How the Call Process Works

The Missouri District President and staff are here to guide you through the Call process. Your circuit visitor will usually attend all meetings and votes related to the Call.

Steps

  1. Call Committee is formed according to the congregation’s constitution and bylaws.
  2. District President and Circuit Visitor meet with call committee.
  3. Call committee conducts an all-congregation survey with assistance of Rev. Peter Kirby (Peter.Kirby@mo.lcms.org or 314-590-6221). Survey will assist the committee in development of position description.
  4. Call committee discusses care of church workers and their family with District staff.
  5. Congregation leaders complete “Pastoral Profile Ranking” assessment. Call committee collects the assessments, calculates and average and sends results to District President.
  6. Board of Elders develops/changes/adopts the Ministry Description after input from the survey and the call committee. Ministry description should be sent to District President to assist in development of call list.
  7. Call Committee receives nominations for the pastoral call for 2-4 Sundays.
  8. Nominations are submitted to District President.
  9. District President develops call list for the congregation.
  10. Call committee receives call list with Personal Information Forms (PIFs) and Self-Evaluation Tools (SETs) on each candidate.
  11. Call committee evaluates PIFS/SETS and determines which candidates to interview.
  12. Call committee conducts phone/video interviews.
  13. Call committee presents candidates to voters assembly according to directives of the constitution and bylaws.
  14. Congregation votes to issue a call.
  15. Call committee/congregation invites pastor and his family to visit as part of his deliberation.
  16. If call is accepted, pastor is installed. If call is declined, congregation may continue with previous list or request additional names from District President.

Call Documents for an Ordained Minister

Once it’s time for you to receive your ordained Call documents, Sarah Irwin, Assistant to the President, will send them to you electronically, along with any instructions.

Calling a Commissioned Minister

To call a commissioned minister, contact our offices at 314-590-6200 to be directed to the Director of Schools.

Synodical Graduate Call Procedure

Contact the Concordia University system institutions here.