During the Opening Service at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, the new Specific Ministry Pastor Program (SMP) cohort received their vicarage assignments.

• Bret Bierman, Trinity, Mansfield, S.D., South Dakota District
• Christopher Bruskiewicz, St. John’s, West Bend, Wis., South Wisconsin District
• Jay De Beir, Lutheran Church Extension Fund, St. Louis, Mo., Missouri
• Daniel Fenco, Somerset Hills, Basking Ridge, N.J., New Jersey District
• David Forke, Peace, Eau Claire, Wis., North Wisconsin District
• Scott Gary, Grace, Escondido, Calif., Pacific Southwest District
• Kevin Guynn, Faith, Mentor, Ohio, Ohio District
• Jeffrey Hesse, St. John’s, West Bend, Wis., South Wisconsin District
• Bradford Hildebrandt, Somerset Hills, Basking Ridge, N.J., New Jersey District
• Leon Jameson, Immanuel, St. Charles, Mo., Missouri District
• John Karay, Good Shepherd by the Lake, Stoughton, Wis., South Wisconsin District
• David Kellerman, St. John’s, West Bend, Wis., South Wisconsin District
• Keith Kinslow, Chatham Fields, Chicago, Ill., English District
• Kyle Kirk, Trinity, Tyler, Texas, Texas District
• Jeffrey Klade, St. John’s, Okarche, Okla., Oklahoma District
• James Moore, Grace, Holiday Island, Ark., Mid-South District
• Britt Nelson, St. John’s Rural, Aberdeen, S.D., South Dakota District
• Michael Nesbit, Zion, McHenry, Ill., Northern Illinois District
• Benjamin Scheck, Crown of Life, Colleyville, Texas, Texas District
• Timothy Stein, Peace, Eau Claire, Wis., North Wisconsin District
• William Stevenson, Trinity, Dyersburg, Tenn., Mid-South District
• Jason Toman, St. Michael, Portage, Mich., Michigan District
• Douglas Widger, St. Paul, Fort Worth, Texas, Texas District
• Theodore Wurster, Zion, Clark, N.J., SELC District

The Specific Ministry Pastor Program (SMP) is a category of pastoral ministry established by the LCMS in 2007. It is designed to meet the need of pastors for mission and ministry in the Church where a pastor with a seminary degree might not be available. These men are identified by the ministry and mission opportunity (a congregation, mission plant, etc.) where they will serve in consultation with their district president.
 
After they have completed the prerequisite preparation for the program determined by their district, they apply to the Seminary through their district office. The district president must nominate the men for this program. Once admitted they serve as “vicars” in the location where they will eventually serve as a Specific Ministry Pastor. They will take no less than two years of classes prior to ordination and then a minimum of another two years following ordination. They are supervised by local pastors and coursework is completed via the Internet.
 
For more information, contact distance education, Concordia Seminary, 801 Seminary Place, St. Louis, MO 63105; 314-505-7764; smp@csl.edu.