COP meets during Call Week

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Council of Presidents (COP) met April 26–May 1. The multiple-day meeting included travel to the two LCMS seminaries to attend call and assignment services.

For its first order of business, the COP welcomed placement personnel from the seminaries: the Rev. Dr. Glenn Nielsen and the Rev. Joel Fritsche of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (CSL), and the Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Pulse and the Rev. Dr. Todd Peperkorn of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW).

It was reported that 165 LCMS congregations submitted calls for a candidate, with 111 of those receiving candidates and 54 not receiving candidates. The names of the candidates were read by their respective district presidents, and the Rev. Michael Lange, president of the LCMS California-Nevada-Hawaii District, led the COP in prayer. A motion to place the candidates was seconded and approved, after which Nielsen, who will soon be retiring, was recognized for his service with a round of applause.

In addition to the pastoral calls, 114 vicarage applications were made, of which 87 were filled and 27 were unfilled; and four deaconess candidates were placed into their calls.

In both Fort Wayne and St. Louis, the COP was joined for part of their meeting by the seminary faculties. In both locations, the assembled group discussed data on attendance trends provided by Scott Kostencki of LCMS Rosters and Statistics. They then heard presentations from several district presidents on both urban and rural ministry. Discussion followed on preparing future workers to plant churches and serve in a variety of contexts.

LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison presented his report to the COP in two parts. In the first part, he led the COP through a 1969 article by Paul Peters on “Luther’s Global Sense of Mission.” Harrison translated the article from German into English. The second part of his report included updates on the district conventions, which are ongoing; theological dialogue with the Malagasy Lutheran Church; the upcoming launch, in cooperation with the Chinese Evangelical Lutheran Church, of a Mandarin-speaking residential confessional Lutheran seminary to serve Taiwan, the Asia region and beyond; and more.

The COP heard from LCMS First Vice-President Rev. Peter Lange. Lange, among other items, noted an increased interest in commissioned minister colloquy from principals, district education executives, and Concordia University System (CUS) colloquy and program directors.

The COP turned its attention to routes to ministry and the increase of unauthorized, non-LCMS pastoral formation programs marketing themselves as paths for LCMS workers. LCMS Secretary Rev. Dr. John Sias reviewed the Synod’s training of church workers, with particular attention given to what is allowed by the LCMS Constitution and Bylaws. After preliminary remarks and discussion facilitated by COP Chairman Rev. Dr. R. Lee Hagan, Northern Illinois District President Rev. Dr. Allan Buss and Wyoming District President Rev. John Hill agreed to work together to write a statement for the COP to consider the next day.

On Tuesday, April 29, the COP unanimously affirmed a statement, available here.

In other business, the COP heard:

A presentation from the Rev. David Fleming, executive director of DOXOLOGY: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel. Fleming discussed spiritual warfare, church worker wellness and more.

A report on the work of the Synod’s Pastoral Formation Committee from LCMS Chief Mission Office Rev. Kevin Robson.

An update on Set Apart to Serve from the Rev. Dr. James Baneck, executive director of the LCMS Office of Pastoral Education. Baneck noted promising trends in enrollment in both pastoral and commissioned worker programs at the seminaries and CUS schools.

The following vacancy report was received:

Number of districts reporting: 35

Calling for sole pastor: 415

Calling for senior pastor: 56

Calling for associate or assistant pastor: 63

Total calling congregations: 534

Congregations being served part-time: 670

New starts: 2

Congregations closed since last meeting: 5

Posted June 5, 2025