Pastor Andy Nelson Interview
Pastor Andy Nelson is the Campus Chaplin and Director of Campus Ministry at
Morningside University since 2018.
Andy graduated from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa with a Bachelor of Art
in Religion and Political Science. He then went to Luther Seminary in St. Paul,
Minnesota to further his studies and obtain a Masters in Divinity.
He would tell his younger self, “Have some time to step away and
discharge from the experience”
He didn’t always want to be a pastor and changed his mind back and forth
about whether being a pastor was for him. Leaving seminary after two years into
figure out it it was for him which he decides it was and went back to seminary.
If he could go back and give advice to his younger self on what to do, he would
tell himself to take a gap year.
“Like to think about ministry positions as calls.”
They say a minister is called to his job by the other ministers or the
people they work with and are being called by God to do the job. After finishing
his schooling to become a pastor he had his first calling at Bethel Lutheran
Church in Rochester, Minnesota.
Spent time at Bethel Lutheran Church, Andy moved on to become a Campus
Pastor at the University of South Dakota. He then worked at St. Mark Lutheran
Church as a Pastor before coming to Morningside University.
He came to the Sioux City area because his wife was hired here in the Psychology
Science department while he worked somewhere else. After a couple years the
ministry position opened here at Morningside when he applied, he received the
job.
Ever since 2018, Andy has been the Chaplin at Morningside University and has
tried to be a helpful source for students. He works in confidentiality, so
students can come to him without worrying about other knowing. While being at
Morningside he has thought of ways to spread faith and bring the community
together.
“Community comes together.”
Is something Andy has been wanting to make more prominent on campus and that
is why he started Midweek Mindfulness. Midweek Mindfulness is about allowing
others to tell there stories, play music, or even ask questions about faith and
life.