Sixteen students in the Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) Program at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis received calls April 17, 2015. These individuals will serve as pastors for churches and Christian ministry programs across the United States, as well as one in West Africa.

Daniel Anderson, Mount Olive, Madison, Wisconsin
Karl Ashcraft, Water’s Edge, Frisco, Texas
Richard Balvanz, King of Kings, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Robert Barker, Trinity, Simi Valley, California
Henry Blickhahn, Our Redeemer, Hutchinson, Kansas
David Federwitz (In process), Lutheran Bible Translators, West Africa
James Haack, Beautiful Savior, La Vista, Nebraska
Christopher Holder, Holy Cross, Dallas, Texas
Eugene Larmi, Lamb of God, Wasilla, Alaska
Jeffrey Manthe (In process), SonRise, Avon, Minnesota
Paul Martin, Faith, Vista, California
Michael Mulso, Emanuel, Inver Grove, Heights, Minnesota
Keith Richard, Immanuel, Belvidere, Illinois
Mark Tooley, Peace, Conway, Arkansas
Daniel Wiese, Mount Calvary, Holdrege, Nebraska
Richard Wolf, Holy Cross, Middleport, New York

The SMP program is designed to meet the church’s need for pastors in certain mission and ministry settings where a pastor with a seminary degree may not be available. In order to be eligible for the SMP program, men must be serving in a ministry of a Lutheran congregation that desires their service as a pastor, and must be nominated for the program. Based upon their nomination and their previous ministry experiences, the men begin their academic work as concurrent-deferred vicars.

“We give thanks to God for these gifts to the Church as they enter into the pastoral office, and even as they continue their theological studies according to the unique way in which this program provides for Word and Sacrament ministry while meeting specific needs of our congregations,” said Dr. Andrew Bartelt, director of the SMP program.

About Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary 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). Since its founding in 1839, Concordia Seminary has equipped more than 12,000 graduates to serve Church and world. Today, a world-renowned faculty teaches more than 600 students in the classroom, off-campus, and online. Learn more at www.csl.edu.