New experiential learning program to equip students for faith-based leadership in an ever-changing world

The Luther College Office of College Ministries is excited to announce the launch of its pilot program, “Called Outward: Exploring Skills for Faith-Based Leadership” for students starting in the 2025–26 academic year.

Luther College students meet with Decorah-area congregation pastors and members at the fall ministry fair hosted by the Office of College Ministries on Sept. 9, 2024 in the front lobby of the Center for Faith and Life.

Through this yearlong program, an annual cohort of four to six Luther students will engage in experiential learning around leadership in faith communities. During the fall semester, students and mentors will engage in shared learning and discernment about topics and skills for faith-based leadership. During the spring semester, students will serve as interns in local congregations. The program will fulfill the college’s experiential learning requirement.

Called Outward is funded through a two-year $40,000 grant from the Council of Independent Colleges’ Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE), which supports vocational exploration programming at college campuses. NetVUE is supported by a combination of membership dues and support from the Lilly Endowment Inc.

“We are thrilled to receive such a significant grant to launch our program,” said Pastor Melissa Bills, director of College Ministries at Luther. “Not only does this funding help us to build new student experiences, but it shows a vote of confidence in Luther College and its mission to build up student leaders for the common good.”

The Called Outward program aims to equip students to reimagine faith-based leadership both within and beyond congregational models of ministry.

“Many Christian denominations and churches are facing accelerating patterns of decline, due to various factors and pressures,” Bills said. “However, there are many leaders still seeking to build community and to live lives of service, rooted in the shared values and dreams of their faith. We want to offer our students the ability to engage with ideas and experiences that are transferable to emerging needs and models of ministry.”

Possible exploratory topics and experiences include: stewardship and sustainability, hospitality, bridge-building, advocacy, and community organizing. The topical nature of the program intentionally creates space for diverse student participation from a wide range of vocational interests.

“By emphasizing skill-building for faith leadership, we believe that we are equipping students to be nimble, flexible and responsive leaders in an ever-changing church and world,” Bills said.

Luther senior Gabby Bizal is a social work major graduating at the end of this month. She has already accepted a position as ministry director and communications coordinator at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Decorah. Bizal believes the skills that students will learn in Called Outward will cross over into many career fields.

“This program was not just designed for the religion major who is becoming a priest, but also for the music major who wants experience leading a choir, the nursing major who wants to learn how to walk with families through death and grief, the environmental studies major who wants to live as a good steward of this earth, the social work major, like me, who wants to watch as children and youth discover their own deeper calling,” she said. “The beauty of this program is that it is designed to be flexible and adaptable to each individual student.”

Luther College and the Office of College Ministries already maintain a variety of partnerships with local congregations, and many students are active participants and leaders in these faith communities.

“This grant will allow us to lean into that existing energy and to build up mentoring relationships between area faith leaders and students. It is a gift to know we already have ready and willing partners to make our project a meaningful reality,” Bills said.

The leadership team for the grant project at Luther includes Bills; Rachel Brummel, associate professor of environmental studies; Kristin Bjerke, College Ministries program coordinator; Brittany Cord, director of experiential learning and associate professor of accounting; Jeanie Lovell, senior director of foundation and government relations; and Britt Rhodes, director of community-engaged learning and professor of social work.

Luther has received many NetVUE grants through the years. In 2023, the college received a NetVUE Professional Development Award to develop relationships and capacity for vocational exploration through Luther’s new experiential learning requirement. That grant-funded project helped to lay the groundwork for this successful proposal focused on leadership in faith communities.