Luther Seminary’s new vision statement calls us to lead faithful innovation for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a rapidly changing world.
And one of the most significant ways the world has changed to create challenges for ministry leaders is the growing crisis of student debt.
This problem affects our churches as well as our seminaries. Not only are we facing a surging pastor shortage, but the pastors who do come out of seminary experience more financial stress than ever before.
That’s why we’ve made the goal to reduce the average indebtedness of Luther Seminary students by one-third by 2023.
As the first step, our Board approved a new scholarship strategy this February. Starting in Fall 2018, all Master of Divinity and Master of Arts students admitted to Luther Seminary will receive a full tuition scholarship. We’re calling it the Jubilee Scholarship, and awards will be made regardless of full-time or part-time study and will be given to both residential and distributed learners.
This is not “free tuition.” This is the people of the church raising up and supporting leaders who are equipped to serve wherever they’re called in God’s world.
When leaders are financially healthy, they’ll be freer to:
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- Witness to God’s grace, reconciliation and hope, and nimbly respond to where the Holy Spirit is calling without fear of the weight of indebtedness,
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- Accompany congregations and other communities to discover breakthrough practices for cultivating Christian faith,
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- Discover renewing practices for faith formation and spiritual growth through courageous engagement experimenting with the ways God’s Spirit is stirring in local communities, and
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- Take calls based on what the church needs and what’s a good fit for the candidate—not based on financial stress.
Want to help? Make a gift to the scholarship fund to support the Jubilee scholarship; donate to the Sustaining Fund to support the two-thirds of total costs not covered by scholarships; or provide educational grants to a specific student to help with their living expenses while in seminary.
Learn more about the Jubilee Scholarship and how to support future church leaders.