June 2025
Each spring marks the end of one chapter and beginning of another for graduates of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Indiana and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. These men have completed critical, formative years of theological training and then Call Day finally arrives.
Many questions and a lot of emotions exist side-by-side during those years of anticipation. From the first inkling of a thought to attend the seminary to the subsequent years of study and practical experience, these men and their families follow the Lord’s call, similar to how the first disciples did in Matthew 4:18-22, “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”
The LCMS Northern Illinois District was recently blessed to learn the names of seven men intended for placement at congregations in the District. These men are: Cruz Aguilera, as associate pastor at Iglesia Luterana San Pablo in Aurora (pending); Ethan Boester, as associate pastor at St. James Lutheran Church in Chicago; Micah Brown, as associate pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Batavia; Christian Dollar, as associate pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Burr Ridge; Luis Gonzalez, as associate pastor at Iglesia Luterana San Pablo in Aurora (pending); Ethan Luft, as associate pastor at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Park Ridge; and Jackson Scofield, as pastor at Friends in Christ Lutheran Church in Morris and River of Life Lutheran Church in Channahon.
NIDnews.org reached out to each of these men to learn a bit about them: why they chose to attend the seminary (their “call” stories, so to speak), highlights of their seminary education, what the experience was like leading up to and at the Call Day service, and what they are looking forward to most at their new calls.
Some highlights of those responses are below:
What is your “call to ministry” story? In other words, what brought you to the seminary?
“I can remember the first time that I seriously considered entering the ministry. It was an evening in my sophomore year of highschool, and for some reason I felt like the Great Commission was directed at me specifically. Truth be told, I was not thrilled at the time because I knew that this call would define the rest of my life, but I was not going to argue with God. Of course, those feelings of apprehension eventually gave way to excitement. From then on, I began to prepare to become a pastor…” Christian Dollar, Associate Pastor (candidate) – Trinity, Burr Ridge
“I grew up in the LCMS as a pastor’s kid. However, my dad retired from the ministry while I was only in 3rd grade. So, even though we continued our regular participation in the church, I never thought too much of becoming a pastor. In 2017, my freshman year of college, my family went through a significant tragedy… Through this, I experienced what it was like to have hope and joy despite suffering and pain. God has called me to bring the hope we have in Jesus to all of us who experience pain in this life.” Ethan Luft, Associate Pastor (candidate) – St. Andrew’s Park Ridge
“My ‘call to ministry’ story is a testament to how valuable growing up in a faithful household can be. My parents have both been members of LCMS congregations their whole lives and are both church workers. My two older brothers and I are all cradle Lutherans – baptized into the LCMS and raised in the church. I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a church worker – for ‘dress as your dream job’ day in preschool, I actually went to school dressed as a pastor! It wasn’t until college that I began to seriously consider walking the path of a pastor.” Micah Brown, Associate Pastor (candidate) – Immanuel, Batavia
What are some highlights of your education at the seminary?
“I was especially impacted by courses in pastoral counseling and pastoral ministry, I feel like these two courses have helped shape my heart for ministry, Another highlight would be the support that I received from everyone and being mentored by experienced and godly professors. I was impressed with the dedication that was put into each class and I enjoyed learning from each one of my professors. They taught me solid lessons that will help me in this new journey of ministry.” Cruz Guerrero, Associate Pastor (candidate – call pending) – Iglesia Luterana San Pablo, Aurora
“The best aspects of seminary education are interactions with classmates. There is nowhere else but a residential LCMS seminary where there are so many opportunities to learn from other men going through the same formation process and with the same desire and earnest anticipation of serving in the Church. To be able to grow theologically together and develop a system of brothers in the ministry before even getting out into the field is a great blessing.” Jackson Scofield, Pastor (candidate) – Friends in Christ, Morris and River of Life, Channahon
“It’s difficult (indeed, impossible) to pick out one or two highlights of my time here at Seminary… I was certainly taught information that will be valuable to the pastoral ministry. But this information was not the most important part of my education at Seminary. Not only did I learn valuable information about being a pastor, but I have also been formed into a man who is a pastor. For this, I am extremely grateful to the Seminary and all of the faculty/staff who invested in me and my formation.” Micah Brown, Associate Pastor (candidate) – Immanuel, Batavia
Tell us about the Call Day experience. What emotions were you feeling?
“Call Day will always be in my heart. I never imagined having the opportunity to live a moment where I would see all my professors, pastors, and my family all united for one mission, the mission of God’s kingdom. It was a very happy moment for me.” Cruz Guerrero, Associate Pastor (candidate – call pending) – Iglesia Luterana San Pablo, Aurora
“Call Day was a stressful and joyful experience in equal measures. It’s hard to know that you have a call to a church, but you don’t get to hear about it until your name is called in that service… As my name was called and I heard “Northern Illinois District, St. James Lutheran Church – Chicago, IL,” there was a bit of shock and coming to terms with it… I simply had to address the fact that a boy from a town of 3,000 people in Southern Illinois was now moving to the big city of Chicago. There was a constant prayer I kept repeating for about 10 minutes – ‘Lord, give me peace and acceptance.’ The real change, though, came after as I sat there, hearing my classmates’ names and calls read out. I started to pray, ‘Lord, give me excitement and joy.’ That shift in prayer was a shift in my entire perspective. It changed the question in my head from ‘how will I handle Chicago?’ to ‘I can’t wait to see what life at Saint James is going to be like!'” Ethan Boester, Associate Pastor (candidate) – St. James, Chicago
“Call Day was like nothing else that I have experienced. The nervous anticipation of a drastic life change, the excitement of beginning the next chapter in God’s plan for my life, the shell-shock of realizing that the moment that we have been preparing for is finally happening – it’s a truly overwhelming and humbling experience. Above it all, however, was excitement. God was sending me, and I was finally in a position to answer, ‘Here I am.’ Jesus saw us through Seminary, He saw us through vicarage, He saw us through Call Day, and He will see us through many more days to come. All praise to Jesus!” Micah Brown, Associate Pastor (candidate) – Immanuel, Batavia
What do you anticipate most about your new call?
“Right now, my greatest anticipation is just meeting all of the people I have been called to serve. Both churches have had vacancies for a while and have long been awaiting a pastor, even as both have been greatly blessed by having regular vacancy pastors. Being at the seminary still is really a weird feeling – studying here, but knowing there are all these souls God has called me to care for awaiting my arrival – and I yearn deeply to begin to serve them as God has called me to do.” Jackson Scofield, Pastor (candidate) – Friends in Christ, Morris and River of Life, Channahon
“I pray that with God’s help I’m able to always reflect the love of God, walk with obedience, and to be a good minister of His church, I trust that God is who will guide me through the Holy Spirit. Connected and working together with others for one same mission, I want my life to be a testimony to others, and to always keep up the spiritual and educational growth to face any adversity I might face, with God’s help to always live my faith, and to grow his kingdom.” Cruz Guerrero, Associate Pastor (candidate – call pending) – Iglesia Luterana San Pablo, Aurora
“I feel like I am a bit of a broken record since my answer is always the same: I am ready to begin ministry. Trinity in Burr Ridge seems like a fantastic place to be, and I am eager to work with Pastor Bob and the rest of the team to bring Christ to the lost and to strengthen the saved.” Christian Dollar, Associate Pastor (candidate)- Trinity, Burr Ridge
“One of the things that Wren and I are most excited about is to be in one place for more than a year! This will be our fifth move in this last four years. We want to put down roots. We want to embrace a community. We want to make deep friendships and serve the people that God places around us. Personally, I can’t wait to be someone’s pastor; to proclaim peace and hope to them in Jesus’ name and to fully and faithfully love the people at St. Andrew’s.” Ethan Luft, Associate Pastor (candidate) – St. Andrew’s, Park Ridge
“…what I look forward to most, is just how much of my time is going to be spent in ministry. For me, I like to stay busy, get plates spinning, and build up relationships, and Saint James is going to offer all of those opportunities and more… I’m also looking forward to supporting and being a resource for the school. My mom just retired from her position as principal of a Lutheran school back home, and as I grew up, and especially in the last decade, as I knew this was a path I was following, I got to see just how important a good relationship between the church and school is, and just how much of a ministry that schools are for the church. I cannot wait to be able join that relationship, and even strengthen it, as the education of our youth, not just in academics, but in faith as well, is one of, if not the most important thing we can do as Christians – Passing on the faith to our younger generations is one of our duties as Christians, and I am glad to see it being done at Saint James.” Ethan Boester, Associate Pastor (candidate) – St. James, Chicago
“At my new call (my first call) I am anticipating growth. Seminary has done an excellent job equipping me with the tools necessary for pastoral ministry and forming me into a man who isa pastor, but I still have very, very much to learn. As I begin this new call, I anticipate that I will spend much of my time listening and learning. Only after I have done a considerable amount of being shaped by my new congregation will I be in a position to speak and help shape them. In any case, I am anticipating much growth, as well as the growing pains and celebrations that come along with that.” Micah Brown, Associate Pastor (candidate) – Immanuel, Batavia
In this season of change, we pray for each of these candidates and their families as they anticipate beginning a new chapter and serving where the Lord has called them. We look forward to sharing the joy of these congregations as they received these men and their families in the coming months. Watch for upcoming ordination and installation stories here at NIDnews.org.
