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At the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS) graduation service on May 22, 2026, four men received Master of Sacred Theology (STM) degrees through the Grow in Grace program. Grow in Grace provides pastors with enrichment opportunities to grow spiritually and professionally throughout their ministries.<\/p>\n
In 2010, WLS established Grow in Grace to oversee the seminary\u2019s continuing education program, of which the STM degree program is a significant area. Since 1978, 109 men have earned an STM degree through WLS, which was officially accredited in April 2024 by the Association of Theological Schools. The largest cohort to receive the degree at one time, in 2025, consisted of nine men.<\/p>\n
At present, classes are held in person and online. Some pastors only elect to participate in continuing education, while others will complete the entire program of 24 credits for the degree. For some pastors, the STM program will enable them to pursue a doctorate degree. \u201cOur pastors appreciate the time and resources churches have given them to grow in the Word,\u201d says Brad Wordell, the current program director. Currently 38 pastors are pursuing the STM degree.<\/p>\n
David Scharf<\/strong> \u201cI grew in my faith as I studied God\u2019s Word with knowledgeable professors and dedicated classmates in every course I took. I have always enjoyed taking classes but was never interested in the degree. However, when I arrived at MLC, I was encouraged to consider pursuing the degree. I already had quite a few credits in the program, so from that point it was a matter of taking some courses focused in my area of study (education) to finish my STM.\u201d<\/p>\n Greg Pufahl<\/strong> \u201cOne of the benefits of the program was spending time in the Word with fellow pastors. Some of my most memorable experiences were classes with Prof. Mark Paustian. I would tell anyone [considering the program] don\u2019t just think about it, do it! You will not regret it.\u201d<\/p>\n Nate Scharf:<\/strong> \u201cI was privileged to start classes right after graduation from the seminary. Each class was fulfilling and encouraging; it led me right into taking another class. Three years ago, my brother [David Scharf] and I signed up for a class. We hit a threshold to make it a go and continued signing up for classes together. What a blessing to rub shoulders with fellow ministers, and learn from their insights, experiences, and current ministry situations. And to worship in the seminary chapel with many brothers and sisters in Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n Nathan Schulte:<\/strong> \u201cI was part of the One Latin America mission team when I was encouraged and supported to pursue the degree. I took courses geared towards education and effective teaching strategies. One of my favorite experiences was taking Adult Education as Communication. It\u2019s always exciting to add a new ministry skill to the toolbox and start using it right away.\u201d<\/p>\n Two additional areas of the Grow in Grace program include the Pastor Partners program, which provides three years of mentoring for newly assigned seminary graduates, and annual Celebration of Ministry retreats. This past April, the Celebration of Ministry retreat gathered 89 pastors and 82 wives from the WLS classes of 1991, 2001, 2016, and 2023 in San Antonio, Texas, for encouragement, worship, and ministry workshops.<\/p>\n Watch this month\u2019s WELS Connection<\/em>, which features WLS\u2019 continuing education program, Grow in Grace, and shares how it helps pastors grow spiritually and professionally throughout their ministries.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS) graduation service on May 22, 2026, four men received Master of Sacred Theology (STM) degrees through the Grow in Grace program. Grow in Grace provides pastors with enrichment opportunities to grow spiritually and professionally throughout their ministries. In 2010, WLS established Grow in Grace to oversee the seminary\u2019s continuing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9639,9638,896,290],"class_list":["post-29157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-prayer","tag-graduates","tag-masters","tag-retreat","tag-wels"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Professor of Theology, Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn.<\/em><\/p>\n
Pastor, Faith, Fond du Lac, Wis.<\/em><\/p>\n
Pastor, St. Paul, New Ulm, Minn.<\/em><\/p>\n
Pastor, St. Matthew, Iron Ridge, Wis.<\/em><\/p>\nAdditional mentorship and support<\/h3>\n