Evangelism Day is Wednesday, November 9, 2022.

MLC Evangelism Day is dedicated to equipping MLC students to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, both in their personal lives and when they serve in the public ministry.

8:30 – 9:20

Opening Worship

9:30 – 10:20

Electives: All

10:30 – 11:20

Electives: All

11:30 – 12:20

Lunch: Student Body A-M  OR Electives: Student Body N-Z

12:30 – 1:20

Lunch: Student Body N-Z  OR Electives: Student Body A-M

1:30 – 2:20

Electives: All

2:30 – 3:30

Social Hour for Students and Presenters in the Cafeteria

The evening session is open to students and the public and will be in the cafeteria conference center.

6:00 – 7:00 Presentation on Reaching Out to the LGBTQ+ Community – Bill Monday
7:15 – 7:30 Special  Chapel Service – preacher Bill Monday
  1. Help Is on the Way – Larry Schlomer The world seems to be spinning out of control. Pandemics, wars, storms, arguments and crises are everywhere! God has the solution for the hurting people of the world, and he knows who will deliver it. It’s you.
  2. E3: Evangelize, Empower, Entrust with Academia Cristo – Andrew and Cindy Johnston Academia Cristo seeks to plant churches in every corner of Latin America. This usually begins with online invitations (first E) and instruction (second E), but, by God’s grace, concludes with in-person gatherings of believers (third E). In this presentation we will share how this is happening by sharing the stories of those on the front lines.
  3. Evangelism for the Rest of Us – Aaron Wakeman “I love E-Day! But…I honestly don’t feel like an evangelist. I live in a bubble. I have different gifts. I’m awkward in conversations. I’m an introvert. I don’t have many unbelieving friends. I never know where to begin. I’m bad at small talk. I don’t know where to meet people. I’ve never even invited someone to church. And I’m going to be a called worker?!?”
  4. Outside Looking In: Witnessing to Unbelievers – Jill McKinley Jill will tell the story of how she became a WELS Christian and discuss her experiences with evangelism both before and after her conversion. You will hear a unique perspective on the keys to reaching people with a personalized message of Christ’s love and salvation. She encourages listeners to check out her podcast! The two programs are linked here.https://smallstepspod.com.

    https://smallstepswithgod.com/

  5. One by One: Why Your Personal Witness Is So Important – Eric Roecker Our country’s culture is changing rapidly and, along with it, people’s attitudes toward organized religion. We will discover what these changes are and why they make personal witnessing more important than ever.
  6. Urban Ministry – Expectations v. Reality – In Town, Atlanta – Lucas Bitter When many people hear the phrase “urban ministry,” their mind immediately leaps to poverty, drugs, gangs, crime, and other traditionally “urban” issues.  But by definition, an “urban” area is not necessarily any of these things.  Inner-city ministry, quite simply, is “ministry in an area where very many different kinds of people live very close together.”  What incredible gospel opportunities might be available in an area like this?  What kinds of people might be easily reached in an area like this?  How can an urban church take advantage of factors like density, diversity, and momentum in an area like this? Prepare to have your expectations shattered, and your eyes opened to the amazing outreach opportunities that are waiting in the center of the city.
  7. Colossians 3:23, School Culture, and Parent Ownership – Brett Bengel The goal of our ministries is to share Jesus Christ with all ages and nations. But why will the families come? What happens when the families enroll? While working in Citrus Heights, CA with Matt Bauer, we faced these two questions. We also realized that we both had different strengths. Matt loved to build school culture, and had spent eight years doing it. I loved building relationships with the students and parents. Building and improving school culture and parent ownership opened up opportunities for us to share Jesus!  This presentation will discuss school culture and parent ownership in Lutheran schools today while keeping Colossians 3:23 as the goal.
  8. Offensively Lutheran (without Giving Offense) – Joel Seifert When you’re living in a post-Christian culture where Bible-believing Christians are mocked or attacked, it’s easy to get defensive – but there’s no need.  Pastor Seifert shares lessons from his experience in a mountain west resort town that had “moved on” from Christianity – where he also served as a frequent guest presenter representing Biblical Lutherans on an inter-faith panel and in a men’s debate club made up of doctors, business leaders, rabbis, university professors – and a midwestern-raised confessional Lutheran preacher.  In settings where Christianity is most mocked, you have an incredible chance to boldly and lovingly set forth the treasure of the Gospel.
  9. Outposts for the Gospel – Craig Wilke Every newly planted church is an outpost for the gospel. What blessings come from these outposts? How is it different from an established church? Could you be one of the future pastors at one of these outposts? Come and hear about planting churches and wrestle with some of the things that come along with this task.
  10. HOME MEANS _____________________– Joel Heckendorf If you had to choose where you get called someday, where would you pick?  Why did you pick that location?  What if you get called to a place that is nowhere near what you thought?  No matter where you are called, the Lord has some amazing blessings in store for you.  Join in the discussion as we consider the blessings of adapting to our new homes, no matter where that home is.
  11. Reaching Out to the LGBTQ+ Community – Bill Monday If you don’t have a friend, relative, co-worker, or anyone else in your social network who identifies as LGBTQ+, you are a statistical minority — and probably won’t be there for long. How do we respond to those looking for hope from the Church with more grace and nuance than “God says it, that settles it!”?  Pastor Bill Monday, author of Rainbow Savior and advisor to Reclamation – a growing network of Christians intent on sharing the gospel with all who wrestle with these issues – looks forward to sharing the Scriptures and firsthand experiences for encouraging answers.
  12. Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast: Called Workers Vital Role in Shaping Healthy Congregational Culture – Jon Hein A famous business consultant coined that phrase, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” What it means is that even if a company has a brilliant business strategy, it is almost certainly going to fail if the company doesn’t have a healthy culture. The Church is not a business, but the same principle applies. Church leaders—pastors, teachers, staff ministers, lay leadership—may have lofty goals and a great ministry plan, but the congregation’s ministry efforts will be lackluster at best without a healthy congregational culture. So called workers first need to understand what culture is, because culture (not your plan)  is what really determines why churches do what they do (or why they don’t do what they should do). Moreover, called workers need to understand that they shape the culture of the congregation. This is absolutely vital and the big miss in many congregations. The most important aspect of congregational health is that it is “build on the foundation of the prophets and apostles, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20. But the second most important contributor to congregation health is, by a wide margin, strong congregational culture. In this presentation, we will look at examples of both healthy and unhealthy congregational culture. And we will see how called workers can shape congregational culture in positive ways.
  13. “I Love to Tell the Story”: WELS Early Childhood-What a Mission Field!- Cindi Holman When you think of mission work, you might think of China, Japan, Africa, or a new one-London. Did you know that mission work is happening each day through our WELS early childhood ministries? The Lord is providing amazing opportunities to share the precious gospel with young children and their families. Come and hear about the exciting ways that congregations use their early childhood ministry in response to the Great Commission! Cindi Holman is blessed to serve with Lutheran Schools as the WELS National Coordinator for Early Childhood Ministry. She has a master’s degree in early childhood and a passion for high quality-Christ centered early childhood care and education.
  14. Plan, Execute, Evaluate: Implementing congregational outreach – Jon Schroeder Double session – Daylight Requirement You get assigned to a congregation that doesn’t have significant plans for outreach. What are your first steps as a pastor, teacher, or staff minister? How do you integrate outreach into your early childhood program, your worship events, your teen ministries? What are realistic expectations for your congregation/school size? Come and engage in a discussion of a broad array of outreach efforts and their implementation in school and church. We will talk about building plans that integrate multiple ministries, utilize media, emphasize lay involvement, and empower the church to share in Christ’s mission to call the elect to faith through the Gospel.Pastor Jon Schroeder was called as a church planter to Sharpsburg, GA, and has served Faith Lutheran since its founding in 2001. The congregation of 600 members operates a preschool with 102 children enrolled. 
  15. TRANSFORMED: Equipping Youth Leaders – Jon Enter More than two-thirds of young adults who attended church regularly in high school will completely stop attending church after high school graduation. How sad! How spiritually dangerous! One of the greatest mission fields we have for the Church is in the church, in our pews…for now. The strategies we have used over the years to keep youth connected to the Sacraments and their Savior have not been fruitful for nearly 70% of young adults. Let”s give God something new to bless by examining how we can refocus our ministries to be less lecture or program based and to, Lord willing, transform youth in their relationship with Christ by the power of the gospel.
  16. Stepping Forward with Gospel Footprints – Kelly Welsh

    You are called. You are equipped. You are ready to reach out to your school families and community with the gospel.  The need is great and the opportunities are abundant to leave an imprint of the gospel all around you. Look at ways to use your gifts to fuel outreach and your ministry. 

  17. Old Church, New Song: A Fresh Perspective for Mission Work in an Established Church – Julius Buelow You work so hard and so long to get to call day. You’re on fire for the gospel and ready to show it. Surely you’ll be sent to be a missionary in some exciting, up-and-coming place! And then you get assigned to… “Established Grumpy Lutheran Church, Boringstown, Midwest State, Non-Missionary District.” Or so it sounds. But an old church still has the new song, and opportunities to share in many ways a new mission doesn’t have. And because of that, being a missionary in Boringstown can be… pretty exciting!
  18. To the End of the Earth: Fear and a Faithful God in the Final Frontier – Cale Mead The world is a big place! And the thing is…Jesus wants his church to take that message of what he’s done to the whole thing. But what happens when apprehension, uncertainty, and fear take hold and make you wonder, “Can I really leave behind what I know and love and serve Jesus waaaay out there?” Pastor Cale Mead has experience serving missions in Asia, Colorado, Alaska, and Georgia and has firsthand experience that our God is faithful in the face of our fear…even at the ends of the earth.
  19. Team Up not Tear Down – Enhancing Staff Relationships to Bolster Outreach – Paul Patterson Satan works overtime to undermine the effectiveness of our ministry teams. Explore the value of team building through several activities and discuss the underlying principles that will make you an effective evangelism team member.
  20. Evangelism in Times of Crisis – Ross Stelljes “God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform,” including during times of crisis. Listen to real-life stories of personal crises in the lives of members, prospective members, and called workers, and see how God used these crises to open doors for gospel witnessing.
  21. How People Who Are Not in Public Ministry Can Share the Gospel- Stephen and Agata Naumann The presenters teach at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, and regularly spend time in Poland and Germany. They will begin with a discussion about how lay people can share the Gospel, allowing participants to share their ideas. Stephen and Agata will share experiences as lay people in various settings: their home congregation St. Stephen in Adrian, MI; ELFK congregations in the Berlin area and in Würzburg (Germany); and travel in the US. Stephen will also talk about an experience with the youth group in Zwickau (Germany) and his visits to Ukraine and Latvia. 
  22. Jesus, Gender, and Evangelism – Kurt Wetzel and Kristen Koepsell Jesus calls men and women to speak the gospel and live as salt and light in the world. In personal and corporate church settings, we have opportunities to reach the lost while working together as men and women. But that’s sometimes easier said than done. Let’s talk about gender in evangelism and the ways Jesus transforms us to live and work together as siblings in his church.
  23. “Using Early Childhood Ministries to Reach the Whole Family”– Shawna Mehlberg Early Childhood Ministries are incredible programs through which we can share the Gospel not only with young children, but with their entire family as well. Our early childhood ministries are wonderfully positioned to connect us with children’s parents and families and give us countless opportunities for outreach.
  24. Evangelism Isn’t Easy – Prof. Jen Mehlberg, Dean Ben Clemons, Prof. Paul Grubbs Panelists will share stories of evangelism challenges they faced in mission ministry and parish work.  In addition, participants will be invited to ask questions about the difficulties of evangelism, about handling tough situations … about whatever concerns that you may have.
  25. Defending Your Faith: Being prepared to give a REASON for the hope we have! – Michael Geiger John Wooden of basketball coaching fame said to his players, “When opportunity comes, it’s too late to prepare.”  Have you ever found yourself fumbling for words to say when a question of faith comes up?  Do you start sweating when someone challenges a truth of Scripture or the Scripture itself?  Would you like to be better prepared to answer with confidence questions and challenges others have about the Christian faith?  This workshop will give you five practical steps to help you be better prepared for the next opportunity to engage in a faith conversation!
  26. Open Your Eyes to the Harvest: Using High Schools to Reach the Lost – Phil Huebner – WISCO, Jessica Spiegelberg – DSA, Kevin Festerling – Kingdom Prep This session will explore three different unique high school ministries—Wisconsin Lutheran High School, Kingdom Prep Lutheran High School, and Divine Savior Academy. As the context of each ministry is shared, participants in the session will come to see the blessings and challenges of unique ministries, as well as the immense opportunities that await at high schools willing to do outreach. The session will seek to be both informational and inspirational.
  27. Blessings, Opportunities, and Challenges……..A look at WELS Schools in 2022 and Beyond – Jim Rademan WELS Director of Lutheran Schools, Jim Rademan, serves in the WELS office that collects data on the schools and teachers in our WELS Schools.  As chairman of the recently appointed Teacher Shortage Task Force, he’s led a deep dive into the make-up of our WELS schools today, along with the many opportunities to share Jesus with a growing population of families who are detached from the gospel.  Learn about new trends, innovative approaches, and challenges as we’re serving more children than ever across the nation.