You are invited to apply to this program if you are an ELCA Rostered Minister and live within a distance that is workable for you to still participate in the in-person retreats, located in Farmington, MN.
Application is right HERE and is due April 1, 2025
Reference form is right HERE
Listen to members of the Prairie Fire Steering Team invite you to Prairie Fire!
- Listen to Lisa Janke, a Pastor at Mount Olive in Rochester, tell you about Prairie Fire Right HERE
- Listen to Bryant Kaden, a Pastor in Gloria Dei in Redwood Falls, fire you up about Prairie Fire RIGHT HERE
- Here’s Justin Boeding, Senior Pastor at United Lutheran in Redwing, inviting you to fall in love with preaching again. Watch and listen right HERE.
- Mindy Czycalla (that’s “Sha-Calla”) is Pastor to 3, count ’em, 3! congregations in rural Hector, Litchfield, and Cosmos. So she’s got a leg (or 3?) to stand on when she tells you why Prairie Fire is worth your time commitment! Watch and listen HERE.
- Melanie Wallschlaeger is Pastor at Christ the King in Mankato, MN and she invites you to consider your own spiritual practices as you live into the highs and lows of preaching and ministry. Watch and listen right HERE.
- Put your hands in the air for Hayden Kvamme, a Pastor at Gloria Dei in Rochester, MN. He invites you to make the time it takes to make a change in your preaching. Watch and listen right HERE.
Preacher’s Gotta Preach…
Proclaiming the Gospel is an incredible privilege. It can also be a daunting and time consuming task.
- Do you dream about creative ways to engage our constantly changing culture?
- Do you long for fresh preaching rhythms?
- Do you wonder if you’ll ever have time to consider these questions, or give your preaching the attention it deserves?
Prairie Fire will give you this time.
The 2025-2026 Prairie Fire Preaching Community is $600 and includes:
- Quarterly 3-day retreats at Mt. Olivet Retreat Center in Farmington, MN.
- You’ll hear from a preaching expert about their experiences and their take on preaching.
- You’ll hear from 2 experts from other disciplines who will share their view of the world through their work. It will be our theological task to make the connections between what they see and experience to our communication of the Good News.
- You will set your own goal or goals at each retreat – something you want to work on in the preparation, delivery, or recovery from preaching.
- Cohorts will gather via Zoom in between retreats. This group of folks will hold one another accountable for the practicing we’re doing in between retreats. There will be a presenter at each of the Zoom gatherings, addressing themes we’re wrestling with together.
- You will have full access to all programs offered through the Continuous Growth Pathway (CGP) during your time in the program.
Retreats are the precious time for deep conversations with peers, a retreat preacher, and experts from other fields. You will contemplate the art of communication and inspiration through the lens of other non-church professionals who love their jobs. We have a lot to learn from non-churchy humans.
Retreat Location: Mt. Olivet Conference and Retreat Center, Farmington, MN (south of the Twin Cities)
Retreat Dates
Essential to the Prairie Fire experience are retreats. Be sure these dates work in your calendar before you apply to be part this program. Each retreat begins with lunch at noon on Monday. You are invited to arrive the night before if this would help you arrive and settle in well before the retreat begins.
Oct 27-29, 2025
Jan 12-14, 2026
May 18-20, 2026
Aug 17-19, 2026
