Worship Lessons Learned from Consulting

Imagine over the course of two years attending worship at a different WELS congregation every week. As you observed what went well and what didn’t, you would gain valuable insights: about what God’s people find most edifying, about what enables both members and guests to better participate in worship, about what makes a sermon well received, etc. In his decade of serving the WELS Commission on Congregational Counseling, Rev. Hein has attended worship in more churches than you could visit in two years. In this presentation, he will share some lessons learned from congregational consulting. He will provide hard data about worship in congregations that the Lord is blessing with growth. He will share insights about walking the Lutheran middle in our worship planning, trusting that only God’s Word can effect and strengthen faith while also understanding that God expects us to use his gift of reason to conduct worship so that the Word is well proclaimed and received.

Bio | Jonathan Hein

Upon graduation from the seminary in 1997, Rev. Hein was assigned to a home mission in the Charleston, S.C., area. In 20 years there, he helped start two congregations. He has served as chairman of the South Atlantic District Mission Board as well as a member of the executive committee of WELS Board for Home Missions. In 2014 he was called to be the director of WELS Commission on Congregational Counseling. In that capacity, he works with congregations and schools to assess and plan gospel ministry efforts. In 2017, his duties expanded to include serving as coordinator of the six commissions that make up WELS Congregational Services: Congregational Counseling, Discipleship, Evangelism, Lutheran Schools, Special Ministries, and Worship.