TWENTY lay leaders from our NOW District congregations are seeking to enter, or have started, seminary in 2026.
Over the past five years, we’ve had an average of five or fewer men from our District each year begin pastoral formation. This year, we have four times that number, TWENTY. TEN of those men have been put forward by their congregations for application to, or have already begun, the LCMS distance education pastoral formation programs in 2026 (SMP, EIIT, CHS, and/or CMC). TEN of those men are planning to enter residential seminary at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis or Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne in the fall of 2026. From five to twenty. Whose influence, whose effort, made the difference this year?
Paul reminded the Corinthians: “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field” (1 Corinthians 3:5-9).
You are making the effort, each of you. One plants, one waters, one sees a person and invests in their life, one notices the person has an aptitude to serve, one invites them to use their gifts and finds a “next yes” to their service among God’s people. One says to them, “I see in you.” One encourages them, saying, “Have you ever thought about serving God in ministry?” And before you know it, something grows. All along, it’s not one person who made the difference. As Paul said, “God gave the growth.” We are growing new leaders in the NOW District and for our Synod — not just pastoral leaders but ministry leaders of all kinds: DCEs, teachers, deaconesses, directors of parish music, and perhaps most important, congregational lay leaders.
The NOW Leadership Initiative (NOW L.I.), the Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI) (plus resources here and here), and the Set Apart to Serve (SAS) are all tools in the spiritual garden shed, helping you to plant and water, so that you can watch what God will do as HE gives the growth.
On the other end, we benefit from the growth. We have five men being ordained and installed in the NOW District this summer; three are from the residential seminary programs, and two are in the SMP pastoral formation programs. Tyler Simmons was ordained on May 31 and installed on June 13 at Faith Lutheran Church in East Wenatchee, Washington. Luther Cameron was ordained and installed on June 7 at Peace Lutheran Church in Bremerton, Washington. Zach Corbett was ordained and installed on June 28 at Calvary Lutheran Church in Aberdeen, Washington. Kory Walstad will be ordained and installed on July 12 at Crown of Life Lutheran Church in Rigby, Idaho. Michael Hahn was ordained on June 28 and will be installed at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sandy, Oregon, and Peace Lutheran Church in Estacada, Oregon, on August 22.
If you want to help us in the NOW District support men in pastoral formation, you can do so by contributing to the Future Rostered Worker Student Aid fund at this link here. These gifts will help NOW LCMS students in LCMS universities/seminaries with their educational costs as they prepare to become rostered church workers. You may also scan the QR code below:
