A few months into my ministry, a WELS member of another congregation was looking to move to the area with his wife. They were looking to retire. They had already bought a house. The only thing left was to get acquainted with the WELS church nearby, us here at Victory. When we met, he quickly shared his passion for evangelism and his leadership experience with his previous congregation. My initial thought was, “This couple is going to be a huge blessing in ministry.”

As time went on, however, some challenges and differences arose. This couple was very hesitant to transfer their membership. In fact, it took a year before they did so, and it didn’t last long. Only months after officially becoming our members, they requested to transfer back to their old church in another state. They would still be living in the area and would attend once a month to partake in the Lord’s Supper. When I asked how all this came to be, he vented to me his frustrations about our efforts in outreach, criticized our worship style, and questioned our congregation’s welcoming atmosphere. Now, I understood where he was coming from. It can be difficult coming from another church where ministry seemed to be booming and then arriving at our smaller congregation where things moved slower.

Through it all, my mentor and brother in ministry, Steven Lange, gave me pastoral advice on how to reach and work with this member. Yet, more importantly, he gave me Scriptural encouragement and pointed me to our Savior Jesus. I needed that! It’s times like those when Satan’s lies seem too spot on. “I wonder why God called you here when you can’t even keep longtime WELS members in church. Clearly, you are doing something wrong in this ministry. You know if you were a better pastor, they wouldn’t have left.” While this situation was going on, at my mentor meetings, Steven Lange reminded me that ministry is not defined by any one member nor is it defined by me, but solely rests on Christ. “You are in Christ. You are valued. You are saved. You are forgiven. And God called you to shepherd his flock and will surely give you strength, patience, and wisdom to do it.” Those were words I needed to hear! It is true that ministry depends on God. It is then his gift to us and he will strengthen us for it. I thank and praise God that one way in which he equips me for ministry is through the mentorship program.

Pastor Zach Kluball serves at Victory Lutheran Church in Lexington, Kentucky