# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S447
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

i Report of Board for Higher Education ; : 447
system. ‘This trend toward greater numbers of available.
ididates and pastors is, however, partially offset by a pos-
sible increase in the demands for assistants in our large urban |
ar shes. ' .
‘In ‘approaching this problem, Synod should always be conscious.
f the.very real danger in an “oversupply” of candidates. When
faore candidates are available than are actually needed, there
s always a tendency to place them.in small parishes and to
lepress the general economic level of our ministry. In the
long run it is better.to err on the conservative side, especially
sincé a momentary undersupply can always be made up through |
;: various devices. \

cing all these factors in relation to one another, it is. our
onsidered judgment that Synod in the near future should require
115. candidates annually. With faith in the continued blessing
od. upon our work, no great downward revision of this figure
Id‘ be expected. If the Lord of the Church offers us unusual op-

ities which cannot be foreseen at the present moment, the
pply could be increased, at least temporarily, by: means of one or
lore of the plans outlined above.

Sihce this entire problem is basic to our approach to the number
‘institutions required for:the training of our pastors and the appli-
ition of the principles of stewardship to the conduct of our educa-
tional work, the survey has naturally given much time and attention
io it. These estimates, therefore, represent our most careful and
considered judgment in this important and complex question. ,

Future Needs and Enrollment

‘Assuming that these premises are correct, how large a student
enrollment is required at our preparatory colleges in order to insure:
the required output of theological candidates during the next decade?
The 1925-27 pretheological enrollment at ‘the preparatory institu- '
tions was 1,450-1,500 students. From 1927 to 1932 it was between
1,360 and 1,400. These large enrollments resulted in’ freshmen.
entering classes at the St. Louis Seminary of about 150 in the period
of. 1927-37. This represented an oversupply, especially in view of
‘Springfield’s added contribution of candidates. We may then con-
ude that the preparatory schools should have considerably smaller
enrollments than 1,500. ; ;

The pretheological enrollment since 1937-38 at all preparatory
‘colleges has been less than 900; in 1943-44 it was 901.