Pastoral Call Process

Updates from the Call Committee

March 19, 2025: The Call Committee has received the list of candidate names from President Paavola's office and will begin reviewing them. The next steps are for the Call Committee to meet as a group with our Circuit Visitor, schedule and conduct any potential interviews, and once that is done we will submit the names to the congregation at a Special Voter's Meeting. Please be patient with us, as this is not a process that we want to rush through and it is a busy time of the year for everyone involved. Please also note that the list of candidates must remain confidential at this time to afford privacy and respect for the candidates and the congregations they currently serve.

February 5, 2025: The Call Committee met with our Circuit Visitor on February 3 and we are submitting all of our required information to him this week, along with the nominations that we received from the congregation. We anticipate waiting 4-6 weeks for the district to process our information and send us a list of pastors. During that time, the Call Committee is reviewing the doctrine of the Call and the priorities of the congregation from the survey results so that we will be ready to review pastoral candidates when we receive the list from the district.

January 30, 2025: We received back 77 responses to the member survey, 27 responses to the lay leader survey, and 16 nominations of pastors (12 unique). The Call Committee will meet with our Circuit Visitor next Monday to submit our information to the district office. We will also discuss the next steps in the Call process and we hope to map out an estimated timeline for each remaining step.

January 20, 2025: Members of the Call Committee are diligently working to compile all of our required data, including the survey responses that we have received, and additional demographics and statistics, congregational and community information as required by the district.

January 14, 2025: The deadline to return surveys and nomination forms has been extended to Sunday, January 19 due to last week’s inclement weather. All surveys and nominations may be returned in person, by mail, or by email.

December 30, 2024: Congregational surveys were mailed out today. Active, confirmed members should receive them soon and all are encouraged to fill them out and submit them. Survey responses are anonymous. Completed surveys are due back to the church by January 15. You may mail them, drop them off in the church office, or in the box on the table inside the front door.

Nomination forms for pastors are also due by January 15. These must be filled out completely, including your contact information. Completed nomination forms may be mailed to the church or dropped off in the church office.

December 9, 2024: The Call Committee met with President Paavola and Rev. Woerner. President Paavola outlined the process for calling a pastor and gave us the required surveys and other documents that we need to begin the process. The Call Committee assigned tasks to various members to begin the work of collecting the required data. We plan to mail surveys by the end of the month. Details of the full call process are found below.

Overview of the Process for Calling a Pastor

1. Information Gathering Phase - Completed January 19, 2025

   1. Demographic surveys of Grace Lutheran Church and Little Rock, Arkansas

   2. Congregational member survey - a survey will be mailed to all active confirmed members of Grace. Please return the survey to the church office by January 15, 2025. Deadline extended to Sunday, January 19, 2025.

   3. Lay leader survey - a survey will be sent to all lay leaders. Please return the survey to the church office by January 15, 2025. Deadline extended to Sunday, January 19, 2025.

   4. Nomination forms - Any confirmed member of Grace is able to nominate an LCMS pastor for consideration. Nomination forms are available in the church office. Please return completed forms to the church office by January 15, 2025. Deadline extended to Sunday, January 19, 2025.

2. Compiling and Submitting Information

   1. All survey data will be compiled and sent along with demographic information to the Mid-South District Office.

   2. All completed nomination forms will be sent to the Mid-South District President for review.

   3. The District President will also review the congregation’s survey data and compile a list of pastoral candidates that could be a good fit to serve as the next pastor of Grace Lutheran Church.

3. Call Committee Reviews Candidate List

   1. The District Office will send the list of pastoral candidates and analyzed survey data to the Call Committee.

   2. The Call Committee will review the survey data and the needs of the congregation, review information on each candidate, and narrow the list. Interviews may be conducted at this stage of the process. The Circuit Visitor will attend all meetings of the Call Committee.

4. Congregational Voters Meeting

   1. When the Call Committee has completed their review, a voters meeting will be scheduled for the sole purpose of extending a Call to a pastor. The Call committee will present the final list of names and select information about the candidates for the congregation to prayerfully consider.

5. Calling a Pastor

   1. When the congregation has extended a Call, the Circuit Visitor will notify the pastor immediately. The official Diploma of Vocation and Call documents will be signed and mailed to the pastor.

   2. A pastor typically has up to one month to prayerfully consider the Call before making a decision. He may visit Grace Lutheran Church during this time as part of his deliberations.

   3. If the pastor accepts the Call, he will work with the congregational leadership and the District President to determine a timeline for moving to Little Rock and beginning his ministry at Grace.

   4. If the pastor returns (declines) the Call, then the Call Committee may schedule another voters meeting to Call another candidate, or may request additional names from the District President to consider.

Role and Responsibilities of the Call Committee

The Call Committee is established to help the congregation through the self-study and evaluation of its needs, opportunities, and expectations of the pastor. The Call Committee is to understand the Biblical foundations of the pastoral office and apply Scriptural teaching to the specific context and unique opportunities for ministry here at Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock. The Call Committee is charged with the work of facilitating the Call process according to LCMS guidelines and the Constitution and Bylaws of Grace. The Circuit Visitor, as a representative of the District President, attends all meetings to advise the Call Committee. The Call Committee does not serve itself but serves the congregation in its discussions and decisions throughout the Call process.

Members of the Call Committee

Shaun Baker
Bob Bryant
Jonathan Cline
Dave Graf
Raymond Harrill
Suzanne Lambert
Jon Lindemann
Jacquelyn Magnuson
Colleen Moorman
Gary Proud
Jeff Ralston
Craig Schluterman
Bob Wilimzig

Circuit Visitor, Little Rock South

Rev. Emil Woerner (Friends in Christ Lutheran Church, Bryant, AR)

District President, Mid-South

Rev. Dr. Roger Paavola