Minnesota dreams of becoming a premier producer of pastors, teachers, missionaries and tent makers. This is not because we think we can solve the shortage of workers in God’s harvest field (although we hope to help) but because of what this dream requires us to do to accomplish it. It requires a significant investment in our people, especially young people, in discipling, training and growing them into men and women who take seriously God’s mission to make disciples, baptize and teach in preparation for His soon return.
Therefore, we have several goals in Minnesota to accomplish by the second quarter of 2026 that will move us closer to fulfilling our dream.
- First, we aim to send at least 10 students to college as theology or education majors. (We have sent six so far).
- Second, we strive to send at least seven young people as student missionaries. (We have sent three so far).
- Third, we plan to send at least 400 people on short-term mission trips. (We have sent 73 so far).
- Fourth, we work to send two families as long-term cross-cultural missionaries. (We have one so far).
- Finally, we have already exceeded our goal to enroll 100 people in a new tent maker program. (And we continue to grow this number).
We chose these goals because the thing that makes people the most enthusiastic about ministry is experiencing the incredible satisfaction of doing it personally. Help lead someone to Jesus just once, and you will become addicted to that feeling of joy for the rest of your life. So our purpose is to provide constant opportunities for people to experience this joy for themselves.
Something for everyone
Over time, we Adventists in Minnesota hope to enhance our systems to more effectively produce pastors, teachers, missionaries and tent makers. And, by the way, everyone is included in one of these categories. We all understand pastors, teachers, and missionaries, but what are tent makers? Remember who paid the Apostle Paul’s salary for his ministry? He did. He used his trade, which was making tents, to pay for his church planting efforts. So we borrow the name “tent maker” to refer to anyone who uses his or her profession as their personal God-given means to advance His kingdom in this world.
It is tempting to leave ministry to professionals like pastors, teachers and missionaries. But if we do that, God’s mission will never be completed. Instead, we must recognize that God has assigned every one of us a circle of influence where He expects us to touch the people in our sphere and lead them to Jesus. In that sense, everyone is a pastor. Whether you are a mechanic, airline pilot, doctor, businessman, plumber, taxi driver, mom, retiree, student or anything else, you are a minister of the gospel.
How to participate
- If you live in Minnesota and would like to become a part of this tent maker network, which we are inventing as we grow, please contact the program coordinator, Pastor Jim Moon, at tentmakers@mnsda.com.
- If you live outside of Minnesota and want to follow what is happening, you are welcome. One place to start would be by joining the Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560939808422) where you will be alerted to new developments as they occur.
- Another avenue is The Northern Light Extra, an email newsletter of things happening in Minnesota. Anyone can subscribe at www.MNSDA.com. The sign-up is located at the bottom of the home page.
- Pray with us! Jesus told us to pray for workers in His harvest field, so please join us in that prayer.
Jeff Scoggins is president of the Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
