Connecting with our Communities

Learning Outcomes: I can plan strategies to connect with members of my community, beyond traditional methods.

Pastor James Hein and Maureen Lawrenz will be sharing the Community Engagement Work that has been done at St. Marcus in the past decade – financial literacy, home ownership, support of local small businesses, employment training, etc. We’ll provide the theology beyond why this is God’s will as well as the logic behind why a strategy is logically necessary in a post-Christian cultural climate. Participants will recognize the need to “move beyond traditional spaces” because the current society is simply not the “traditional space” it was 50-75 years ago in America. The gospel never changes, but missional strategies necessarily change in the same way that language changes when you move from one country to the next. Faithful ministers must figure out what a “Jew to the Jews” and “Greek to the Greeks” looks like and be willing to flexibly adapt so that some might be saved.

Pastor James Hein was assigned from the Seminary to Resurrection & Life Lutheran Church in Rochester, MN in 2008. Largely inspired to do ministry in a more urban setting, he took a call to serve as the Lead Pastor at St. Marcus Lutheran Church in Milwaukee in 2016. Hein’s congregation is celebrating their 150th anniversary this year, strategically seeks to build multiethnic relationships, and despite their age, possess a demographic profile of worshippers predominantly in their 20s & 30s. The church is bringing conservative Christian theology winsomely to those in largely nontraditional, conservative cultural environments.

Maureen “”Moe”” Lawrenz is a 1998 graduate of MLC. She raised her family in the inner-city of Milwaukee for almost 20 years, just 2 blocks from St Marcus Lutheran Church & School. Over the 20 years of living in the community, her family sought various opportunities to serve their neighbors through presence and empowerment. Now, Lawrenz serves as a financial coach at St Marcus Lutheran Church & School. She has eight years of experience helping single mothers in poverty build foundations of financial stability and independence while sharing the Gospel. Having grown up in a low-income family herself, she personally experienced the benefits of strong Christian mentors who inspired her to work hard and do things she never imagined possible. She strives to give back to the community in gratitude for the support she once received. Moe has a passion for connecting people to Jesus as she collaborates with families to create financial stability through 1:1 coaching, workshops, and inspiring community events.