Our FREE 2026 Lenten Devotional is now available. A full color version and a "printer friendly" grayscale version are both included below. Feel free to download and share them with your congregation, family, friends, etc. Click on the images to download the PDF. [...]
Throughout the year, events are held throughout the LCMC community to help connect congregations, train and care for church leaders, and support youth in the local church. From our Annual Gathering & Convention, to in-person retreats and gatherings, to zoom meetings, there are many opportunities for church leaders coming up in 2026. If you haven’t checked it out lately, please visit the Calendar Page on our website. Every day ... [...]
New "year in review" resources are available online to share with your congregation. This year, we're offering a fresh new video and a downloadable year-end report. [...]
To help guide this season of Advent, we’ve created a special Advent devotional for LCMC congregations. Color and printer friendly PDF versions are now available as a free resource for you to download and share with your congregation. [...]
It is our pleasure to welcome Brodie Taphorn to the LCMC staff in the role of associate service coordinator. Brodie brings a wide range of experience to this role. He has served congregations both large and small. He was part of the team that organized the Southern California District. He is currently a chaplain in the Navy Reserve, and has been active in the formation of the Chaplains Fellowship. He also served for six years on the LCMC ... [...]
Registration is now open for our 24th Annual Gathering & Convention! The event, themed “Engaging Your Cultural Moment”, takes place September 29 - October 2 at St. Mark's Lutheran Church* in Marion IA. Together, we will explore how the cultural moments happening all around us can be seen not as something negative, but as potential opportunities for carrying out the Great Commission. [...]
If you're planning on joining us for our upcoming summer youth event, next Monday, April 1 is the last day to sign up! The LCMC Youth Gathering is designed to be a leadership development experience for both students and student leaders. Everything at this youth event is designed to empower youth ministry in the local church and to encourage students to consider the vocation of ministry in the future. The event takes place July ... [...]
Dear Pastors and Members of LCMC Congregations, This communique is to inform you of a transition for Perry Fruhling. Perry has served as LCMC’s Coordinator for Pastoral Ministry for the past five years but is now sensing a need to return to parish ministry. He writes, “During the past six to nine months, my wife, Marlys, and I have been discussing the need for me to return home and to parish ministry. While it ... [...]
Videos from our 22nd Annual Gathering & Convention, which took place October 2- 5 at Hosanna Church in Lakeville, MN at are now available for streaming. To watch from your mobile device, download our mobile app, tap on the "Media" tab, then select "2022 Annual Gathering" from the list of options. The app is compatible with AirPlay and Google Cast, enabling users to play ... [...]
Seminary students are invited to join us October 1-2, 2022 at Hosanna Church in Lakeville, MN for our next Seminarian Retreat. The retreat is an opportunity for LCMC seminarians to come together to experience fellowship, learn about issues related to vocational ministry in LCMC, become more aware of our association’s DNA, and ask questions. Registration for the retreat is being handled separately from Annual Gathering ... [...]
LCMC is pleased to announce that the LCMC Health Plan is moving forward effective January 1, 2022. If you have not submitted your health application, we have a one-time extension to December 10, 2021 to be part of our January 1, 2022 start date. If there are any questions please reach out to the Hahn Financial Group at 1-800-516-4246. [...]
Registration is officially open for our next national youth event, a leadership development experience for students and youth leaders designed to help empower the ministry of the local church. Our youth event offers a chance for students and youth leaders to connect with one another, explore God's call on their lives by participating in keynote presentations, breakout sessions, worship, and small groups, and take part in a service ... [...]
Payroll and tax filing services often cost way too much, especially for ministries, like yours, that rely on tithes, offerings, and donations. This was one of the reasons our preferred insurance provider, Brotherhood Mutual, created its own payroll company: MinistryWorks®. “We serve more than 5,000 ministries, so our team has the expertise to help solve complicated payroll problems, especially for clergy,” said Mark ... [...]
Due to construction delays, the main sanctuary space at UALC will not be ready for use by the time the Annual Gathering is going to start on Sunday, October 3, 2021. We must move to a much smaller space, hence closing registration for the Annual Gathering this year. All registrations received through Thursday, September 16, 2021, have been confirmed. Unfortunately, we will not be able to accept walk-in registrations. If ... [...]
Registration is now closed for the 2021 Annual Gathering & Convention. Due to space limitations at the venue, we have closed registration and can no longer accept new registrations for the event. We look forward to a great event and will be live streaming, so if you are not able to attend in person, you are welcome to participate online. More information on how to access the livestream will be available on our ... [...]
Join us online May 18-19, 2021 for "Safe Place", a FREE webinar hosted by LCMC Service Coordinator Mike Bradley. In a culture which is often judgmental, condemning, arrogant, angry, and polarizing, becoming a safe place is an essential key for increasing our effective witness in the world. Being a safe place creates an atmosphere to build authentic relationships, struggle without judgment, and ask real questions; a place ... [...]
We would like to take a moment to thank all of the LCMC pastors who have responded to our request to update their clergy profile on our website. For those who have not yet had a chance to do so, please consider taking a few moments to review your profile, then submit any changes to your contact information or credentials using our online form. To date, approximately 683 pastors out of 1,288 have responded. We are still ... [...]
Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ's Called 2: Love youth event, scheduled for July 21-24, 2020 at Grand View University, has been canceled. "The deadline for registration was today and as of 11 am CST we had only 77 people signed up and needed 200 to break even," said Mark Vander Tuig, service coordinator of LCMC. "This is understandable for youth groups and youth leaders with the days ahead to be ... [...]
The LCMC Intentional Interim Ministry Workshop originally scheduled for July 6-9, 2020 at Grand View University has been canceled. "There was a sense that people will be reticent to register and no one is sure at this point whether safe distancing will be at an end by July. We also canceled the LCMC youth event which had been planned for later July," said Perry Fruhling, LCMC's coordinator for pastoral ... [...]
A change of pastors is a significant and sometimes traumatic event in the life of the church and congregation. The need has never been greater for trained intentional interim ministers who are called and equipped to assist congregations during times of change and transition. Intentional interim ministry is not just filling a void during a pastoral vacancy, but focusing on developmental tasks of the congregation and process ... [...]
In October 2019, Rev. Mark Vander Tuig announced his decision to retire from his position as the Service Coordinator for LCMC effective August 31, 2020. The leadership and staff in LCMC have gone through a consultation process that aided the Board of Trustees in developing an opportunity profile for the incoming Service Coordinator. This document is included at the LCMC website within the open position ... [...]
LCMC Coordinator for Church Planting Development Dan Clites, along with Matt Anderson, pastor of Surprise Church in Bismarck, ND, are traveling to several cities in Brazil on behalf of LCMC from June 18 through July 2 to meet with hundreds of Movemento Encontrao Lutheran pastors and leaders that are interested in joining the church planting movement. A group of Brazilian church planters will also be attending the LCMC Annual Gathering ... [...]
A decision was made in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals last month to uphold the constitutionality of housing allowances for ministers. Click here to view a summary of the court's decision, by the Church Alliance. [...]
LCMC has a new ministry partner that provides high-quality insurance protection for congregations. Check them out on our resources page (under Church Life > Resource Links) or visit their website at: www.brotherhoodmutual.com. [...]
At their last meeting, the LCMC Board of Trustees decided to cancel the meal packaging event scheduled for the Tuesday night of our upcoming Annual Gathering and Convention in Des Moines. To date, we have only received just over $11,000 of our $80,000 fundraising goal for this project. We are grateful for everyone who has already contributed. All of the funds donated, as well as any future contributions, will be given ... [...]