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NAILS—Student Laborers For Christ
Nailing It Down. Raising Him Up.
By enrolling in NAILS, college, university, and seminary students have the opportunity to help fund their education by working for Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) congregations and organizations constructing their own facilities.
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NAILS is a simple idea. Students sign up to work for an LCMS congregation or organization constructing its own facilities. NAILS helps arrange living accommodations with the participating congregation.
Students are paid minimum wage as an employee of the congregation or organization constructing its facilities, and work under the supervision of experienced construction workers and managers, who also willingly work for minimum wage as a ministry service to the congregation/organization.
As part of the NAILS team, students will:
- Travel to other parts of the country
- Work as a team with other students
- Help churches save money
- Gain valuable experience
- Grow and be renewed spiritually and
- Put their God-given skills to work.
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Faith Lutheran in Georgetown, TX is Growing Quickly
Faith Lutheran Church in Georgetown, Texas, has grown to nearly 1,100 members since it was first chartered in 1982. A Laborers For Christ crew is helping the congregation build a new 17,000-square-foot sanctuary that will seat over 600; the current sanctuary is being remodeled to become a multi-purpose space. Al Springer is shown here working on steel framing.
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Laborers Assist in Addition at Grace Evangelical in El Centro, Calif.
Laborers For Christ was asked to assist the congregation at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, El Centro, Calif., to add nearly 1,000 square feet to its original Spanish-style church, which now serves as its fellowship center, Janke Hall. The congregation uses the hall for church and community meetings, classes, and social events. It also has a satellite worship site at the Hispanic Outreach Center in El Centro. |
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Messiah Gains Ministry Space, Witnesses with Laborers
This summer Laborers For Christ assisted the congregation at Messiah Lutheran Church, in Mandan, N.D., add over 6,100 square feet to its fellowship hall, shown here in the early stages of completion. Messiah serves over 300 members and is affiliated with Martin Luther School in Bismarck. Fellowship and spiritual support are important aspects to life on the project, and congregations gain more than just ministry space when Laborers participate in church activities. LCEF also assisted the congregation with a loan. |
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Student Recruitment Brings in New Laborers
NAILS Coordinator Don Nordmeyer, left, shows Concordia College, Bronxville, N.Y., students Seth (in white shirt) and Zachary DeBartolo a map of project sites for the new young adult program of Laborers For Christ. Nordmeyer met the brothers when he visited the campus to introduce NAILS, an opportunity for summer employment and ministry for college students. |
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Laborers Work at Camp Okoboji
Laborers For Christ and other volunteers worked this fall on construction projects, along with helping to clean up and make repairs, at Camp Okoboji, an LCMS camp located on a wooded peninsula on West Lake Okoboji in Milford, Iowa. Laborers worked on five construction projects including a new prayer chapel; a handicapped friendly, year-round dorm cabin which sleeps 20; a family cabin; a year-round fish-cleaning facility; and a large addition to the maintenance building. |
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See Who We're Helping
View a list of current and future projects. Are you interested in signing up for a project? |
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Providing Architectural Advice to LCMS Organizations
Don Amt likes figuring out the "puzzles" LCMS organizations face when repairing or constructing a building. He sees potential where others do not. Amt is a member of the Architectural Advisory Committee, a unique ministry of Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) that brings together volunteer Lutheran architects and liturgical advisors.
The most common puzzle to be solved: finding a balance between functionality and costs. That's where the members of the Advisory Committee can make the most impact. |
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SMP Working With Redeemer Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, Nevada
The pastor at Redeemer said the great thing about SMP is that the lay people continually focus on their "best understanding of God's calling and plan" for them. If they are having a meeting and decisions are being made, someone in the group will usually call attention to their SMP and say, "Remember our plan. Is this decision a part of our plan? Is this the direction that God's calling and plan for us is pointing?" |
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Do Your Meetings Need Focus?
LCEF’s Stategic Ministry Planning can bring efficiency to you.
Does your church, school or agency spend time considering questions about land, facilities, staffing, programs, or money without a unified foundation for decision-making? See your leaders work more efficiently without stress or burnout and your boards and committees become more focused-with shorter, more productive meetings.
LCEF's Strategic Ministry Planning (SMP) helps your organization make decisions based on God's priorities for you and your ministry. |
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