EQUIPPING CHRISTIAN WITNESSES (ECW)

is a celebration of God’s goodness as we recognize 25 years of ministry training at Martin Luther College and 150 years of ministerial training in WELS.

Our promotion of ECW has been hindered by COVID-19 restrictions, and for a time we paused our appeals to show consideration for congregations and individuals who may be challenged by associated financial restrictions.

However, the needs for ministry recruitment, increased student financial assistance, and campus facility enhancements at MLC are still very real.

We’re excited to announce that the WELS Conference of Presidents is allowing us to extend the campaign to June 2022, and we’ve asked them to help us make our needs known to congregations throughout the synod.

Thank You!

We’re so grateful to all those who have contributed—even during these unsteady times. We’d like to send a special shout-out to . . .

  • The congregation that set aside a $25,000 matching fund in their budget and then pledged that money to match congregational gifts dollar for dollar, with the hope of reaching $50,000 for ECW.
  • The congregation that ran its own campaign to raise $500,000 for a building expansion and then added ten percent—$50,000—to their goal for MLC’s campaign. (See this story in the Spring 2020 MLC InFocus.)
  • The congregation that combined a Called Worker Celebration Sunday with a focus on ECW.
  • The congregations that posted photos of all their sons and daughters studying at MLC—an encouragement to younger members to consider the public ministry and an encouragement to all members to pray for more called workers.
  • The congregations, elementary schools, and Sunday schools that made ECW their annual mission project.
  • The congregations that invited us to preach and present ECW at their Synod Sunday, Christian Education Sunday, Worker Training Sunday, or Good Shepherd Sunday.
  • The congregations that included ECW in their Stewardship Sundays.

How Can You Help?

Pray: We’d ask you to pray! Pray boldly for more Christian witnesses. Pray for the success of this campaign. By God’s grace, a successful campaign will . . .

  • increase the number of students who pursue ministry training at MLC,
  • expand the financial support we can give MLC students, and
  • enhance our campus to better meet the living and learning needs of MLC students.

Promote: Please borrow one of the great ideas of those other congregations! Invite us to speak at your congregation. And be sure to make use of the many ECW promotional resources in your churches and schools. You can find casebooks and other print pieces, as well as videos and other digital assets, in our ECW Toolbox at
mlc-wels.edu/ecw-toolbox/.

Not sure about a speaker? Not sure what materials to order? Check with Beth at scharfbm@mlc-wels.edu.

Give: Text the word CAMPAIGN to 507.223.4344.

CPGP Making a Difference

An important pillar in the ECW campaign is the Congregational Partner Grant Program Matching Fund. The Congregational Partner Grant Program is serving about 600 students in 2020-2021. That’s 85 percent of our student body! Each of those students received a grant from their home congregation of up to $1,000 plus an MLC matching grant.

We’re so grateful to these congregations, whose gifts not only eased the students’ financial burdens but also encouraged them in their ministry preparation.

Good news! While tuition, room and board continue to rise every year, our average student debt in 2019-2020 was $1,100 lower than 2018-2019.

We’re hoping this is the start of a positive downward trend!

We thank every participating congregation and every individual donor. We also thank the Holy Spirit, who inspires you to “excel in this grace of giving.”

Together, we can help ease the burden of college debt for our students.