Set Apart to Serve

LCMS Church Work Recruitment

God gives His church pastors and church workers for the sake of the Gospel. Pastors proclaim Christ and administer the Sacraments, means through which people receive Christ’s saving work. Church workers assist the pastoral office in service to the Word, witnessing to Christ daily in various roles. Christ’s church will continue until He returns, and that church will continue to need workers.

Parents/grandparents, pastors, professional church workers, Sunday school teachers and others in your congregation help influence children to consider serving the church in these sacred and joyful vocations. Set Apart to Serve (SAS) is an initiative of the LCMS to recruit church workers. Since church work is rooted in Baptism and a lifetime of hearing the Word, SAS encourages young people to consider church work vocations primarily through their continued and faithful involvement with their congregation.

Additional information

FAQs for Pastors and Leaders       Bulletin Insert (Color and B&W)

Click the links below to learn more about professional church work vocations within the LCMS:

Find out more about church work vocations

Reporter Articles

Collection of articles on church work vocations and recruitment. View all the articles

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‘The harvest is plentiful’: Set Apart to Serve gains Synodwide support ‘The harvest is plentiful’: Set Apart to Serve gains Synodwide support Many across the LCMS are collaborating on the initiative to form and recruit new church workers. SAS launches second career focus SAS launches second career focus The initiative will seek to encourage church work as a second career path for adults already in the workforce. Pilot program to test SAS resources Pilot program to test SAS resources Set Apart to Serve (SAS) is a Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod effort launched in 2019 to raise up future church workers.
This feed has 10 articles on 4 pages << < 1 2 3 4 > >>

KFUO Radio Interviews

Listen to this series of interviews on church work vocations and recruitment on KFUO's The Coffee Hour. View all the interviews

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The Coffee Hour — Set Apart To Serve: Formation at Concordia Seminary St. Louis The Coffee Hour — Set Apart To Serve: Formation at Concordia Seminary St. Louis Sarah talks with Dr. Tom Egger, president Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and professor of Exegetical Theology. The Coffee Hour — Set Apart To Serve: Pilot Program to Encourage Church Work The Coffee Hour — Set Apart To Serve: Pilot Program to Encourage Church Work Andy and Sarah talk with Rev. John Zimmerman — pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Scranton, PA, and Marli Ockander — teacher ... The Coffee Hour — Set Apart To Serve: Pilot Program in Urban and Rural Context The Coffee Hour — Set Apart To Serve: Pilot Program in Urban and Rural Context Andy and Sarah talk with Deaconess Raquel Rojas — Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bronx, New York, and Rev. Jonathan Walla — Bethel ...
This feed has 10 articles on 4 pages << < 1 2 3 4 > >>

Life Together News Digest — October 2021

In this Life Together Digest, the Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, speaks with the Rev. Dr. James Baneck, executive director of LCMS Pastoral Education, about Set Apart to Serve, the Synod’s new long-term church work recruitment initiative.

View video

Understanding “Set Apart to Serve”

The LCMS has embarked on an aggressive, comprehensive Church Worker Recruitment Initiative. The initiative seeks to form pastors and church workers to hand over the saving faith to God’s people, passing on the Christian faith from one generation to the next until our Savior’s return.

Read Reporter article   Read Lutheran Witness article

Celebrate Church Worker Appreciation Month

Congregations and school communities are encouraged to use the month of October to demonstrate appreciation not only for their pastors, but for all workers in the parish and schools.

Read article    Ideas and resources

Resources and Best Practices

Presentations

For Congregations — PowerPoint presentation for pastors to use to teach their congregations about the importance of church work vocations.

Download presentation    Download talking points

For Teachers — PowerPoint presentation for pastors or administrators to use to teach teachers about the importance of church work vocations.

Download presentation    Download talking points

Related Articles

• A Timely Word from Luther on Recruiting Young Men for Pastoral Ministry — David Peter, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
• Renewing Our Commitment to Lutheran Education — Dave Bruns, LCMS Kansas District Board of Directors
• A White Paper on Pastoral Formation Prior to Seminary — Rev. Dr. James Baneck
• A White Paper on the Current Context of Pastoral Formation — Rev. Dr. James Baneck

Ready to learn more?

• Explore the educational programs available through:
  Concordia University Ann Arbor; 
  Concordia University Chicago; 
  Concordia University Irvine; 
  Concordia University Nebraska; 
  Concordia University St. Paul; 
  Concordia University Texas,
  Concordia University Wisconsin.
  
  
• Discover what it means to be an LCMS Deaconess.
  
  
• Concordia Seminary, St. Louis and Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne offer many programs, including a Master of Divinity and Deaconess Studies.