St. Croix Lutheran Academy | St. Paul, MN
“Ministry” is the service we bring to God in our Christian lives, both personally as individual believers and corporately as we combine our efforts in churches, schools, and families. The Minnesota Ministry Workshop brings presenters from a variety of areas of ministry to share their knowledge, experiences, and insights. The workshop is open to all WELS members looking for personal inspiration or new ministry ideas. In addition to a keynote presentation, participants will choose two breakout workshops to attend.
EVENT DETAILS
Location: St. Croix Lutheran Academy (1200 Oakdale Ave, West St Paul, MN)
Date: March 14, 2026
Time: Doors open at 9:00am and the event will conclude at 4:00pm.
Cost: $35 (includes lunch)
SCHEDULE
- 9:00-9:30 Arrival and check-in
- 9:30-10:15 – Worship & hymn sing
- 10:15-12:00 – Keynote (Pastor Mark Schroeder)
- 12:00-1:00 – Onsite lunch
- 1:00-2:15 – Breakout Session #1
- 2:15-2:30 – Break
- 2:30-3:45 – Breakout Session #2
- 3:45-4:00 – Closing devotion
KEYNOTE (Morning)
Crucifying Consumer Mentality, by Pastor Adam Mueller
Consumer mentality is defined as the expectation that goods and services will be provided to satisfy an individual’s needs. If this toxic mentality is left unchecked in a church, it leads to institutionalism and parochialism. When those set in, a slow death of the congregation is inevitable. The selfish consumer mentality resides in the Old Adam. You cannot reason with him or negotiate with him. You can only crucify the Old Adam.
In this session, we will discuss how to assess if a self-seeking consumer mentality has set into your congregation. We will see that there is only one solution: repentance. We will discuss how to produce fruits of repentance, charting a path forward in our congregation that places Christ’s mission at the center of everything we do. And we will see how to recommit ourselves to mission.
As we grow in our understanding of Christ’s love for us… in how much he has done for us… we learn to set aside any consumer mentality we had towards a church. The only thing that matters to us: carrying out Christ’s mission in the brief time we have on earth.
WORKSHOPS (Afternoon)
Participants will select two of the following breakout workshops to attend in the afternoon.
Evolution – A Lutheran Response, by Mr. Mark Bergemann. (Christian Apologetics) After building a biblical foundation and learning how science is built on unprovable assumptions, we will discuss creation apologetic strategies. Learn a solid response to evolution, and use that apologetic with confidence, even if you know little or nothing about science. There is no need to learn hard-to-understand scientific arguments against evolution or for creation. Mr. Mark Bergemann serves on the WELS Institute for Lutheran Apologetics (ILA) and as president of the Lutheran Science Institute (LSI). He taught several online creation apologetics courses for MLC from 2017 to 2022. He retired from a career in electrical engineering in 2007.
Helping Young Adults Stay Connected to Christ as they Launch, by Pastor Marques Nelson. (Discipleship Ministry) Local churches often lose their connection with young adults as they go off to college or start that first adult job. New opportunities take our young people away from our cities and congregations, and sometimes they bring other young adults into our area. What can young adults do to stay connected to Christ through college or after high school? How can parents, congregations, and called workers help with this transition? In this breakout session, Pastor Marques Nelson, former campus pastor at The Beacon Campus Ministry in Mankato, will provide insight and propose strategies, identifying issues facing students as they enter college and the workforce, discussing WELS Campus Ministry and how local congregations can support young adults, and evaluating strategies for helping young people transition into active membership at a local church during and after college.
Friendship Evangelism, by Pastor Eric Roecker. (Outreach Ministry) In the Bible God calls believers to be the salt and light of the world. To be witnesses, ambassadors, and examples of faith in Jesus. In our culture of skepticism and division, it’s never been more important for each believer to spread the Gospel individually to our friends and neighbors. Pastor Eric Roecker, director of the WELS Commission on Evangelism, leads this breakout group on sharing the gospel personally with the mission field right in our own homes and communities.
More than Just Good Worship, by Pastor Adam Mueller. (Worship Ministry) The ultimate goal is to see people in worship—members regularly, visitors frequently. But this requires far more than good worship. This session explores several emphases that are increasingly important for congregational health and vitality: Bible class culture, meaningful service opportunities, building genuine relationships, reinforcing a truly Christian worldview, apologetics, discipleship in terms of mentoring and accountability. This breakout group is led by keynote presenter Pastor Adam Mueller.
Guidance on Congregational Governance, by District President Dennis Klatt and Pastor David Peters. (Ministry Administration) For some congregations, the traditional WELS governance model may not be optimal for efficient and well-informed decision making or for engaging the gifts and input of women within the scope of the scriptural headship principle. This workshop will present two governance examples that can be adapted for use in either a small or large congregation setting. It may be an important first step to determine if an adjustment of your church governance could be beneficial to your local gospel ministry. Pastor Dennis Klatt serves as the MN District President and Pastor David Peters serves as chairman of the MN District Constitution Committee.
HOW TO REGISTER
To provide an efficient and secure registration process for everyone, we ask that you pay with a credit or debit card when you register. You will also choose your two preferred workshops when you register.
If you are registering on behalf of someone else, please be ready to enter an email address for them.
If you are registering yourself and a group of people, do not worry about entering their preferred workshops.
FAQ’s
Will this event be online? Due to the way we structure this event around small group conversations, this is an in-person event.
Who is allowed to attend this conference? It is for everyone: called workers & lay members, young & old, men & women. Most topics and presentations are especially geared toward church members who are passionate about bringing new ideas to their ministries.
Is there a discount for group signups? No. In order to keep the registration process as simple as possible, there is only one registration rate.
What’s for lunch? St. Croix Lutheran Academy is catering in tacos and Spanish rice with all the fixings. Participants will be able to pick & choose food items to avoid food sensitivities.
Who is the contact person for this event? Send your question to Pastor Ryan Wolfe and he can direct you to the best person for an answer. Email him at rwolfe@salemlutheran.org.
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WELS Minnesota Ministry Conference 