Rev. Joel Heckmann and Rev. Craig Reiter have been called to serve as full-time admissions officers in Concordia Seminary’s Enrollment department and were installed today in their new roles during morning worship in the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus.

The calls of these pastors are a vital part of the Seminary’s ongoing commitment to recruit and prepare future pastors, missionaries and deaconesses for the work of the Gospel in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). Heckmann and Reiter were selected to join the Enrollment team to assist in recruiting and encouraging the next generation of church workers following an extensive search process led by Provost and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Ron Mudge.

“Rev. Joel Heckmann and Rev. Craig Reiter are excellent additions to our Enrollment team, and we thank the Lord for both of them. Each has substantial ministry experience, and both are gifted at providing pastoral care to men who are considering the pastoral ministry. They love talking about service to our Lord and how Concordia Seminary prepares men for the ministry,” said Mudge. “May the Lord bless these conversations and all their work with the Enrollment team.”

Before joining the staff at the Seminary, Heckmann served as the pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Okarche, Okla. (2017-24). He holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A. ’13) in music from Concordia University Nebraska, Seward, Neb., and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from the Seminary (’17).

Reiter previously served as the pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., and as a shared ministry pastor with Immanuel Lutheran Church in Crystal City, Mo. (2017-24). He holds a Bachelor of Arts in pre-seminary studies and theological languages from Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon, Wis. (B.A. ‘13), and in addition to his M.Div. (’17), a Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M. ‘23) from the Seminary.

Both Heckmann and Reiter are eager to guide and support future seminarians as they discern their call to ministry. Interested in vocational ministry? Visit csl.edu/admissions and start a conversation at https://ask.csl.edu/register/Request-Information, email [email protected] or call 800-822-9545.

About Concordia Seminary

Concordia Seminary, St. Louis provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars and other leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). To learn more, visit csl.edu.