History

Operation IDEA is the result of several conversations in the spring of 2002 among Bishop David deFreese, Pastor Lowell Nelson (former CEO of Immanuel Health Systems) and Pastor Roger Sasse (former Director of Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries) seeking a positive response to the shortage of workers for Christ’s church.

At that time, 52 parishes within the Nebraska Synod had no pastor, 68 of the Synod’s active clergy roster were to reach retirement age within five years, more than 50 percent of persons entering our Lutheran seminaries were age 35 or older, and Nebraska was receiving fewer than 10 pastors each year into the Synod.

The strategy which evolved was based on four simple assumptions:

  1. There are persons right in our own midst who have the gifts and willingness to serve if they would just be asked.
  2. There are persons in our own places who have already experienced a call, but just do not know what to do with it.
  3. There are those who once were excited about the professional ministries of the church, but the excitement had waned.
  4. There are persons who would act, if they could just find the resources, particularly financial.

The acronym “IDEA” evolved (Invite—Discern—Excite—Act).

Immanuel Health Systems provided a grant of $35,000 for the first year. Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries agreed to provide the impetus for the first program.

The 80+ pastors who brought confirmation classes to Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries’ summer camp became part of the conversation, as did several more of the synod’s agencies and institutions. Ideas evolved for inviting, discernment, excitement and action programs, and by the Nebraska Synod Assembly in June 2002, a grass roots movement – Operation IDEA – had come into being.

Remarkable things have happened since the inception of Operation IDEA. The number of persons registered with the synodical candidacy committee has grown, as has the number of enrolled seminarians from Nebraska and the number of Parish Ministry Associates.  Also growing is the number of people who visit one of the ELCA seminaries.  Spirit-wise, Bishop David deFreese says that Operation IDEA has turned the attitude of the entire synod around.