The annual NWD Lay Leader Training (for lay members serving on church boards) will be held on January 13, 6-8pm, at St. John Lutheran Church - Pulaski. Lay leaders will spend time with Pastor Shoup and his staff to explore leadership and other key areas to help lay leaders serve effectively in their role. Registration is open under Events and Info at nwdlcms.org or directly HERE.

This annual event is for ministry staff and will be held January 22 from 9am-3pm at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church - Wausau. The theme for the day will be family ministry. President Shoup has designated building families and children of faith and character as an emphasis in the NWD triennial ministry plan. The event will be led by Rev. Dr. Todd Biermann, Executive Director at Concordia Center for the Family. Pastor Biermann will help explain an effective family ministry framework for our world today, as well as explore tools and resources available to support your ministry to families. Pastors, DCE/DCO/DCM/DFLM, Deaconesses, and principals are encouraged to attend, but even teams of one can participate in this valuable event. Registration is open under Events and Info at nwdlcms.org or directly HERE.

We celebrate the following workers in the North Wisconsin District with ministry anniversaries:

• Ordained

• Non-Ordained

Some have asked for the audio and video from the 2025 NWD triennial convention. Find the links at the NWD Convention website HERE.

Three of the four parts are available now, including:

• Day 1 with the President's report, the speeches and election of the District President, and commemoration of the faithful departed.
• Day 2-9am with opening matins, staff reports, voting, greetings from the seminaries, and synodical video.
• Day 2 9am-noon with LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison, elections, installation of new DP Rev. Tim Shoup.
• Part 4 will be posted soon and includes elections, convention resolution business, essayist Rev. Dr. Paavola, and closing.

MinistryFOCUS is an LCMS RSO that provides Historical grants to called church workers to reduce debt. There is a general application for called workers and an application for the limited Ministerial Excellence Fund for ordained workers and deaconesses. Applications can be found online at ministryfocus.org. MinistryFocus determines eligibility for the respective funds. If a pastor or deaconess applies for but does not receive an MEF grant, he/she is eligible for the Historical grant. Applications are open by late November and due by the end of December 31. Grant decisions are announced toward the end of January.

The North Wisconsin District Labor of Love grants are for rostered church workers, both full time and part time, employed in NWD congregations, schools, or missions. They are limited to individuals with at least $10,000 in combined educational debt and will assist in repaying college and/or seminary educational loans (excludes post-graduate work or that beyond an M.Div.).

The annual application process opened on Sept. 15, with an application deadline of Dec. 10. Recipients will be notified via email in early January regarding their specific award amounts.

Grants and amounts will be awarded based on the applicant’s overall financial need, current financial commitments, special circumstances, and the District’s availability of grant funds.

Apply HERE.

Concordia Center for the Family, a Registered Service Organization of the LCMS, is uniting homes and congregations in making lifelong disciples of Jesus. Through foundational training events, Family Discipleship Facilitators are being equipped and inspired to strengthen the marriages and families served by our LCMS congregations and schools. CCF wants YOU as a Family Discipleship Facilitator! This training opportunity is for called and commissioned leaders of LCMS congregations and schools, along with lay family ministry leaders. Find out more about our 2026 trainings HERE. Also consider CCF's Faith & Life Survey tool to assess how well you're serving families. Find out more HERE.

The North WI District will cover half of the cost of the survey and half the cost for two people from a congregation for the FDF training, until designated funds are spent. Those seeking to register for the training or the survey should not use the online links, but contact Matthew Knehans at matthewknehans@concordiafamily.org.

Congregations receive God’s love and mercy in worship. Pastors craft sermons to bring Christ and His Word to their people. Pastors and their members sometimes also feel like they are treading water, or know they want to move forward but are not quite sure what to do. Small Church Clarity (meaning congregations with up to 200 people per week in worship) is a four-week event that will lead congregations to develop and implement a plan for ministry. A cohort of churches is beginning this fall, and a new cohort (six-eight congregations) in the spring of 2026. We give thanks for our partners at LCEF for leading the training, and the NWD Board of Directors for providing the funding to cover the cost. Watch for more information. Consider participating in the next cohort. Contact President Shoup with questions.

President Shoup plans to spend a half day with the non-ordained, non-teacher called workers of the NWD on December 4 in Wausau. His desire is to bring Christ and His Word to these important leaders, encourage the value of their call, seek to understand the joys and challenges of their service, and explain the NWD emphasis on building families and children of faith and character. Registration is open at nwdlcms.org.

Lutheran Bible Translators is an RSO of the LCMS that has created resources for your HFJ campaign. Our NWD goal is $5000. Every $20 provides a translated Bible.

Many resources are available to help promote HFJ. A welcome letter was emailed to churches and schools. It includes links to the chapel resources + an RSVP form for churches/schools to use if they plan to participate. This allows LBT to send student resources + custom parent letters for February.

A District fundraising page can be found HERE. This has a launch video as well as a way to give digitally. It is best to send your donation to the North WI District LCMS with HFJ on the memo line – this allows us to better track the success of the campaign. 100% of your gift will go to LBT.

Also sent to churches and schools was the LBT logo for promotion. Additional classroom activity resources and guided prayer activities from Visual Faith Ministry, customized for schools, will be available in January.

We are blessed to have another 3 year agreement with our friends at MinistrySafe. Through December 2027 any NWD ministry can provide sexual abuse awareness training to its staff and volunteers at NO COST, thanks to the generosity of the NWD Board of Directors. Contact DJ to get started.

Congregations that are considering applying for a seminary graduate or a Vicar should contact the President's Office for additional information. The deadline for all applications is February 27, 2026. Please add this to your congregational voter's meetings for consideration for November/December so that you can complete the necessary documents in a timely manner. If your congregation is considering an Associate Pastor and would like to request interviews at either seminary, your requests need to be made by January 1, 2026. For more information, please contact Lori - lori@nwdlcms.org or 715-845-8241, ext. 103.

Often a commissioned worker or their district will contact us to share names of workers looking for a change. Most often those are teachers, principals, deaconess and DCE’s. We do not vet the list but will share those names with a call committee chair or ministry staff person. Contact DJ for help as you plan your search process.

25 applicants recently received over $175,000 from NWD endowed gifts to pursue professional church work through our Concordia University System and seminaries! Below are excerpts of a note of thanks from Sam H: I believe this is the path that God wants me to take, and it has been nothing but a blessing. I really can’t wait for what God has in store for me not only in my second year, but my whole entire journey on becoming a Lutheran education teacher. Thank You!

Set Apart to Serve is a culture of raising up boys and men to preach and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ as pastors, and raising up boys and girls, men and women to teach and share God’s Word in other full-time church work vocations.

SAS would like to bring the following resources to your attention:

• The 8 LCMS Church Work Vocations booklet
• Forming a Congregation Set Apart to Serve Focus Team
• For many other SAS resources for pastors, commissioned church workers, parents and laity, please see: https://www.lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve

The current pastoral vacancy & supply lists are available on the District Resources website under Congregations/Vacancies - HERE.