LCMS districts are building an SAS culture

The Rev. Christopher Nuttelman visits with worshipers following Divine Service at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church on Sunday, June 2, 2024. The church plant currently meets at United Lutheran Church in West Olive, Mich. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

By James Baneck

In preparing for this article, I went to the websites of our 35 Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) districts to learn how they are building a Set Apart to Serve (SAS) culture in their districts. The LCMS Florida-Georgia District website had an artful link that said, “Plant the Church: Do Something.” Planting new congregations is what the church does. And, as we plant churches, we’ll need more pastors and church workers.

“Do Something” caught my attention. Research tells us that over 90% of church workers and laity have heard about Set Apart to Serve — and that’s great news!

In this most recent cycle of district conventions, it is exciting to see that our 35 districts are more than aware of Set Apart to Serve — they are doing something! They are building a culture of church work formation and recruitment throughout the LCMS. Building a Set Apart to Serve culture ensures having pastors and commissioned workers today and for generations to come.

Between the first district convention in mid-January and the last one in mid-July, 16 LCMS districts adopted a resolution specific to Set Apart to Serve. Some had already put forth a Set Apart to Serve resolution at their 2022 district convention. SAS resolutions adopted this past year include:

Praying to the Lord of the harvest to form and recruit more pastors and church workers, using us as His instruments to do so.

Establishing a district SAS committee (focus group, task force) making church work formation and recruitment a district priority.

Encouraging and helping congregations establish a congregational SAS committee (focus group, task force).

Calling upon pastors, commissioned church workers, parents and laypersons  intentionally to form, have conversations with and encourage youth and adults to consider full-time church work. SAS research tells us that those who are currently serving as church workers have been most influenced by these people.

Teaching the free Concordia Publishing House SAS curriculum to their children and adults. This curriculum is age appropriate from early childhood through adult: cph.org/set-apart-to-serve-school-resource-kit.

Providing financial support to church work students attending our Concordia universities and seminaries at the district and congregational level.

Compensating our current church workers fairly for their service of placing God’s Word in the ears and hearts of God’s people for life and salvation, and caring for their overall wellness.

Setting a goal to have conversations with and encourage one or more youth and adults to consider full-time church work.

Encouraging and supporting non-rostered Lutheran school teachers to enroll in and complete teacher colloquy.

Inviting Concordia university and seminary representatives to congregations and schools to talk about church work with youth and adults.

Including SAS in every pastor “winkel” (circuit meeting) and church work conference.

Placing SAS in a prominent place on the websites of the district, congregations and schools.

In addition to adopting these resolutions, over 24 LCMS districts are involved in an SAS pilot project. In the pilot projects, the SAS team meets with pastors, commissioned church workers, laity and others to focus on various aspects of SAS. District presidents and district personnel partner with SAS to identify individuals to provide expertise and input to create, test and enhance SAS resources, strategies, awareness, messaging and more. Pilot programs include:

Circuit Visitors
Circuit visitors are helping SAS develop easy-to-use timely messaging and resources to be shared at a pastor’s winkel.

District Focus Teams
SAS is meeting with seven districts who have developed or are developing an SAS focus team. Drawing from collaborative expertise, SAS is developing resources and strategies to be used by all the districts to develop and maintain a district SAS focus team.

Colloquy Journey Map Team
SAS is teaming with experts in teacher colloquy. We are developing a teacher colloquy resource that helps a teacher from the beginning of the colloquy process to the end. We are kicking off this resource with a colloquy webinar (see Page 3).

Parent/Youth Research
SAS is meeting with parents and youth to develop resources to help parents and youth navigate the journey from considering full-time church work to attending a Concordia university and beyond.

Teacher Advertisement Pilot Expansion
This advertising campaign targets Lutheran teachers who are teaching at a public school, encouraging them to consider teaching in a Lutheran school. It also encourages non-rostered Lutheran teachers to consider enrolling in the teacher colloquy program. This campaign had great success in the LCMS South Wisconsin and Minnesota South Districts last year. We are currently expanding this pilot project with four more districts.

To all in our LCMS districts who are taking up the charge to “do something,” thank you. Thank you for your excellent work. Thank you for your commitment to creating a culture of church work formation and recruitment in our districts and across the Synod.

Posted Oct. 9, 2025