This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of the seminary’s Pastor Partners Mentoring Program. It was begun as a pilot project in 2010 and was opened to all those graduating from the seminary in 2011. As of this summer, 247 WLS graduates have completed the three-year program. Another twenty-nine have participated for a shorter time. The vast majority of mentors and mentees testify to the program’s value.

Every graduate this past May requested a mentor. All have received a mentor, or a Board for Home Missions (BHM) coach if they were assigned to a mission congregation. Tutors are assigned a mentor when they enter the parish ministry. This year there are a total of sixty-six mentors serving seventy-one mentees. Eleven mentors are new to the program. The others are veterans.

The annual mentor training seminar will take place September 23–24 following the WLS Fall Symposium. MLC President Richard Gurgel and Pastor Daron Lindemann will be the guest presenters. Both were instrumental in developing the program from the initial concept through its establishment. Their presentation will focus on the past, present, and future of mentoring through Pastor Partners.