Luther Alum Serves College Ministries as Interim Campus Minister
College Ministries welcomes Carl-Eric Gentes as the interim campus minister for this year. He will take on the responsibilities of Pastor David Vasquez who is on sabbatical until June. Carl-Eric and his wife, Rachel (Wachter) Gentes, 
graduated from Luther in 2002. As a student, Carl-Eric was heavily involved in numerous outreach groups and participated in the drama and worship teams for Focus, Luther’s student-led worship service. He also served as the co-coordinator of Church Youth Fest. In fact, in some ways, Carl-Eric feels he learned more being involved in College Ministries than he did in the classroom. He explains, “College Ministries is like a big laboratory that gives you the freedom to try and learn by doing”.
Not only did College Ministries provide Carl-Eric with experiential learning but also it gave him a comfortable place to explore his call to ministry. His various leadership roles helped him develop professional tools for ministry such as event planning, logistical skills, communication skills, and the ability to organize groups of people to achieve goals.
Following graduation with a major in Communications, he worked as the Director of Spiritual Formation in Youth at the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa. After working with this 3,000-member congregation for roughly three years, Carl-Eric continued his education at Vanderbilt University Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated with a Masters of Divinity in 2009.
During graduate school, Carl-Eric let the dream of coming back to Luther dance in his mind. But, when Pastor Mike Blair called and informed him of the open position he was stunned. Carl-Eric shares, “We felt like God was leading us here and it was an opportunity that we didn’t want to pass up”. The same “gut feeling” that confirmed his decision to attend Luther College in high school was the same force that brought him back. Once again, Carl-Eric plans to take advantage of the College Ministries “laboratory” for further discernment in his call to be a pastor.
This year, Carl-Eric serves as a mentor to the Focus vision team and the students who lead the Wednesday night Eucharist service. He works with the Outreach program, the spring break mission trips, the Global Concerns group leaders and Christian Education. Carl-Eric is also passionate about the interreligious dialogue that is occurring on campus.
