A $3.8 million gift from Dean and Rosemarie Buntrock will allow Luther Seminary to provide graduates of the school’s accelerated master of divinity program, known as MDivX, with the support and skills necessary to launch their ministry vocations effectively. These new pastors will receive professional assessment and coaching and will have access to learning communities and digital courses that will help them develop the skills required to lead their communities into a hopeful future. 

The Buntrocks invested $21.4 million in Luther Seminary in 2018 to pilot its accelerated MDiv program. Through this new initiative supported by the $3.8 million gift, the seminary will not only provide about 80 graduates of the program with the resources they need to thrive in ministry, it also will allow the seminary to develop an online assessment tool and 10 digital course modules that will benefit ordained ministers and other church leaders outside of our MDivX cohorts. In addition, $1.6 million of the Buntrock’s recent investment provides a matching gift for student scholarships.

For several years, Luther Seminary has developed the Faith+Lead platform, a robust digital resource that provides innovative programs to support clergy in a world that requires organizations and leaders to adapt rapidly. Especially in light of the pandemic, seminary graduates may struggle in isolation as they face the tough challenges that characterize today’s ministry environment.

About Luther Seminary

Luther Seminary educates leaders for Christian communities across the country and around the world. An innovator in theological education, the seminary is committed to exploring leading-edge approaches for Christian ministry, proclamation, and faith formation in a rapidly changing world. As one of the seven seminaries in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Luther Seminary has educated more than one-third of ELCA pastors, lay professionals, and leaders of many global Lutheran and ecumenical churches. Learn more at luthersem.edu.