In the past five years, Higher Things has held five major conferences and produced 16 magazine issues. These have become consistent and trustworthy tools for many LC-MS congregations in their ministry to youth. Higher Things also offers a suite of online resources, including devotional materials, Bible Studies, web forums, blogs, and e-mail lists for high school youth and college students alike. Higher Things has also expanded into campus ministry and plans to offer leadership training opportunities in the future.
We’ve sure come a long way since the “Dying to Live Conference” in Laramie, WY in July, 2000! Thanks be to God for His gifts!
Success and growth brings forth a variety of challenges and it creates new opportunities. The Higher Things Board of Directors met in mid-August in Minneapolis, MN for a governance retreat to dream, plan and organize for the future. This sort of self-examination is necessary for any growing organization, including those who “Dare to be Lutheran.”
We took a good, honest and objective look at how Higher Things is structured and we adopted some important organizational changes that will best suit the future development and expansion of Higher Things. These changes include a shift from a single Executive Director to several focused Executive positions in key operational areas such as Publications, Conferences, Web, Campus Ministry, and Leadership Training.
This new structure will unburden operations, increase creative freedom, and create a responsive organization that will be able to deliver more conferences and impact more youth and their congregations without sacrificing the quality and character people have come to expect from Higher Things.
Work on implementing the details of this new structure is now underway. Look for an update in early October.
Rev. Klemet Preus
President, Higher Things
September 05, 2005
