Stories of Ministry
A Place to Gather for College Students
When no Lutheran campus ministry existed at NC State, one student decided to create the community his fellow students needed.
The LCMSU group at NC State, gathered for a photo at the front of the sanctuary
Jonathan Madler arrived at North Carolina State University in the fall of 2024 expecting to find a Lutheran campus ministry. With more than 164 LCMSU chapters registered across the United States and 10 already active in the Southeastern District, it seemed reasonable to assume one would be waiting for him. It was not.
What he found instead was a campus full of active Christian outreach groups, Baptist, Catholic, ELCA, and CRU Ministries among them, and a handful of fellow LCMS students with no place to gather. So he decided to build one.
He started where most good things start: with a conversation and a question. He asked his pastor at Jordan Lutheran, Pastor Merker, if he would be willing to help lead the group. When that wasn’t possible, Jonathan reached out to Pastor Shaw at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Cary, the pastor who had led his confirmation small group years earlier. Pastor Shaw said yes.
The next piece was a meeting place. Jonathan found the NC State Study Center, a privately funded Christian center near campus that hosts student religious gatherings, and they agreed to host. He scheduled the first meeting for November 2024 and emailed every Lutheran student he knew at NC State or a nearby school.
That first night, it was Jonathan, one other student, and Pastor Shaw.
Students gathering for a game night, one of the ways the group builds community between meetings
He didn’t stop. Over winter break, Jonathan contacted churches across the area, gathering names of Lutheran students attending NC State, UNC, Duke, and other local colleges. When the group reconvened in January 2025, attendance climbed to three or four students and held. By the end of that spring semester, the roster had grown to 21 known students, with a consistent core showing up twice a month for food, fellowship, and worship.
A rhythm worth keeping
The group’s worship setup at the NC State Study Center
The rhythm of their meetings took shape naturally. On the first Friday of the month, the group gathers for a shorter fellowship time followed by Evening Prayer from the Lutheran Service Book, including Holy Communion. The second meeting each month extends the fellowship and closes with the Brief Service of the Word from the Lutheran Study Bible. One member even traveled from outside the LCMS, a student from the Wisconsin Synod who couldn’t find a conservative Lutheran community near campus and found a home here.
Over the past year and a half, the group has marked milestones that most campus ministries would recognize: sending a member off to Army Boot Camp with a blessing, celebrating Christmas and Holy Week together, and walking alongside students who are new to the faith. Pastor Richter from Resurrection Lutheran joined as a second regular pastor midway through this past spring, giving the group added pastoral support on alternating Fridays.
Built without a blueprint
The group has done all of this without official LCMSU chapter status, as they have not yet found a church willing to serve as their sponsoring congregation. But the ministry has been real, and it has mattered.
Two weeks ago, Jonathan graduated from NC State. Leadership of the group has passed to a newer member named Joseph, with Pastor Shaw and Pastor Richter continuing alongside him. What Jonathan built, from a single email to a roster of students gathering regularly around Word and Sacrament, will keep going without him.
That was always the point.