As Christians, we believe the gospel of Jesus Christ speaks to people’s deep need for human community and desire to have a relationship with God. We also believe that God is raising up leaders to meet people in a variety of ways and places. As fewer people participate in forms of church as we have known them, our eccleisal systems and ministry styles must pivot to meet God’s people where they are.

In the midst of these challenges and opportunities, Luther Seminary looks to the future with hope because we believe the good news of Jesus can transform lives and offer belonging and meaning to all. As we reimagine our calling to educate leaders who will meet the needs of today’s church, we are not clinging to particular organizational forms but embracing the transformation that comes from placing our mission in God’s care.

We take seriously the challenges and opportunities before us and have developed a new strategic plan focused on growing our capacity to educate a wide range of leaders for traditional and emerging expression of church; continuing to develop an integrated, distributed educational system that serves students at all stages and pathways of learning; and achieving long-term financial strength and operational excellence through empowering personnel, developing strategic partnerships, and stewarding campus resources.

The long-term sustainability of our mission—to educate leaders for the church—is why we are selling the current campus and moving to a new location in the Twin Cities. To manage this complex process, we have convened working groups that focus in depth on critical aspects of our transition and regularly report back to the seminary community. These teams of dedicated staff, faculty, and students cover areas from future spaces to curriculum and off-site coursework, library and archives to student housing.

We recently received the affirming news that we have received a five-year, $10 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish the Luther Collective, a seminary-led collaboration that seeks to develop a renewed vision for theological education. Our partner organizations in this project—local congregations, an outdoor ministry, and an urban university—represent a range of vibrant Lutheran ministries dedicated to raising up and equipping leaders for today’s church. This grant will help us grow our educational capacities and strengthen our operations in new and creative directions.

The future of theological education will require all of us working together to develop and embrace new paradigms. With the seminary’s ongoing commitment to educate, witness, and discover, we are following the Spirit’s guidance through unprecedented times toward our next faithful step.

Peace,
Robin Steinke
President

Read more: Meet current M.Div. student Kaitlyn Jedrzejowski.