Metrics

2022–2023

Site-Ministry

Solo Pastor Role

Served as Solo Pastor at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church of Coral Gables.

Weekly Worship Leadership

Monthly reports consistently document preaching, presiding, children’s sermons, and pastoral leadership in worship.

Council & Strategic Planning

Led council meetings, member-tracking efforts, retreat planning, and organizational systems work.

Community & Partnership Focus

Reports show work on public presence, stewardship, outreach, Spanish ministry exploration, and relationships with local leaders and institutions.

Overview

As Solo Pastor at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church of Coral Gables, I led congregational life through worship, pastoral care, administration, leadership development, and community engagement. The role required both visible ministry and substantial behind-the-scenes coordination, including communication, systems-building, and strategic planning for the congregation’s future.

My Role

This call combined spiritual leadership with practical institutional responsibility. My monthly reports show regular preaching and presiding, pastoral visits, memorial and funeral planning, premarital sessions, newsletter and sermon preparation, council meetings, and coordination with synod and the ELCA churchwide networks.

Congregational Leadership & Systems Building

A major part of this work involved strengthening the congregation’s internal structure and future readiness. My reports document efforts to create a member database, track current and potential members, organize shared church documentation, improve council reporting practices, and build a calendar of strategic events tied to public presence and partnerships. They also show planning for council retreats, stewardship conversations, and congregational discernment during Lent. 

Pastoral Care & Community Engagement

This ministry was deeply relational. The reports reflect ongoing pastoral care through home visits, hospital visits, memorial services, funerals, weddings, premarital preparation, and accompaniment of members and families in moments of grief, illness, and transition. At the same time, they show engagement beyond the congregation through stewardship meetings, local partnerships, public events, and exploration of Spanish ministry and wider outreach beyond Coral Gables.

Leadership Style & Public Ministry

This ministry describes a style marked by approachability, clear communication, active listening, inclusion, and practical leadership. It also emphasizes our commitment to multicultural, safe, and critically engaged communities willing to address immigration, racial justice, gender equality, care for elders and children, and the challenges facing public life. That framing fits this role well and helps explain how I approached leadership at St. Mark’s.

Why It Mattered?

This role strengthened my capacity to lead an institution while staying rooted in care, communication, and mission. It brought together preaching, administration, people-centered leadership, and organizational follow-through, showing how congregational ministry can also be strategic, public-facing, and adaptive to changing realities.

Key Contributions:

• Worship leadership and preaching

• Pastoral care, memorials, and life event ministries

• Council leadership and congregational planning

• Development of member database and administrative systems

• Support for stewardship and discernment

• Community outreach and partnership development

• Exploring Bilingual-speaking ministry and public engagement