‘Set Apart to Serve’ establishes advisory council

Marli Ockander, a teacher at Sioux Falls Lutheran School, Sioux Falls, S.D., is one of the members of the inaugural advisory council for Set Apart to Serve. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

Set Apart to Serve (SAS) began in 2019 with the adoption of Resolution 6-01, “To Support and Participate in the Comprehensive Church Worker Recruitment Initiative.” This resolution began the youth focus of SAS. Since that time, SAS has added three more focus areas — second career, all nations (multi-ethnic) and international — and has grown in collaboration with several major entities across the Synod. It has executed several research projects; completed a pilot project encompassing all 35 districts; developed comprehensive online resources for pastors, commissioned workers, parents and laity; developed a Concordia universities and seminaries web resource; and, in cooperation with Concordia Publishing House and Lutheran Church Extension Fund, offered a church worker recruitment curriculum for all ages at no cost to all LCMS schools (early childhood through high school) and the Concordia universities.

With this vast development of SAS’ brand and resources, and with continued new and focused work ahead, the LCMS is well on its way to developing a culture of church work formation and recruitment throughout its congregations, schools and entities so as to supply the church with church workers for generations to come.

New council

Now, to continue its focus on excellence and measurable results, SAS is announcing the formation of an advisory council consisting of a cross-section of LCMS stakeholders who will advise SAS based on their experiences as church workers, educators and/or influential adults who interact with potential church work candidates. This advisory council will meet approximately three times per year to provide in-depth feedback, perspective and insights gained from working as or with church workers. The advisory council’s guidance will impact SAS by:

Clarifying and updating messaging;

Cultivating champions for SAS;

Delivering longitudinal feedback that adds in-depth feedback to SAS surveys;

Establishing priorities for the future;

Guiding resource improvements;

Highlighting opportunities for increased awareness and engagement;

Identifying new guides and trainings;

Influencing resources and messaging;

Learning about pain points and obstacles; and

Speaking candidly about what works and what doesn’t in recruiting church workers.

The inaugural SAS advisory council, which met for the first time on Feb. 26, is:

Rev. Keith Boheim, executive director, Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation

Dr. Bernard Bull, president, Concordia University, Nebraska, Seward, Neb.

Robert Finch, pre-seminary student at Concordia University, St. Paul, St. Paul, Minn.

Dr. Alan Freeman, director of LCMS School Ministry

Rev. Jesse Kueker, admissions officer, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

David Kuschel, senior director of communications and advocacy, Concordia Plans

Marli Ockander, teacher, Sioux Falls Lutheran School, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Erica Sorensen, executive director, Higher Things

Rev. Daniel Weber, pastor, St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, Federal Way, Wash.

Rev. Dr. Kevin Wilson, president, LCMS Ohio District

Rev. Matthew Wietfeldt, assistant vice-president of Admission and director of Christ Academy, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne

Kaye Wolff, long-time leader in the LCMS and the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, Southfield, Mich.

The Rev. Dr. James Baneck, executive director of the LCMS Office of Pastoral Education, said, “While our SAS advisory council will provide significant input to the ongoing efforts of SAS, the front line of church worker formation and recruitment in the LCMS is families, congregations and schools. We pray that every person in the LCMS would own this charge: ‘I am a church worker recruiter.’ Through all of us, our Lord answers our prayer to provide workers for His church.”

Posted Feb. 29, 2024