Speaker Information
Rev. Scott Missling
Presentation & Description:
Confessing Life in the Public Square: What is the Christian's relationship with the government? How do Christians participate in civic engagement while remaining faithful? How can Christians best confess biblical truths in the public square? These are all questions we will investigate as we develop a framework for youth to become faithful, biblical witnesses in our state, nation, and the world.
Biography: The Rev. Scot Missling serves as pastor of Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. He also serves as the Public Policy Advocate for the Minnesota Districts of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. He received his Master of Divinity in 2023 from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri and his Bachelor’s degree in Government and International Affairs from Augustana University, Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 2014. He is married to his wife, Veronica and they have two children, Sophia and Andrew.
Confessing Life in the Public Square: What is the Christian's relationship with the government? How do Christians participate in civic engagement while remaining faithful? How can Christians best confess biblical truths in the public square? These are all questions we will investigate as we develop a framework for youth to become faithful, biblical witnesses in our state, nation, and the world.
Biography: The Rev. Scot Missling serves as pastor of Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. He also serves as the Public Policy Advocate for the Minnesota Districts of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. He received his Master of Divinity in 2023 from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri and his Bachelor’s degree in Government and International Affairs from Augustana University, Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 2014. He is married to his wife, Veronica and they have two children, Sophia and Andrew.
Rev. Dr. Joshua C. Miller
Presentation Description:
Can Christians use IVF responsibly? We will look at this question from the perspective of confessional Lutheran ethics. Attention will be given especially to the ethical idea of categorical gift.
Biography: Rev. Dr. Joshua C. Miller is sole pastor at Jehovah Lutheran Church in St. Paul, MN. He also serves as the 3rd Vice President of the Minnesota South District of the LCMS and as Adjunct Professor of Theology at Concordia University St. Paul. Pastor Miller is also the author of Hanging by a Promise: The Hidden God in the Theology of Oswald Bayer and of the upcoming No Discussion Possible, which is on Hermann Sasse's Confessional Lutheran rejection of Nazism.
Can Christians use IVF responsibly? We will look at this question from the perspective of confessional Lutheran ethics. Attention will be given especially to the ethical idea of categorical gift.
Biography: Rev. Dr. Joshua C. Miller is sole pastor at Jehovah Lutheran Church in St. Paul, MN. He also serves as the 3rd Vice President of the Minnesota South District of the LCMS and as Adjunct Professor of Theology at Concordia University St. Paul. Pastor Miller is also the author of Hanging by a Promise: The Hidden God in the Theology of Oswald Bayer and of the upcoming No Discussion Possible, which is on Hermann Sasse's Confessional Lutheran rejection of Nazism.
President Woodford
Presentation Description:
Biography Description:
Rev. Dr. Lucas V. Woodford, (MDiv, STM, DMin), is President of the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and Associate Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Farmington, MN. He is the author of Great Commission, Great Confusion, or Great Confession? (Wipf & Stock, 2012). He is co-author with Harold Senkbeil of Pastoral Leadership: for the Care of Souls (2nd ed Lexham Press, 2021) and their book on contextual mission, The Culture of God’s Word: Faithful Ministry in a Post-Christian Society is forthcoming from Lexham in Feb. 2026. He has written numerous articles published in The Lutheran Witness, Logia, and Seelsorger, including a monograph What does this mean? Responding to Social Justice and Critical Race Theory (2021).
Woodford is a member of the Board of Regents of Concordia University, St. Paul, MN. He has served as an adjunct instructor for Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN and the graduate school at The Institute of Lutheran Theology in Brookings, SD.
Dr. Woodford is a Fellow in the Collegium of DOXOLOGY: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel, charged with research, writing, and speaking regarding the care of souls in the contemporary context. He frequently presents on matters related to soul care, missiology, marriage, sex and gender issues, as well as critical race theory. He is a husband to Becca and father to their seven children, five girls and two boys: Isabella (married to Zach), Thaddaeus, Aletheia, Ekklacia, Soteria, Titus, Basileia, and grandfather to Aurora.
Biography Description:
Rev. Dr. Lucas V. Woodford, (MDiv, STM, DMin), is President of the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and Associate Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Farmington, MN. He is the author of Great Commission, Great Confusion, or Great Confession? (Wipf & Stock, 2012). He is co-author with Harold Senkbeil of Pastoral Leadership: for the Care of Souls (2nd ed Lexham Press, 2021) and their book on contextual mission, The Culture of God’s Word: Faithful Ministry in a Post-Christian Society is forthcoming from Lexham in Feb. 2026. He has written numerous articles published in The Lutheran Witness, Logia, and Seelsorger, including a monograph What does this mean? Responding to Social Justice and Critical Race Theory (2021).
Woodford is a member of the Board of Regents of Concordia University, St. Paul, MN. He has served as an adjunct instructor for Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN and the graduate school at The Institute of Lutheran Theology in Brookings, SD.
Dr. Woodford is a Fellow in the Collegium of DOXOLOGY: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel, charged with research, writing, and speaking regarding the care of souls in the contemporary context. He frequently presents on matters related to soul care, missiology, marriage, sex and gender issues, as well as critical race theory. He is a husband to Becca and father to their seven children, five girls and two boys: Isabella (married to Zach), Thaddaeus, Aletheia, Ekklacia, Soteria, Titus, Basileia, and grandfather to Aurora.
Deaconess Chrissie Gillet
Presentation Description: This presentation brings together the latest findings on homelessness and mental health, highlighting trends among teens, young adults, and adults, and addressing how these issues intersect in real and painful ways. We will also explore how Scripture calls the Church to respond with compassion, justice, and practical support, offering hope grounded in the love of Christ. Participants will leave this session with an understanding and actionable steps to make a meaningful difference in our communities.
Biography:
Deaconess Dr. Chrissie Gillet joined Lutherans For Life in April 2017 to serve as the Director of the Word of Hope ministry. An Air Force Veteran, Chrissie served as a staff psychologist during her military career. She is also a certified deaconess in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, offering a profound understanding of both the secular worldview and a Christ-centered identity. Her vocations as a pastor’s wife and mother of a large family fuel her deep compassion for life.
Chrissie leads the Word of Hope ministry with dedication, overseeing marketing, training, media production, public speaking (accompanied by her service dog, Phoebe), and spiritual support. She is known for listening without personal judgment while responding with Christian truth and love, creating a safe, grace-filled space for those in need. Her commitment extends beyond direct care – she actively connects people with pastors, local services, and natural support systems.
Of all her responsibilities at Word of Hope, Chrissie’s two most valued roles are building relationships with other life-affirming organizations and offering spiritual care to those brokenhearted by life issues.
Biography:
Deaconess Dr. Chrissie Gillet joined Lutherans For Life in April 2017 to serve as the Director of the Word of Hope ministry. An Air Force Veteran, Chrissie served as a staff psychologist during her military career. She is also a certified deaconess in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, offering a profound understanding of both the secular worldview and a Christ-centered identity. Her vocations as a pastor’s wife and mother of a large family fuel her deep compassion for life.
Chrissie leads the Word of Hope ministry with dedication, overseeing marketing, training, media production, public speaking (accompanied by her service dog, Phoebe), and spiritual support. She is known for listening without personal judgment while responding with Christian truth and love, creating a safe, grace-filled space for those in need. Her commitment extends beyond direct care – she actively connects people with pastors, local services, and natural support systems.
Of all her responsibilities at Word of Hope, Chrissie’s two most valued roles are building relationships with other life-affirming organizations and offering spiritual care to those brokenhearted by life issues.
Mrs. Michelle Bauman
Presentation Description:
Michelle Bauman joined the Lutherans For Life team on June 1, 2019. Formerly a middle and high school teacher at Lutheran schools in Indiana, Michelle now serves as LFL’s national Y4Life Director where she helps young people from preschool through college (and beyond!) to learn about life issues and how to address them from a Gospel-motivated perspective. She and her team carry out this work through conferences, retreats, school visits, and the creation of life-affirming resources. (Check them out at y4life.org and yaforlife.org!) Michelle also supports the building and maintaining of Y4Life Teams on high school and college campuses across the nation. When not presenting, writing, or planning the next Y4Life event, Michelle loves gardening, taking long walks, traveling, cooking, and spending time with her husband, sons, and daughter-in-love. She lives in Columbus, Indiana, with her husband, Pastor Doug Bauman, and attends St. Paul Lutheran Church, Clifty, where he serves as pastor.
Biography Description:
Sin breaks stuff. It creates pain and hardship and challenges we didn't think we'd have to face. Sin creates life issues, and life issues are often answered with hopelessness, escape, and even death. But God has a better answer. He meets sin head-on and responds to our brokenness with healing and hope. He leans in through Word and Sacrament and the gift of others to uphold life. As Christians, we have the beautiful opportunity to remind others that where life issues exist, there is also hope. There is the opportunity for life to be upheld, and because of Jesus, God often works through us and our vocations to do that upholding. This presentation will not only teach you how to spot a life issue, it will also give you tools to engage with a Gospel-motivated voice and mercy-filled hands.
Michelle Bauman joined the Lutherans For Life team on June 1, 2019. Formerly a middle and high school teacher at Lutheran schools in Indiana, Michelle now serves as LFL’s national Y4Life Director where she helps young people from preschool through college (and beyond!) to learn about life issues and how to address them from a Gospel-motivated perspective. She and her team carry out this work through conferences, retreats, school visits, and the creation of life-affirming resources. (Check them out at y4life.org and yaforlife.org!) Michelle also supports the building and maintaining of Y4Life Teams on high school and college campuses across the nation. When not presenting, writing, or planning the next Y4Life event, Michelle loves gardening, taking long walks, traveling, cooking, and spending time with her husband, sons, and daughter-in-love. She lives in Columbus, Indiana, with her husband, Pastor Doug Bauman, and attends St. Paul Lutheran Church, Clifty, where he serves as pastor.
Biography Description:
Sin breaks stuff. It creates pain and hardship and challenges we didn't think we'd have to face. Sin creates life issues, and life issues are often answered with hopelessness, escape, and even death. But God has a better answer. He meets sin head-on and responds to our brokenness with healing and hope. He leans in through Word and Sacrament and the gift of others to uphold life. As Christians, we have the beautiful opportunity to remind others that where life issues exist, there is also hope. There is the opportunity for life to be upheld, and because of Jesus, God often works through us and our vocations to do that upholding. This presentation will not only teach you how to spot a life issue, it will also give you tools to engage with a Gospel-motivated voice and mercy-filled hands.
