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WELS members Jenessa Werre and Kaitlin Gilbert have quite a bit in common. They both graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point with an education degree—Werre in December 2021 and Gilbert in December 2022. They both prioritized their faith life during college and became involved at the WELS campus ministry in Stevens Point, which is where the two met and became friends. They also both decided that they wanted to serve as teachers in WELS schools.
“I was interested in becoming a WELS teacher because I didn’t want to hide my faith as a teacher,” says Werre. “I liked the idea of being able to share my faith with young children and to help them learn about how much Jesus loves them.”
As Werre and Gilbert explored how they could be considered for calls as WELS teachers, they began working with their district president and WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools.
Jim Rademan, director of WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools, explains the first steps of the process for secularly-trained teachers who wish to be eligible to consider a call: “Working with the commission, the candidate’s district president validates that the candidate is a WELS member in good standing; has an understanding of ministry and ministry expectations, including ministry certification; and has teaching competency.”
Lutheran Schools worked with Werre and Gilbert on these steps so that they could become two of the more than 100 secularly-trained teachers who accept provisional calls to WELS schools each school year—a number that has risen over the past few years as enrollments have risen. Werre is serving as a preschool teacher at St. John, Watertown, Wis. Gilbert is teaching first grade at Neenah Lutheran School in Neenah, Wis.
“My experiences this year as a first-year teacher confirmed that God led me to make the perfect decision,” says Gilbert. “I love the school I teach at! I had a student this past year share with me how much she loves Jesus and loves learning about him. I shared that news with the student’s family. Time went on and that student’s family said they would like to have their child be baptized. That student was baptized, and it was the most amazing thing!”
Both Werre and Gilbert have begun their coursework from Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn., to help them become ministry certified. As Gilbert notes, “It’s been such an amazing experience and opportunity to grow in my faith and become a better teacher of Christ. I am learning more and more how to teach like Jesus. Also, being able to share this experience with other teachers in my same position has been great. We learn from each other and get new ideas.”
One final similarity? Both Werre and Gilbert are thankful that God led them to the WELS campus ministry at Stevens Point, because it helped them as they navigated the road to the public ministry together so that now they can serve as fellow WELS teachers.
Did you know?
Enrollment in WELS schools pre-K through 12 has grown by about 5,000 students in the past four years, leading to a growing need for teachers to serve in these schools. This need is being filled with a combination of current teachers trained by Martin Luther College, teachers returning to the ministry who were trained by Martin Luther College, and teachers who received secular training and are issued provisional calls as they work on ministry certification.
Author: FIC
Volume 111, Number 09
Issue: September 2024
