LCMS U Campus Ministry Conference
Redeemer Lutheran Church hosting LCMS U Campus Ministry Staff Conference
College campuses are not only places where students study, they are mission fields where hearts are formed, questions are sharpened, and lifelong convictions often take root. That is why LCMS U campus ministry matters, and why Redeemer Lutheran Church is honored to host the LCMS U Campus Ministry Staff Conference in Lawrence, Kansas on June 4 to 5, 2026. This gathering brings together pastors, deaconesses, DCEs, and other leaders serving students across the Synod for worship, theological formation, and practical encouragement, so they can be strengthened and sent back into their campus mission fields.
The college years are a time of enormous transition. Students are often away from home for the first time, navigating new freedoms, new pressures, and new communities. Many are asking questions they have never asked before, about identity, meaning, truth, and belonging. A faithful Christian group Kansas University students can rely on should offer more than social connection. It should offer the Gospel with clarity, the Scriptures with depth, and the Church with stability.
This is where historic and confessional Christianity becomes a genuine gift. When students are surrounded by shifting opinions, the Church gives something enduring, the faith confessed across two thousand years, centered on Christ crucified and risen. Confessional Lutheran ministry is not built on trendiness. It is built on Christ’s promises delivered through the means He instituted, the preached Word, Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. That kind of continuity gives students confidence. It also gives them joy, because it frees them from trying to manufacture a spiritual life and instead teaches them to receive Christ’s gifts.
Campus workers carry a unique pastoral load. They teach, counsel, recruit, organize, and care for students whose lives can change quickly, sometimes week to week. Staff also face complex challenges, confidentiality, trust, cultural pressures, and the constant need to communicate the faith in a setting that often assumes the Church is outdated. This conference exists so those serving in campus ministry can gather, pray, learn, share best practices, and return to their mission fields strengthened.
Speakers and Session Topics
Plenary presentations
Rev. Dr. Andrew Steinmann, Psalm 78, Teaching the History of God’s People as a Way of Preparing for a Faithful Future
Rev. Andy Becker, That the Next Generation Might Know
Rev. Dr. Andrew Steinmann, Reckoning Tiberius’s Reign and Jesus’s Baptism, First and Second Century Evidence Concerning Tiberius’s Fifteenth Year, Luke 3:1
Breakout I
Rev. Dr. Heath Trampe, Sharing the Gospel with the non churched
Rev. Michael Schuermann, Purposeful Young Adult Ministry, Connecting and Encouraging
Rev. Max Mons, The Lutheran Confessions, Students, and the Transmission of the Faith
Breakout II
DCE Julianna Shults, Understanding this Generation
Rev. John Karle, International Student Ministry
Rev. Eric Andrae, Confidentiality and Trust in Campus Ministry’s Spiritual Care
Breakout III
Rev. Sean Kilgo, Don’t Neglect the Aesthetics
Rev. David Kind, The Liturgy as Transmission of the Faith
Rev. Dr. Heath Trampe, Sharing the Gospel with the non churched
Redeemer’s campus outreach in Lawrence
Redeemer is grateful to host this conference because we have seen the Lord’s blessing on campus outreach here in Lawrence. Through our own college and young adult ministry, the Crimson and Blue Lutheran Crew, students are welcomed into the real life of the Church. They are not treated as a demographic to entertain, but as Christians to be gathered, taught, cared for, and integrated into congregational worship and fellowship. In a university setting where community can be thin and loneliness can be real, the Church provides something durable, the fellowship of saints anchored in Christ’s gifts.
Join us, learn more, and support campus ministry
If you are looking for an LCMS U campus ministry connection, exploring a Christian group Kansas University students can trust, or seeking a Lutheran church in Lawrence where historic worship and meaningful outreach belong together, Redeemer warmly welcomes you. Campus ministry is a shared work of the whole Church, supported by prayer, generosity, hospitality, and encouragement. We thank God for those who serve students, and we pray that this conference will strengthen leaders to return to their mission fields with clarity, patience, and renewed confidence in Christ.