Lutheran Early Response Teams (LERT) are LCMS volunteers around the country, trained to respond in the wake of natural disasters, such as flooding, earthquakes and tornadoes. Kent Kunkel, a member of the MO LERT team, helped organize volunteers in the immediate aftermath of the tornado. Kunkel has seen many people...
When Rev. John Perling first traveled to Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in St. Robert, MO, he was working on his Ph.D. at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. He was not seeking a Call at the congregation. However, as he continued to preach there as part of the seminary’s Pulpit Supply,...
Ten years ago, things were very different at St. Trinity Lutheran Church. With about 35 members, it had come down to a vote of whether to close the congregation. The vote tied. Fast forward a decade, and you’ll find a vibrant congregation of approximately 70 members always looking for ways...
James Bartok Faith Lutheran Church – Springfield, MO Jeremiah Gensch Child of God Lutheran Church – St. Peters, MO Andrew Lehenbauer St. Paul Lutheran Church – Concordia, MO Alan Mueller Concordia Seminary, St. Louis Immanuel Lutheran Church – Sweet Springs, MO Cory Stallings The Exchange Communities Lutheran Church – Jackson,...
With graduations happening across the world right now, many people are thinking about what the students will become—what majors they’ll pick, what activities they’ll choose, and eventually what jobs will kick-off their futures. However, there’s another often-overlooked angle about what these students will become. They’re going to become alumni. Engaged...
As a pastor, you go where you’re needed—counseling a couple on the brink of divorce, the side of a hospital bed or presiding over an unexpected funeral. But there’s another place you’re needed. And if you’re being completely honest with yourself, you might be avoiding it. Pastors need to take...
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet...
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” —Luke 10:2 Many congregations will be praying, watching and waiting, as our seminaries hold call services for our new pastors this week. Whether you or your...
Every fall, millions of high school graduates start their journey into higher education. They pile into their parents’ car with laundry baskets, a few suitcases and so many questions. Will I get along with my roommate? What if I never figure out what my major should be? Will I make...
by Haley Link As I walked into my first Sunday school classroom, I felt like I was going to be sick. I didn’t know anyone in the room and I wanted so badly to go home. The rest of the third graders were opening their Bibles and I was sitting...