Tag Archive for: Minnesota District

From decline to resurrection: The story of Saint Mark Mankato

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Churches, like people, can go through seasons—dying to mission and then, in the strength of Christ, rising to it. Saint Mark Mankato is one such story.

You can think of the story like this: Saint Mark is Saint Mark—not Saint Mark’s. In other words, the church does not come from Saint Mark. Instead, it’s like him. The church has lived his same story.

Mark’s story, our story
Likely, the first cameo we get of Saint Mark in Scripture is that of the young man fleeing from Gethsemane, running away naked. He makes the same move later, deserting Paul and Barnabas on a missionary journey. To Paul, Mark was unreliable—a deserter. But Mark rose again in mission. We know that. In one of the most touching reconciliations of the New Testament, Paul, facing execution, asks for Mark, declaring him “useful to me in ministry.” Mark, once a deserter, rises again and even later writes the gospel of Mark.

Saint Mark in Mankato has lived out that same rhythm of death and resurrection.

A church in need of renewal
Founded about 80 years ago as a Home Missions church plant, Saint Mark quickly grew into a dynamic and mission-focused church. It launched a school, started a campus ministry at what is now Minnesota State University, and stood as a hub of outreach and service.

But over the decades, energy dwindled. Membership slipped. By the time a new pastor arrived three years ago, the congregation described itself as a patient on the brink—needing “paddles like a paramedic to bring it back.” The pastor recalls walking in prepared for decline but finding the reality even more dire.

And yet, the central question of the Christian faith pressed in: Do you believe that God raises the dead?

Resurrection at work
Instead of rushing to programs or gimmicks, the congregation leaned on the simple power of the gospel to establish the new foundation. “I’m not going to change a thing,” the pastor decided when he first got there. “I’m just going to preach. I’m just going to teach the gospel.” The results have been nothing short of remarkable. In three years, Saint Mark has grown by more than 40 percent. Entire households have been baptized—something the pastor admits he had never experienced before. Families are returning. The church is seeing new life.

The revival of Saint Mark is even more striking when viewed against its surroundings. Mankato is dotted with large Lutheran congregations, some even ranking among the biggest in their denominations. Yet despite their size, more than 60 percent of the city remains unchurched. The mission field is vast, and Saint Mark has only begun to scratch the surface.

Hope for hollowed-out churches
Saint Mark’s story is not just its own. It’s a word of encouragement for congregations everywhere. Churches don’t have to die. They can rise. They can rediscover purpose, mission, and vitality, resting in Christ’s power to resurrect what seems lost.

The transformation of Saint Mark in Mankato stands as a living testimony: God still raises the dead. And for churches wondering if their best days are behind them, Saint Mark’s story whispers back with hope—not yet.

Written by Jonathan Bourman, home missionary at Saint Mark Mankato, Mankato, Minn.




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Faces of Faith – Mason

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In 2023, the new mission in North Liberty, Iowa, started a campus ministry program at the University of Iowa and the surrounding colleges. What I didn’t expect was Eastern Iowa to be a location that was prime to inspire young men to be pastors. I met Mason two years ago when he started attending Kirkwood College, studying in Beef Science Management. He began coming to campus ministry and church right away, but it was immediately apparent that he had another calling. Soon, he began talking to me about what life would look like going to become a pastor after graduation. I asked Mason how campus ministry inspired him to consider this. He said, “Campus Ministry inspired me to share with others the Word that God has shared with me; to introduce them to my closest friend, my Lord Jesus Christ. Now that he has been accepted into Martin Luther College (MLC), he is, “Excited to dive deep into God’s Word and know day by day that Jesus’ grace is abounding in love. And then to leave the doors of the school and express my faith to the world.”

Mason wasn’t the first student in campus ministry here to show an interest in the ministry. Last year, we had another student (Noah) who went on to become a pastor after graduation. Being a transfer-graduate student myself, I am excited to see young men like Mason and Noah being encouraged and willing to become pastors even when their plans are focused elsewhere.

Written by Lucas Callies, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, North Liberty, Iowa .

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Faces of Faith – Jonathan

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Jonathan Neuman wanted to know more about Christianity. His parents had went to church when they were younger and he was told he went when he was younger, but he had no memory of this. He remembered going to church on the big holidays – Christmas and Easter and when they visited grandparents in Goodview.

He had seen stuff about Christianity online, like social media influencers talking about their faith and Christianity. He had seen some videos here and there, but Jonathan wanted to go beyond the echoes of Christianity in his childhood and he wanted to be a part of Christianity.

So, he took action and looked up the closest WELS church. It took him to Crown of Life in Saint Paul, Minn., which was only minutes away from his house. There he met Rev. Kom and Rev. Burgess. After that, he began attending regularly on his own.

Since Jonathan was also a student at the University of Minnesota, Rev. Kom connected him to True North, the University of Minnesota’s WELS campus ministry. He became involved in the campus ministry and finished Bible Information Class there. Now, Jonathan divides his time between Crown of Life and St. John’s, which hosts True North, and is served by both churches. He appreciates the community feel and the message of the gospel taught. Through these two ministries, he is getting to know more about Jesus and Christianity.

Now, Jonathan wants others to know more about Christianity, especially his family. His family has recently been attending church during the holidays. His mom often goes with him, and they both want Jonathan’s brother and sister to go through confirmation as well. Jonathan has also been having conversations with his dad as he wants them all to know about Christ .

Written by Samuel Lor, campus ministry pastor at St. John’s in Minneapolis, Minn.

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Multiple home missions under one roof

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St. John’s Lutheran in St. Paul, Minn., is an old congregation established by German immigrants over 150 years ago. It was the second WELS congregation started in the Twin Cities area. In the 1980s, the neighborhood demographic started to change. Asians and African Americans moved in while Caucasians moved to the suburbs. Throughout the 1990s and in the 2000s, the change continued as Hispanic immigrants moved into the area.

In 2005, St. John’s opened their facility to Immanuel Hmong, a WELS congregation focused on reaching out to the local Hmong community. As the neighborhood around St. John’s changed, so did the congregation. By 2015 the membership had decreased to about 300 souls. Enrollment in the school continued to decline throughout the years. In 2017, St. Johns made the difficult decision to close the school.

Over the next three years, St. Johns considered merging with other area congregations or closing their doors as they could no longer completely support a full-time pastor. Then, in 2020 a member of the church passed away and left a large bequest to the congregation. With the help of District President Rev. Dennis Klatt and Rev. Tim Flunker, Hispanic Outreach Consultant, the members of St. John’s “opened their eyes and looked at the fields” around them and decided to move forward in a new direction. They decided to ask WELS Home Missions for some financial help to call a bilingual pastor with the goal of starting a Hispanic ministry in addition to the English-speaking community.

In spring of 2022, St. John’s installed Rev. Tim Otto to serve as pastor to focus on outreach to the Hispanic community. What a joy to see God answer in a greater fashion than we could ask or imagine: the building now hosts worship in three languages every weekend!

Check out below some of the recent activities happening at St. John’s facility.

Hispanic Services in St. Paul, Minn.

Over the past year, St. John’s has started up Hispanic services and held various local community events under the name of Iglesia Lutherana San Juan.

In September, San Juan had a table at Fiesta Latina. It served to create a prospect list of around 100. The group gave away over 100 Bibles and a lot of flyers advertising their Hispanic ministry. This event was held by CLUES (Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio) at a building next door to the church.

In January, San Juan started an evangelism program to the community called Kicks and Conversations (Patear y Platicar). They invited the community to come out of the cold and to play soccer or basketball in the gym. Attendees could also practice their English on Wednesdays in January and February leading up to Ash Wednesday. There was good participation and attendance from the community varied from 10 to 30 people.

In summer 2023, San Juan started a summer evangelism program partnering with Raices y Ramas, a Hispanic pregnancy counseling organization. The program is called Community Thursdays (Jueves en comunidad) and ran for six weeks over the summer. San Juan opened the gym and volunteers organized and ran crafts for the moms.

For more information on St. John’s/San Juan, please visit their website at stjohnev.net

Celebrating Thanksgiving & Hmong New Year in St. Paul, Minn.

In November each year, the congregation of Immanuel Hmong Lutheran in St. Paul, Minn., welcomes friends and guests to a special Thanksgiving and Hmong New Year celebration. This is a yearly celebration that includes members dressing in traditional Hmong attire. The celebration includes a special worship service followed by dinner that includes many Hmong dishes.

In addition to the annual Thanksgiving and Hmong New Year celebration, Immanuel Hmong also hosted various other activities such as marriage retreats, vacation Bible studies, summer fun festivals, family camping, and many different choirs.

God has truly blessed Immanuel Hmong, and we pray that God would continue to bless this home mission!

For more information on Immanuel Hmong, please visit their website at immanuelhmong.net

Written by Daryl Schultz, Minnesota District Mission Board member.

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