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Sharing Jesus in Houston suburb

鈥淚n a bigger congregation, one pastor can鈥檛 do everything. Our graduates are in high demand for team ministry,鈥� Saleska said, a change from 30 years ago when the majority of calls were to serve as a congregation鈥檚 sole pastor.

Many of these new associate pastors and assistant pastors are called to strengthen a specific ministry, such as youth or family. Others will focus on church revitalization or, like Rob Bailey, on church planting.

鈥淟ike the circuit riders of old with their preaching stations, I get to go out and share Jesus where people are in the community,鈥� said Bailey, who will begin his ministry by getting acquainted with others in League City, a Houston suburb with lots of young families but few churches.

Gloria Dei owns property in this community of some 100,000 people, many who reflect 鈥渨hat鈥檚 going on in today鈥檚 society, where belonging to a church and going to church isn鈥檛 as important as it once was,鈥� Bailey said.

鈥淚鈥檒l need to be entrepreneurial, but the blessing is that SA国际传媒 equipped me with the foundation of knowing who we are as Confessional Lutherans and how to go out and share the love of Christ and what He has done for us,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting!鈥�

Keeping rural church doors open

SA国际传媒 half of the Seminary鈥檚 graduating seminarian candidates were called as a congregation鈥檚 sole pastor, including a few who will serve dual parishes.

鈥淲e鈥檙e also seeing more districts where a larger congregation walks alongside a smaller congregation to help with a vacancy, and the two congregations continue to work together,鈥� said Dr. Wallace Becker, director of Placement, mentioning congregations working in partnership in the LCMS Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa West districts.

Such a call will bring Andrew Johnson to Trinity Lutheran Church in Manilla, Iowa, a rural community of some 700 people and churches that are 鈥渕ostly hurting or slated to close.鈥�

鈥淭he people of Trinity love their church and are working to keep their doors open,鈥� said Johnson, who will serve as Trinity鈥檚 pastor, working closely with the Rev. Jonathan Conner, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in nearby Manning.

Johnson values 鈥渢he general pastoral wisdom as well as the very specialized insights鈥� of Conner, a 2004 Seminary graduate who also served as Trinity鈥檚 vacancy pastor.

The two pastors plan to combine youth activities and join forces teaching confirmation classes. 鈥淭wo congregations of people are excited to see where God is leading us,鈥� Johnson said.

Helping Nevada teens ‘Stay in the Faith’

The title next to Mark Duerr鈥檚 name stood out on the Call Day list. He was the only graduate called to serve as a high school theology instructor.

As a college student pondering careers, Duerr says theology classes deepened his faith and helped lead him to the Seminary.

Now he hopes to make an impact on the 130 students at Sierra Lutheran High School in Carson City, Nev., and help 鈥渢hem understand what they believe and why they believe it.鈥�

Along with striving to build a strong spiritual foundation that the teens will carry into their adult lives, Duerr sees his call an opportunity to help strengthen the LCMS.

鈥淥ur church is losing a fair number of young people, and we need to make an effort to keep them,鈥� said Duerr. He will head Sierra Lutheran鈥檚 theology department and help implement a new theology curriculum. He wants students 鈥渢o understand why it鈥檚 important to stay in the faith,鈥� he said.

Welcoming homeless, young professionals

Just as graduates leave the Seminary to various ministries, they also travel different routes to their calls. Some came through the Seminary鈥檚 Center for Hispanic Studies, the Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology, or the Specific Ministry Pastor and Deaconess Studies programs.

Deaconess Kelly Jacob 鈥� one of five deaconesses who received calls on Call Day 鈥� was called to reach out to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church鈥檚 diverse community in Cincinnati, Ohio, from the homeless to young professionals.

While Prince of Peace鈥檚 ministries to the homeless are well-known, the congregation is searching for ways to also connect with higher-income neighbors moving to the inner city.

鈥淲e want to be a welcoming place for all people to come, a place where every person is shown they have worth and value in Christ鈥檚 eyes,鈥� said Jacob, who also served her internship at Prince of Peace.

Serving such distinct demographics is a challenge, she agrees. But Jacob looks forward to using the solid theological training and practical social work skills she gleaned through the Seminary鈥檚 Deaconess Dual Masters Degree Program in partnership with Saint Louis University.

鈥淲e hear lots of stories, of good and bad, ups and downs,鈥� she said. Whatever the story, the deaconess 鈥渢ries to speak words of hope and encouragement into what seems to be hopeless situations.鈥�

More calls than candidates

While these new church workers tackle ministry challenges, many congregations also face a huge ministry hurdle 鈥� a prolonged wait for a pastor due to the shortage of graduates at both LCMS seminaries.

鈥淲e had so many calls this year, both for team ministry and sole pastoral ministry, but there weren鈥檛 enough candidates to supply all the needs,鈥� Becker said. Many students had as many as 10 interviews with calling congregations.

Of the 160-plus calling congregations, some 60 congregations 鈥渨anted a pastor and didn鈥檛 get one,鈥� Becker said. As much as he loves serving in Placement, 鈥渢he hardest part of my work is that we don鈥檛 have enough candidates for every congregation to have a pastor.鈥�

The prayer, of course, is that the hope in Christ these graduates share in their new ministry fields grows and, perhaps, even blossoms in future students considering church work vocations.

鈥淚鈥檓 so proud of our graduates and the dedicated servants they will be for the Lord as they head into some challenging ministries,鈥� Saleska said. 鈥淢ay the Lord bless them wherever they serve.鈥�

Kim Plummer Krull is a St. Louis-based freelance writer.