Tag Archive for: Dakota-Montana District

A mission on the move

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Agree or disagree: Where we worship God matters. A group of 14 considered this statement on a Sunday morning in a small, rented office suite. As the adults in Bible class were processing the question, the Sunday school children sang a loud rendition of ā€œFather Abrahamā€ in the hallway of the commons area. Does it matter where we worship God?

For those in Bible class that Sunday morning in Williston, North Dakota, that question led to a retelling of their mission churchā€™s history. Over the last 15 years, the ā€œwhereā€ of worship had been all over: a living room, then a basement, a nursing home, a hotel conference center, and a rented office suite. Each location brought its own blessingsā€”and its own challenges. Folding chairs instead of fixed pews, hallways for Sunday school instead of classrooms.

After so many years of nomadic worship, itā€™s easy to feel the strain. Most churches have a brick-and-mortar building to call home. But right now, God has our little mission on the move.

Oddly enough, that puts us in good company.

Before Jerusalem ever had a temple, King David worshiped in shifting settings too. The ark of the covenantā€”the visible sign of Godā€™s presenceā€”had no permanent home, but was set up in tents. When the ark was finally brought to Jerusalem, ā€œDavid was dancingĀ before theĀ LORDĀ with all his mightā€ (2 Samuel 6:14) not because of an impressive buildingā€”in fact, the ark was still in a tent! David danced because the Lord was present with his people.

David had his heart set on building a permanent house for the Lord, but the Lord declared that he would be the one building a house for David (2 Samuel 7:11). The fulfillment of this promise was not limited to a brick-and-mortar building but came to life in a flesh-and-bone Savior.

Sunday school children singing “Father Abraham”

Thatā€™s a powerful reminder for us in Willistonā€”and for any church ā€œbetweenā€ locations. Yes, real estate is tight. Yes, building costs are high. Yes, setting up and tearing down can get old. But the Lord who was present with David is present with us. Whether our location is a cafeteria or a conference center, the Savior, who is personally familiar with nomadic ministry, ministers to us.

Does it matter where we worship God? As the adults quietly considered the question, the children in the hallway sang out the answer:

ā€œFather Abraham had many sons
Many sons had Father Abraham
I am one of them and so are you
So letā€™s all praise the Lord.
Right arm, left arm, right foot, left foot!ā€

Like David, they were dancing.

Written by Ethan Schultz, pastor at Found Lutheran Church in Williston, N.D.

Learn more about Found Lutheran in this video update.




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Moments with Missionaries – Craig Wilke

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Rev. Craig Wilke, home missionary at Sure Foundation Lutheran Church in Brandon, S.D., shares an update from their new worship facility. Through the support of WELS Home Missions and WELS Church Extension Fund, they have been in the progress of building a new church, which is just about complete. Hear more from Rev. Craig Wilke as he share more about the their new worship space and the ongoing work spreading the gospel in Brandon, S.D. and save the date for this year’s Taste of Missions on June 14, 2025 at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.

P.S. – Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to watch even more videos from our missionaries in the upcoming weeks!

It’s about a lot more than soccer

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For six of the past seven years, Foundation Lutheran Church has been holding a soccer camp each summer on the school grounds where we hold our worship services. Soccer camps are not new. Soccer camps as outreach opportunities are not new.

Our goals are much bigger than soccer. This year, we hit our camp capacity of 60 kids, had over 30 (all local) volunteers, had three days of great weather, filled 1500+ water balloons, and so much more. Our camp teaches soccer skills, but also basic athletic movements, teamwork, sportsmanship, and ā€“ most importantly ā€“ Jesus. We want every kid to leave every day with the simple truth that God loves them and Jesus saved them.

After six years, we have parents who sign their kids up as soon as registration opens. We have excited and eager kids for our camp. But we donā€™t want the opportunity with those families to end when camp ends, especially since on average 25% of the families that come donā€™t have a church home. We want to get to know them and share with them the Good News of a Savior who loves them. Thatā€™s why we bribe them with ice cream!

Our last camp session ends on Wednesday morning, but we invite all of the parents to come back with their kids that evening. The kids showcase some skills they learned, play a couple of short games, and then head into the school gym for ice cream. We show our soccer camp video with highlights from the week and encourage parents to watch it and share it from our YouTube page (@foundationlutheranchurch). We sing a song for the parents that we learned at camp. And ā€“ most importantly ā€“ we share the reason for all that we do: Jesus. We want the parents to hear the Good News that their kids heard that week. We want them to know that God loves them, that Jesus saved them, that there is no baggage too heavy for their Savior to shoulder and no pit he canā€™t rescue them from. We want to send the kids home singing a song about Godā€™s love for them. We invite them to come back any Sunday.

This year, over 150 kids, parents, grandparents and siblings packed the gym for our ā€œclosing ceremonyā€ and ice cream. More than 20 Foundation members came to serve ice cream, mingle with the families, get to know them, and invite them to learn more about Jesus with us. We donā€™t want the opportunity to end just because soccer camp ended.

Last year, one family came to worship the following Sunday. A few weeks later, the mom invited a friend to come with her. Two months later, they both went through classes to become members. From this one connection, three girls were baptized. God-willing, two of those girls will start Confirmation classes this fall to continue to grow in faith.

That is why we mingle and meet, why we intentionalize inviting these families for a next step.

Because this is about a lot more than soccer.

Written by Rev. Steven Prahl, home missionary at Foundation Lutheran Church in Peyton, Colo.

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The impact of fellowship

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As a new mission start, you ought to be focused on outreach, right? Yes, but thereā€™s more to it than that.

In our first few years as a mission, we focused heavily on outreach. We held kidsā€™ events, we organized other events, we piggy-backed off of community events, we canvassed, and I went to just about every community networking event that I could find. And this was good. It was extremely beneficial because we met a lot of people and had opportunities to invite someone to come hear the gospel and even opportunities to share the gospel then and there.

Before I write the rest of this, I want to say that we will continue to keep doing this outreach. It is important.

But, outreach is not the only thing that a mission church should be paying attention too and, as we would come to find out, our in-reach directly impacted our outreach.

Between 2020-2022, Sure Foundation grew relatively fast. Adding roughly 50 people within those years that came from a variety of backgrounds. Some of these additions were WELS transfers (people moving to South Dakota from other places of the country); some of these additions were adult confirmands; and a few of these additions were new births.

This was an amazing blessing and exciting times, especially for a new church. However, there was a struggle that came along with this growth. The core group of people that started this church, that had gotten to know each other really well, didnā€™t have the same sort of friendships with this mass of new people that had come into the church. What were we to do?

Well, we continued to do outreach, but we started to make a focused effort on in-reach. Lots of fellowship opportunities were offered ā€“ many, many potlucks. New members were slowly integrated into volunteering efforts. And do you know what happened? Relationships began to form. People knew each otherā€™sā€™ names. They had shared experiences and familiarity with each other. The overall vibe (to use young personā€™s slang) of the congregation improved and prospects/visitors could feel this.

Here’s an example. . . Bob and Virginia started visiting worship sometime in the spring of 2023. Later that Fall, they took our Faith Builders Class and became members. At one point I asked them, what was it about Sure Foundation that they valued? They responded quickly saying two things: 1) they know that what they are receiving on Sundays is the Word of God and they didnā€™t have to doubt that, and 2) they felt like they were welcomed into a family, that people of this church genuinely enjoyed being together.

That warms a pastorā€™s heart, but itā€™s one thing to say that, itā€™s another thing altogether to mean it. Bob and Virginia meant it. They invited their family to come too. They loved their church and they couldnā€™t imagine not inviting their loved ones to come and hear the Word of God and experience the fellowship of a body of believers. Their invite led to two teenagers being baptized and two adults being confirmed. Praise be to God!

Their story has taught me something and that is that outreach is important, friendship evangelism is crucial, and also, that the love expressed in fellowship within a congregation has a bigger impact than you may ever realize.

Written by Rev. Craig Wilke, home missionary at Sure Foundation Lutheran Church in Brandon, S.D.

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Flyover country

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When I was assigned to serve in South Dakota back in 2007, the first images that floated through my mind as I sat in the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary gymnasium were from the TV series Little House on the Prairie. Cue the theme song and little Laura Ingalls running through the grasses. Thatā€™s where I was about to go . . . somewhere in South Dakota. People came up to me afterward and said, ā€œOh, you are going to love it there!ā€ Little did they know how much their words were fighting with the stereotype in my head. But, I do love it here! I love serving Godā€™s people here, raising my family here, and reaching the lost here. I love seeing the people he continues to send here from all over the country.

I am blessed to serve on the Dakota-Montana District Mission Board, and when I travel for meetings and visits, I canā€™t help but stare out the window during take off and landing and think of my old silly stereotype.

Many people consider this district flyover country. How much mission work is there really to do in Montana and the Dakotas? There are rural areas that are losing population. But I have only seen the population of towns and cities grow in my 17 years here, and I donā€™t see any end to the mission work that needs to be done. What seems like rural America is growing. Families are moving here from all over the country looking for something better. Praise God that he would include the gospel among those better things to be found! Praise God that he would not just fly over ā€œflyoverā€ country, but use his people here to know the names of those living and moving here. There is just as much sin-brokenness and need for the gospel here as anywhere else. People moving here are coming along with the same hurts and burdens that weighed heavily on their hearts while living on either coast. If they were worth reaching there, they are most certainly worth reaching here.

Maybe the biggest difference is that you can see more of the sky while talking with someone about the God who created it for them. You can feel more grass under your feet when you talk with someone about the one who took on human flesh and felt the grass under his feet as he made his way to the cross for them. And you probably hear more wind while the Holy Spirit creates and strengthens faith through the same means of grace that are needed everywhere.

Who knows, maybe you and your family might even consider moving to Montana or the Dakotas to reach these people, too.

We are excited to welcome Joshua Schroeder as our missionary to Kalispell, Mont., this year. Our new mission in Williston, N.D., will begin calling from the field this summer, too.

We are so thankful to be a part of a synod that sees the value in reaching the lost, wherever they may be!

Written by Rev. Mark Schutz, District Mission Board (DMB) chairman of the Dakota-Montana district and pastor at Hope Lutheran Church in Spearfish, S.D.Ā 

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