"My pastor kept saying to me, 'Lindsay, you should think about going into the ministry,'" Watkins said. "He was very encouraging and he would allow me to help him on different things in the church - that was the motivation for me to go into the ministry."
Watkins assumed his duty as pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, 712 12th St., in August of 1995. Prior to his 30-year career as a pastor, Watkins earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Concordia College in Fort Wayne, Ind. He then went on to receive a master's of divinity degree from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.
"When I started in the ministry I felt like I had a real good grasp theologically on things," Watkins said. "Concordia Seminary gave me an excellent theological education."
After taking the reigns of his first congregation in 1979 in Illinois, many people who suffered from alcoholism or who were confronting marital issues came to Watkins for support. For that reason, Watkins felt compelled to further his education.
Watkins again returned to Concordia Seminary to pursue a doctorate degree and took graduate training in chemical dependency counseling, family therapy, marital counseling, individual counseling and administration. His dissertation focused on pre-marital counseling.
During the '80s, Watkins served as the campus minister at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill. From there, he became pastor in Evergreen, Colo. until 1987 and returned to the campus ministry at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D. After eight-and-a-half years at UND, Watkins arrived in Boone.
"I thought it would be a new challenge and I have absolutely loved it," Watkins said.
"We minister to all ages here. We have a very active senior ministry, and now also a very active family ministry."
Watkins said a large number of members from Trinity Lutheran's congregation send their children to Trinity Lutheran School which allows him to get to know both families and their children on a one-on-one basis.
"Our ministry here is really changing now," Watkins said. "The Lord is blessing us with more and more young families joining the congregation and it's becoming a very active ministry."
Watkins holds services at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. every Sunday, and at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays and Trinity Lutheran is in the process of beginning Saturday services at 5:30 p.m.
The aspects of his job that he said he loves are preaching, teaching, administration, pastoral counseling, hospital and sick visitations, evangelism visitations, member visitations and assisting those who are going through difficult times.
"What I try to do as a pastor is I try to concentrate more on the pastor as a shepherd and not like a chief executive officer," he said. "We emphasize more of the shepherding aspect of the pastoral ministry."
Reflecting on his 14-and-a-half years at Trinity Lutheran, Watkins said the experience has been a joy due to the strong support from his family and congregation. He said his job is a perfect fit for him because it involves taking part in things that he finds enjoyable.
"Being a pastor is, I think, the greatest job in the world - I absolutely love it," Watkins said. "It's working with a great group of people here - they're very loving and supportive of their pastor and of their pastor's family."
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