, graduates met with their district presidents and in King’s case, with representatives from WELS Home Missions, including Matthew Vogt (pictured right), a mission counselor.

Following graduation, the seminary provides pastors with opportunities for continued growth 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 mentoring program in particular is a blessing to new graduates. Participation is optional but the program has proven so valuable in recent years that nearly every graduate chooses to have a mentor. Resignation from the ministry has significantly decreased since the mentoring program began in 2010.

For more information, visit wisluthsem.org.

 

Winterim

In January, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary offers students a two-week learning opportunity known as Winterim. Classes range from special topics presented in the classroom to trips to important biblical locations (pictured left is a group in Turkey) to time working with home mission congregations.

In 2023, the seminary teamed up with WELS Home Missions to organize a church planting course during Winterim hosted at The Way, Fredericksburg, Va. The course was led by home missionaries Jared Oldenburg and Matt Rothe and mission counselor Mark Birkholz, each of whom came with a wealth of experience and knowledge to share. Eleven seminarians traveled to Virginia to learn more about starting new churches in places where WELS may not have an established presence.

“We want to offer students the opportunity to spend time with church-planting pastors who can open their eyes to the challenges and blessings of starting a congregation,” says Bill Tackmier, the WLS professor who organized the trip to Virginia.

During their time at The Way, seminarians studied core principles of confessional Lutheran mission work and were challenged to apply these concepts to actual WELS mission fields. The capstone project for the course was a presentation of each seminarian’s mission strategy.

“Mission planting is an enormous undertaking,” notes Justin Steinke, who is pictured right giving his capstone presentation. “From the early stages on it takes a community of believers who love to share the gospel and a whole synod’s support!”

 

 

 

Did you know?

Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary is pursuing accreditation through the Association of Theological Schools. The school began the process by conducting an in-depth self-study that faculty members believe has already led to improvements in the school’s program.

 

Pastoral Studies Institute

When David, a member at Hope, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, expressed interest in attending a seminary in 2020, his pastor, Mark Henrich (pictured with David and his wife), encouraged him to study through WELS and contacted the Pastoral Studies Institute, a program coordinated by WELS Joint Missions and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, that guides and assists spiritual leaders around the globe through pre-seminary and seminary training.

Once he was accepted into the program, the Pastoral Studies Institute coordinated instructors—including Henrich—to take David through four levels of courses. Some classes are taught in Mandarin, David’s first language. Many classes are online. Most students take one or two classes at a time since they also work full time. David is taking four—and asking for more. He currently is in level three of the program.

David began to lead an online Bible study from his home in March 2022, which has led to 40 East Asians from 20 cities around the world being baptized.

To learn more about David’s story, visit forwardinchrist.net/delightful-trouble.

 

Mission and ministry

Each February, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary hosts a Mission and Ministry seminar for its students. The seminar teaches students about the resources available and the ministry taking place through the synod’s areas of ministry and affiliated ministries. The event includes displays, devotions, keynote presentations, and breakout presentations.

 

 

 

 

 

Senior thesis

In his final year of study, each seminary student chooses a topic to explore in depth in a thesis, which is then presented to his classmates.

 

 

 

 

 

Martin Luther College

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Pictured above: The Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society sponsored a card-signing event for Martin Luther College students during fall 2023. The students wrote notes to missionaries and their families.

 

Martin Luther College (MLC), New Ulm, Minn.:

  • 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. 

620

undergraduate enrollment

465

education/staff ministry majors

155

preseminary majors

 

27

states represented in student body

5

countries represented in student body

133

Graduate Studies enrollment

 

 

Did you know?

Martin Luther College launched a new and improved curriculum for child development
associates titled the CDA Prep Series. The Child Development Associate credential is considered the best first step in early childhood credentialing. Learn more at mlc-wels.edu/continuing-education/cda-prep-series.

 

Competency-Based Education

On Aug. 21, 2023, Martin Luther College installed seven new faculty members. Doctors Martin and Nichole LaGrow (front row, left) are helping develop the college’s new nontraditional elementary education degree. Martin is the instructional designer and Nichole serves as the program director.

Beginning in January 2023, Nichole began putting the pieces into place for this new degree program, which utilizes Competency-Based Education, a method that awards degrees based on proven competence instead of credit hours, taking into account students’ past experiences and previous job skills. Competency-Based Education is an alternative pathway to ministry for those who are unable to move to New Ulm for a traditional on-campus program. It allows WELS members to obtain education degrees while staying in their own communities and their own jobs—some of which are in WELS schools.

The first students to enroll in the program will begin coursework in fall 2024. For more information, visit mlc-wels.edu/nep.

 

Excited to serve

One-hundred sixty-six students graduated from Martin Luther College on May 13, 2023. Many of them also received their first calls into full-time ministry that day. Pictured below are Maria and Josiah Klatt at MLC’s assignment service. The Klatts were assigned to serve at Apostles, San Jose, Calif. Josiah is a staff minister and Maria teaches fourth grade.

 

Early ministry experience

When preseminary students step on campus as freshmen, it’s an eight-year journey to the pulpit, which can feel distant and daunting. A new field experience at Martin Luther College, known as Early Ministry Experience 1, now provides early encouragement to men on this journey by taking them directly into the life of a congregation for several days.

Matt Koelpin, Zach Maedke, and Ben Schoch (pictured) participated in the pilot of the program in spring 2023. They traveled to San Antonio, Texas, to shadow Micah Koelpin (also pictured), who is pastor at Our Savior–San Antonio West, a young daughter congregation of Our Savior–San Antonio East.

They participated in the worship services at Our Savior, helped with the congregation’s Easter outreach program, learned how to write and format a devotion, discussed the ministry and the logistics of a mission congregation with Pastor Koelpin, and visited members. As Zach noted, “I’m glad I’m just a first-year and I have seven years left, because I have a lot more to learn!”

The experience taught Matt that “being a pastor doesn’t just revolve around what you do on Sunday and how you get people to church. . . . It’s also just being a friend to your neighbors, helping out in every and any way you can. . . . I have a newfound passion for going out and talking to people, initially about their lives, and then, more importantly, about God’s Word.”

Thank you to Martin Luther CollegeInFocus for the information and photo

Preparatory Schools

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Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Saginaw, Mich., and Luther Preparatory School, Watertown, Wis., prepare high school students for future service as pastors, teachers, staff ministers, and congregational leaders. 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 experiences on campus and during mission trips. Michigan Lutheran Seminary opened the 2023–24 school year with 192 students, and Luther Preparatory School opened the year with 410 students.

 

Michigan Lutheran Seminary

Six students from Michigan Lutheran Seminary (MLS) traveled to Asheville, N.C., to help with Living Savior’s soccer camp in June 2023 (see photo above and to the right). 

“Living Savior has been partnering with Michigan Lutheran Seminary for more than 10 years through their Project Titus program,” says Caleb Kurbis, pastor at Living Savior, Asheville. “Church members and these young people from MLS mutually encourage one another as they serve the Lord and share in gospel ministry together. These young people and their chaperones greet new families, lead games and Bible lessons, and experience the impact of reaching diverse families in a harvest field they’ve never seen before. In addition, church members get to learn more about our ministerial training system and see the impact firsthand.”

For more information about MLS, visit mlsem.org.

 

Luther Preparatory School

Arthur Robinson and Cristian Ferrer Bonilla, two Luther Preparatory School seniors, shadowed Thomas Kock, pastor at Atonement, Milwaukee, Wis., in October 2023. The students read Scripture during a worship service, observed a middle school religion class, helped plan the upcoming Advent worship services, and visited with members who are homebound or in assisted living.

“Every young man needs some degree of encouragement along the way,” says Kock. “ ‘Can I really do it?’ ‘Yeah, you probably can, if you’re willing to work at it!’ If I can be an encourager for some of these young men, that’s worth it.”

For more information about LPS, visit lps.wels.net.