Curricular Strategy, Mission and Vision

In the past decade, Luther Seminary took decisive steps to engage more directly the changing world that the church now serves. This began in the early 1990s with a curriculum revision process. The entire curriculum was reshaped to address more directly the formation of leaders and their participation in leading Christian communities to participate in God’s mission in the world. The four movements of the curricular strategy now in place are:

• Learning the Christian Story
• Interpreting and Confessing the Message
• Leading in Mission
• Living as a Disciple

Mission

The curricular strategy was focused more directly in the formulation of a mission statement in 1995. This mission statement centers the work of Luther Seminary around the task of educating leaders for Christian communities. Every graduate program the seminary offers exists to help fulfill this mission. This statement reads:

Luther Seminary educates leaders for Christian communities:
+ called and sent by the Holy Spirit
+ to witness to salvation through Jesus Christ
+ and to serve in God's world.

Vision

In 1999, the seminary translated the logic embedded in its curricular strategy and mission statement into a strategic plan for ministry. A two-year visioning process resulted in a document entitled, Serving the Promise of Our Mission. The specific vision that was formulated in this process continues to place the emphases on leaders who are educated to lead in mission within a changing context. The vision reads:

By 2005, Luther Seminary is:
+ internationally respected as a confessional seminary
+ educating leaders for the church
+ to participate fully in God’s mission
+ in a changing world