“Every minister of the gospel needs encouragement,” says Kevin Walker, director of staff ministry at Martin Luther College (MLC), New Ulm, Minn. “So a once-a-year conference provides the opportunity for staff ministers to be refreshed in God’s Word, share ideas, and support one another.”
The 78 attendees of this year’s staff ministry conference took advantage of this opportunity from Sept. 17-19 as they met in Appleton, Wis. As Sarah Enstad, a staff minister for the WELS-affiliated ministry A City for God, notes, “This conference gives staff ministers a chance to connect and share ministry joys and challenges. I think of it like a family reunion! It also offers opportunities to grow professionally through keynote speakers and breakout sessions more specific to staff ministry roles, which other ministry conferences usually don’t provide.”
This year’s keynote presentations and breakout sessions reflected the theme “All Things to All People,” based on Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 9: “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (v. 22).
A highlight of the conference was an update on MLC’s staff ministry program from Walker, who began serving as the program’s director on July 1. He reported that the number of undergraduate and certification students who are pursuing staff ministry is on the rise. Says Walker, “We are continuing to look at ways to attract new students and create awareness about the staff ministry program. We are exploring the idea of adding social media and marketing and clinical mental health counseling options to the program. More work is required to put all the administrative processes in place.”
Walker brought 11 staff ministry students to the conference. By including them in the conference, “students are exposed to real-world staff ministers who can encourage them in the end goal of finishing their program,” explains Walker. “These connections also give students the opportunity to start creating a support network of staff ministers for the future years of ministry.”
Learn more about staff ministry.
