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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I remember a track official who had worked at the MN State Track meet for over 50 years. I got to know him quite well over the years and once asked him, “Why do you keep working at these long meets?” He gently replied, “Brady, just here to serve!”
The MN North District office is here to serve the Church for the sake of being united in the Word, caring for our workers/congregations, and assuring that we are walking together in Christ. How we serve has changed quite a bit since we were formed in 1963. When we moved into our current building in 1991, we had ten full time staff. Currently, we now operate with only three. Advancing technology, shifting congregational expectations, and financial considerations have factored into these changes which are consistent with trends across the LCMS.
To serve our congregations and ministries as one in Christ, we’ve made several adjustments these last few years:
Continued commitment to visitation of all congregations and schools. Our goal is to physically visit as many of our beloved ministries each triennium for the sake of doctrinal integrity, encouragement, and the care of souls.
Enhanced utilization of technology for better communication: We’ve partnered with technology providers to improve communication and work efficiency among staff and district ministries.
Support for Vacant Congregations: With 40 congregations currently without a called pastor, we have committed ourselves to walk with congregations through the call process in a timely fashion. Mrs. Diana Ruopp, Executive Assistant, spends more time visiting congregations to help with the details of the call documents and providing technology assistance for our workers.
The BOD has received the results of a qualitative focus group study by Dr. Stacy Lung to help prayerfully evaluate our faithful service in the 21st century. A large measure of this evaluation concerns staffing, usage of the office building, and how to best serve each congregation/school in accordance with the Word. While evaluating these results, our office hours will be 8:00-4:30, Monday-Thursday with Fridays being a work from home day for staff (still available by phone). Please note, however, hours will vary weekly due to visitation and vacation schedules. Please contact the office (218-829-1781) before visiting to ensure in person availability.
We are here to serve. Thank you for your patience we move forward in the name of Christ. Please contact me with any questions at brady.finnern@mnnlcms.org.
In Christ (Hebrews 13:8)
| Rev. Brady Finnern, District President | | Rev. Greg DeMuth was installed at St. John's Lutheran Church in Barnesville on May 4, 2025. Pictured are: Rev. Brady Finnern, Rev. Brett Hartwig, Rev. Gary Rehborg, Rev. Greg DeMuth, Rev. Adam Harvala, Rev. Frank Milo, Rev. Ross Fritz and Rev. Keith Ratcliffe. | | | | Parish Professionals (DCEs, DCMs, Deaconesses, etc.) from around the District gathered at the District Office on May 8th for a time of fellowship and encouragement. Pastor Scott Brown led them in Bible Study and they were treated to lunch catered by Chipotle. They are a vibrant group who really value their time together! | | |
On Sunday afternoon, May 18th, members of Life in Christ Lutheran Church gathered with shovels and joy to break ground on a new church building that will serve the congregation and community for generations to come.
Framed by birch trees and standing before a wooden cross, the group posed for a commemorative photo as construction officially began on the site just off Highway 61. The new church will include a sanctuary, fellowship hall, kitchen, narthex, and space for future growth.
“This isn’t just about a building—it’s about Christ and His Church,” said Rev. Jonathan Watt. “We’re here to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen, and to serve the people of this community for generations to come.”
The project is fully funded through the generous support of members and friends of the congregation.
More details and updates are available at: www.licgm.org/buildingplan
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Dear MN North District,
It feels surreal that I have reached the end of my second year and will shortly be heading off to my vicarage. These two years have flown by, and I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and support, without which this would not have been possible.
To begin my vicarage, I will be heading to Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Muncie, Indiana. I am very excited to begin and start this next step in my journey to becoming a pastor. During my vicarage, I will be running the campus ministry at Ball State and Taylor University, as well as assisting at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church. I will be living at the parsonage at the church, so luckily, I will not have to worry about finding a place to live.
For my classes this quarter, I have taken Pentateuch II, which was on the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy; Greek Readings, in which we cover the lectionary readings in Greek; Church History IV, which covered the history of Lutheranism in America; Field Education II, in which we cover various aspects of parish life and situations; Preaching Law & Gospel, which focused on how to properly preach Law and Gospel in our sermons; Deaf Ministry III, in which we learned more ASL sign language as well as occasionally did ASL interpretations for parts of chapel services; and Dogmatics II, in which we covered various aspects of the two natures of Christ.
Although the basketball season ended, there were other sports we were able to do with the warmer weather, including Ultimate Frisbee on Sundays; flag football, which was a lot of fun. We had five teams in total; and the annual softball game vs. St. Louis Seminary, which we won again this year.
For my military service, I have been adjusting to my new unit, which is a military police unit. There are two other chaplain candidates there besides me, all from Fort Wayne Seminary, so it's always a good time and we can just talk theology together during drill. Recently, we went to a four-day drill at Camp Atterbury because the unit was shooting their .50 cals and Mk 19 grenade launchers, which were a lot of fun to watch even though chaplains are not allowed to touch any guns.
For this summer, I am signed up to attend a campus ministry conference at Concordia Irvine in California, so I am looking forward to that. Otherwise, I will mostly be relaxing a bit before my vicarage starts, and I also have some plans to take a trip down to Tampa, Florida, for a vacation.
Currently, I don’t know what my mailing address will be at my vicarage, but in the meantime any mail can be sent to my home address of 3622 Crescent View Ave, Duluth, MN, 55804. If any mail is sent to the seminary, it will be forwarded to me, so don’t worry if something is sent there.
Again, I can’t thank you enough for everything, and I look forward to keeping you updated on my vicarage.
Thank you and God’s blessings,
Jacob Franck
Jacob Franck is one of the seminary students supported by Minnesota North District Student Aid Funds. Congregations can support students from local congregations studying church work vocations in LCMS Universities and Seminaries with donations sent to the Minnesota North District Student Aid Fund. Your donations help ensure our students are able to complete their studies. Learn more about the Synodwide recruitment efforts, Set Apart to Serve below:
| | The Lutheran Heritage Foundation has a wide variety of resources available to share the Gospel with Asian immigrants in languages like Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Vietnamese, and Hmong (Blue and White). From the Book of Concord and the Small Catechism to children's Bible storybooks, these resources are FREE for our LCMS congregations. Visit LHFmissions.org to see what LHF can send you! | |
The Minnesota North Confessional Lutherans Group invites you to join them at
9:00 AM on
MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2025
ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH CROSBY, MN
They will have special guests REV. DR. GERALD PAUL and his wife HEIDI joining them!
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LCMS congregations and schools are invited to celebrate and give thanks for teachers. Commissioned Lutheran teachers are one of the seven auxiliary offices that support the work of the Holy Ministry — by assisting in teaching God’s Word and by teaching many other subjects in a way that is faithful to that Word.
Dr. Alan Freeman, director of LCMS School Ministry, noted that a teacher’s work “goes beyond teaching; our teachers are shaping young hearts with faith and wisdom. It is not an easy job, and their work is not often publicly recognized. … May God strengthen and uplift them in their calling. As we hear in Galatians 6:9, ‘And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.’”
Be sure to let those who teach — commissioned or non-commissioned, part-time or full-time, paid or volunteer — know how much you value their contribution to your church and/or school community. Pray for your teachers, share a word or written note of appreciation, bake their favorite treat, or post a social media shareable that highlights their service. Find more ideas here.
Thank you to all of our teachers!
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Greetings from Nairobi, Kenya! We hope that you are well. We would like to share our latest newsletter with you, updating you on the events happening within our Project 24 program; including our recent Catechetical event. Here the children from Nyambiri are performing the Bible story of the fall of man. The serpent (portrayed here in pink) is tempting Adam and Eve in the garden.
We thank you for your continued support for the children and their families!
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Information on short-term teaching opportunities for pastors:
We have an opportunity at the seminary in Kenya. It is a certificate-level Theological Education Leading to Ordination (TELO) at Matongo – looking for short term professors to teach 1) confessions, 2) gospels, and/or 3) law and prophets for about 2 weeks.
July 21- August 8, 2025
Most students in the TELO program have a Bachelor’s degree in Education and are employed and mature. They have already done Greek. Each class size is 8 to 9 students. The visiting seminary professor would teach two courses. I believe there is a curriculum and syllabi already prepared for each course. Rev. Dr. Steele believes the level of instruction (certificate-level) can easily be taken up by any LCMS pastor.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Peace in Christ,
SHARA OSIRO
REGIONAL SHARED MINISTRIES MANAGER
OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL MISSION - AFRICA
THE LUTHERAN CHURCH—MISSOURI SYNOD
shara.osiro@lcms.org
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Greetings in Christ!
It is my privilege to share with you that beginning today, April 1, 2025, I am blessed to serve in the position of LCEF District Vice President for the Minnesota North and South Districts.
I am joining LCEF with over 15 years of business development, sales and customer relationship experience, which I acquired from my previous positions, the most recent one as Account Manager/Team Lead at Concordia Plans. I am blessed to have learned so much that will assist me in my role as District Vice President. I look forward to the opportunity to continue growing my relationships with many of you, to meeting more of you and walk alongside you as I serve in the mission of LCEF — to start, sustain and strengthen the ministries in our districts.
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I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out to me via my contact information below.
Blessings,
Vince Grochow
District Vice President
Minnesota North & South Districts
vince.grochow@lcef.org
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The Minnesota North District continues to publish a supplement with the Lutheran Witness. You can find it in the center pages of the printed magazine or digitally at our website: https://www.mnnlcms.org/newsletter
Does your congregation have news to share? Send your photos and stories to our Lutheran Witness Editor, Rev. Travis Lauterbach at: the.lutheran.witness@mnnlcms.org
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Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 8:00am - 4:30pm | Closed for Lunch Noon - 1:00pm
Due to varied schedules, office hours may vary, please call ahead for an appointment.
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