A Congregation’s Story About Worship and Education—Could It Be Yours?

Every congregation is going to “do something” when it gathers. An age-old axiom is “How you worship affects how you believe, and how you believe affects how you worship.” This presentation will tell the story of how one church family has navigated Sunday mornings in a way that seeks to serve the lifelong Lutheran as well as the first-time attendee. Emphasis will be given to intentional and subtle ways to teach “why we do what we do.” Pastors, worship planners, musicians, teachers, and laity alike will hopefully benefit and leave our time together with something to think about and something to implement in their unique ministry settings.

Bio | John Bortulin

Pastor Bortulin serves at St. John’s, Mukwonago, Wis. In the past ten years, nearly 350 adults have joined the church through its adult instruction class. This has created the dynamic of a large, established congregation with many weekly attendees who were not previously familiar with liturgical worship. John also serves on the Board for Ministerial Education and as second vice president of the Southeastern Wisconsin District. He was a member of the rites committee for Christian Worship.