Morningside University is a school affiliated with Christianity. So, when people are in question of their faith they can always turn to Morningside’s Director of Campus Ministry and Community Service, Andy Nelson. Like any other staff member at Morningside Nelson with have a work life and a home life that not many people might know about.

Nelson has been working at Morningside since 2018 and is a Lutheran pastor. It is made clear that even though Nelson is Lutheran, he is here to help no matter what faith a student has.

According to Nelson, the biggest part of his job is to guide or help students. He says “to help you connect with that part of yourself that is bigger than you whether that’s spiritual, religious, or philosophical.” This is done by talking to students and answering their questions, but also to practice faith by finding worship communities, and connect with different sources.

Nelson’s office is to be found at the lower level of the Olsen Student Center and has an open-door policy. This means that any person can step in at any time to talk to him about whatever is going on in their life. He tries to practice the philosophy “caring for others” and give it forward to the people he meet on his way.

Nelson has had some doubts throughout his journey of becoming a pastor, but have always found a way to get to where he wanted. He advises young people to take advantage of time to get different experiences.

When Nelson gets home from his job as a pastor a Morningside, he gets home to four kids from 2-14 years old and a wife. His family is what takes up the majority of his spare time, but when he has the opportunity he loves to sit down and read a good book.

Faith is not only a thing when he is at work but is a constant thing for him. Nelson says that faith is the most important thing in his life, but not necessarily in a practical way. Faith is something that shapes his view, it’s how he helps people and how he views death. He says “My understanding of who I am and my relationship floats from my faith.”