Megan Mertz

The Rev. Dave Keane (left), pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Vista, Calif., prays with Karen and Rich Sahag in the Sahag home on March 17. Keane is featured, along with other second-career church workers, in the Summer 2026 issue of Lutherans Engage the World. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford) There will always be a desire to have more workers in the church: more pastors to fill vacancies, more rostered teachers to serve in Lutheran schools, more missionaries to send around the world.

Feature Lakeview Ministries in Seymour, Ind., provides a place for children, teens and adults to build relationships and be refreshed in the Word of God. Gravel crunches as cars pull into the parking lot. The haze of gravel dust mixes with the tang of bug spray and the fresh scent of crushed pine needles. On the nearby dining hall porch, the crash of tumbling jumbo Jenga blocks is followed by squeals of delight, while the unmistakable aroma of camp hot dogs wafts through the screen door.

Young adults, including students from University Lutheran Chapel in College Station, Texas, arrive for a winter retreat held in February at Camp Lone Star in La Grange, Texas. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford) “The vast majority of people who get connected or reconnected at church do so because someone that they know invited them,” says the Rev. Brandon Metcalf of Zion Lutheran Church in Bethalto, Ill.