Fourth mission counselor position filled
Filed Under: BHM, BME, Home Missions, Ministerial Education, mission counselor
Rev. Peter Kruschel, administrator for WELS Board for Ministerial Education, accepted the call from WELS Board for Home Missions to be the mission counselor in the Pacific Northwest and southwestern regions of the country. Kruschel received the call May 30 and accepted on June 26.
"I prayerfully compared the needs, expectations, and skills required in both calls with the training, skills, and abilities that God has put into this clay vessel—and then I prayed some more!" says Kruschel. "Both my wife and I are excited about the opportunity to move into a ministry setting where we can work directly alongside God's people as they labor in the harvest fields of the western United States."
Kruschel's transition from Ministerial Education to Home Missions won't take place until mid-August; he is currently considering the district mission boards' suggestion to move to Las Vegas, Nev., because of its location in the Southwest and its airline service to the rest of the country.
This call for a fourth mission counselor—a position that has been vacant for almost four years due to funding issues—is part of Home Missions' efforts to expand the mission counselor program and was supported by resolutions from last year's synod convention.
"Counselors are an integral part of providing proactive assistance to district mission boards, missionaries, and congregations as we seek to use all possible means to reach as many as possible with the gospel," says Rev. Harold Hagedorn, administrator for Home Missions. "Pastor Kruschel's experience in the parish, as a home missionary, district mission board chairman, administrator in Home Missions and Ministerial Education, and part-time Parish Assistance consultant commends him to encourage, support, and provide insights to missions and missionaries. We give thanks that he is joining the mission counselor corps."
WELS Board for Ministerial Education is planning to call a new administrator in late September or early October.
