Local business owner answers lifelong call to ministry through LCMS Program
For most of his life, Austin Schmidt felt called to become a pastor.
Now, after years of serving his church, raising a family and building a business, the Garrison resident is taking that next step.
Schmidt was installed Sept. 27 as vicar for Christ Lutheran Parish, a four-point parish that includes Peace Lutheran Church in Garrison, St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Max, St. John's Lutheran Church in Underwood and Trinity Lutheran Church near Hazen. He is working toward ordination through The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) program at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The parish has been without a full-time pastor for several years, and Schmidt said that need, along with a lifelong desire to serve, led him to pursue ministry.
"At about the age of 10 years old is when I first started ignoring and suppressing the call to the ministry," Schmidt said.
The idea became a real possibility after he attended the North Dakota District LCMS convention in Minot in January 2025. There, he spoke with pastors and church leaders about serving his congregation through the SMP program.
"After a lot of prayer and consideration, I began the process by first asking my home congregation for support, then asking the parish as a whole," he said.