‘Set Apart to Serve’ offers new resources

The Rev. Dr. James Baneck (left) talks with Set Apart to Serve pilot program participants during a training at the LCMS International Center in St. Louis in 2023. New resources that are outgrowths of earlier pilot programs have recently been released. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

By James Baneck

It is so exciting to have every LCMS congregation, family, school, district and entity be a part of the wonderful culture of church work formation and recruitment known as Set Apart to Serve (SAS). At this year’s national convention of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, everyone we talked with was familiar with SAS and shared their own excitement about it.

Future generations will give thanks to God that each of us in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) has taken up the charge of Christ (Matt. 9:37–38) in supplying the church with pastors, teachers, musicians, deaconesses, DCEs and more. This charge is guided by the Holy Spirit through Christ and His holy Word.

To help everyone be even more invested and involved in forming and recruiting workers for Christ’s church, SAS has recently released three new resources. These resources are the outcomes of SAS pilot groups and have been reviewed and/or tested by various circuit visitors, district presidents, the SAS Advisory Council and others.

Resource #1: Forming a Congregation SAS Focus Team

This resource is both for congregations that are already focused on church work formation and recruitment and those that want to get started. Regardless of what name a congregation may use for its focus team — committee, working group, task force — this resource provides guidelines for building a foundation of church work formation and recruitment and examples of how to make that foundation a part of a congregation’s culture.

The resource begins with a brief history of the Synod’s focus on church work formation and recruitment since its founding in 1847. It also offers ideas for forming a congregation SAS focus team; provides ideas of who might serve on the team, along with suggested responsibilities; and provides an agenda template and links to suggested SAS resources. Included in these resources are articles and papers for team education as well as ideas to develop action plans that will help the whole congregation embrace an SAS culture.

Resource #2: Forming a District SAS Focus Team

This resource is similar to the one for congregations. SAS encourages every LCMS district to form an SAS focus team because when the district fully embraces church work formation and recruitment, congregations will be more likely to do the same.

Also, when the district sets church work formation and recruitment as a mission and ministry priority, that focus will surely permeate the conversations that happen during district visits with congregations, schools and entities. We rejoice that several LCMS districts adopted an SAS focus in their resolutions at this year’s district conventions. Thanks be to God!

Resource #3: Next Chapter, New Calling: A Guide for the Wife of a Potential Second-Career Pastor

Last fall, SAS personnel went to the two LCMS seminaries to conduct focus groups with second-career residential pastoral students and their wives. We met with the men for 90 minutes and then with their wives for 90 minutes. We asked questions about the process of deciding to attend seminary, about enrolling and moving, and about seminary life. We also asked participants to identify, for each part of the journey, things that were roadblocks to the process, things that would have been helpful to the process, who and what was most influential in the process, and more.

SAS captured what we learned from these focus groups and developed a guide for wives of men who are considering studying for the pastoral ministry. The guide touches on a variety of topics while emphasizing that those embarking on this journey are not alone and have many resources and people available to assist them.

Find all of the resources described here, and many others, at resources.lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve.

Posted Aug. 20, 2025