Preparing to Serve as a Deaconess at Concordia Nebraska

In The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, deaconesses are women called to professional church work, sharing the Gospel and showing mercy to God’s people as they navigate their individual journeys in faith and life. At Concordia University, Nebraska, the pre-deaconess program prepares women to grow in their personal faith and academic excellence while preparing to serve others.  

Whether you’re a committed future deaconess or are “on the fence” about pursuing church work as a career, it can be helpful to learn about how you can become a deaconess and what you’ll do as one.  

A liberal arts education 

The pre-deaconess program is a liberal arts program, meaning that it offers women the opportunity to take classes from multiple disciplines, including communications, psychology, sociology and theology. Plus, future deaconesses will declare a major of their choice – from the natural sciences to theology – as well as complete a holistic curriculum of general education courses.  

A liberal arts education will prepare you for your future as a deaconess, where you’ll work with people at all ages and stages of life. Being flexible and having a base knowledge of a wide variety of topics can be extremely useful for professionals in such roles. The liberal arts general education curriculum at Concordia pairs with the student’s major of choice and the theological and sociological core of the pre-deaconess program to enable women to graduate from college with faith and confidence for their next steps. 

Attending seminary 

Although not all pre-deaconess students choose to become full-time church deaconesses, those who do most often attend seminary, where they spend time earning their master’s degree with deaconess certification. This degree can be completed at either of the two LCMS seminaries, located in St. Louis, Mo. or Fort Wayne, Ind. At Concordia Seminary – St. Louis, deaconess students can also choose to pursue additional coursework and obtain a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree by seminary collaboration with St. Louis University.  

Being a professional church worker 

The LCMS emphasizes the importance of employing professional church workers like deaconesses. As a deaconess, you’ll join the roster of church workers who are eligible to receive a call to serve a particular congregation. Being trained to share the Gospel through works of mercy, spiritual care and teaching will be how you share God’s love with fellow members of the body of Christ in your daily work. Whether you serve in a small rural congregation or a 2,000-member strong urban church, your role as a deaconess will be to shepherd God’s people in that congregation by meeting their spiritual, emotional and even physical needs.  

Serving God’s people at all ages and stages 

As all other types of LCMS church workers, deaconesses are “set apart to serve.” Working as God’s hands and feet in the world, they are often called to serve congregants at all ages and stages of life. Diaconal ministry is one type of a “cradle-to-grave" church work profession, particularly in congregations with less specialized staff members (usually smaller churches).  

But deaconesses don’t only serve people strictly in LCMS congregations! Many times, deaconesses are called to the mission field or to work as chaplains in hospitals, nursing homes or prisons. So if you are passionate about sharing the Gospel, serving God’s people in many stages of life and deepening your understanding of God’s Word, Concordia’s pre-deaconess program can prepare you to join the workforce as one of these unique and valuable ministers of the good news of Jesus Christ.  

Concordia University, Nebraska’s pre-deaconess program is designed to train women to follow God’s call for their life as a professional church worker. Future deaconesses can pursue a major of their choosing while taking a variety of courses in counseling, doctrine and Biblical interpretation to prepare them for seminary. Learn more about the pre-deaconess program here.