Midland University is pleased to announce the addition of Rev. Scott Johnson as its new Director of Campus Ministries. Johnson joins Midland after serving as pastor at St. Petri Lutheran Church in Story City, Iowa for the past seven years. St. Petri is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) with nearly 400 members. A native of Wakefield, Neb., Johnson’s family has been a part of the congregation at Salem Lutheran Church in Wakefield for more than 100 years.

He earned his BA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1998 and completed his Master of Divinity Degree from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn. in 2003. After graduation, Johnson was pastor at Peace Lutheran Church in Barrett, Minn. for four years before serving as the pastor of Lutheran Campus Ministry at Iowa State University for four years.

“Rev. Johnson brings a wealth of experience to our campus having served as a pastor in multiple congregations as well as having served as campus pastor of Lutheran Campus Ministry at Iowa State,” said Midland University President Jody Horner.  “He shares a passion with many of us here, and that is to serve our students.”

In his time with campus ministry, Johnson would prepare weekly worships, tend to pastoral needs of those in the community, and teach faith through multiple avenues, including small group Bible studies and spring break service trips. “My life was deeply shaped by my own campus ministry experience,” Johnson said. “Being a shaping influence in the lives of our young adults has always been one of my deepest joys in ministry.”

Midland’s Campus Ministry offers students, faculty, and staff a place to grow and live out their faith. Through weekly chapel, Bible studies, and service opportunities, Campus Ministry provides many avenues to serve and worship.

“I’m looking forward to being back in an academic environment. I’m a teacher and inquirer at heart, so campus life has an energy and vibrancy that feeds my soul,” Johnson said. “I was the campus pastor of Lutheran Campus Ministry at Iowa State University from 2008-2012, so I do have some experience in campus ministry. Obviously, Midland will be a very different campus than Iowa State. I'm hoping the smaller enrollment will enable me to be more active across many campus activities. The recent document ’Rooted and Open’ from the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities paints a picture of life on campus that I find fascinating, and I’m excited to see how being rooted in the Lutheran faith and open to others will play out in our ministry at Midland.”

“I’m also looking forward to being back home in Nebraska. My family farmed near Wakefield for four generations, and I have family scattered throughout the state.” Rev. Johnson and his wife, Kristin, have two daughters. “We welcome Scott back ‘home’ to Nebraska and are excited for he and his family to become members of the Midland family,” Horner said. “Scott’s experience and passion fit perfectly with Midland’s mission to ‘inspire people to learn and lead in the world with purpose.’”