The Role of the Pastoral Ministry in the Context of a Lutheran Elementary School

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the role and function a pastor performs in the context of a Lutheran elementary school ministry. Recent decades have have brought with them severe challenges for the Lutheran elementary school. These challenges have led to a justified concern within the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod concerning the survival of this form of ministry. This thesis proposes that the role pastors play in the synod’s Lutheran elementary schools will have significant impact on their future.

Pastors occupy a position of leadership in the congregations they serve. How they choose to use that leadership can bring great benefit to the Lutheran elementary school. It is, therefore, critical for the pastor to understand the Lutheran elementary school’s mission; he will want to understand why Lutheran schools exist and what purposes they serve in a congregation. He will, in addition, join in that mission in ways appropriate to his office. Finally, as he performs all the duties of his ministry, he will want to do so in a spirit that supports the Lutheran elementary school. In these three parts, this thesis examines how pastors can interact with the Lutheran elementary school to the glory of God’s kingdom.