It All Starts With Early Childhood

Early Childhood is where it all starts with our schools. How do you get these new families into your facility? How do you get them to go on to kindergarten and then grades 1-8 at your school? How do you work with your principal, pastor(s), school board, and church council? I will hope to guide you through some best practices and ways for your congregation to view your early childhood ministry and K-8 as one whole ministry and not two separate ones. 

From 1992 until 2019, I was called to St. John, Redwood Falls, MN where over the years I served as grades 2-8 teacher, athletic director, and principal. Over those years, through the Lord’s guidance, hard work of the congregation, and a fabulous faculty and staff , the school grew from 79 students to 175 and underwent two building projects. I received a masters degree in leadership from MLC and did my capstone project on, “The Importance of Early Childhood Centers in our WELS Schools.” I now have the pleasure of speaking for WELS in their Telling the Next Generation (TTNG) program, which leans heavily on outreach, relationship building and creating a harvest strategy. (I will use several components of TTNG for this presentation.) Currently, I serve as principal of West Lutheran High School in Plymouth and as the WELS MN District Schools Coordinator. My hope is that this presentation will be a blessing to you and your ministry.