Sister church bodies support and encourage one another in a shared mission to proclaim Christ.

Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary graduates received a little extra encouragement before call day this past May in the form of homemade cards from first- and second-graders at Zion, Rhinelander, Wis.

The idea started when Alyssa Plocher, a teacher at Zion, was thinking of ways to celebrate an Act of Kindness Day at school. “As I was brainstorming different projects we could do, I thought about those who might need encouragement; the graduating seminarians were one of those groups,” she says. “The exciting thing for me was while the students had the opportunity to show kindness to future pastors, I also had an opportunity to encourage my students to consider serving God in the public ministry.”

To prepare the students, Alyssa explained more about the path to public ministry: first Martin Luther College for teachers, pastors, and staff ministers and then Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary for pastors. Students took a virtual tour of the seminary campus and talked about how their own pastors graduated from there. Nate Plocher, pastor at Zion, then talked to the students about how the seniors may be feeling before their first assignment, and the class discussed what encouragement they could share from God’s Word.

“It is such a privilege to see the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of the students,” says Alyssa. “Hearing their responses, watching them scour their memory work packets and the posters in our rooms to find the right passage, listening to them sing the hymns that help them in tough times—it’s absolutely incredible to see their lights shine so bright!”

Students at the seminary appreciated the messages the children shared. “As seniors get closer and closer to call day, it is difficult to think about anything else. I remember the same questions circling in my mind: Where will I go? What will my mission field be like? What will the people I serve be like?” says Micah Neumann, who was assigned to serve as a home missionary in Cedar Lake, Ind. “It was the day I received a very kind card from one of the students at Zion in Rhinelander that reminded me that I am not alone as I get sent out. First, there are many wonderful people (young and old) rooting for all of us seniors as we get to share Jesus wherever we get called. Along with that, the student who shared this card pointed me to the song ‘In Christ Alone.’ Her encouragement reminded me that Christ is the one who walks beside every pastor, teacher, missionary, and Christian as they enter a new mission field or continue to serve in their current setting.”

Volume 113, Number 08
Issue: August 2026

Returning the encouragement

Dan Gensmer, who was assigned to serve as pastor at Emmanuel, Tempe, Ariz., last May, sends an encouraging message back to the students at Zion, Rhinelander, Wis.: 

“Thank you so much for the card. It means so much that all of you were thinking about me before my call day. God is good, and it’s so special being able to share that same good God with all his people.

“It took me a long time to decide whether or not I wanted to be a pastor. I remember thinking about it for years in advance, but there’s something so special about being able to share the forgiveness God gives us with people who don’t know about that forgiveness. I know you probably have a long time before you have to decide where you want to go to school, but if I could encourage you just a little bit. . . . God has given you gifts. You are special. And God wants to use all your special gifts to share Jesus with even one person! Maybe that could be as a pastor or a teacher? I know my pastors and teachers have been the most influential people in my life!

“Thank you for the encouraging letter. It means so much that you shared God’s Word with me.”