Teachers in this category are no longer certified and must follow the steps below in order to become recertified and re-enter active ministry.

 
Step 1
The applicant contacts the president of the district in which he/she last served to inform him of his or her desire to re-enter WELS ministry. The applicant must provide a letter of reference from his or her current pastor.

Step 2
The district president or his designated representative interviews the returning teacher. The interview covers the following areas:

• church membership status,
• reasons for leaving the ministry,
• reasons for desiring to return to the teaching ministry,
• concerns the teacher may have about returning to a WELS classroom, and
• matters of doctrine and practice.

Step 3
A resume of the applicant’s educational experiences outside WELS and a transcript of post-graduation credits or other continuing education activities are sent to the director of teaching ministry certification at Martin Luther College.  A cover letter should be included with the documentation. Upon verification of appropriate coursework and successful teaching, the director informs the appropriate district president that the applicant has fulfilled the requirements for recertification.

Step 4
When steps 1-3 are satisfactorily completed, the district president declares the teacher recertified and forwards the appropriate documentation to the Commission on Lutheran Schools (CLS). Note: The teacher who has not fulfilled all of the recertification conditions above but is in the process of doing so may be approved for use on call lists at the discretion of the district president, but will not be declared recertified until all the requirements have been met.

Step 5
The applicant contacts the CLS to inform them of his or her desire to re-enter WELS ministry and to update his or her Inactive Teacher Inventory Form. The applicant also submits to the CLS a resume of his or her educational experiences outside of WELS.

Step 6
The teacher’s name is used by the CLS and the district president on call lists where appropriate.

Teachers who have not been recertified are only eligible for a provisional call which must be reissued annually. A teacher holding a provisional call commits him/herself to completing the recertification requirements as soon as possible, taking no longer than three years. The calling body and the school principal monitor the teacher’s progress toward meeting the requirements and keep the district president informed of that progress.