900-1,000 Students Eager to Train for Gospel Ministry
From President
Mark Zarling
This pillar of our campaign depends on the spiritual gift of encouragement.
For many of our students, it was just one person’s encouragement that motivated their decision to become a pastor or teacher. That person may have been another pastor or teacher, a spiritually mature member of their congregation, a grandparent they admire, their loving parents, or a trusted friend.
We humbly ask you to encourage prospective students as well.
Why? Because we need many more Christian witnesses. We are
facing both . . .
- a concerning number of current vacancies
in our congregations and schools and - an exciting and almost unimaginable number of
open doors to new ministries.
MLC enrolls about 750 on-campus undergraduate students.
Could that number grow to 900? To 1,000? Perhaps. What we know for certain is that higher enrollment numbers are required to meet the numbers in need: the thousands of souls in existing WELS congregations who are needing a new pastor or teacher and cannot get one . . . the hundreds of thousands across the world who are asking for biblical instruction . . . and the multitudes who do not even realize that they are lost.
Current Vacancies
For several years, we’ve had an increasing demand for more pastors and teachers. Large numbers of baby boomers are retiring, and we simply don’t have enough candidates to replace them.
After new pastors and teachers were assigned in May, many
congregational vacancies remained. If your congregation is one
that’s been waiting for a new pastor or teacher, you understand
the need firsthand.
