Concordia Seminary, St. Louis congratulates the eight Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) students who received their vicarage assignments Friday, Feb. 13, 2015.

Anthony Arias – Grace Lutheran Church, Arcadia, Florida, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Florida-Georgia District
Charles A. Bahn – Trinity Lutheran Church, Bloomington, Illinois, LCMS Central Illinois District
Matthias Benfey – The Church of St. Mark Lutheran, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, LCMS English District
William E. Hale – St. John Lutheran Church, Granite City, Illinois, LCMS SELC District
Patrick Hauser – Christ Lutheran Church, Brea, California, LCMS Pacific Southwest District
Jonathan W. Kerr – West Portal Lutheran Church & School, San Francisco, California, LCMS English District
Derrick K. Miliner - Our Savior Lutheran Church, Laurel, Maryland, LCMS Southeastern District
Benjamin Vineyard – Trinity Lutheran Church, Mission, Kansas, LCMS Kansas District

The SMP program of Concordia Seminary is a four-year distance-education program in which men receive academic training in the setting in which they will continue to serve following ordination. Local pastor-mentors work with SMP students to provide day-to-day guidance, encouragement, and prayer.

Dr. Andy Bartelt, professor of exegetical theology and director of the Specific Ministry Pastor program at Concordia Seminary, said, "We rejoice with these new students, along with their mentors and the people of God whom they serve, as they begin this program and enrich their SMP coursework with the ongoing practicum of vicarage, one of the key benefits of this very practical and ‘hands on’ approach to pastoral formation and education.”

Front row from Left: Dr. Andy Bartelt, Director of SMP; Anthony Arias; Derrick Miliner;
Matthias Benfrey; Charles Bahn; Dr. Tim Saleska, Dean of Ministerial Formation.
Back row from Left: Dr. Glenn Nielsen, Director of Vicarage; Benjamin Vineyard; Patrick Hauser;
Jonathan Wayne Kerr; William Hale; Dr. Wally Becker, Assistant Director of SMP; Dr. Dale Meyer, President.

About Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars, and other leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). Since its founding in 1839, Concordia Seminary has equipped more than 12,000 graduates to serve Church and world. Today, a world-renowned faculty teaches more than 600 students in the classroom, off-campus, and online. Learn more at www.csl.edu.