From the Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry News Desk - January 30, 2026
(It's been a very long time since the last Wittenberg Door newsletter, dated in June of 2025. We're still here. This is the start of a new format for passing around our news, long overdue.)
Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry was founded in 2015 by Pastor Dave Spotts (writing this article). At the time of founding, one of the goals for the ministry was that it would be able to issue a full-time call to someone before Pastor Spotts retires. Retirement seems to be getting closer with each passing year. Because of our desire for a smooth transition, and because we know the call process may take a while, the Wittenberg Door Board of Directors agreed in 2025 to move us into the process of calling our next campus chaplain. This process looks different in Lutheran circles than it does in many other church bodies, and very different than the corporate personnel search seen in much of American life.
At the foundation of the call process is the concept that a pastor or chaplain has what we would refer to as a "divine call." This means we who issue the call are consciously attempting to discern God's will and the way He would provide for the organization, as well as for the needs of the person who is being called.
1 Timothy 5:17-20 speaks of the duty of honoring, paying, respecting, defending, and holding accountable the "elders" (The New Testament uses "elders" and "bishops" as synonyms for the word "pastor," which is less commonly used) who serve the congregation. 1 Timothy 3:2 describes the character qualities of a bishop (elder/pastor). The leader is to be someone who has been developed in many important character qualities. In verse six, Paul tells Timothy the bishop should not be "a novice" (NKJV). This indicates maturity and points to a time period of intense training.
Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry is committed to providing face-to-face pastoral care on campus. By "pastoral care" we intend this to be the kind of Christian care that an ordained minister is specially trained to do. As a ministry of the American Association of Lutheran Churches, this means that we would call only a person who is on our church body's roster of ordained clergy to serve as the chaplain. This assures us that our next campus chaplain has been prepared with seminary education, extensive background checks, significant periods of ministry work under supervision, and is qualified to serve in any of the church body's congregations as a pastor. The review given to men preparing for this service is rigorous and extensive. It is intended to protect them and our congregations, as we want the best possible shepherds for God's flock.
The AALC is currently working through a pastor shortage. This is a common report in many church bodies at present. However, we have a good crop of young (and older) men in our seminary, moving toward the completion of their M.Div. degrees, and who will be promising graduates. At some point, the national office of The AALC will begin sending candidates to us, one at a time. The Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry Board of Directors will make sure the candidates spend some time around Columbia, meet with some of our participants, and help us discern how they might fit in. Campus ministry is a little different from ministry in a local parish. We want to find the person who will be a very good fit for many years to come. After appropriate time is spent for discernment and prayer, the Board of Directors, on behalf of all the participants of Wittenberg Door, will have an up or down vote. We normally do things by consensus, and expect that a decision to issue a call will be unanimous.
One area in which Wittenberg Door is slightly behind in this process is that of being able to offer a reasonable living income to our next chaplain. Though we celebrate the generosity of our donors, Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry is not able to pay a pastoral salary. For the past few years, the ministry has been able to pay for housing and transportation as well as the routine operating expenses of the ministry. However, we have been hovering at about 50% of our board-approved budget. Without an increase in the ability to pay a salary, we will not be able to call a new chaplain.
To help with the call process, I'm asking that people who care about the work of this ministry commit to prayer, without which nothing happens. I'm also asking that those who are able would step forward with financial support, and that everyone would share the opportunity of campus ministry with others who are able to provide financial and prayer support. Bringing face-to-face pastoral care to the students, faculty, staff, administrators, and families of the college communities in Columbia Missouri does matter. It's priceless.
We'll keep trying to identify a next chaplain. I hope you'll try to help us in that as well, and see that we can provide well for the future work of campus ministry here.
(It's been a very long time since the last Wittenberg Door newsletter, dated in June of 2025. We're still here. This is the start of a new format for passing around our news, long overdue.)
Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry was founded in 2015 by Pastor Dave Spotts (writing this article). At the time of founding, one of the goals for the ministry was that it would be able to issue a full-time call to someone before Pastor Spotts retires. Retirement seems to be getting closer with each passing year. Because of our desire for a smooth transition, and because we know the call process may take a while, the Wittenberg Door Board of Directors agreed in 2025 to move us into the process of calling our next campus chaplain. This process looks different in Lutheran circles than it does in many other church bodies, and very different than the corporate personnel search seen in much of American life.
At the foundation of the call process is the concept that a pastor or chaplain has what we would refer to as a "divine call." This means we who issue the call are consciously attempting to discern God's will and the way He would provide for the organization, as well as for the needs of the person who is being called.
1 Timothy 5:17-20 speaks of the duty of honoring, paying, respecting, defending, and holding accountable the "elders" (The New Testament uses "elders" and "bishops" as synonyms for the word "pastor," which is less commonly used) who serve the congregation. 1 Timothy 3:2 describes the character qualities of a bishop (elder/pastor). The leader is to be someone who has been developed in many important character qualities. In verse six, Paul tells Timothy the bishop should not be "a novice" (NKJV). This indicates maturity and points to a time period of intense training.
Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry is committed to providing face-to-face pastoral care on campus. By "pastoral care" we intend this to be the kind of Christian care that an ordained minister is specially trained to do. As a ministry of the American Association of Lutheran Churches, this means that we would call only a person who is on our church body's roster of ordained clergy to serve as the chaplain. This assures us that our next campus chaplain has been prepared with seminary education, extensive background checks, significant periods of ministry work under supervision, and is qualified to serve in any of the church body's congregations as a pastor. The review given to men preparing for this service is rigorous and extensive. It is intended to protect them and our congregations, as we want the best possible shepherds for God's flock.
The AALC is currently working through a pastor shortage. This is a common report in many church bodies at present. However, we have a good crop of young (and older) men in our seminary, moving toward the completion of their M.Div. degrees, and who will be promising graduates. At some point, the national office of The AALC will begin sending candidates to us, one at a time. The Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry Board of Directors will make sure the candidates spend some time around Columbia, meet with some of our participants, and help us discern how they might fit in. Campus ministry is a little different from ministry in a local parish. We want to find the person who will be a very good fit for many years to come. After appropriate time is spent for discernment and prayer, the Board of Directors, on behalf of all the participants of Wittenberg Door, will have an up or down vote. We normally do things by consensus, and expect that a decision to issue a call will be unanimous.
One area in which Wittenberg Door is slightly behind in this process is that of being able to offer a reasonable living income to our next chaplain. Though we celebrate the generosity of our donors, Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry is not able to pay a pastoral salary. For the past few years, the ministry has been able to pay for housing and transportation as well as the routine operating expenses of the ministry. However, we have been hovering at about 50% of our board-approved budget. Without an increase in the ability to pay a salary, we will not be able to call a new chaplain.
To help with the call process, I'm asking that people who care about the work of this ministry commit to prayer, without which nothing happens. I'm also asking that those who are able would step forward with financial support, and that everyone would share the opportunity of campus ministry with others who are able to provide financial and prayer support. Bringing face-to-face pastoral care to the students, faculty, staff, administrators, and families of the college communities in Columbia Missouri does matter. It's priceless.
We'll keep trying to identify a next chaplain. I hope you'll try to help us in that as well, and see that we can provide well for the future work of campus ministry here.
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